Five Things that came to mind when I learned that John Tortorella was taking over as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets:
- Your Stars Must Be Your Leaders. SiriusXM NHL Nick Alberga show host will hate this argument based on his statements this week, but I completely agree with Torts on this. Within 10 days of being named head coach, Torts benched talented forwards Ryan Johansen and Fedor Tyutin. These players have been cited as the “best” players, but I think that is too vague a description to really get at the heart at Tortorella’s lesson here. If we replace “best” with “most talented”, then the argument changes. Here’s my take on this: Tortorella agrees with scouts that Johansen and Tyutin are among the most talented players on his team, and they aren’t taking advantage of their talent. If the most talented players aren’t taking advantage of their talents, what message does that send to the less talented players? Make every moment that your stick is on the ice count, and your talent will create the results. Tortorella said the same thing to stars Brad Richards, Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Dan Boyle in Tampa Bay, and coached a team to a Stanley Cup championship as a result.
- Tough Love Works. Tortorella took over for Steve Ludzik in 2001 as coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He immediately entered the room as a tough love coach with messages including “Safe is Death.” Torts coached the Bolts to a playoff run in 2002-2003. When the team lost to the New Jersey Devils, Tortorella gave each player a copy of Jim Collins’ book “Good to Great” as offseason homework. The Bolts came back in 2003-04, defeated the Calgary Flames, and won the only Stanley Cup in team history.
- Tough Love Only Works for so Long. Only a few seasons after the Stanley Cup win, Tortorella had lost the room. He was fired and replaced by Barry Melrose (in a move reminiscent of a clown car circus scene by an inept ownership group.) Tortorella went on to short lived and a marginally successful stint in New York, and a bad time in Vancouver.
- Torts Can Help the Right Roster. Tortorella holds the record for American-born coaches with 446 wins. If he can get stars like Johansen and Tyutin to buy in, and coach the younger talent to understand the talent-to-effort ratio it takes to win in the NHL, things will look positive for the Blue Jackets in the next few years.
- Torts Can Build the Architecture for the Future. Even if Columbus doesn’t win with Tortorella at head coach, the lessons he instills in young talent are lasting and imperssionable. Tortorella is a great influence on veterans willing to listen, but those veterans will extend his teachings to the younger players, creating a more cohesive overall roster anywhere Torts has coached.
Nick Kelly is a long-time Tampa Bay Lightning fan who has witnessed all things up and down with a hockey franchise. His analysis and opinions are his own, and are open to debate on Twitter at @Nick_Kelly.
nK
