No one’s disrespecting Blue Jackets now

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This article was published 29/12/2016 (3498 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In their 14 previous NHL seasons, the Columbus Blue Jackets were never mistaken for a powerhouse.

In 2016-17, they have become just that and their hard-driving head coach, John Tortorella, has been an agent of change.

“You’re talking to a coach who’s always looking for more,” Tortorella said prior to Thursday night’s tilt with the Winnipeg Jets at the MTS Centre.

“I’m certainly not gonna say we are where we should be. I think the league gets better after Christmas. I think the league will get better after February. We have to get better… coaches are never satisfied. You’re always looking to get quicker, stronger, better structure — all the things you need to win hockey games.”

The Blue Jackets entered the game as the NHL’s hottest team, with 13 consecutive wins and a 25-5-4 record, good for second place in the Metropolitan Division. It’s almost unfathomable they should be in this position after last season’s disastrous 34-40-8 campaign, during which Tortorella replaced Todd Richards eight games into the regular season.

 

“Last season, he came in when we were 0-8 and I think he was teaching us, trying to get to to (learn) concepts,” said veteran forward Matt Calvert, who’s in his seventh season and playing for his third coach in Columbus and remains the club’s longest-tenured player.

“He was trying to get us to play a completely different style than we played before and one thing I will say, he knows how to treat a team when you’r winning. He’s been great with us with days off, keeping us fresh and our third period has been our best period all year. No morning (game-day) skates seems to energize us in the third period.”

The Blue Jackets started at a humble place in training camp.

“The first thing we talked about when we started camp this year was that we had zero respect in this league,” Tortorella said. “It stinks when you go into a building and people don’t respect us… I wanted them to understand the process of how we get respect in this league.”

Of course, the blistering pace to the top of the league hasn’t been all due to Tortorella. The Blue Jackets are young, talented and this season, mostly healthy, which has made a big difference.

“It’s been great for us this year, knock on wood,” veteran defenceman Ryan Murray said of the club’s minuscule injury list. “It’s been good, we just want to keep it going. 

“All four lines can play, all six D can move the puck. It’s just been totally different from what we were doing last year.”

Tortorella’s demanding and often bombastic style have been criticized in the past, but his players don’t seem to be complaining.

“A lot of people viewed him in a different way than we’ve seen him,” Calvert said. “I think he’s calmed down. But he expects a lot of you as a player and he just wants you to play hard.”

Tortorella doesn’t seem to fear complacency.

“We have no right to even think of that word — we were 27th (overall) last year,” Tortorella said. “We’ve played, what, 33 games this year? I think that’s a big reason we’ve kept some consistency is because we know what we have to do. We know our preparation has to be there every day and we try to take one day at a time.

“One of the biggest parts of the coach’s job is to coach his team in how it’s playing, not the result at the end of a 60-minute game.”

And so, Tortorella will continue to push his team.

“(We’re) a really young team. A really young defence,” Tortorella said. “A team that’s trying to find what its identity is. I like the teaching part of it — so there’s a lot of teaching that goes on with it. Very little with the Xs and Os. It has to do with what we are, mentally and our mental toughness. With young kids and we’ve got some good veterans sprinkled in there, it’s been a lot of fun to see the progress. I’m anxious to see where we go…

“I want to see how we stack up when teams bring it to a different level against us.”

Rivals now measure themselves against the Blue Jackets, who boast 19-year-old Calder Trophy candidate Zach Werenski and 22-year-old Seth Jones, one of the NHL’s top defence pairings.  

“We don’t talk about the streak, but we know we’re not under the radar any more,” said Tortorella.

“It’s obvious right now. I think it fast-tracks what you have to do as a player. You have to take on more responsibility. If you think you’ve played well for 25 or 30 games, and think it’s OK, it isn’t. Because now that the league gets better, there’s more responsibility comes into each player and the team concept, because teams want to knock you off… Then you really start to creating the identity, what you really are. I still don’t know we are.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14