John Tortorella and the Columbus Blue Jackets take on Mike Sullivan and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the NHL playoffs this week. One of the more interesting plot lines for this series is the relationship between the two head coaches. I’m here to breakdown the ever evolving subplot between the two coaches.
I am a huge John Tortorella fan. I’ve been a staunch supporter of his ever since I religiously watched the HBO 24/7 series between the Rangers and Flyers. When the Columbus Blue Jackets season inevitably would end in early April, I would hop on that Rangers bandwagon through the playoffs. Knowing all this, I take a good bit of pride in covering all things Torts. One of the most interesting story lines of this year has been the relationship between him and the head coach of the rival Pittsburgh Penguins, Mike Sullivan
Columbus Blue Jackets
Past History
After Tortorella’s time in New York ended, he landed in Vancouver in 2013. At that same time it seemed as the Jackets fortune seemed to be turning around. John Tortorella had the worst year in his coaching career and the Jackets made the playoffs only to lose to the Pittsburgh Penguins the first round.
You know who was with Torts that whole time? Current Penguins coach Mike Sullivan. Sullivan has been Tortorella’s right hand man since Sully joined the Tampa Bay staff in 2007. Who did Torts bounce ideas off of behind the bench and in the film room? Sully. Who does John Tortorella have to vanquish in the first round to give the city of Columbus their first taste of playoff success? Mike Sullivan.
The Glare
This season the two have gone toe-to-toe four times. The most notable moment of the regular season occurred on December 22nd.
The Columbus Blue Jackets were in the midst of a 10 game win streak as the Pittsburgh Penguins came to town for the first meeting between the two teams. The Jackets came out firing in front of a sold out crowd at Nationwide Arena. By the third period, the score was 6-1 good guys, as the Jackets league leading power play was set to take the ice. Torts put out the top unit and scored easily. What followed was pure gold. Credit Big Ice podcaster Joe Pack for the following tweet and gif.
Jk, it's awesome. Cold shoulder from Tortorella. pic.twitter.com/2rAgtjeD5Z
— jos (@JoePack) December 23, 2016
Look at that glare from Sully. That’s the type of look you give your buddy at the bar for making a very inappropriate joke at your expense. That is the type of look you make when your are visibly rattled in front of 20,000 drunk central Ohioans.
The key context to this moment is Sully did the same exact thing to Torts the year before. The Pens were up five goals to the dreadfully bad Jackets team last year and Sullivan trotted out his top PP unit to put in one more goal on the Jackets.
Torts had a chance to get revenge and help his boys on the ice get some swagger to their game. A big time message like that can go a long way for a young team like the Jackets.
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Continued Relationship
These two men are well-known friends off the ice. Both are American in a sport dominated by Canadians and Russians, and both have won Stanley Cups (Sullivan by and large has Matt Murray to thank for his but I digress). Tortorella often references “conversations with other coaches” during press conferences throughout the year. It is no mystery that he means Sullivan. They most likely still bounce ideas off one another and maintain a healthy relationship.
On the ice they are both intense fiery competitors. Which makes sense. You don’t work that long with someone and not take after each other. Sully actually had to shed the reputation that he was Torts 2.0 after they both got fired from Vancouver. He’s found a solid position in Pittsburgh over the last year and a half and the city and team seemed to take quite the liking to him. Very similar to John Tortorella finding a grove here in Columbus.
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This Series and Beyond
If the Penguins win this series Sullivan will further work his way out of Tortorella’s shadow, and cement himself as one of the best coaches in the league. If the Columbus Blue Jackets prevail, John Tortorella will remind the hockey world why he is the all-time leader in wins for American coaches, and that the modern NHL has in fact, not passed him by.
One thing is for sure, this series is going to be a grueling knock out fight. The men behind the benches can only do so much. It is about the guys on the ice. Both coaches understand that and will downplay any significance to their own relationship.
In the tight-knit fraternity that is the NHL relationships and connections do become significant from time to time. As the Jackets-Penguins rivalry grows so to will the saga between these two men.