Columbus Blue Jackets: It’s time to move on from John Tortorella
At this point in time, the Colombus Blue Jackets are on the outside looking in. Having only won just eight games so far this season, things aren’t looking good for their hopes of bouncing back in the Central Division. Considering that the Montreal Canadiens became the first team to fire their head coach during the regular season, could the Blue Jackets follow suit with John Tortorella?
In the grand scheme of things, something has to change on the Blue Jackets. The definition of insanity is to continue doing the exact same thing over and over again expecting different results. The truth of the matter is, the Blue Jackets have lost five straight games and in a shortened regular season of just 56 games, time is of the essence to get back on track.
It’s time for the Blue Jackets to move on from Tortorella. His style of leadership doesn’t truly foster an environment of positivity or growth but rather, has been historically known to drive players away. Winning fixes everything but one has to wonder how much longer the Blue Jackets can go on like this without something changing towards a brighter, better future.
The Columbus Blue Jackets need a change at head coach
Considering that Tortorella’s contract with the Blue Jackets officially ends this summer, it might be time for the higher-ups to make the change now to shake things up. Of course, it’s easier said than done but a coaching change, whether promoting someone internally to try and fix the ship or bringing in someone completely new, can only help the cause.
With a game coming up against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, it’s imperative the Blue Jackets start putting things together already. The Blue Jackets lack confidence and that comes down to the tone, atmosphere, and direction set by the head coach. Confidence breeds success and the Blue Jackets are simply not doing enough to finish out games on a high note by lacking it.
Tortorella is more about tough love than understanding and trying to get the most out of his players. Instead of benching players for their lack of effort, those are all things that can easily be fixed in practice by holding players accountable. Sitting a player, such as Patrik Laine who is scoring goals, for example, doesn’t make sense if you’re trying to win games.
Yes, I know. Laine has been known to not always go the extra effort in hockey games but again, these are all things that can and should be handled internally instead of resorting to just benching a player. That comes down to good coaching, basically knowing how to tailor your leadership to get through specific players, and pushing them without benching a player that clearly puts your team in a position to win.
This is just one of many examples as to why it makes sense for the Blue Jackets to simply end things now with Tortorella and begin a much-needed reset this upcoming offseason. There is a lot of work ahead of the Blue Jackets to go back to their winning ways but it’s time to usher in that new era without Tortorella running the ship.