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Did the weekend wins save John Tortorella’s job?

October 24, 2016, 12:17 PM ET [15 Comments]
Paul Berthelot
Columbus Blue Jackets Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
No.

Why? Because his job was never in jeopardy. Prior to the weekend, John Tortorella was given the highest odds of being the first coach fired this season.




This was posted last week when the Jackets were 0-2-0 and things were not looking good with a back to back against Chicago and Dallas looming.

There has been plenty of talk about Torts getting fired, which I haven’t understood at all. This is a coach that Jarmo Kekalainen and the front office picked. They wanted a coach with experience and a winning pedigree, both of which Torts has. He is not losing experience and still has that 2004 Stanley Cup ring. The only thing that has changed that would impact Tortorella would be the World Cup. Team USA had its struggles at the tournament and Tortorella played a part in that, but that is not enough to get him fired from his NHL job.

Many felt that Tortorella couldn’t survive a slow start. With the two wins over the weekend, the Jackets avoided going 0-8-0 again and slowed the slow start narrative. Even if the Jackets lost both those games and were 0-4-0, it would be hard to place the blame solely on the coach. The Jackets have a very tough schedule to open the season, playing some very strong teams, with some back to backs mixed in as well.

Not an ideal schedule for any team, let alone one still in the build phase. It needs to be kept in mind that expectations for this season are low. The Jackets have plenty of talent and could make the playoffs but expecting this team to be a slam-dunk playoff team is a little far-fetched. Tortorella is not getting fired for a slow start when a fast start wasn’t even the expectation.

Finally the biggest reason Tortorella is not getting fired this season, is the team paid an extremely large price to bring him into the fold. This isn’t brought up as much as it should be; the Blue Jacket gave up a second round pick to sign John Tortorella. A SECOND ROUND PICK! For a draft and develop team that is huge price to pay. When you invest that much into something, you clearly believe in it and should not get rid of it quickly. The Blue Jackets front office knows Torts and knows what he brings to the table. They clearly believe in him and it would look really bad on their part if they fired him without even giving him a full season. Tortorella hasn’t changed; he’s been around long enough that you know what you are going to get with him.

The onus is on the players at this point. The two wins over the weekend were huge but they need to keep it going. They finish the month with a three game four night, California road trip. They are catching the California teams at the right time, with LA missing their starting goalie Jonathan Quick and the Ducks missing their best defencemen in Hampus Lindholm. The players need to play well in these games because it will be them who will be taking the heat for the losses, not the Head Coach.

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