Paul Berthelot: Blue Jackets extend Head Coach John Tortorella Blue Jackets extend Head Coach John Tortorella

Fist

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

The very definition of coming back from the brink - Good for you Torts -

what's his salary?

Paul, I completely disagree with the sentiment you have repeated here that the CBJ somehow have a "2 year window". They have a total of 5 players that matter that will reach UFA status at the end of the next 2 years. What they have is a very young roster and a ton of flexibility. There are decisions to be made for sure, and some mistakes that need to be avoided. I am sure they will move on from a few folks, but that is all part of management. Of those 5 does anyone doubt that Bob, Atkinson and Panarin will be extended? Everyone whined when they had bad contracts to unload-now they probably have as much flexibility as any team in the league. It will be interesting to see what they do with Johnson and Calvert-those are the other two that the CBJ need to extend to control.

With the amount of youth already on the roster and the prospects in the system that will push some veterans, their window, if it exists, is quite long. If you want to argue that last year was a fluke and this team can't contend that can be argued-but the idea that they have 2 years before they have serious issues and have to break things up like Washington is simply wrong. I think they are contenders-but absolutely believe they need to prove that in April, May and June.

My first thought when I heard 1 year extension is that management is well aware of how quickly Tort's teams can turn on him and they don't want to be locked into a big financial commitment if that happens. He is clearly a great, great coach, but he demands a ton from his players (which he has too, all coaches should), but for whatever reason, his teams turn harder and faster than others. Good on Torts for taking the 1 year extension though. I would have figured he'd have asked for 3-5 years at least.

I am not a Tortorella fan, but he has done well in Columbus. He may even be tamer then he use to be, but it drives me crazy when a coach acts like a child which he does constantly. When his team was eliminated from the playoffs, he didn't even have the decency to stick around and shake the hands of the other teams' players.

I am not a Tortorella fan, but he has done well in Columbus. He may even be tamer then he use to be, but it drives me crazy when a coach acts like a child which he does constantly. When his team was eliminated from the playoffs, he didn't even have the decency to stick around and shake the hands of the other teams' players.
- jrmjames67

I have to give Torts some props for being both very entertaining and flexible in how he coaches. He has approach the game differently in Tampa Bay, New York and Columbus. Not sure what he was doing in Vancouver... but let's ignore that.

In the end, he is an abrasive jerk but a pretty darn good coach.

Paul Berthelot: Blue Jackets extend Head Coach John Tortorella
Blue Jackets extend Head Coach John Tortorella
- Paul Berthelot

Hated him since day one , still do , i'm just curious if last year was all smoke and mirrors , now we see if this was all a fluke or the guy actually learned something .

I'll give him this , he had a very progressive approach on practice time thus abolishing the morning skate . Hopefully people stop calling him a dinosaur .

Torts has easily become my favorite coach in the league. He speaks openly and admits his mistakes. I'll take a blunt guy any day of the week. Glad he got an extension.

I kind of view this as a bit of a slap in the face to be honest, he should have gotten a multi year deal