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John Tortorella has coached his final game for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The expected outcome of a frustrating season became a reality not long after the Blue Jackets wrapped things up Saturday night with a 5-4 overtime victory against the Detroit Red Wings at Nationwide Arena – a game that included chants of “Tort-or-ella!” echoing through the building.
As first reported by The Athletic and confirmed by The Columbus Dispatch, Tortorella has decided to let his contract run out and move on to the next chapter, whatever it might include. The veteran bench boss ends his Blue Jackets tenure with the most coaching victories in franchise history (227), the lone playoff series victory in team history and he was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach twice in Columbus – winning the award in 2017 for the second time in his career.
Tortorella, 62, declined to confirm his departure during postgame comments Saturday, but spoke fondly about helping the Jackets change their culture and the core group of players who got that done – including Nick Foligno, Cam Atkinson, David Savard, Seth Jones, Zach Werenski, Boone Jenner and others.
Foligno and Savard are no longer around after trades took them each to playoff contenders, but others who were around for Tortorella’s arrival still play significant roles.
“I love the guys on the team,” Tortorella said. “I don’t want to separate anything, but the guys that we have been working with for the (past) four or five years and have been trying to build this, I love those guys … because we grew up together. I know I’m old, but when I came here, this was a new challenge and we all accepted that to try to gain respect and get this organization on the right track.”
A text message sent to general manager Jarmo Kekalainen was not immediately returned, so it’s unclear whether the club was going to offer Tortorella a contract extension. A source told the Dispatch the coach made the decision himself, which he nearly said during his postgame interview.
“People talk about a shelf life,” Tortorella said. “I don’t think there’s a shelf life for a coach, but what I believe in is ‘Is it the right fit?’ I think the fit of the coach and the players and personnel … I think that’s the most important thing and that’s something Jarmo and I have discussed very honestly. I get it. Am I the right fit? These are the things Jarmo and I have talked about. I think this will come to a solution very quickly here. I’m sure Jarmo will speak on that and we’ll see where we go with it.”
The team has not yet issued a statement confirming Tortorella’s departure.
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Tortorella was hired by the Blue Jackets on Oct. 21, 2015. He took over from Todd Richards after a 0-7-0 start that season and nearly helped the Jackets qualify for the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs.
His second year, and first full season, was a record-setter. During a memorable 2016-17 campaign, the Blue Jackets rattled off a franchise record 16-game winning streak that fell one short of tying the longest in NHL history and set a franchise record with 108 points – qualifying them for the postseason for just the third time in franchise history.
Those two seasons set a new benchmark for a team that spent most of its existence falling far short of the playoffs. Prior to this season, the Jackets qualified for the playoffs the past four years and pulled off their only postseason series victory in 2019 with a stunning sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning – a team that set a slew of NHL records on its way to the Presidents’ Trophy with a whopping 128 points.
Other than guiding the Lightning to that franchise’s first Stanley Cup in 2004, that might’ve been Tortorella’s most impressive accomplishment during a long, successful coaching career that has included stints with the New York Rangers (1999-00, 2009-13) and Vancouver Canucks (2013-14).
Tortorella’s departure leaves a lot of unanswered questions for the Blue Jackets, who also have contracts ending with assistant coaches Brad Shaw and Brad Larsen.
Will one or both be candidates for the head coaching role? Will general manager Jarmo Kekalainen go outside the box to find a replacement, as he’s known to do with draft picks? Will another name known throughout the NHL take over?
Kekalainen’s decision and how the next coach’s staff is put together will be closely monitored. The biggest criticisms of Tortorella in Columbus were tied to his harsh criticism of players, at times, his insistence on playing a rigid defensive style and the ongoing ineptitude of the Jackets’ power play – which was primarily directed by Larsen.
The flip side of the Tortorella tenure was a lot more fun.
“Torts” usually answered reporters’ questions candidly, rarely gave stock answers and didn’t mince words. His annoyance with cellphones going off during press conferences was often comical, particularly when he doled out “fines” for those transgressions, and he once answered a ringing phone during a press conference to speak with a reporter’s mother.
Tortorella’s resistance to revealing goaltending or lineup information before game days was stout, his infamous temper earned him fines from the league office and legendary status among many Blue Jackets fans — and who could forget that night in Philadelphia when he coached through an illness while wearing a hoodie sweatshirt?
Tortorella’s fiery interactions with players led to some clashes, including memorable spats on the bench with former centers Pierre-Luc Dubois (Winnipeg Jets) and Alexander Wennberg (Florida Panthers). Other players were able to sift Tortorella’s message away from his choice of words or tone a little easier.
Most who’ve played for him, even some of those he clashed with, carry a lot of respect for what he’s done in his career and what he did for their careers.
“He’s helped me tremendously,” said Jones, who became one of Tortorella’s projects after the Blue Jackets acquired him in a 2016 blockbuster trade with Nashville. “He’s always on top of me, treats me the same as anyone who’s been in that dressing room and that’s what I appreciate about him the most. He’s going to be open and honest, and that’s something that has really helped our organization and the culture change of this team.”
In short, the Blue Jackets became winners under Tortorella.
“He’s got a competitive edge and he just wants to win … just like all of us players,” Jones said. “He may not do it in the fashion that you appreciate in the moment. Sometimes it may be overboard, but at the end of the day he’s just doing it how he knows how to do it and how he best sees fit for the team. That’s all that matters.”
Tortorella’s 227-166-54 record with the Blue Jackets is the best of any coach in franchise history and the win against Detroit on Saturday was the 673rd of his career – moving him past Mike Keenan into sole possession of 12th place in NHL history.
Simply put, Tortorella is the most successful coach in the 20-year history of the Blue Jackets and is one of the most accomplished coaches in NHL history. He won’t be out of work long, should he decide to seek another opportunity, but his legacy in Columbus will last a very long time.
“We knew the direction we were going, which wasn’t a good one,” Atkinson said of Tortorella’s arrival in 2015. “We knew what to expect, but I also knew from talking to a guy like (Hockey Hall of Famer) Marty St. Louis what to expect out of Torts. He just said, ‘Work your (butt) off and you’ll be rewarded.’ I’ve taken that to the bank and used those words and tried to make the most of it. He’s definitely been one of, if not the most important, person in this organization.”
Reach Brian Hedger at: bhedger@dispatch.com; or on Twitter: @BrianHedger
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella will not return for 2021-22 season