Columbus coach abrasive, gets results
Canucks’ Motte, Tanev know from experience that Tortorella’s temperature control is set to high
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A disgruntled and disgusted John Tortorella is good for those holding voice recorders and bad for those holding hockey sticks.
Like a wet towel snap, the Columbus Blue Jackets coach commands instant attention with stingy summations of suspect play. Even with his club sitting second in the Metropolitan Division — just three points back of the Washington Capitals entering Tuesday’s tussle with the Canucks — the former Vancouver bench boss has set the franchise bar higher, so it’s harder to lower the ticked-off tone.
To Tortorella’s credit, the Blue Jackets have responded after setbacks with a 9-2-1 record, but three losses in a four-game span and getting outplayed 4-0 by the Capitals on home ice Saturday, brought on a barrage.
“We did not compete — we sensed it right away,” Tortorella said. “It caught me offguard. There’s no excuses. It was embarrassing. I’m pissed at myself. You try to evolve as a coach, you try to leave them alone and allow them to play and this is what happens sometimes.
“You end up giving them a little too much rope — and they don’t do it maliciously — but then you start getting sloppy. You have no chance to be thinking about anything mid-April (playoffs), if we continue to go along this road here.”
All of this sounds familiar to Tyler Motte and Chris Tanev.
Motte played for the Blue Jackets last season before being dealt to the Canucks and managed five points (3-2) in 31 games. Tanev played for Tortorella during his one-year reign of error in Vancouver and both players believe he made them better.
“I respect him a lot,” Motte said Tuesday morning. “He’s very straightforward and very to the point and sometimes as a young player that’s nice to have. Whether it’s good or bad, he’s going to be honest with you and there are times when you have to take it with a grain of salt. You just have to take it and run with it.”
Tortorella can be hard on players on the ice, on the bench and in the video room. Some can handle it and some can’t.
Former Canucks winger Jannik Hansen got more than an earful in a Nov. 28, 2013, game in Ottawa. When Clarke MacArthur scored in the first period and Hansen wasn’t quick on the backcheck, Tortorella lost it.
He chirped the Dane when he returned to the bench and repeatedly pointed to places on the ice where Hansen should have been. And when he sat down, the cameras zoomed in to catch the coach in full lather and poking his player in the shoulder to drive home points.
“Every coach has his own style and obviously he’s known for his more than others,” Motte added. “When you know what to expect, you’re able to adjust to it. And it’s not just with one player, it’s with everyone. He’s intense and coaches with emotion and wants his teams to play with emotion. He’s not afraid to jump on guys however he sees fit.
“His messages often work.” Tanev credits Tortorella with taking his game to another level. He had a career-high six goals in the 2013-14 season and none of the Torts tough love got to him.
“I enjoyed it because he was very honest,” Tanev recalled. “I felt he pushed me and was always on me to get up the ice. He brought me to the next step when I started playing more and against better players. He can be hard but guys react to different things.”
The challenge for any coach in today’s youth-oriented game is to reach impressionable young players on several levels. The Blue Jackets have six players 23 years of age and younger and 10 who are 24 and younger. There is a veteran support group familiar with Tortorella’s tack, but there’s more to just keeping an instructional eye on the kids.
“There’s a development curve for down the road and how you treat every player is different — especially with young players,” Canucks coach Travis Green said.
“There’s a little bit of everything. We put a lot into video and one-on-one meetings and we (coaches) spread it out, so it’s not always the same voice.
“But this is the NHL and there are times when expectations aren’t met and you can be harder on a team that’s expected to do big things. Columbus is expected to have a deep run and an experienced team can handle a coach being hard on them — and expect it.
“We’ve gone through a stretch of games (1-10-2) where we had to be careful how hard we were with players because we’d play a hell of a game and didn’t win. When you’re a Stanley Cup contender and play a hell of a game, you win and you don’t worry about the psyche of your team.”