Things get ugly as two veterans leave Columbus
The exits of winger Matt Calvert and defenseman Jack Johnson from Columbus as unrestricted free agents Sunday were expected.
But considering how highly regarded both were during significant tenures with the Blue Jackets, no one could have foreseen their ugly divorces from the franchise.
Before the Jackets’ Game 6 playoff loss to the Capitals, coach John Tortorella described Calvert’s play this season as “up and down, like a toilet seat” — a remark that angered Calvert. Tortorella later apologized publicly, but it was clear from that point that Calvert, who signed a three-year contract with Colorado at an average annual value of $2.8 million per season, was ready to move on.
Then Sunday, after Johnson inked a five-year, $16.25 million contract with Pittsburgh, he and Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford took verbal shots at the Jackets.
Johnson told reporters in Pittsburgh, “I’ve really been wanting to be a part of a winning culture, in a place where the expectations to win are as high as can be, and there’s a chance to win.”
Rutherford said he knew “the reason why” Johnson was a healthy scratch for all six games of the Jackets’ firstround playoff series loss to the Capitals. He didn’t disclose it, but said it wasn’t related to Johnson’s play.
“I don’t think he had a bad year,” Rutherford said, noting that Penguins coach Mike Sullivan “watched the three games leading up to when he was put in the press box and we felt he actually played pretty well.”
Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen fired back.
“I have no idea what he’s talking about,” Kekalainen said. “If he thinks it was something else, he knows something that me and Tortorella don’t . ... Totally coach’s decision, and nothing else . ... What do you think? We didn’t want to win in the playoffs? We put the best defensive lineup possible out every night, and in the playoffs in particular . ... And he was already a UFA, so what do we care? We were trying to put the best possible lineup on the ice. I have no idea what anybody else would be speculating about.”
Tortorella refused to respond to a request for comment from The Dispatch.
However, he told The Athletic — in very colorful language, using a particular four-letter expletive to extol both his fondness for Johnson as well as exasperation toward Rutherford — that he was not happy with the comments.
“And for him to backhand slap us like this is utter (garbage),” Tortorella said of Johnson. “He should know better . ... And to have a general manager question our decision-making from three hours away, he must be a ... magician.”
Tortorella told The Athletic that Johnson “doesn’t have enough (guts) to call me back, because I’ve tried to get in touch with him.”
The Jackets reportedly offered Johnson a seven-year contract worth about $25 million last summer, which he rejected.
“Not coming to an extension in Columbus led me to this opportunity,” Johnson told reporters in Pittsburgh on Sunday. “I couldn’t be happier. I wouldn’t trade a thing that happened to be standing here right now.”
While the Jackets apparently made no attempt to re-sign Johnson, they “made it clear” to Calvert that “we like him,” during discussions with his agent in the past few days, Kekalainen said.
“Matt Calvert is a player I personally liked a lot because of his heart, character and courage. But he decided to move on, and I respect that,” Kekalainen said. “I don’t get upset about it. I wish he would have wanted to stay here and wish he would still be a Blue Jacket. But I wish him nothing but the best of luck, and I thanked him for everything. I’m grateful he was part of the organization for a long time.”