Blue Jackets have closed door meeting with Tortorella to ask him to be nicer to them

[Birko19]

Torts is a good coach I think, but he needs a team with some leadership and experienced veterans for him to mesh well, the Jackets don't have that.

 

[DonskoiDonscored]

Did this really happen? If so, which player exposed this to the media, and why?

 

[Uberdachen]

Regardless of how his behavior makes them feel, which I don't think I saw as an actual thing, it seems like they have picked up on where it has led him with all his other teams and they don't want it to go there. Whether they cry into their Hello Kitty hockey bags or tune him out or crochet his words into a fear quilt or whatever we're typing from our jobs as lumberjacks on exploding oil rigs made out of sharks, what I get out of it is that they want him to continue to be an effective coach with them and that kind of support of a coach isn't something I've seen often. If it made their teddy bears so sad, all they'd have to do is let history do its thing and they'd all outlast him.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

Torts is a good coach I think, but he needs a team with some leadership and experienced veterans for him to mesh well, the Jackets don't have that.

Wasn't that supposed to be Hartnell?

 

[Birko19]

Wasn't that supposed to be Hartnell?

He has experience no doubt, but not quite the leader. If you look back to when Torts won the cup with TB, he had Dave Andreychuk, you need someone with that kind of experience.

 

[Sarcastic]

I just want to congratulate most of the participants in this thread. You've done an outstanding job of making this the worst thread of the year, and it won't even be close.

Get a grip and get a brain folks. Some messaging works better with certain groups, if the players think Torts can do a better job then it makes no sense to shame the team for bringing it up.

 

[4thline]

Regardless of how his behavior makes them feel, which I don't think I saw as an actual thing, it seems like they have picked up on where it has led him with all his other teams and they don't want it to go there. Whether they cry into their Hello Kitty hockey bags or tune him out or crochet his words into a fear quilt or whatever we're typing from our jobs as lumberjacks on exploding oil rigs made out of sharks, what I get out of it is that they want him to continue to be an effective coach with them and that kind of support of a coach isn't something I've seen often. If it made their teddy bears so sad, all they'd have to do is let history do its thing and they'd all outlast him.

Careful, your combination of sarcasm and spot on analysis might hurt the exploding lumberjacks feelings.

I bet the sharks have frikken laser beams on their heads. Clearly dealing with some tough customers

 

[Battle Lin]

you know people in sports are more emotional, intense, angry etc. than most...and if your a coach, that even enhances it more

and torts, well hes probably the most hot headed out of them all

hes a angry person in general, its who he is...you cant stop a person from being who he is

 

[Jerzey Devil]

Maybe Millennials discovered that people with mental health issues in positions of power should not be allowed to run around and say what they want without consequence and treat people like garbage in 2017?

Do you think Vince Lombardi would have survived this day and age? Do you think Mike Keenan grabbing a teenager(Roenick) by the collar and telling him not to do whatever he just did again is helpful?

Verbal and physical abuse is no longer allowed in the workplace you know? It doesn't mean people are soft, it means people have more self respect and stand up for themselves.

So two of the greatest coaches of all time wouldn't be able to coach these days because people are too soft. That's my damn point.

 

[Shockmaster]

Torts is a good coach I think, but he needs a team with some leadership and experienced veterans for him to mesh well, the Jackets don't have that.

A good coach adjusts to his roster. Tortorella doesn't do that.

 

[Bubba Thudd]

Sounds like Torts needs a Snickers bar

I laughed. Thanks.

 

[Birko19]

A good coach adjusts to his roster. Tortorella doesn't do that.

True, but make no mistake, he's a good coach when it comes to the actual game, but you need some leadership on the team to handle him. The Jackets are rather a young team and they don't exactly have a definite leader.

 

[piteus]

It's one thing to have a problem with one player, but to have the team tell a coach to "chill out," you're dangerously close to losing the team. They are professionals so they'll continue to play ... but this isn't college. A coach can't always bully a professional in what they want. Respect goes both ways.

 

[Mike Jones]

Maybe the players need a safe space.

Sounds like the poor little snowflakes need a hug.

 

[Birko19]

It's one thing to have a problem with one player, but to have theteam tell a coach to "chill out," you're dangerously close to losing the team. They are professionals so they'll continue to play ... but this isn't college. A coach can't always bully a professional in what they want. Respect goes both ways.

For the record, Torts is not the only coach to be disliked by his team, I should remind everyone that Babcock was not liked in Detroit either, specially in the later years when the team got younger, the difference was you had leaders like Lidstrom, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, and Kronwall that knew how to keep the team together in check, also the team culture did not mind him being a hard ass as long as there are results.

 

[Nordique]

What were we supposed to notice about this? I didn't hear anything maniacal. Thought he as pretty composed and calm.

That's my point. I don't buy this SBNation article.

Was there a meeting between players and coach? Possibly.

What was said in that meeting? Only the guys in the room know that.

I can tell you guys, I've watched every pre and post game interview this season, and I've not once seen Torts lose it with the media.

I think a lot of media and fans WANT to see him lose it. They want the same old narrative, but it just isn't happening here in Columbus in the eyes and ears of this fan.

 

[quoipourquoi]

Not sure why people think this means the players are soft. The 1994 New York Rangers did the same thing when they felt their coach's attitude was not generating positive results. It's not an issue of being millennials; they want everyone including the coach moving in the same direction.

 

[elmaco]

you know people in sports are more emotional, intense, angry etc. than most...and if your a coach, that even enhances it more

and torts, well hes probably the most hot headed out of them all

hes a angry person in general, its who he is...you cant stop a person from being who he is

Yes.. humans have no self-control and can't change the way they act.. yes you are right.. we are robots..... 000000000111111111010101101010101

 

[Menzinger]

Easy way to lose a dressing room for no real reason

 

[Battle Lin]

Yes.. humans have no self-control and can't change the way they act.. yes you are right.. we are robots..... 000000000111111111010101101010101

well not all, but ya of course a lot are...and torts is one of them

 

[piteus]

For the record, Torts is not the only coach to be disliked by his team, I should remind everyone that Babcock was not liked in Detroit either, specially in the later years when the team got younger, the difference was you had leaders like Lidstrom, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, and Kronwall that knew how to keep the team together in check, also the team culture did not mind him being a hard ass as long as there are results.

There's no problem if a coach is disliked ... that's somewhat expected. What's not expected is when the team doesn't feel respected. If it's true that the team told Torts to "chill out," then it can turn into a huge problem. When things go well, players will tolerate it. However, when it goes bad (as it inevitably does), will everything fall apart? Leading by fear is rarely sustainable. Leading with mutual respect is what's optimal. You don't have to be liked to be respected.

 

[Frosty415]

Millennials are so soft.

110% agreed.

People get offended reading tweets these days ffs

 

[elmaco]

well not all, but ya of course a lot are...and torts is one of them

Those individuals are usually called "inmates".

 

[Birko19]

There's no problem if a coach is disliked ... that's somewhat expected. What's not expected is when the team doesn't feel respected. If it's true that the team told Torts to "chill out," then it can turn into a huge problem. When things go well, players will tolerate it. However, when it goes bad (as it inevitably does), will everything fall apart? Leading by fear is rarely sustainable. Leading with mutual respect is what's optimal. You don't have to be liked to be respected.

I'm not sure what Torts said to his team, but I'm sure the situation wouldn't be as bad if he had a leader to handle the situation. Imagine a player like Lidstrom in that lineup? I'm sure he would step up and talk it out with Torts, at the same time he would keep the team cool and collected. These scenarios happened all the time in Detroit, but the leaders always stepped in and resolved it. Granted that Torts is more hot headed, but it's the same logic, unfortunately the Jackets don't have such leaders.

 

[Darkhawk07]

For the record, Torts is not the only coach to be disliked by his team, I should remind everyone that Babcock was not liked in Detroit either, specially in the later years when the team got younger, the difference was you had leaders like Lidstrom, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, and Kronwall that knew how to keep the team together in check, also the team culture did not mind him being a hard ass as long as there are results.

I think that's true of a lot of great coaches. Bowman wasn't that well liked by his players either but they got results. The role of a coach is not to baby players and be a buddy to them, it's to get the most he can out of them and turn them into a more effective team by any means necessary.

Found a quote from Steve Shutt about Bowman that I like.
"Bowman is the kind of coach a player hates for 364 days a year before putting on his championship ring on Day 365"