I've admittedly bagged on Torts quite a bit this season. The team's lackluster play and carefree attitude made it evident that he wasn't being heard.
Since the depth was added at the deadline however, they have looked an awful lot like the team that finished fourth overall in the NHL last year. Which begs the question: Maybe they were too young. Or maybe they didn't have enough depth. The injuries didn't help, but imagine if we had Vanek, Letestu and Cole stepping into bigger roles, instead of relying on Nathan Gerbe, Jordan Schroeder, or Scott Harrington. I think we may have at least faired a little better.
I'm not afraid to admit that I'm wrong, and maybe I was. With this recent run and the big picture outlook, maybe the outlook on Torts is that he will have led this team to back to back playoff appearances. That should at least earn him one more year. Hopefully Jarmo and/or JD learned the error of their ways and will give him a deeper lineup next season, with some quality in the bottom six. At least then if it fails, you can now be certain that the coach was the issue.