John Tortorella is not happy with Pierre Luc-Dubois

[Stony Curtis]

He could give Feaster a call and get advice from him on what he did with Tortorella and Lecavalier and how he got those two to work together and get past their differences

Great point.

"I said, 'I don't know what ship the Lightning will be. It could be a luxury liner on a great cruise or it could be the Titanic and we'll be at the bottom of the ice,' " Feaster said. " 'But wherever we go, John, Vinny and Jay will be on deck chairs looking at each other.' "

This isn't the first time this has happened. Find a successful blueprint and use it.

 

[Theodore450]

Maybe go watch his play all 3.55mins. That comment showed that you didnt watch the game. The last shift was the last straw. It was not about his play in the corner only, but he floated all shift and when he went for a linechange he was slower than a 2yr old...

Maybe your right, I did start the game 4 min late

 

[Vikke]

Curious, who and when was the last player benched for 2+ periods in a regular season game? I can't remember the last time and there's been a lot of lackluster efforts from plenty of players over the last few years.

 

[kingpest19]

Great point.

"I said, 'I don't know what ship the Lightning will be. It could be a luxury liner on a great cruise or it could be the Titanic and we'll be at the bottom of the ice,' " Feaster said. " 'But wherever we go, John, Vinny and Jay will be on deck chairs looking at each other.' "

This isn't the first time this has happened. Find a successful blueprint and use it.

I think there's some similarities between Lecavalier and Dubois and maybe Tortorella feels the same and is trying to get the best out of him. The difference seems to be that Dubois doesn't see it the same way and is reacting differently than Lecavalier did

 

[hanshin44]

You pretty much killed your entire post by trying to claim Tortz had anything to do with Panarin leaving. He left because he didn't want to live in Columbus or anywhere else in North America except New York City and he only really wanted to play for the Rangers.

One point does not discount the other points. Regardless, I specifically stated it was my OPINION that Torts played some factor (however small it might be) in Panarin leaving. Panarin and Torts didn't mesh during Panarin's small tenure. Not to mention Torts told the media that Panarin "shit his pants" lmao.

 

[LokiDog]

Remember the “controller disconnected” memes of Crosby, Ovie and a couple other players? Or when recent playoff MVP Ryan O’Reilly was so miserable in Buffalo he sounded like he was considering retiring? There’s countless examples of players taking a shift, or game, off over the years, as well as players who are notorious floaters and criticized for only trying in one zone, etc.

I’ve made about 6 posts calling it a gutless and indefensible behavior from PLD, but it’s also one shift. It’s not like we have a 5 minute long montage of footage where he went out and did this for his first 6-7 shifts in a row. We have one isolated shift. I’d love to hear PLD explain himself or be a fly on the wall in the CBJ locker room to see how bad things actually are, but either way, I’m having a hard time making the same level of extrapolation from one shift that some of you seem pretty gleeful to make.

 

[Erik Alfredsson]

Remember the “controller disconnected” memes of Crosby, Ovie and a couple other players? Or when recent playoff MVP Ryan O’Reilly was so miserable in Buffalo he sounded like he was considering retiring? There’s countless examples of players taking a shift, or game, off over the years, as well as players who are notorious floaters and criticized for only trying in one zone, etc.

I’ve made about 6 posts calling it a gutless and indefensible behavior from PLD, but it’s also one shift. It’s not like we have a 5 minute long montage of footage where he went out and did this for his first 6-7 shifts in a row. We have one isolated shift. I’d love to hear PLD explain himself or be a fly on the wall in the CBJ locker room to see how bad things actually are, but either way, I’m having a hard time making the same level of extrapolation from one shift that some of you seem pretty gleeful to make.

It wasn't one shift, he was playing lazy and disinterested all game, and he's been doing it since the beginning of the season.

 

[Red Piller]

Know how long PLD has been with Torts? That's right: 3 years This is year number four. Maybe not suprisingly he finds his style stale?

who cares if he finds it stale? So that an excuse to give up on the team? He’s being paid isn’t he? PLD is an asshole.

 

[hanshin44]

who cares if he finds it stale? So that an excuse to give up on the team? He’s being paid isn’t he? PLD is an asshole.

And Torts isn't?
I highly doubt PLD is the only player on that entire team who doesn't like him as a coach. You have never met PLD, and know nothing about his side of the story, yet he's an asshole for having a bad low effort shift.

 

[Sugi21]

seems in recent history star players are getting more and more sensitive and more and more entitled! Not saying Torts is not at fault but Torts is a hard coach and demands a lot out of his players and when players screw the dog this happens! No wonder why he always has issues with the star players because the star players have a certain degree holier than thou attitude! If a coach yelling at you is too hard because you aren’t pulling your weight then the problem is probably on you not the coach!

 

[LokiDog]

It wasn't one shift, he was playing lazy and disinterested all game, and he's been doing it since the beginning of the season.

Obviously not remotely close to the level being specifically honed in and torn to shreds in this thread (by a majority of people who only watched the one clip). If his play had been this way all season we’d have been having videos and comments about it from day one. Like I said, it’s indefensible, but it’s not the first or last time someone takes a shift completely off and pisses everyone off. It doesn’t immediately indicate the player is a POS head case. Without knowing both sides of the story or the behind the scenes things that we likely never will know, I can’t cast the full weight of judgement. Maybe Torts has made it so the kid literally dreads coming to work everyday and has really targeted him since this became public? It doesn’t excuse letting your teammates down and making yourself look bad, but it does add a lot more context to a situation that we, unfortunately, likely won’t ever get.

 

[sabremike]

Remember the “controller disconnected” memes of Crosby, Ovie and a couple other players? Or when recent playoff MVP Ryan O’Reilly was so miserable in Buffalo he sounded like he was considering retiring? There’s countless examples of players taking a shift, or game, off over the years, as well as players who are notorious floaters and criticized for only trying in one zone, etc.

I’ve made about 6 posts calling it a gutless and indefensible behavior from PLD, but it’s also one shift. It’s not like we have a 5 minute long montage of footage where he went out and did this for his first 6-7 shifts in a row. We have one isolated shift. I’d love to hear PLD explain himself or be a fly on the wall in the CBJ locker room to see how bad things actually are, but either way, I’m having a hard time making the same level of extrapolation from one shift that some of you seem pretty gleeful to make.

I am going to try my very hardest to address the comments about ROR without the vitriol that I would really like to express as if I did it would be infraction city:

ROR was always the first guy on the ice and the last guy off it. NOBODY on the Sabres worked harder or gave more of an effort than ROR. His comments were an expression of how much he hated losing (and God forbid that the Sabres could have someone on the roster who was bothered by losing) and the abysmal media used it to run him out of town.

 

[jonlin]

And Torts isn't?
I highly doubt PLD is the only player on that entire team who doesn't like him as a coach. You have never met PLD, and know nothing about his side of the story, yet he's an asshole for having a bad low effort shift.

He is an asshole because that shift. He had played 3+mins before that shift and coasted all shift. No effort whatsoever. He dragged himself like a 2yr old to the linechange. If thats not f***ing with your teammates, what is? He is a disgrace to professional hockeyplayers.

 

[RogerRoger]

I'm no GM, but here's what I'd do if I was Jarmo: A meeting with Torts and JLD and Jarmo needs to happen. Explain that the way things are playing out is hurting EVERYONE involved. JLD can't be traded at this point without the CBJ getting really low value. They are open to trading him, but only after his value is rehabbed. Torts has to realize that, whether he likes it or not, he has a role in the way this is playing out. He has to ease up on PLD, even if only a little for a fair trade to happen. Once that happens, maybe a trade can be worked out. The problem here is that both guys (yes, Torts too) have made it about themselves, and neither will give in. I can't see Torts giving in here, because he doesn't want to be seen as being weak. He's gonna have to give in a little, though.

Just take a page from Steve Yzeman's book in the Drouin saga. That's how adults handle that stuff.

PLD asked for a trade during the Summer, he had value all that time. Jarmo didn't trade him. At this point PLD doesn't give a shit about Jarmo and Tort just like they don't give a shit about him, they only care about the package that comes back. But PLD doesn't give a shit about that either so that's not going to motivate him to play harder and there is almost no level of play PLD could reach that would bring his value higher than it was during the offseason.

 

[SAK11]

The man asked for a trade Request. Not even a recent request. He made it over the summer. This means he clearly doesn't wanna be there.

Should've traded the man already. Thats on CBJ. They should've known it was going to create drama if they held on to him for this long.

If anyone in the NBA asks for a trade, they're gone practically the next day.

Fans get impatient but the GM knows how important it is to get proper value for a player like Dubois. Jarmo's not going to rush it for the sake of avoiding some early season awkwardness. Sakic was getting killed for hanging on to Duchene for too long and now is praised for what the return ended up being.

I don't think Dubois' value is tanking as some are suggesting, either. Jeff Carter pouted his entire time in Columbus and still, teams were eager to trade for him. Duchene slept walked through the end of the 2016/17 season after not being dealt at the deadline and was still highly desired by other teams.

I also don't agree with the NBA comment. Harden, for example, clearly wanted out of Houston in the offseason and yet they hung on to him and had him awkwardly play the first month while giving low effort. Indiana waited for the right trade for Oladipo, too. A little while back it was Davis who wanted out, looked like he was going to be dealt at the trade deadline but then New Orleans held on to him until the offseason.

 

[Stony Curtis]

PLD asked for a trade during the Summer, he had value all that time. Jarmo didn't trade him. At this point PLD doesn't give a shit about Jarmo and Tort just like they don't give a shit about him, they only care about the package that comes back. But PLD doesn't give a shit about that either so that's not going to motivate him to play harder and there is almost no level of play PLD could reach that would bring his value higher than it was during the offseason.

You're right about the off-season, but it didn't happen, so here we are now. I like to think that there's always a solution, you just have to try harder to find it. Smart people exhaust every opportunity. Neither Torts nor PLD are being very smart about this, so it's up to the Jarmo. It's what he gets paid to do.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Torts continues to be a jagoff. In other news the Sun rose again today.

 

[12ozPapa]

Almost have to wonder if they scratch him at this point.

 

[ProjectPanthers]

Benched the entire game? Sir I don’t think you’ve played hockey before

LOL if you've ever played anything close to competitive hockey, that pathetic effort from PLD wouldn't fly with any coach, doesn't have to be a hard ass like Torts.

I've personally witnessed guys get benched for entire games after 2 shifts. This isn't a one off where a guy is having a bad game. There has clearly been a series of events leading up to this and it may have reached its peak last night. Comparing this to a bad shift from Crosby/Ovy/whoever is silly because this is NOT the same thing.

How anyone thinks PLD being benched is unjustified is beyond me. I would never wanna play for your team of unaccountable whiners.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I'm honestly a little surprised that Tortorella has lasted this long with Columbus in the first place. Coaches like him tend to wear out their welcome very quickly and it's not like he has had a ton of success with the Jackets anyway.

He's now entering his 6th full season with the Jackets, which is the same amount of seasons that he was with Tampa Bay for. But with Tampa Bay, he actually won a cup so him having that level of job security made sense.

 

[Red Piller]

And Torts isn't?
I highly doubt PLD is the only player on that entire team who doesn't like him as a coach. You have never met PLD, and know nothing about his side of the story, yet he's an asshole for having a bad low effort shift.

He’s a professional that is being paid to do a job. Who gives a shit if he doesn’t like his coach? So give up on your team? What a great guy. I’ve never met either of them and neither have you. Yet Torts is a bad guy in your view, that’s apparently a totally fine take? Interesting

“his side of the story” doesn’t matter one iota after lastnight. What he did is inexcusable and he deserves to be benched.

 

[RogerRoger]

You're right about the off-season, but it didn't happen, so here we are now. I like to think that there's always a solution, you just have to try harder to find it. Smart people exhaust every opportunity. Neither Torts nor PLD are being very smart about this, so it's up to the Jarmo. It's what he gets paid to do.

I appreciate that you are trying to mend the bridges, but we don't even know is Jarmo is in a position to mend the bridge. Jarmo could have lied to PLD to get him to sign the contract and screwed him over that way. We don't know enough and it boils down to conflict management and Tort is absolute shit at it.

I don't think PLD is acting stupid at all. Tort threw him under the bus and I don't think it's unreasonable for PLD to not want to reward Tort for such a dick move. There was no conflict beforehand and because of Tort there is one. If you show that "abuse" motivates you to play harder, you can expect more "abuse" to come your way.

He’s a professional that is being paid to do a job. Who gives a shit if he doesn’t like his coach? So give up on your team? What a great guy. I’ve never met either of them and neither have you. Yet Torts is a bad guy in your view, that’s apparently a totally fine take? Interesting

“his side of the story” doesn’t matter one iota after lastnight. What he did is inexcusable and he deserves to be benched.

True. And Jarmo is also paid to do a job and one of them was to trade PLD, yet he doesn't. Tort is paid to get the best out of his players, yet he doesn't. You are okay with their failures but not with PLD's. Interesting. Tort started a public mud slinging contest and invited media scrutiny where none was needed, that's apparently totally fine? Interesting.

 

[jeffff]

Do you guys have any examples of Dubois being lazy and/or pathetic? Is this really a case of Dubois (who happens to be CLB best player) really not wanting to play or Torts being Torts?

Who is being unreasonable? is it 50/50?

 

[OVO16]

This is fortunately not the NBA and hopefully, never will be.

NBA growth is triple that of NHL. Popularity isnt even close. NHL wishes it was in the NBA 's level right now. NHL marketing compared to NBA is a joke.

Regardless, im not trying to derail the thread with a Off-Topic discussion.

Agree to disagree....but I genuinely like the NBA's method of removing a player ASAP when they request a trade and not hoarding him as long as possible as a form punishment

 

[Theodore450]

LOL if you've ever played anything close to competitive hockey, that pathetic effort from PLD wouldn't fly with any coach, doesn't have to be a hard ass like Torts.

I've personally witnessed guys get benched for entire games after 2 shifts. This isn't a one off where a guy is having a bad game. There has clearly been a series of events leading up to this and it may have reached its peak last night. Comparing this to a bad shift from Crosby/Ovy/whoever is silly because this is NOT the same thing.

How anyone thinks PLD being benched is unjustified is beyond me. I would never wanna play for your team of unaccountable whiners.

Honesty I retract my statement. Figured it was a single shift situation