The Columbus Blue Jackets played one more playoff game this season than last
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And apparently there’s plenty of blame to go around.
”Everybody has to give skin here, from the coaches right on through, as far as what happened,” Tortorella said in his exit interview with reporters Thursday.
The Blue Jackets promising season fizzled out in the end. They overcame injuries to key players and finished the regular season strong, making the Stanley Cup playoffs for the second season in a row. They won the first two in the first-round playoff series on the road against the Washington Capitals, only to drop the next four straight.
It ended with a thud in a 6-3 loss in Game 6 on home ice Monday night.
Despite how all that sounds, the team didn’t implode, Tortorella said.
”We were a good enough team to beat Washington this year,” he said. ”We just did not make that big play and or get that big save at key times
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”I like our team, I like our personnel,” he said. ”The biggest thing is we need to change our mindset here, (so) that we feel we belong in the playoffs. We need to think stronger in how to find a way. I want us to be more aggressive in our thinking and expect some more.”
The Blue Jackets undoubtedly will have some different faces next season. Just how many remains to be seen. Kekalainen was coy when asked if the team needs more talented players to get deeper into the playoffs.
”We’re always looking to upgrade, one way or another,” he said. ”I think we’re going to get better again from inside. It’s going to be the same approach.”
Kekalainen cited the surprise trade last summer that brought star winger Artemi Panarin to town and the swift emergence of rookie center Pierre-Luc Dubois. But he won’t talk strategy.
One the goals likely will be to sign Panarin and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky – the team’s biggest stars – to contract extensions. Both will be unrestricted free agents in 2019, and the team would like to lock them up before that.
Defenseman Jack Johnson and forward Matt Calvert will be unrestricted free agents on July 1, so the Blue Jackets will have to make a decision on whether to sign them to new contracts. The 28-year-old Calvert, the longest tenured Blue Jacket at eight seasons but never more than a bottom six player
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The Blue Jackets also will have to decide whether to re-sign forwards Thomas Vanek and Mark Letestu and defensemen Ian Cole, all of whom were added at the trade deadline.
Columbus finished with 97 points, second most in franchise history after last season’s 108, and qualified for the playoffs as a wildcard. The team punctuated a furious comeback down the stretch with a 10-game winning streak in March.
But the playoffs were a bust. Again.
”We expected more out of ourselves this year,” defenseman Zach Werenski said on his way out this week. ”Go up 2-0 on the road, come back home we don’t get a win. I just think we have higher expectations, and we should. We are a good hockey team and we fell short of our goals this year. At the end of the day, if you are not holding the Stanley Cup, it’s kind of a failed season. This one definitely stings.”
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Having no picks in the first three rounds made it look as though it would be a quiet
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Instead, they became one of the biggest winners at the NHL draft by acquiring 23-year-old forward Elias Lindholm and 21-year-old defenseman Noah Hanifin in a five-player trade with Carolina on Saturday. It cost the Flames defenseman Dougie Hamilton, winger Micheal Ferland and prospect Adam Fox, but they got younger and may have restored their lineup to its rightful order.
Lindholm is a natural center, but could be the perfect fit on Calgary’s first line alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. Moving Hamilton will allow T.J. Brodie to slide back on to the first defensive pairing with Mark Giordano, while Hanifin could benefit from playing with those veterans on the blue line.
”I think Noah is just scratching the surface,” general manager Brad Treliving said. ”We’ve got some guys on the blue line who can produce. We also want guys who want to be in Calgary. Both players talking today, in Elias and Noah, they’re excited to get out there.”
Beyond the Flames
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WINNER: PHILIPP GRUBAUER
After lifting the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals, Grubauer was traded to the Colorado Avalanche where he’ll initially split time with Semyon Varlamov but should take over as the starter after next season. Grubauer signed a $10 million, three-year contract in the biggest payday of his career.
LOSER: NEW YORK ISLANDERS
They got strong value in first-round picks Oliver Wahlstrom and Noah Dobson, but didn’t agree to terms on a new deal with John Tavares before he could begin meeting with other teams Sunday. Tavares will host five teams in the coming days and could become a free agent July 1, which would be devastating for the Islanders.
”I have no disappointment, no discouragement,” GM Lou Lamoriello said. ”He’s earned every right to make whatever choice he has. The most important thing is that we hope in the end that he’s an Islander.”
WINNER: BUFFALO SABRES
After years of wandering and floundering, the Sabres have a franchise defenseman in No. 1 pick Rasmus Dahlin. This was set in stone in April when Buffalo won the lottery, but the organization will get an up-close look at the Swedish playmaker at prospect camp and has every reason to be excited about the future.
”He’s a young player
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LOSER: ENTERTAINMENT
The only trades involving NHL players were the deal by Carolina and Calgary and the Capitals trading Grubauer and defenseman Brooks Orpik to Colorado. None of the top 10 picks changed hands, and most of the two days went off without drama.
WINNER: ILYA KOVALCHUK
The Kontinental Hockey League’s leading scorer and Olympic MVP had plenty of suitors and wound up agreeing to a three-year deal with the Los Angeles Kings worth $6.25 million a season. The 35-year-old is returning to the NHL on the same deal Patrick Marleau got from the Toronto Maple Leafs a year ago, which is a coup for Kovalchuk.
LOSER: MONTREAL CANADIENS
Rumors persisted about Montreal trading captain Max Pacioretty or even acquiring center Ryan O’Reilly from Buffalo. Neither move happened, leaving Marc Bergevin with a lengthy to-do list after already trading Alex Galchenyuk to Arizona for Max Domi.
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