Tortorella took the 8th place Blue Jackets in the Metropolitan and over the course of five years transformed them into the 8th place team in the Central.
In the middle were some playoff years, and they even won a round.
And were right back where they started five years later.
So, a middling, bubble playoff team that makes the playoffs more often than they miss, eh?
Well, it's a marginal improvement on the past decade, I guess...
Talent wins playoff rounds. Talent wins Stanley Cups.
Grit, hard work, and determination can only get so far without talent.
They have a fifth of the cap on IR - and I don't mean @OccamsRazor's fifth, either. Potentially for the next two seasons, and $13+M on the cap potentially for two more after that.
It just goes to show that you don't build around guys in their early 30s.