Is John Tortorella the Jim Harbaugh of Hockey?

[SpikeDDS]

I admit that I was one that predicted Arthur Fonzarelli's demise as the season began. To this point, I couldn't have been more wrong. And yet despite my not liking his mouth's "Fire! Ready! Aim!" approach, his approach has seemed to get a good response in Columbus this season.

 

But I wonder if this can really keep for the long run. His level of intensity would seem to best translate during either a turnaround/rebuild, or at the beginning of a quick rise. But over time, as the reception of his messages notches down, but the intensity stays at Level 10, ears start to turn off. It may be more the KIND of intensity or perhaps the "Fire! Ready! Aim!" thing, but having seen this before, it seems that it often leads to burnout.

 

Many times, burnout can be preceded by success. John's done it before with the Bolts. And since I believe in my sig line, I will allow that he may very well lead the Jackets to better things than they have ever seen before in franchise history. For a while.

 

But I really can't see him achieving long-term success within the same franchise. I think Tort Burnout will rise, especially if there is ANY kind of regression at some point in the future.

 

He reminds me of Jim Harbaugh, now the head coach at the University of Michigan, but former head coach of the 49ers. In just a couple of seasons, he took that team from almost nothing to the Super Bowl. And then, the guys who had been listening to his intense diatribes started getting sick of it. Harbaugh doesn't know how to turn the intensity down either. He never stopped, but his players stopped listening, and their performance plummeted. Exit Harbaugh. He left to take a job where the maximum number of years a player will have to deal with his intensity is 5 years--near the high end of the usual limit. Taking that job was a BRILLIANT move by Harbaugh, because it eliminated his biggest coaching problem.

 

I don't know that Torts has as good a program to go to like Michigan Football was for Harbaugh if he ends up burning out, but I wonder how long his shtick will be tolerated by the veterans within that Columbus organization. I also struggle to believe that his ego would be able to swallow a demotion down to the college level. Harbaugh can do it because of his pride in the Michigan program and its history. I anticipate that the first season the performance starts to regress that the trouble with Torts will resurface. I just can't see his message and the way he delivers it lasting for the long run in any professional organization.

 

Anyone else see the analogy here? Am I wrong?

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

I get what you are trying to say, but one BIG difference between Torts and Harbaugh is that Torts has an established track record of success in the NHL (despite the 'burnouts' that are also well documented), whereas Harbaugh, for all intents and purposes, is a 'one trick pony' at his sports Big League level.

 

Sure, he did great taking a nothing team and turning them into something with the use of intensity, but he only did it once, while Torts did that with TB, NYR, and Columbus. I feel he could have done the same with Vancouver had he been allowed the freedom there to do so. 

And Torts left behind good teams in every stop he made (in TB, its a long ugly story with idiotic management after Torts departure)....except, shocker, Vancouver, who refused to 'buy in' to Torts and since his departure, have been a big fat zero and continue to descend.

 

So, outside of that first Harbaugh NFL run, I can't really say the two compare. Torts has the track record, and regardless of how things turned out at each stop, it at least shows his methods work and team owners are willing to bring him on to whip a franchise into shape. Harbaugh, meanwhile, may or may NOT be able to duplicate what he did with the 49'ers with another NFL team.

 

Also, credit DOES have to be given to Torts in the sense that I think he has adapted to certain degrees, his coaching style to better his longevity in his sport. Does this mean Torts doesn't still rub some players, the media, or anyone else the wrong way?

Absolutely not.

 

Just means he is a bit more aware and CAN dial things back just a bit before anything gets out of control as they did in his past.

 

It WILL be interesting to see what would happen should the Jackets start becoming a regular losing team again, but then again, they have faced some of the worst adversity WITH Tortorella behind the bench the last couple seasons (yea, I know, mostly due to injury), and he is still there, and players are still tuned in.

 

And speaking of tuned in, I get that sometimes players stop listening to a coach if they feel they aren't getting anywhere with his methods, but I never did give a free pass to a locker room if they "stopped listening to the coach".

They are, after all, highly paid professional players, who allegedly, are the best at what they do, so all they really need to do is go out and execute.

 

I'm sorry, but I don't buy half assed performances, mailing it in, or lolly gagging on the ice by established vets as that ALL being the coaches fault.

These are grown men who obviously have the talent to be playing in the NHL....they need to play like it all times, REGARDLESS of the coach.

[SpikeDDS]

@TropicalFruitGirl26

 

Re: Harbaugh, he only had one team at the NFL level. But he also did the same thing for Stanford. He put that football program back on the map. But he left for the NFL BEFORE he had a chance to be there long enough to let his intensity really start to irritate.

 

Yes, Torts has coached a few teams, but although he helped the Rangers somewhat, he never made them great. He DID, I will concede, develop that shot-blocking, defensive scheme that was very successful for them for a while. But he couldn't bring them a Cup, and his ugly side wore the shine off before he could. TB was a much faster rise, allowing him to be his most effective. I give him credit for short-term turnarounds. Fewer veterans and more younger players as I recall as well.

 

I just don't see him as a Mike Babcock or Joel Quenneville, or even a Hitchcock. He's more like a Bylsma or, hey maybe a better comparison--a Patrick Roy, but a more successful version. Roy has that same kind of intensity too. He was able to turn around a lousy Avs team for a season or two, and then burned out. I see Torts more like that. He's a better coach than Roy, but has the same foundational intense persona that is both his strength and also his weakness that expresses itself over time, in some cities and teams quicker than in others. New York was an excellent fit culture-wise for him. Vancouver, not at all. Columbus, with its Buckeye pride fan base and how ridiculously crazy they can be at times is a far better place than Vancouver.

 

But let's face it, winning has a lot to do with how long he lasts. And I give him credit, what he is preaching is working in Columbus right now. I just wonder for how long. In my mind, the smart bet is not too long, because history has a tendency to repeat itself.

[nossagog]

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2017/2/12/14590864/blue-jackets-john-tortorella-closed-door-meeting-calm-down-report

 

Multiple reports have it that the players had a closed door meeting with Tortorella and asked him to calm down.  I guess everything was roses when they were winning, but from other teams he's coached, he's not happy when losing.  Could this be the beginning of the end for the Jackets if they struggle more and Torts goes full Fonzie on him? You can only push so long before it starts to lose its affect on people. 

[SpikeDDS]

3 hours ago, nossagog said:

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2017/2/12/14590864/blue-jackets-john-tortorella-closed-door-meeting-calm-down-report

 

Multiple reports have it that the players had a closed door meeting with Tortorella and asked him to calm down.  I guess everything was roses when they were winning, but from other teams he's coached, he's not happy when losing.  Could this be the beginning of the end for the Jackets if they struggle more and Torts goes full Fonzie on him? You can only push so long before it starts to lose its affect on people. 

 

See my signature line. 'Nuff said.