TSN Insider believes John Torortella may be ready to move on from Columbus

With the Columbus Blue Jackets sinking in the NHL's Central Division, many have wondered if the team might be ready to move on from head coach John Tortorella. GM Jarmo Kekäläinen came out this week putting his full confidence behind Torts, saying the coach had gotten the team out of the woods before and he believes he'll do it again. Now, though the question of Tortorella's committment to Columbus is being raised, with TSN Insider Pierre LeBrun wondering if he might be ready to move on from the team he's coached for the past five seasons.

"The reason this has become a story is because Tortorella's deal is up at the end of the season. I hear, and I think it's interesting, not only Kekäläinen confirm on this day that the finances of the pandemic are part of the reason he wasn't really in a position to extend Tortorella before the year. I personally am not convinced that Tortorella himself was in a position where he wanted to extend before the season either, that maybe he wanted to see how this year played out. It's an interesting story developing in Columbus."

While Torts always seems to land on his feet, he's been fired from teams before. He's done two stints with the New York Rangers, as well as time with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Vancouver Canucks before landing in Columbus. However, if he's looking to walk away, that would be the first time in his career that has happened. The furthest he's managed to make it with Columbus so far is the second round of the playoffs in 2018-19 before being eliminated by the Boston Bruins.

It would certainly be interesting to see Tortorella refuse a contract extension from the Blue Jackets. We'll have to wait for the offseason to see if that happens, if he lasts that long. Things can change quickly in the NHL and a GM giving his personal vote of confidence to a coach means very little once that GM gets backed into a corner by the owners.

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