John Tortorella has said many times that, contrary to popular belief, he does not like scratching players or benching them.
While not the most enjoyable part of his job sometimes, holding players accountable is a necessary evil of changing culture. In doing so, he lets the team know that, regardless of name, salary or reputation, you will watch the game if you aren’t playing the proper way.
Last weekend, Tortorella had Cam Atkinson – his leading goal scorer – watch most of the third period in the penultimate regular season game against the Philadelphia Flyers. He put Atkinson right back out there 24 hours later in Toronto, and Atkinson responded with one of his better games in weeks.
A few days ago, Tortorella showed he’s not afraid to apply the same discipline in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Even if it means sitting his highest-paid forward in the third period of Game 1 against his hometown team.
Brandon Saad just wrapped up another 50-point campaign in the regular season. He’s the most accomplished Blue Jacket in terms of postseason success, boasting two Stanley Cup rings from his time with the Chicago Blackhawks. He scored 30 goals a season ago, his first with Columbus, and put up 24 goals and 29 assists in season two with the Jackets.
Saad’s benching was a hot-button topic around the Blue Jackets in the days between Games 1 and 2; local radio program “Common Man & T-Bone” on 97.1 The Fan was fairly critical of Saad on Friday, saying he needed to be better and more was expected of a player making $6 million per season.
He was much better tonight.
While the analytics paint an encouraging picture for Saad, who is a top-15 player in the NHL in terms of 5-on-5 offense, Tortorella’s reasoning for sitting him is merely a reminder that as one of the top guys on the team, he needs to drive the bus.
Here’s what Tortorella said yesterday:
“Saader needs to be a big part of this. I thought that line, in the first period, it was their best period…it deteriorated from there.”
And after a goal tonight in a game where he looked far more dangerous in all three periods, Saad has something to build on, and his head coach took notice of the improvement from Game 1 to Game 2.
“I thought Wenny’s line was good,” Tortorella said after Game 2. “Saader was skating. He was a big part of us tonight, and needs to be as we move forward.”
Tortorella’s playbook in these circumstances isn’t too uncommon: he will let the player know where he went wrong, make sure he gets an opportunity to watch and digest what happened, and then get him right back in the mix.
Saad responded in Game 2, and though it was a loss for the Blue Jackets that puts them a 2-0 hole going back to Columbus, they stand a better chance if one of their best players is firing on all cylinders.
