John Tortorella isn’t the prediction kind of guy, but he made one during his press conference at the Columbus Blue Jackets’ media day Wednesday.
“I don’t think we’re going to win 16 straight this year,” he said with a bit of a laugh. “I’ll make that prediction.”
To that I say balderdash.
I can prove that lightning can and occasionally does strike twice.
I speak, of course, of the Cleveland Indians.
Last year, the Indians came out of nowhere to take Major League Baseball by storm, riding a franchise-record 14-game win streak to within a victory of the World Series.
At the moment, as you may have heard, the Indians have won 21 consecutive games, an American League record and the most in the majors in 100 years (we’re not here to judge if the 26-game run, which included a tie, of the 1916 New York Giants fits in).
It goes to show that if you put together a good team, hey, sometimes you have a historic winning streak. And sometimes, you get two.
On the CBJ end, last year the Blue Jackets came out of nowhere to take the National Hockey League by storm, riding a franchise-record 16-game streak to just the third playoff appearance in the organization’s history.
And to hear Tortorella tell it, that streak was one of the best things that ever happened to the Blue Jackets.
“You know, it was a blast,” Tortorella said. “I think earlier in my career I probably would have dampened the mood. I would have done something stupid and dampened the mood of the team at the time. I’m glad I didn’t because I thought it really helped our team. I think it helps you with the process and maybe sped it up a little bit along the way in handling some of the scrutiny that was on our team then.
“Like the game going into Minnesota, some of the scrutiny that was going on with our team, and we didn’t blink. No one was nervous. Everybody just played. It was great for our team. I said it at that point in time, it’s a long year, and to have something to play for and to add a little spice to it I thought was important for us.”
So, is history on tap again for Columbus?
OK, probably not. Tortorella knows of what he speaks. If baseball is the flukiest sport – a hot pitcher or a poorly struck looping liner can end your team’s streak at the drop of a hat – hockey isn’t far behind. A tremendous goaltending performance or weird bounce off a skate and boom, you lose.
At the same time, it’s been odd having come of age watching each of these teams that they built themselves – quickly – into contenders. The Indians came within a win of a World Series in 2007 then went five consecutive seasons without a winning record. The Tribe made the postseason the next season – the first under manager Terry Francona – but lost the wild card game, then had consecutive third-place finishes.
Wrap it all up and over an eight-year span, Cleveland had zero postseason wins. Of course, that’s a short drought compared to Columbus, which had made two playoff appearances with zero postseason series wins before last year’s 50-win campaign.
Both organizations have largely built from within, with the Tribe developing such stars as Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez and Corey Kluber. Columbus has had similar success, drafting a full 14 members of the current roster including 35-goal scorer Cam Atkinson and burgeoning star defenseman Zach Werenski.
The two franchises also made the right gamble when it came to on-field (or on-ice) leaders. The Indians pulled Francona off of ESPN, where he spent a year as an analyst, and have reaped the spoils of that decision. Long respected as one of the best managers in the league and a two-time World Series champ, Francona brought immediate credibility to the organization.
Tortorella did the same in Columbus. Though his style is (shall we say) slightly more intense than Francona’s, the coach is a Stanley Cup champion and one of the most decorated American coaches in the history of the NHL. He immediately lit up Wednesday when asked about Francona.
“I love their manager,” he said with a grin. “I don’t know their team that well. I haven’t followed it that much, but I know their manager from the Red Sox.”
The similarities are there. Now, do the Blue Jackets have a good enough team again to follow in the Indians’ footsteps? Much like Cleveland when it swapped Mike Napoli for Edwin Encarnacion, Columbus made a big like-for-like deal, trading Brandon Saad for someone in Artemi Panarin who can light up scoreboards. Much like in Cleveland, the Jackets' supporting cast has changed some, too, but in each franchise there's a lot of young talent coming up the pipeline.
Time will tell if another notable winning streak is in the cards. History shows it’s probably not.
But the Indians have shown the magic can be recaptured. Now it's Columbus' turn to give it a try.
