The Columbus Blue Jackets set franchise records for wins, points and a slew of other metrics this season, but following the club's five-game loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, head coach John Tortorella had one message.
It's not good enough.
Speaking to the press at his year-end media session, Tortorella said he liked what he saw from his team in the regular season, but cautioned against feeling satisfied with the best regular season the Blue Jackets had ever put together.
“We better be careful here that we think we have figured it out. Because we had a tremendous year. It's tough to get into the playoffs. The regular season is a very important part of an organization trying to get into the playoffs. It's hard. But the real stuff is the playoffs. We've gotta be really careful and not say, ‘Man, we had a good year and made the playoffs.’ We're out in five games. It's not good enough.”
Tortorella wasn't even willing to define the season as a success.
“We're out in the first round. That's the problem. That's the problem right there. So that's not success.”
For Tortorella, whose team finished fourth overall in the NHL with 108 points before running into the buzzsaw that is the Penguins, there are things to build upon, however.
“That's what we're trying to get to. And I do think we've improved in the mental aspect of the game – a standard that we want this organization to be seen as – part of basically our D.N.A. I'm not going to sit here and say, ‘Man, we improved here and there. We were 27th, now we are 4th..’ We were out in the first round, so we have to get better in all areas. But also knowing, I think we are on the right track. Especially in the mental part of it. Especially in the culture.”
RELATED: Tortorella Hopes for More from Bobrovsky in Future Playoff Appearances
If there was a message in the coach's remarks, it was a simple one.
“Good is the enemy of great. It's going to become more difficult [for us] because it takes more layers of skin. It takes more layers of mental toughness. I'm thrilled we had an opportunity to play in the playoffs after last year, coming into this year. I'm not trying to rain on that. But when you get there, I just don't want to play five games.
“I said it after the game. I like our team,” Tortorella said. “I like some of the things we did. But this is when you have to be really careful and not take a deep breath and say, ‘You know what, we know how to play. We know how to win in this league.’ We don't. We're out in five games. So, there needs to be improvement and it's going to start right there in camp.”
This is a coach demanding more next season from a club that will hit camp a year older, a year wiser, and assuming talent continues to develop in the system, with added firepower.
Complacency is a coach's worst nightmare and John Tortorella spent the majority of his final press conference of the season firing preemptive shots against it.
