A culture change has already happened in Columbus.
It is finally starting to take roots in the Blue Jackets locker room, which is an encouraging sign because it wasn't always that way.
President of hockey operations John Davidson in a sit down interview with color commentator Jody Shelley and radio play-by-play voice Bob McElligott talked about the impact John Tortorella had on the team.
"The experience of his coaching has made a difference down there," said Davidson. "He's not afraid to go down and say 'why aren't you in the weight room?' He doesn't have to do that anymore, but he did that for a while to make sure whoever it was, was in the weight room."
It's a stunning comment made in passing but it illustrates a lot of the problems that have surrounded the Blue Jackets in the past. The phrase "country club atmosphere" gets thrown around when talking about unmotivated teams. In this case, you don't see any evidence of that lingering around the locker room.
Tortorella is well known for his no-frills approach. It's starting to produce tangible dividends.
While giving the lion's share of credit to Tortorella for bringing about change, Davidson also noted that it doesn't happen unless the players are on board and buy in.
"There's been a multitude of different things where everybody has been a part of it," Davidson said. "But also give the players credit for recognition. They have careers and they are short no matter what you say. Some players careers are four years, some are like Al MacInnis who played in St. Louis for 22 years but that's not very often. So how many kicks do you have at this thing? Not many.
"So instead of when it's over looking back it's 'well why didn't I do that.' It's message received. It's a message that the players, in hearing them talk, they really believe they're in a good place."
It's going to take the players and the coach being in-sync and on the same page for the team to win. Finally, it looks like the Blue Jackets have it headed in the right direction.
