You've heard it before, and you're bound to hear it again, the Columbus Blue Jackets have no consistency. From the front office to the fans, to the players, everyone is upset about their play even their captain, Nick Foligno.
He didn't hold back when talking to the gathered media after the team's loss to the Los Angeles Kings. Everyone was put on notice, and no one was safe from his scorn.
"I just don't see the commitment that's needed to win consistently in this league. I don't know why guys haven't realized that," Foligno said. "We talk about, 'Oh, we learned from the Washington series (2018 Stanley Cup playoffs).' Well, we haven't learned (expletive), obviously, with the way we're playing. Talk is cheap on this team, and I'm tired of seeing guys talk and not do it. That's my challenge to everybody in here."
He would go on to say that the coaches can only do so much to motivate the team. It has to come from within, and they need to be the people that step up.
"I mean, enough's enough. There are only so many rah-rah speeches you can give," said Foligno. "Only so much the coach can say. Eventually, you have to go out and do it, do your job, play for the right reasons, play for your team, accept the role that you need to play and just do what you need to do to help us win. We do it on some nights, but there are too many nights early in the season where we haven't done it. That's (expletive)."
The onus is on the players, and after failed attempt after failed attempt, it can't be on anyone else. Foligno knows this, and he finally put it out into the ether. How the players react will say a lot about this team in the short-term. If they don't improve, the long-term won't look much better.
