Report: John Tortorella out as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets
John Tortorella won’t be returning as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reported Saturday. His contract expires at the end of this season.
The report surfaced not long after they won their final game of the year 5-4 in overtime against Detroit. The Blue Jackets struggled this year to a 18-26-12 record and tied with the Detroit Red Wings for the worst record in the Central Division.
According to Portzline, Tortorella has decided to move on.
There was no fanfare in the building and no “fond farewell” message on the scoreboard. Tortorella declined to discuss his future in his postgame press conference, saying he and general manager Jarmo Kekalainen will talk in the coming days.
But sources tell The Athletic that Tortorella has already begun saying goodbye to certain players and staff members, and that Kekalainen has been told by Tortorella that he won’t return for 2021-22.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.