After a disastrous 0-7 start to the 2015-16 season, the Columbus Blue Jackets fired head coach Todd Richards on Wednesday and hired former Stanley Cup-winning coach John Tortorella to replace him.
TSN's Darren Dreger was the first to report the news, one day after the Jackets were shut out 4-0 by the New York Islanders.
Per Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, assistant coaches Craig Hartsburg and Brad Larsen will remain behind the bench for now.
General manager Jarmo Kekalainen explained the decision in a team release:
After much deliberation and discussion, we have made the very difficult decision late last night to remove Todd Richards as our head coach, and we’ve reached an agreement with John Tortorella to join the Columbus Blue Jackets in that capacity.
None of us saw our season unfolding the way it has, and every one of us from management to coaches to players bears responsibility. There is still a lot of hockey to be played, and we believe this change was necessary to give our team the best chance to accomplish the goals we’ve set for this season.
T ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Mike Chiari
Todd Richards Fired as Blue Jackets Head Coach, John Tortorella Hired
October 21st, 2015 by Mike Chiari Leave a reply »
Advertisement