14 months later, the Blue Jackets are riding a franchise high 15-game win streak and sit in the highest ranks of league standings. They capped off the calendar year with a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on New Year's Eve in St. Paul, a performance that Tortorella said his players should be proud of because of their preparation, both mentally and physically.
While the team continues to work towards bigger goals for the season and the organization, the performance on the ice has shown Tortorella that the evolution he was watching for in the room is starting to take hold.
"I think their body language and the mental part of it, I think they're climbing the stairs towards not hoping and testing the water but knowing (they can win)," Tortorella said. "That's not a physical skill, that's not a talent - that's a mental toughness. That's where we have taken steps in the right direction."
And so, what now for the coaching staff that previously felt tasked with managing a group of players' mental preparedness as far as keeping an even keel?
"I think we've need to show them respect and not always talk about 'don't let it get too good for you,'" Tortorella said. "I think when you see your team growing, sooner or later, that room is going to have to self-sustain itself. We need to give it to them and let them talk about them, not us babysit them."
It's one thing for the coaches to acquiesce influence; it's another for players to seize the opportunity. And that is happening.
"For the most part it's holding guys accountable for mistakes you make," Scott Hartnell said. "You call each other out as long as you do it in a respectful way. I would expect one of the other guys, like (Nick) Foligno or (Brandon) Dubinsky to call me out if I made a mistake. You take everything with a light heart and make sure you learn from those mistakes."
It's valuable to see the team taking control of the accountability factor. Coaches and players know that there is a lot of season left for the Blue Jackets, and that means more challenges await.
"Things have been fun, things have been rolling for us," Hartnell said. "There's no need for your leader, Torts, to come in and start knocking heads. We might go through a little drought here once and a while, but our goal is that we can police ourselves here and get everyone back in line and back playing the way we know we can."
