Todd Richards Fired as Blue Jackets Head Coach, John Tortorella Hired

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:

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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.

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The hiring of Tortorella—who was tabbed to coach Team USA in next year's World Cup of Hockey—comes less than 24 hours after he revealed on SiriusXM's NHL Game Day that no teams had approached him regarding a head coaching job, according to Josh Cooper of Yahoo Sports.

"I read things, percentages of who is going to get fired first," Tortorella said. "It's such a disrespected position, it really drives me crazy how people treat it. So I have not been contacted, coaches being talked about are real good coaches."

According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the deal between Columbus and Tortorella came together quickly, as he was hired early Wednesday morning at around 1:30 a.m. ET.

“John Tortorella is an experienced National Hockey League coach with a proven track record of success,” Kekalainen said. “He is a Stanley Cup winner, and we believe the right person to lead our team at this time.”

"I'm not here to reinvent the wheel," said Tortorella in his introductory press conference. "I want to get back to who we are."

Tortorella added more on what he expects from his team, per Rob Mixer of the Blue Jackets' Digital and Social team:

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"We want to pursue. We want to be aggressive. We want to go north-south. I want to spend time on how we play. There are leaders in this room that will help us. We’ll get this going in the right direction.  It’s amazing what you can do with the right type of arrogance in your game.”

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Also, per Friedman, since Tortorella is still technically employed by and getting paid by the Vancouver Canucks, who fired him after the 2013-14 season, the Blue Jackets must send draft-pick compensation to Vancouver.

This isn't unlike the Buffalo Sabres being forced to send the Pittsburgh Penguins a 2016 third-round pick after hiring Dan Bylsma this past offseason.

The 49-year-old Richards was in the midst of his fifth season at the helm for the Blue Jackets after coaching the Minnesota Wild for two years. He boasts a career record of 204-183-37 and led Columbus to the playoffs in 2013-14.

The Blue Jackets missed out on the playoffs last season despite a surge down the stretch, but they were expected to improve notably in 2015-16. In addition to acquiring forward Brandon Saad from the Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus returned the likes of Ryan Johansen, Nick Foligno, Scott Hartnell and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.

Columbus certainly has a talented roster, and the front office is rolling the dice on Tortorella in hopes that he can harness it.

The 57-year-old Tortorella is a controversial figure due to his penchant for wearing out his welcome with an in-your-face style, but he did lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a Stanley Cup victory in 2004. He also took the New York Rangers all the way to the Eastern Conference Final in 2012.

Torts' overall success is undeniable, with a career record of 446-375-37-78 to go along with eight playoff appearances in 14 seasons, but Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star doesn't necessarily believe this is the right move for Columbus:

The Blue Jackets desperately needed a shake-up, though, and there is no question that the Boston native's personality will change the vibe in the locker room. He might rub some people the wrong way in the process, but it is worth the risk considering how deep a hole the team has already dug for itself.

Hiring Tortorella will look like a genius move if the Jackets manage to rebound, and if they don't, then the worst thing that can happen is the team will have to search for a more permanent answer next offseason. 

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