If nothing else, Ryan Johansen is saying the right things about John Tortorella gluing him to the bench.
At least in public, when he’s on the record.
Following Torts’ decision to give him a “reset” via a healthy scratch, Johansen put the emphasis on his shortcomings, as the Columbus Dispatch reports.
“It’s been brewing for a while,” Johansen said. “Since the last game in Dallas, I made a few mistakes (that) we’ve been going over as a team, things we have to erase from our game. Full responsibility. My fault. It’s the way we want to point our team in the right direction, how we want to carry ourselves as an organization, as a hockey club.”
Johansen pointed to other Columbus Blue Jackets who have gotten the scratch treatment in 2015-16, including Scott Hartnell (the only player who ranks higher than him in team scoring this season).
Torts also said some of the right things, indicating that it’s a work in progress while repeatedly noting that he’s just 23.
That whole “No. 1 center at 23 who may or may not be having a fallout with his coach/team” thing sure is generating scuttlebutt around the league. TSN’s Insider Trading segment goes deep on it.
If you’re region locked-out, Chris Nichols transcribed some interesting bits about the struggling center.
(Check Nichols’ feed for even more details if you can’t watch that video.)
Indeed, the Blue Jackets would probably be selling low on Johansen if they moved him now. You’d think cooler heads should prevail ... but, you know, Tortorella isn’t always renowned for his, um, patience.