John Tortorella looks ahead to the 2017-18 NHL season

It may be the off-season, but John Tortorella is not on vacation. Fresh off winning the Jack Adams award as the 2017 NHL coach of the year, Tortorella is already focused on what his team needs to be doing to get ready for next season.
"The league is so unforgiving," Tortorella said. "if you're not staying on top of things and staying current and always trying to improve as a leader, as a Blue Jacket, and as a team, you get stuck in the mud.
"We've just laid a little bit of the groundwork, we have a little bit of a foundation, now we have to continue to grow as an organization and as a team."
Tortorella sent out his annual letter to the team July 1. And it's not a "how is your summer going?" message. The letter is a level set for the work that needs to go into being ready once training camp rolls around in September.

There is only one version of the letter, and it goes out to every Blue Jacket player. It's a summary of where the organization currently is from Tortorella's perspective and what the head coach's mindset is heading into next year. He lets players know that he makes an immediate judgement of where guys want to be on the team when camp begins.
"it's very pointed, it's direct," Tortorella said. "Camp is going to be brought to another level. (The message to the players now is) you may have had a really good year last year, so make sure you work to keep that spot. You may have struggled in certain areas last year, that doesn't mean you can't climb."
There are a few players who are getting a copy of Tortorella's for the first time, including forward Artemi Panarin who joined the Blue Jackets via trade from the Chicago Blackhawks.

Tortorella is excited to see what the 25-year-old will bring to the lineup. Last season was the Russian's second season in the NHL. In his first two years in the League, he put up 30-plus goals and 70-plus points.
"I think he can make something out of nothing," Tortorella said. "He can score a goal and put the puck in the back of the net. I think that's another part of offense. Although we were successful offensively (last year) I think we need some of that dynamic play and I think he'll bring that to us."
Tortorella plans to match Panarin with center Alex Wennberg. The coach considers Wennberg to be one of the better playmakers in the NHL right now and that compliments what Panarin can do with the puck.
"I think he needs a guy where, he's going to give it to you and then he's going to get open to get the puck back and then he's going to be dangerous," Tortorella said. "Wennberg is our best playmaker so we're going to certainly start with those two."

Who slots in on the right side of that line is something the coaches will sort out during training camp. Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno, Josh Anderson, and Oliver Bjorkstrand are all players that will likely get a look in that role. Tortorella wants a wing that does a good job retrieving pucks to feed the offensive production from a player like Panarin.
Another player who will get a look in specific roles is center Tyler Motte, who came to the Jackets with Panarin as a result of a trade with Chicago trade. Tortorella has done his homework on the former Michigan Wolverine and is excited to see what the 22-year-old can do on the penalty kill.
"He works hard," Tortorella said. "He's around the net. He does all the small things. I think he plays the game the right way."
So as Nationwide Arena quietly awaits the first game of the 2017-18 season, Tortorella is already hard at work, and he expects his players to be also.
"We've taken a couple of good steps but it's going to be much more difficult coming up here," Tortorella said. "The real stuff starts now. There's another level."