Today the Columbus Blue Jackets announced that Head Coach Todd Richards received an extension that will make him coach at least through the 2016-17 season. Being only the second coach in Blue Jackets history to lead them to the playoffs, the fans’ expectations were lower than for most coaches. The extension is a sign of good will between the front office and coaching staff, when many questioned whether GM Jarmo Kekalainen would want to bring in his own “guy”. Turns out the easiest way to calm down the rumor mill is to keep winning and Richards has done just that.
Great stat from the guys at @cbjcannon: since #CBJ opened 2012-13 at 5-12-2, team has gone 62-37-12 (136 points in 111 games).
— Rob Mixer (@RobMixer) May 27, 2014
#CBJ coaches by win pct: Todd Richards .544; Ken Hitchcock .503; Scott Arniel .439; Gerard Gallant .430; Dave King .397; Doug MacLean .380.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) May 27, 2014
As our friends over at The Cannon have pointed out after the slow start he had at the beginning of the 12-13 campaign, Todd Richards has put them on the right track. Mostly during 12-13 season the Blue Jackets were a team that relied on strong goaltending and high shooting percentages. As they were never really controlling the play, the thinking by many in the advanced statistics community regression was upcoming.
The beginning of the season didn’t do much to quell the fears of many. Luckily around Christmas time and onward (possibly the return of Sergei Bobrovsky or the introduction of Nathan Horton, a piece about this should be coming later on in the offseason) the team was one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference in regard to possession metrics.
While the possession metrics don’t necessarily predict wins, it gives a strong indication of how well a team is at controlling the play on any given night. Whether it was systematic or possibly a situation where better match ups presented themselves, Todd Richards was able to utilize the players at his disposal and bring the Blue Jackets to the second playoff appearance in team history and first playoff win.
With a very young team and a strong pipeline of players, it makes sense to give him an extension. The question is now that they have made the playoffs, how far can they go with HCTR at the helm. That answer should determine how long he stays with this team. Now that the honeymoon stage is over; let’s see how long this marriage lasts.
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