Like the Vezina, we didn’t really have a lot of options here. Todd Richards was the sole Blue Jackets head coach this season, and while Craig Hartsburg, Keith Acton, Dan Hinote, Ian Clark, and Dan Singleton make up the rest of the coaching staff, this post will primarily serve as a place for each tUB member to wax poetically about the job Richie did this season.
AlisonL: “The jury was out on Richards early this year, in fact, I had to write in defense of the man just a few short months ago. I’ve been thrilled with the even keel and quiet determination that Richards personality has brought to the team. Likewise, we’d be fools to dis-regard the noise coming from all corners of the league that without Richards, this band of players may not have weathered the early storm of a starting losing streak. There’s no other candidate I see replacing Richards and I don’t see us looking to do so soon. I’d also like to give a special shout out to Coaches Acton and Hinote. These two men helped our PK unit this year which vaulted itself into the top ranked units in the league.”
Canadan: “Early this season, I was ready to cash out on Richards. After the first fifteen games of the season, I was really disappointed with the on-ice product. Forwards seemed to be taking themselves out of the play early, the defense seemed to be hesitant on which play to make, and the results simply were not good.
But as we all saw, it was simply a matter of time before the guys dialed in to what turned out to be a great system, providing Bobrovsky with the support to steal games. That same system stymied the opposition, including some of the league’s best, game after game. Richards was pivotal in giving the “lowly’ Columbus Blue Jackets a shot at the playoffs, and while he’s an exclusive for the Jack Adams in Columbus, he certainly deserves consideration at the NHL Awards level. I can’t wait to watch this group out work opposition for the foreseeable future with Richards at the helm.”
CBJProspects: “While Todd Richards deserved every bit of credit he got. I wanna talk about his assistants. This was probably the most experienced coaching staff the CBJ has ever had. We were fortunate to have Keith Acton handing the forwards and Craig Hartsburg handling the Dmen and more than likely leading to the CBJ’s successful PK for most of the season. Ian Clarke helped Bobrovsky with his game and I believe increased responsibility for Dan Hinote really rounded out a competent coaching staff.”
The Coach: “I like the job Richards did this season. He finally realized ‘Controlled Chaos’ was a bad idea. He did a fantastic job of fixing the Blue Jackets breakout and tweaking their neutral zone play (by activating the defenseman a lot more than most teams). He figured out quickly that Bobrovsky was hot and he should just ride him as much as he could. He found a number of lines and defense pairs that really worked well and made a lot of sense. Really my only exception was the amount of ice given to the Gillies-Mackenzie-Boll line midseason. Fortunately, the addition of Comeau improved that line enough to deserve their ice time. Speaking of which, it really appeared that Richards made players earn their ice time. Those who were playing well, usually played more. This fits perfectly with what JD is hoping to build. Now I am not sure how much the introduction of Acton and Hartsburg influenced him, but adding respected guys like that is huge. The team really seemed to know what they were this year, which hasn’t always been the case.”
What was the favorite thing you saw Coach Richards do? Sound off in the comments…because next year is the final year of his contract. Do we extend? How long? When does it happen? More awards coming later in the week!
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