from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,
Now, though, with the Jackets preparing to meet the Rangers here Friday night, the old has become new again. And Columbus is thriving under this approach, 6-1-1 while scoring an aggregate 34 goals in the last eight games with 10- and 8-goal outbursts, and 8-4-3 overall.
And, as seems universal across the NHL, the Jackets’ success is being driven by young talent such as 19-year-old defenseman Zach Werenski, the eighth overall selection in the 2015 entry draft, and 22-year-old center Alexander Wennberg, the 14th selection in 2013 who has taken a bit more time to establish himself.
“I think I’ve learned to let guys go,” Tortorella said when asked about his journey back to the future. “I talked to our GM and our coaches and looked at the talent we have on the team plus the skilled guys we had coming from [AHL] Cleveland, and it became clear that that’s where we needed to go—to go with skill.
“Now, you still always need the grind. That part hasn’t changed. And ‘Safe is Death’ is not about not coming back and playing on the other side of the puck. It’s not just run-and-gun here. With guys we have on the back end like Werenski, it’s not always about chipping it in.
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