from Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch,

Coach John Tortorella continued to critique the Blue Jackets’ leaders Monday, saying he wants a dressing room that has a culture built on accountability and honest dialogue, even if it leads to conflict.

And two of the Blue Jackets’ more outspoken players — forwards Brandon Dubinsky and Scott Hartnell — concurred.

“If everybody’s happy … there’s problems,” Tortorella said. “I don’t think everybody should be happy in a locker room. People may look at it differently, but that’s how I see it. If everybody’s happy, something’s being swept under the rug somewhere. There’s way too many personalities, way too many egos for everybody to be gleeful.”

Blue Jackets players — from amiable captain Nick Foligno on down — get along well, by all appearances. But too many feelings are spared, too many conflicts avoided, too many small issues allowed to fester for fear of hurting feelings, Dubinsky said.

“It’s a little bit too much Mr. Nice Guy around here,” Dubinsky said. “It starts with your own actions first, but we have to do a better job of keeping each other accountable and creating some conflicts in here.

“There’s not enough conflict in here. We have a lot of guys who are mellow guys, nice guys, quiet guys … not a lot of conflict. Sometimes you need that. Sometimes you have to push each other and get a little uncomfortable to get where you need to go.”

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