Looking for leaders, Hitchcock walks out, tells players to run practice
OTTAWA -- Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock has waited all season for the players to, in his words, "drive the bus."
Yesterday, unwilling to wait any longer, Hitchcock followed a closed-door meeting by putting down the keys, so to speak, and walking out the door.
Hitchcock and the rest of the coaching staff left the players to practice by themselves at a rink on the campus of the University of Ottawa.
"We walked out," Hitchcock said. "We went for coffee."
The motive behind the move was much richer than a cup of Tim Hortons. Reading between Hitchcock's words, he's looking for more players who are willing to be leaders.
"The players have to learn to invest more in each other," Hitchcock said. "They have to learn to trust each other, lean on each other and push each other to a different level than we're getting right now.
"In my opinion, we're not invested enough to be successful. We have to invest more and it can't always come from the coaching staff. At some point, it has to come from the players.
"That's what today was all about."
Captain Adam Foote ran the 45-minute practice in advance of a game tonight against the Ottawa Senators.
"The coaches pour it all in, every day," Foote said. "They're doing everything they can do. Now it's our turn to do the same. They've put it in our lap and it's up to us to respond."
Essentially, this is the messy part of changing the losing culture that has infested the dressing room in the first six years of the Blue Jackets' history. By all accounts, Foote is the best captain the Blue Jackets have ever had. But he needs help.
Left winger Rick Nash and defenseman Rostislav Klesla have yet to grab the mantle, insiders say. Left winger Fredrik Modin has missed most of the season to injury. Center Michael Peca has helped, but this is his first season -- and possibly his last -- in Columbus. Left winger Jody Shelley played sparingly before he was traded to San Jose earlier this month.
Beyond Foote, there is a void of accountability in the room, and Hitchcock is determined to fill it.
"This is a wake-up call for a lot of us players," Nash said. "What we're putting in right now isn't enough. We need more."
The Blue Jackets' season -- so full of Stanley Cup playoffs hope a couple of weeks ago -- is quickly deflating.
The Jackets are 2-6-3 since the All-Star Game break, falling almost out of the picture in the Western Conference race.
The most recent forgettable performance was a 3-1 loss Tuesday to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"There are times when the coaching staff is frustrated with the players and the players are frustrated with the coaching staff," Hitchcock said. "When you're trying to get a lot out of people, you reach that stage.
"In order to have success in our game, it's all about making really uncomfortable sacrifices, about being willing to step outside your comfort zone.
"Players aren't going to do that for a coach, I don't care who the coach is. But they will do it for each other. And we have to find a way for them to make more sacrifices for each other."
After practice, a handful of players tried to lighten the mood. A few noted relief that Foote didn't switch up the forward lines or the defensive pairs.
The overall vibe was tinged with uneasiness. The dressing-room dynamic has likely changed now.
But is it too late to matter?
"Are we in or are we out?" Peca said. "How bad do we want it? To a man, that's the question. That's why we had the practice we had today."
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Center Jiri Novotny skated with the Blue Jackets yesterday and said he would play tonight against the Senators. ? Something has to give: Ottawa is in an 0-of-14 slide on power plays, but the Blue Jackets have allowed a power-play goal in seven straight games, a season high. ? Goal-tender Pascal Leclaire is expected to get the start tonight and Saturday in Montreal. ?
OTTAWA -- Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock has waited all season for the players to, in his words, "drive the bus."
Yesterday, unwilling to wait any longer, Hitchcock followed a closed-door meeting by putting down the keys, so to speak, and walking out the door.
Hitchcock and the rest of the coaching staff left the players to practice by themselves at a rink on the campus of the University of Ottawa.
"We walked out," Hitchcock said. "We went for coffee."
The motive behind the move was much richer than a cup of Tim Hortons. Reading between Hitchcock's words, he's looking for more players who are willing to be leaders.
"The players have to learn to invest more in each other," Hitchcock said. "They have to learn to trust each other, lean on each other and push each other to a different level than we're getting right now.
"In my opinion, we're not invested enough to be successful. We have to invest more and it can't always come from the coaching staff. At some point, it has to come from the players.
"That's what today was all about."
Captain Adam Foote ran the 45-minute practice in advance of a game tonight against the Ottawa Senators.
"The coaches pour it all in, every day," Foote said. "They're doing everything they can do. Now it's our turn to do the same. They've put it in our lap and it's up to us to respond."
Essentially, this is the messy part of changing the losing culture that has infested the dressing room in the first six years of the Blue Jackets' history. By all accounts, Foote is the best captain the Blue Jackets have ever had. But he needs help.
Left winger Rick Nash and defenseman Rostislav Klesla have yet to grab the mantle, insiders say. Left winger Fredrik Modin has missed most of the season to injury. Center Michael Peca has helped, but this is his first season -- and possibly his last -- in Columbus. Left winger Jody Shelley played sparingly before he was traded to San Jose earlier this month.
Beyond Foote, there is a void of accountability in the room, and Hitchcock is determined to fill it.
"This is a wake-up call for a lot of us players," Nash said. "What we're putting in right now isn't enough. We need more."
The Blue Jackets' season -- so full of Stanley Cup playoffs hope a couple of weeks ago -- is quickly deflating.
The Jackets are 2-6-3 since the All-Star Game break, falling almost out of the picture in the Western Conference race.
The most recent forgettable performance was a 3-1 loss Tuesday to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"There are times when the coaching staff is frustrated with the players and the players are frustrated with the coaching staff," Hitchcock said. "When you're trying to get a lot out of people, you reach that stage.
"In order to have success in our game, it's all about making really uncomfortable sacrifices, about being willing to step outside your comfort zone.
"Players aren't going to do that for a coach, I don't care who the coach is. But they will do it for each other. And we have to find a way for them to make more sacrifices for each other."
After practice, a handful of players tried to lighten the mood. A few noted relief that Foote didn't switch up the forward lines or the defensive pairs.
The overall vibe was tinged with uneasiness. The dressing-room dynamic has likely changed now.
But is it too late to matter?
"Are we in or are we out?" Peca said. "How bad do we want it? To a man, that's the question. That's why we had the practice we had today."
==========
Center Jiri Novotny skated with the Blue Jackets yesterday and said he would play tonight against the Senators. ? Something has to give: Ottawa is in an 0-of-14 slide on power plays, but the Blue Jackets have allowed a power-play goal in seven straight games, a season high. ? Goal-tender Pascal Leclaire is expected to get the start tonight and Saturday in Montreal. ?
