Remember training camp this year? Remember all of the reports of the infamous “Torts training camp” and how some of us (he said, looking in the mirror nervously) thought Torts was running the team ragged before the season even began? Turns out there may have been a method to Torts’ madness.
Tort’s emphasis this offseason was on conditioning. This team skated, and skated, and skated harder. The goal was simple – the Blue Jackets were going to be the best third period team in the NHL this year, they were going to be the best conditioned team in the NHL, and no one was going to outwork them.