O, the difference one season can make. After being the best defensive pairing for the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2016-2017, the pair of Jack Johnson and David Savard has finally been split up in the 2017-2018 season. Their play this year is warranted a shift in partners for a long time but Tortorella waited to make the change until now.
And it’s hard to blame him. The two played so well together last year. They were the shutdown pair that complemented the top pair of Seth Jones and Zach Werenski that were offensive juggernauts.