COLUMBUS, Ohio — This was the softer, gentler, less-stubborn John Tortorella. As in, someone entirely unrecognizable to most Rangers fans.
Now in his third season behind the bench for the Blue Jackets, Tortorella let out an honest-to-goodness smile when asked about playing the Rangers before his new team beat his old one, 3-1, on Friday night at Nationwide Arena.
“You’re with an organization for five years, I live there during the summer in the area, I have some great friends there,” he started, almost shocking in his pregame nonchalance. “The [Rangers’] team is different now, as the league is, and people are coming and going.