Report: Tortorella wanted to quit Blue Jackets after 2019-20 season

The Columbus Blue Jackets and former head coach John Tortorella mutually agreed to part ways on Monday, but the bench boss didn't want to coach the team this past season at all.

Tortorella tried to step down last offseason after the Tampa Bay Lightning eliminated the Blue Jackets from the playoffs, reports The Athletic's Aaron Portzline.

The two-time Jack Adams Award winner was reading the room, and he thought the club wasn't close to being on the path Tortorella believed the team was progressing toward two years earlier, according to Portzline.

However, the Blue Jackets reportedly wouldn't fire Tortorella. And if he quit, the 62-year-old wouldn't have received his $2.5-million salary for the final year of his contract. He still wouldn't have been paid his full compensation in 2020-21 if Tortorella agreed to accept a different role in the organization.

While the money was a factor in his decision to return, former captain Nick Foligno also convinced Tortorella to stay. Foligno, who was later dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs prior to the trade deadline, told him he wanted to "finish what we started," according to Portzline.

The Blue Jackets hired Tortorella during the 2015-16 campaign. He led them through the most successful run in franchise history, with Columbus making the playoffs four straight years. The team pulled off arguably the greatest postseason upset ever, sweeping the heavily favored Lightning in Round 1 in 2019.

The Blue Jackets finished last in the Central Division with 48 points this campaign. Tortorella reportedly informed the organization in late April he was ready to leave. His departure was made official on May 9.

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