Tortorella has Blue Jackets playing a different game

John Tortorella has reinvented the wheel.

The outspoken coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets has refined his approach, and the early returns certainly look promising.

With his club holding down a 12-5-4 record, including a franchise-best mark through November - in which the Blue Jackets posted 21 points - Columbus currently sits in prime playoff position.

The reason for its success? The brain trust in Columbus, led by Tortorella, GM Jarmo Kekalainen, and president of hockey operations John Davidson, sees speed and possession as the future of hockey.

It's the name of today's game.

Part of that includes more north-south hockey and less puck play in your own zone. The Blue Jackets want to constantly push the play forward.

"You have to use the D-to-D pass sometimes when your players aren't in place," Tortorella told Tom Reed of The Columbus Dispatch. "(But) it's a mindset of trying to play quicker, taking a chance, making a play in the middle of the ice. That's all part of the process of playing a different game here.

"We're trying to get that D-to-D play out of our game completely. To me, it's the process of the past couple of years and where the league has gone. We need (the defensemen) to be part of our quickness."

Related: Tortorella sees 'different attitude' in Blue Jackets' locker room

It all falls under Tortorella's "Safe is Death" mantra that has been a part of his philosophy in his previous stops, when he manned the bench of the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers, and Vancouver Canucks.

While it's early, Columbus appears poised for a postseason berth, only its third since joining the NHL in 2000. The franchise has twice cracked the 90-point barrier.

The Blue Jackets are on pace for 109 points this season.

"I'll say it again, I think we've added leg speed, but I think we have added mental quickness, too," Tortorella said, "And (reducing the D-to-D pass) is part of the mental quickness."