Report: Blue Jackets continuing contract negotiation with Tortorella

The Columbus Blue Jackets and head coach John Tortorella are continuing to negotiate a contract, reports Aaron Portzline of The Athletic.

Tortorella's current contract expires at the end of the 2018-19 season, which will be his fourth with Columbus. Portzline notes this will be the first season of Tortorella's tenure with the Blue Jackets in which the team will pay the entirety of his $2-million salary, as the Vancouver Canucks were responsible for paying $1.25 million of his earnings after letting him go in 2014.

Since joining the Blue Jackets, Tortorella has coached the club to a 129-94-23 record and has qualified for the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time in franchise history. The 60-year-old won the Jack Adams Award in 2017 for the second time in his career and has a Stanley Cup ring.