As you know, we’ve been producing The Cannon Cast for nearly a year and a half and I’ve hosted my fair share. With that comes booking guests and figuring out the kinds of questions we want to ask and get the answers to.
Below are the questions I would ask coach John Tortorella and General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen given the same opportunity:
Hey John: What are your thoughts on today’s NHL versus say, when you won the Stanley Cup in 2004 with the Lightning?
Taking that a step further, how has your mindset or philosophy in coaching changed, even just since you took over the Blue Jackets in 2015?
(If I ever had the chance to ask this, it’s a fair question, but idk quite how I would present it) The power play has been abysmal since the second half of the 2016 season. In your mind, why do you think that is, and though we’ve seen spurts of progression, why has it underperformed so much? You took blame off Brad Larsen saying the responsibility falls on you, how does it get rectified?
Your style for your teams tends to be described as out-working the other team, defense, shot-blocking — can this style ultimately win out in today’s game that’s dominated by offense and skill? (I know ‘Torts’ would give the coach’s answer here. But it’s fair to ask. I want to know how he would explain his answer).
Talk about the affect of the Coronavirus’ impact on the NHL and how that’s impacted your team, your situation with the players.
Hello Jarmo: Talk about being the first European GM in NHL history and how you have been able to build this Blue Jackets team over the years.
John Davidson was such a huge component of this franchise and the rebuild, talk about your relationship with him and even some of the challenges that now presides over the team since his departure to take over the Rangers?
Jarmo, you went for it at the 2019 trade deadline and I think more people than not recognize the significance of that. Of really going for it for the first time in the franchise’s history.
I think that the talent in the pipeline speaks to what the organization had going forward, and that had to help make your decision a little easier. As opposed to trading prospects and maybe not having more touted prospects to bring up going forward to alleviate the loss of major free agents.
Talk about your team, the talent in the minors, the assets they bring. Who are some of the players that we can expect to arrive in Columbus sooner than later and deliver the results?
The Blue Jackets blue line consists of Vladislav Gavrikov, Scott Harrington, Dean Kukan, Seth Jones, Ryan Murray, Markus Nutivaara, Andrew Peeke, David Savard, and Zach Werenski. Harrington was given a three-year contract last off-season, what did you like about Harrington to give him that type of deal and security?
We had the Golden Knights entering the league a few seasons ago and now we’ll have the new franchise in Seattle. How does that impact your thoughts on your roster with regards to preparing for an expansion draft and thinking about your players you want to protect?
How have you been navigating the tricky waters of Coronavirus and how has the impact shaped things for you in terms of this summer and the eventual off-season ahead?
What kinds of things would you ask each if you had the chance? And remember, it’s easy to type out what you think you’d say. But think about it from the perspective of being face-to-face or if you had them on a Zoom call.