It’s been a rough start to the 2015-16 season for the Columbus Blue Jackets. The franchise began a new NHL campaign with high hopes of returning to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but have endured a disastrous 0-7 start. Their latest loss, a 4-0 defeat to the New York Islanders Tuesday, proved to be the final straw for management, as head coach Todd Richards was fired shortly afterward. Richards will always be remembered for being the head coach that led the Blue Jackets to their first ever playoff wins in team history, but a poor start to the season produced a decision that some viewed as inevitable.

General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen wasted little time finding a replacement, with John Tortorella introduced Wednesday as the new head coach. Tortorella brings an impressive resume to Columbus; he’s a Stanley Cup winner with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and has also managed the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks. In addition, he’ll be Team USA’s head coach for the World Cup of Hockey next year.

Tortorella also brings an interesting personality to the Blue Jackets. He is notorious for polarizing behavior during press conferences, and many will see his arrival as the start of a spark for a club desperately needing one. His reunion with Brandon Dubinsky, who played for him with the Rangers, will be one of the critical points that determines whether this move will work both short-term and long-term.

Despite the disappointing start to the season, the Blue Jackets can look to recent history for optimism. The Flyers parted ways with Peter Laviolette three games into the 2013-14 season, but Craig Berube helped the team clinch a playoff spot. After four games in 2008-09, Chicago fired Denis Savard, and Joel Quenneville not only led the Blackhawks to the playoffs that year, they’ve won three Stanley Cups since.

Columbus begins a four-game road trip Thursday at Minnesota, perhaps the ideal time for a new coach to begin his tenure. Tortorella’s job will be to keep the team focused and free from distractions, whether it’s the negativity that an 0-7 start usually breeds or the hype that surrounds the hiring of a new coach. It gives the Blue Jackets a chance to get critical road wins before they return to Nationwide Arena at the end of the month.

Is Tortorella the answer for Columbus? It’s up to him to turn the Blue Jackets’ fortunes around.