Game On!

One of my favorite John Tortorella memories goes back to a scene in New Jersey a few years ago. It tells a lot about the man who in October starts his first full season behind the Blueshirts bench – about his sense of loyalty and Torts' values.

Nik Khabibulin, the Stanley Cup-winning goaltender when Tortorella headed the Lightning, had forsaken Tampa Bay for bigger bucks in Chicago. Tortorella has nothing against the Blackhawks, who had legitimately obtained the netminder via the free agency route. But John was sore at the goalie who – under Torts' tutelage – had earned a nifty nickname, The Bulin Wall.

"He didn't have to leave us," Tortorella told me. "Khabibulin still could have been happy with the Lightning. And still making enough money to be happy."

It was clear that Torts was dismayed at what he perceived as Nik's disloyalty, as well as the fact that his departure would hurt a championship hockey club.

John also suggested rather forcefully that The Wall's decision would – in the end – backfire on him; no matter how much dough he stashed in his bank.

While agents, accountants and others, whose focus is on the bucks, might disagree, The Maven says that Tortorella was – and IS – right on! Khabibulin should have remained with the Lightning in the manner that Martin Brodeur stayed a Devil and won three Cups in the bargain.

Yes, Virginia, there IS such a thing as loyalty. Even in the NHL.

All things considered, Nik has been an abject failure since leaving Tampa Bay, and the Blackhawks can't get rid of him soon enough.

Which brings us to the Blueshirts and the values that Tortorella already has begun instilling in his team.

Too late, Scotty Gomez caught a whiff of it after the last campaign and said so in the postseason a month before being dealt to Montreal.

Commenting about how the 2009-2010 Tortorella regime would brook no nonsense, Gomer suggested that he would be up for the task. Perhaps he would have been, but that we'll never know.

What we know already is that whether it's a top-level talent such as Marian Gaborik or a fourth-liner like Donald Brashear, the bar already has been set and there will be no lowering of it; FOR ANYBODY.

This recently was evident at Greenburgh, New York where the Rangers invited young talent for a scouting session. It was not merely a matter of X-raying ability. No less important was the will to compete and nobody was more explicit about expectations from the Tortorella Era than the club's 2009 top draft pick, Chris Kreider.

I had the pleasure – and, believe me, talking with this upright lad WAS a distinct pleasure – of interviewing the Boston College-bound forward in Montreal immediately after New York had selected him. The kid is as honest – call it forthright – as they come. In an interview with the Boston Globe's sage Kevin Paul Dupont, Kreider provided a vivid idea of what the Wade Reddens, Chris Drurys and Ryan Callahans can expect once training camp begins.

Right after Kreider had endured a perspiration-pocked week on the Westchester ice, Dupont got the 6-foot-2 prospect to talk about what seemed like Marines at Quantico, Virginia – on ice!

"It was the toughest camp I've ever been in," Kreider, a Phillips Academy grad, told Dupont. "It was very grueling. Everyone was pushed to the limit."

This is what earlier Tortorella aces such as Vince Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis grew to love – and sometimes loathe – so well. Mostly love – because John taught them to be champs.

Make no mistake, Vinny and Marty paid the price; in spades. And the young Rangers – at this writing – still might be black-and-blue from Torts' most recent boot camp.

"It came down to him wanting to see our competitive edge," Kreider recalled. "A few times the coach (Torts) was telling some of the players, 'I want to see you buckle down; don't let anyone pass you.'

"It was intense. For me it was an eye-opener, but I definitely enjoyed it."

No question, the Rangers under Tortorella will pay the price. The joy won't derive so much from the sweat but rather the success that will come from what Henrik Lundqvist would call Swedish Steam. New York definition: HARD WORK!

BOTTOM LINE: Get ready for a delightful season of Tough Torts!

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