I've been thinking and something occurs to me. Now, I don't believe in coincidence. So, I've been wondering why Torts' contract ends at the end of this season and so many players' contracts end after next season. Jarmo is not stupid. Obviously, I could be adding 2 and 2 and getting 5, but....
It seems to me that the scheduling of the end of so many contracts is Jarmo planning. Instead of offering Torts another contract (Probably because Torts wants to retire to focus on his charity work.), Jarmo is agreeing to let Torts retire after this season so he can give the next coach a season to evaluate the players he inherits, after which said new coach works with Jarmo to begin "reshaping" the Jackets to take that next step towards the Cup.