5 days until CBJ opening night: Reasons to be excited

Let's not beat around the bush -- not only are the Blue Jackets boasting many new faces for the upcoming season, just about every analyst in hockey expects Columbus to miss the playoffs for the second straight season.
But hey, what do the experts know anyway? There's plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the Blue Jackets this upcoming season, from new players to watch to fan favorites to players who have shown they want to be in Columbus for years to come.
Here are five reasons to be excited about the Blue Jackets as the 2021-22 campaign nears, with the puck dropping Thursday night in Nationwide Arena vs. Arizona.

Patrik Laine: Blue Jackets fans got just a taste of Laine last year, as he scored some tantalizing goals -- think his end-to-end rush vs. Chicago or any of the power-play blasters he ripped past opposing goalies -- but in the end it wasn't quite the full Laine experience. His totals of 10 goals and 11 assists in 45 games were all career lows when it comes to per-game stats, and he left Columbus last season promising to be better when he came back for his second season in union blue. It appears that is in the offing, as Laine is in great shape and has a new accomplice in Jakub Voracek, whose game looks like it's perfectly suited to complement Laine's. It's not hard to imagine him bouncing back and becoming one of the top goal scorers in the league again, especially because...
The power play should be much better:After four straight seasons where Columbus finished 25th or lower in the NHL in conversion percentage, I'd expect things to be much better this time around. The main reason -- ingredients. You can't cook a five-star meal with two-star food, and the reality is the Blue Jackets have been struggling to find the right players for the man-advantage for years. But adding Voracek to the top unit brings in one of the best passers in the NHL, and his vision and quick decision-making have led to a unit that's been impressive in the preseason. He has some good players around him, including Laine, who looks much more comfortable playing off Voracek than he did the top power-play personnel a year ago. The second unit also has some new blood, including quarterback Adam Boqvist and the potential to have Cole Sillinger and Yegor Chinakhov peppering goalies from the flanks. Teams will adjust to what the Jackets have done successfully in the preseason, but it just feels like this has to be better.
OPENING NIGHT COUNTDOWN: 7 new faces | 6 big home games
The young guns: Speaking of Chinakhov and Sillinger, the youth movement is afoot. The official numbers will come out next week, but it would be hard to imagine there's a younger team in the NHL than Columbus. A number of veterans have been traded, and the Blue Jackets are building for the next great Columbus team. That doesn't mean this one is dead in the water, but it does mean this is the start of something new, with nine potential major contributors all 23 or under in Jake Bean (23), Emil Bemstrom (22), Boqvist (21), Chinakhov (20), Liam Foudy (21), Laine (23), Andrew Peeke (23), Sillinger (18) and Alexandre Texier (22). Add in players who are to come -- for example, 2021 first-rounders Kent Johnson and Corson Ceulemans and Russian draft picks Kirill Marchenko, Dmitri Voronkov and Daniil Tarasov -- and the future appears to be quite bright in Columbus.
The goalies:It sort of feels like the goaltending tandem of Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins has slipped a bit under the radar in camp. That could be because what once was new and exciting is now familiar, and it could be because both had their share of ups and downs last season. But at the end of the day, Columbus feels like it has a winning duo between the pipes, as both players have shown they can carry the load and excel for long stretches should the need arise. While Merzlikins signed a five-year extension that will kick in next season, head coach Brad Larsen has said this year will be a meritocracy, and with two goalies pushing each other, it should be a good situation between the pipes for the Blue Jackets.
Werenski is signed: Zach Werenski wasn't the only player to pledge himself to the Blue Jackets this offseason -- Dublin native Sean Kuraly came over from Boston to ink a four-year deal, while Merzlikins and Boone Jenner also signed long-term extensions -- but something felt important about the star defenseman putting pen to paper for Columbus. While there had been a high-profile series of players who left the capital city for one reason or another, Werenski looked at the whole of the situation and decided he wanted to be here, and it felt like a much-needed embrace of the team and its fanbase. While some have argued the defenseman is overpaid, he's one of the top goal scorers in the league at his position and has become a steady presence in his own zone over the years as well. Now the unquestioned No. 1 on the blue line, he could be in store for a run of excellent seasons as he enters his prime.
Don't miss out! Be there for opening night Thursday in Nationwide Arena!