Exit day notebook: Bjorkstrand makes some CBJ history

So far in 20 seasons of action, 10 different players have led the Blue Jackets in goals in a campaign.
Four have done it multiple times, in fact. But only two -- Rick Nash and now Oliver Bjorkstrand -- now have ever done it in consecutive seasons.

Nash did it eight seasons in a row from his Rocket Richard-winning year of 2004 to his final season in 2012, so The Maestro still has a long way to go to match that record. But still, with 21 goals a year ago and 18 more this year, both in shortened seasons, Bjorkstrand has made a little bit of CBJ history. And anytime your name can be mentioned in the same breath as Nash's, you're doing something right.
And it's fair to say that's the case with Bjorkstrand, who has grown into one of the most consistent and underrated players in the NHL. That's exactly what he's been searching for, growing from a fresh-faced youngster a couple of years ago into a dependable producer now at age 26.

"I feel like every year, I've been trying to take steps," he said Monday as part of the team's exit interview day, two days after the close of the 2021 campaign. "I thought last year was a good start for me to take a big step, especially when (Artemi) Panarin left. We needed a little bit more goal scoring. It gave an opportunity for me to take more ice time. I feel like I grabbed it. Again this year, I just tried to do the same thing."
He did just that, as Bjorkstrand's game grew this season. While he continued to post goals -- with 18 in 56 games, he was on pace for 26 goals in an 82-game season -- he posted career-high marks with 0.46 assists per game and 0.79 points per game (he had 26 assists and 44 points overall). In an 82-game season, that projects to 38 helpers and 64 points in a season.
With a new five-year contract kicking in next season, Bjorkstrand is inked longer than any player in the organization. With that comes the responsibility to keep adding to his game and improving, which is in line with what the Danish forward hopes for himself.
"I have been happy with the way it's gone for me, but I still think there's room for improvement," he said. "Again next year, I want to take another step and be even more consistent and score more and all that. That's definitely something I'm going to be focused on."

Domi finished strong

There wasn't much to be happy about down the stretch for the Jackets, especially after injuries and the trade deadline gutted the team of many of its veterans, but one bright spot was the play of Max Domi.
While it's fair to say his whole-season numbers aren't what he or the Blue Jackets hoped for when he was acquired for Josh Anderson this past offseason -- he finished with a 9-15-24 line in 54 games -- Domi did put up better offensive numbers down the stretch.

Domi capped the season with the overtime winner Saturday against Detroit, giving him four goals and 12 points in his last 17 games. That figures out to a 57-game pace over a full season, much closer to the numbers he had established in his first five years in the NHL.
With the team needing to answer questions about the center position this offseason, Domi moved back to the pivot in the second half of the year and showed he can fill the role. His confidence after a frustrating start clearly was higher, as his excellent speed and puck skills were more on display as the year went by.
"It was a tough year, obviously," he said Monday. "I started out really struggling and it was tough to get out of that, but I kind of went with the mind-set that no matter what, you're gonna finish strong. By the time I got it going it was almost too little, too late, but you spin that into a positive going into the summer with a much clearer head and better mind-set.
"There's definitely a lot of hunger coming into next year. I know the potential is there and the skills are still there. I just have to be consistent with it and come back ready to go."

Dealing with Covid

Domi also listed one reason why he feels like he might have struggled at the start of the year.
The fear of Covid infection.
Speaking honestly, the center that battles Type 1 diabetes said he felt like a new person after receiving the Covid vaccine and wanted to share that with others. Admitting he wasn't sure at first about the vaccine, he said that his game "took off" after starting the vaccination process and that he felt as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
"I wasn't going to talk about this but I will, just because I think it's important to share," he said. "I was kind of hit and miss with the whole vaccine thing, but I got it. I was very lucky to get it at the time I did. I will never forget the feeling I had after I got the vaccine, just the sense of relief and freedom. You don't even realize you how much stress you had built up about this thing, and it wears on you. It does, man.
"I'm not making excuses or saying that's the reason why I wasn't playing good or wasn't happy or whatever it was at the start of the year, but as soon as I got that (vaccine), it was almost like the world was lifted off my shoulders. … Diabetes or not, it freed me up a lot and I'm very thankful for the opportunity to get that when I did."

While Domi was the only player to speak about vaccines Monday, he wasn't the only one who had to live through the Covid protocols this year. On the road, per NHL protocols, players weren't allowed to go out to dinner with one another as usual -- they could only leave the hotel for walks -- and they were discouraged from hanging out in each others' rooms. Even at home, players were discouraged from going out to eat, and as a result, it was almost like they were in something similar to the bubble year ago that was set up for the playoffs in Toronto.
But while the Toronto bubble was for a shorter time span, this year's four-month campaign meant it was a grind. No one was going to complain -- after all, there are a lot worse gigs than making a lot of money to play a sport -- but that didn't change the fact it was a mental minefield for players and staffers throughout the year.
"I think definitely it was different," defenseman Zach Werenski said. "Usually going out to dinner with the guys, going out with them, hanging out with them on off days, those are ways to get closer and build that trust. At the same time, everyone was going through it, so there's no excuse for missing the playoffs, but in terms of just being a closer locker room, being closer to your teammates, I definitely think the restrictions didn't help anybody, didn't help us."

Injuries healing nicely

Three of the players who spoke to the media on Monday -- Werenski, Boone Jenner and Joonas Korpisalo -- said the are recovering nicely from the injuries that caused them to miss the end of the season.
Both Werenski (hernia surgery) and Jenner (broken finger) informally skated on the OhioHealth Ice Haus ice during the last week of the season, signs their rehab was coming along nicely. Korpisalo, meanwhile, is showing no ill effects from the lower-body injury that cost him the last two weeks of the season.
Werenski said he was dealing with his injury throughout the entire campaign starting in training camp before the team decided during mid-April to shut him down and get him ready for next year.

"It's going really good," he said of his rehab. "I'm actually surprised how good I feel and how quickly it's gone. Obviously whenever you play through an injury, mentally it's kind of draining, especially with the year we were going through, so I'm happy to get it fixed and be healthy for the offseason.
"Some days you feel good (battling an injury), some days you feel bad. The hardest part is you think about it all the time. It's just in the back of your mind. It's hard to be on top of your game when that's running through your head."