Babcock sees reason for optimism with his young team

After three seasons without postseason hockey, the Blue Jackets have made no bones about the fact they'd like to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs sooner rather than later.

To that end, it's been a busy offseason, with Columbus adding a top draft pick in Adam Fantilli, acquiring dependable defensemen Damon Severson and Ivan Provorov, and bringing in veteran head coach Mike Babcock to lead the way.

So, does the 12th-winningest head coach in NHL history think the Blue Jackets can be a playoff-caliber team in his return season to the bench?

Well, check back later.

Simply put, it was an impossible question for Babcock to answer when he met with the media for his introductory press conference 12 days ago. At that point, he had barely met his staff and not talked to his players, so expecting a grand statement or a bold guarantee might have been a bit much.

Instead, he's going to approach things like a coach -- a winning one, at that.

"What we're trying to do is improve and get better, and then we're going to just take a step a day," Babcock said. "We're going to do that all summer, and then we're going to do that through training camp and we're going to see where we go. When you look at a lot of the players from last year, they didn't have stellar years. We believe there's more in those players, plus the players we've added.

"So where can we go? I don't have the answer for you. I wish I did, but I don't have the answer. I just know when you do good things in life, good things happen. When you work hard, you're rewarded. And that's what we're gonna do."

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There was optimism, though, and it was brought by Blue Jackets president of hockey John Davidson. There's little denying last season was a tough one for Columbus, which struggled through a brutal opening schedule, saw injuries pile up and was out of the running for the postseason fairly early on.

So why is Davidson so excited? Hiring a coach with Babcock's credentials is a start, and the additions of not just Fantilli, Severson and Provorov but Alexandre Texier (returning from Europe) and Dmitri Voronkov (a 2019 draft pick who heads to North America after impressive showings in the KHL) should help the Blue Jackets immediately.

Then there's the big domino -- team health. Not a single Blue Jacket skated in 82 games a season ago, and the team set a record for man games lost thanks in part to long-term injuries to such players as captain Boone Jenner, top defenseman Zach Werenski, wing Patrik Laine, returning leading scorer Jakub Voracek, and depth players Justin Danforth and Jake Bean.

Voracek has since been traded to Arizona, but having the rest of those players back for full seasons would go a long way to helping the team. And with such youngsters as Kirill Marchenko, Kent Johnson and Adam Boqvist adding experience and summer training time, there's an intriguing mix of youth and veterans on the roster.

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"We're a hell of a lot healthier than what we were at the end of the season," Davidson said. "I was looking at the long list today of the players that were banged up and everybody pretty much is ready to go. We've added two veteran defensemen who are really gonna help us. We have to keep the puck out of the net.

"We've gotten young players on their summer programs, too. Those players are going to be more of a man than what they were going into last season. It's amazing how quickly that can change during an offseason.

"We still have more work to do. We're going to be better. For me, this is the most excited that I've been for a very long time with the Blue Jackets."

While Babcock wasn't yet ready to talk in such specifics, he does see room for optimism. The additions of Severson and Provorov in particular could be boons to the Jackets, as both are experienced defensemen with little injury history who can handle big minutes each night.

One particular issue for the Blue Jackets a year ago was all the injuries pushed young players into roles they might not have been ready for, so adding veterans to the mix should help shield the squad in that regard -- and those players can help the youngsters along.

"The team's gotten a lot better," Babcock said. "The opportunity for the young guys has gotten a lot better. And what I mean by that, when you have a better group around you, you have a chance to get better. You have a chance to see how things should be done and done right. We're excited. They've been drafting well for a while. There's a ton of kids here. Now we have to maximize their potential. We have to get them to grow as individuals and as a team. But it's exciting."

Columbus still projects as one of the younger teams in the NHL, but that excites Babcock as well. While his Detroit teams were often among the most veteran in the league, he inherited a young squad in Toronto and helped bring along such talents as Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander.

While Toronto didn't reach its ultimate goal in a loaded Atlantic Division that featured such battle-tested teams as Boston and Tampa Bay, a coach who describes himself as a "schoolteacher" said he likes the thought of coaching another young squad.

"I was real lucky to have a group of good young players when I went to Toronto," Babcock said. "We had a lot of fun and a lot of success. In the end after four and a half years, I was fired, but I enjoyed all my time there. I enjoyed the kids. And I'm proud when I see them play and how good they are and how hard they play and how they've grown. That's your job, to help those kids maximize their dream to become the best in the world at what they're doing."

So while Babcock isn't ready to proclaim anything as far as the postseason, he does see a team that can build into something to be proud of for a 5th Line that provided exceptional support as last season went along.

"This fanbase has stuck with this team," the coach said. "It's actually scary how great the fans have been for this team. You put a good product on the ice, you get organized, you develop something people can be proud of. I think it helps the fans be as great as they are."