If today is like Christmas Day for fans, just imagine how it feels to be an NHL player.
Their version of opening presents on Christmas morning is getting the opportunity to put the grueling work of summer and training camp behind them and actually play games that matter.
As a result, new Blue Jackets head coach Dean Evason had to pull back the reins on practice Wednesday, following a long session Tuesday with a much shorter skate.
“Today’s practice, we’ve geared it down just because the guys are jacked,” Evason said post-practice. “They’re just going. You let them go, they’d skate out there for three hours because they’re excited. Just the fact, too, getting it going with such optimism. It’s such a wonderful time of the year because everybody feels they’re going to win the Stanley Cup. That’s our thought process moving forward, and we try to get it going tomorrow night.”
Only one team will win the Stanley Cup, but every season is still a memorable journey. Throughout the campaign, there will be inspiring victories, historic individual performances, and heartbreaking losses. It’s what you play for, which is why the Blue Jackets players are so ready to get going.
"Training camp always seems to be long, and it's a challenge,” alternate captain Sean Kuraly said. “I always look forward to preseason being completed and training camp being completed. Now you get to the point where you get to play for fun and you get to work as a team to try and come together and win games. Guys align, come together and be successful, and you work together with guys on your team, night in and night out.
“That's my favorite part about this whole thing, so I'm excited training camp's over and I really look forward to our team being able to come together and jell.”
There’s also a notable connection to Minnesota for the opening game. You can’t accuse the schedule makers of manufacturing drama because the slate came out well before the Blue Jackets hired Evason, but it is a bit of a homecoming considering he was the head coach of the Wild for five seasons before being let go after the team struggled out of the gate a season ago.
Evason hates to be the story, but he did acknowledge looking forward to some aspects of the trip to face his former squad.
“I really enjoyed my time that I spent there,” he said. “I love the area and the organization, and I have a ton of really good friends still there, a lot of people that still work in the organization clearly, so I’m looking forward to seeing everybody.
“But after that, there’s a game to coach and a game to play, and hopefully we come out on the right end.”
Know The Foe: Minnesota Wild
Head coach: John Hynes (Second season)
Team stats (2023-24): Goals per game: 3.02 (21st) | Scoring defense: 3.17 (20th) | PP: 22.7 percent (10th) | PK: 74.5 percent (30th)
The narrative: After Minnesota made the playoffs 11 out of 12 previous seasons, a slow start under Evason doomed the Wild last year to a spring without postseason hockey, as the team’s 39-34-9 record left the squad 11 points shy of a berth. The hope is the second year under Hynes will lead to success, with the team building around such names as star Kirill Kaprizov and young standouts Matt Boldy, Marco Rossi and Brock Faber.
Team leaders: Kaprizov had another excellent season, as the Russian wing tied for eighth in the NHL with 46 goals and added 50 assists for 96 points, 11th in the league. Boldy’s age 22 season was an impressive one, as he placed second on the squad with 69 points (29 goals, 40 assists). Joel Eriksson Ek added a career-high 30 goals, while Faber had eight goals and 47 points on the way to placing second in the Calder Trophy voting. Rossi is also a name to know after posting 21 goals and 40 points in his first full NHL campaign.
In net, Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury return after splitting duties. Gustavsson started a team-high 43 contests and went 20-18-4 with a 3.06 GAA and .899 save percentage, while Fleury’s 20th NHL season featured 36 starts, a 17-15-5 record, a 2.98 GAA and .895 save percentage.
What's new: Minnesota added forwards Yakov Trenin and Jakub Lauko in the offseason to the bottom six, while 2020 second-round pick Marat Khusnutdinov is expected to take on a bigger role at center after making his debut a season ago.
Trending: The teams split the season series a year ago, with Columbus taking a 5-4 overtime win in St. Paul on Oct. 21 on Jack Roslovic’s winner. Minnesota returned the favor with a 4-3 overtime victory Jan. 6 in Columbus that featured a hat trick by Cole Sillinger. Columbus has earned points in its last three visits to Minnesota (1-0-2) and 11 of the last 16 played (9-5-2).
Former CBJ: None
