5 Reasons To Be Excited
New blood: Teams always make changes going into a season, especially after a disappointing campaign, and the Blue Jackets are no exception. Columbus has added five pieces that could reasonably be part of the opening day lineup in young forwards Alexandre Texier and Dmitri Voronkov, veteran defensemen Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson, and first-round draft pick Adan Fantilli. Add in a new head coach in Pascal Vincent and there should be a new energy about the Jackets.
Pazzy’s in charge: It’s the first NHL head coaching job for Vincent, but he could very well be the right guy at the right time for the Blue Jackets. Named coach of the year previously in head coaching jobs in both major junior and the AHL, Vincent – who turns 52 today – is known as an excellent communicator who has developed strong relationships with Blue Jackets players the past two years while serving as the team’s associate head coach. After a turbulent few days, Vincent seems to have taken command of the Blue Jackets, and there’s a palpable level of enthusiasm for his promotion to the big chair.
The kids are all right: Prospect analysts across the league have ranked Columbus’ prospect pool as one of the best in the league, and the fruits of three consecutive excellent drafts should continue to be seen this season. One of the top prospects in the game, Fantilli seems ticketed to make the opening night roster and might be worth the price of admission himself. There’s a bevy of young players with experience like Cole Sillinger, Kent Johnson, Kirill Marchenko and Adam Boqvist that should continue to get better, and such names as Fantilli, Voronkov and David Jiricek should help the team this year.
Laine’s ready: Patrik Laine has been nearly a point-per-game player the past two seasons, posting a 48-60-108 line in 111 contests the past two seasons despite being in and out of the lineup because of injury. Could even more be in the cards? Laine is admittedly excited about Vincent’s promotion and looks ready to go for the season, and he stepped up in the summer too when he took in Fantilli to live with him. There are a number of veterans who will lead the way including such names as Boone Jenner, Johnny Gaudreau and Zach Werenski, but Laine could be an X-factor for this squad.
Luck be a lady: The Blue Jackets simply have to have better luck this year, right? That’s mainly on the injury front, as Columbus had a franchise record for 563 man-games lost to injury and had to skate another record 47 players a year ago. Injury luck tends to even out year over year, and the Blue Jackets would take that. The Blue Jackets also had a brutal start to last season schedule-wise and got into a hole they couldn’t get out of, including a 3-9 record through 12 games that was a harbinger of things to come. It wouldn't be a surprise to see things start off much better this time around.
5 Questions That Must Be Answered
What happens between the pipes? The Blue Jackets as a team posted a .887 save percentage a year ago, 29th in the league, and that number simply has to get better for the team to contend for a postseason spot. A lot of factors went into it – youth and injuries on defense included – but the squad’s goaltenders also have to improve. Elvis Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov come into the season as the presumed top netminders, but both battled both injuries and inconsistencies a year ago, and Tarasov is missing the start of camp with a knee injury. Seven-year veteran Aaron Dell was bought into camp to provide depth, but the best thing that could happen is a bounce-back season from Merzlikins.
Who plays center? Columbus returns its top four centers from a year ago in Jenner, Jack Roslovic, Sean Kuraly and Cole Sillinger, while Fantilli is expected to hold down a spot in the middle as well. In addition, Laine attempted learning the position a season ago, and such names as Johnson, Texier, Voronkov and Liam Foudy have all played the position in the past as well. Those five players all started camp on the wing Thursday, but all can move over if the opportunity arises. How the lineup shakes out will depend on what the Blue Jackets think of the players in the middle.
Who plays defense? There’s a similar logjam on the blue line, as the additions of Provorov and Severson give the Blue Jackets two of the most dependable players in the league. The two have combined to miss just six games in the last five seasons, so they should provide the stability the Blue Jackets were sorely looking for. Werenski’s return to health adds another minutes eater, but outside of that, the Blue Jackets have Boqvist, Jiricek, Erik Gudbranson, Andrew Peeke, Jake Bean, Nick Blankenburg, Tim Berni and even youngsters Jake Christiansen and Stanislav Svozil looking to claim spots.
Which youngsters make the cut? We sang the praises of the CBJ prospect pool above, but it also appears that the Blue Jackets are going to have to make some tough decisions to get down to a 23-man opening night roster. That means some pretty talented youngsters might be on the wrong side of the bubble. While that might not be a bad thing as far as development – and figures to build quite a club down in Cleveland – some Jackets who have gotten used to NHL minutes might have to familiarize themselves with I-71 this season.
How much improvement can be hard? The Blue Jackets finished with just 59 points a season ago, 33 behind the last playoff spot. That’s an awfully big gap to make up, and it seems like the talent and optimism is there for the squad to make a jump this year. The Blue Jackets are motivated to not go through another season like the 2022-23 campaign, but it’s going to take a lot of attention to detail and dedication to get back into the running for postseason hockey.
