After their tough first round loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2013-14 playoffs, most experts in the NHL predicted big things were ahead for the Columbus Blue Jackets. They were a young, talented team that played with an edge and was a handful to play against to say the least. With a little more experience and the right couple of pieces added to the mix, many NHL insiders saw Columbus as the team of the future in the Eastern Conference. However, since the final horn sounded after that Game 6 loss to Pittsburgh it’s been nothing but difficult and turbulent times in Columbus.
NHL’s Biggest Disappointment – Blue Jackets
Last Season
The 2014-15 season got off to a terrible start before the puck was dropped on opening night. The summer leading into last season saw a very cantankerous contract negotiation with Columbus and their young superstar Ryan Johansen. When the smoke cleared a three-year deal was worked out for the restricted free agent. However, a lot of bad blood was spilled on both sides and that still remains today. Going into last season many NHL prognosticators had the Blue Jackets as the trendy pick as one of the teams in the Eastern Conference Final. Needless to say expectations were very high.
Last season saw Columbus come out of the gates very slowly and then the injuries happened. When I say Columbus endured injuries last season that is a massive under statement. The Blue Jackets had more than 500 man-games lost last season. By the time Columbus had their team relatively intact, as well as their game, it was too late to save their season. But an incredible finish of 12-0-1 to end the year had once again set off big expectations for Columbus for the 2015-16 season.
Team Preview: Expectations high for #CBJ after strong finish in 2014-15 >> http://t.co/RL3dgcAMGi pic.twitter.com/1k7XfEucL9
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) September 23, 2015
This Season
This past summer the Blue Jackets made a huge acquisition by landing Brandon Saad from the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Chicago Blackhawks. Adding a player like Saad with his ability, experience and the fact he is already a two-time Stanley Cup champion at the age of 23 and expectations were sky-high for the 2015-16 season.
But you know the saying, “The best laid plans for mice and men often go awry.”
That describes the Blue Jackets season up until this point. Columbus started the season with eight straight regulation losses, which resulted in the firing of head coach Todd Richards. With Richards out, taskmaster John Tortorella was in. While Columbus has improved (though there was nowhere to go but up) the Blue Jackets are already looking towards next season. To be fair, Columbus has at least been mediocre under “Torts,” going 14-14-3.
When you look at the key team stats for Columbus it really explains how on January 2nd this franchise finds itself with the least amount of points in the league. They rank 21st in goals for per game, 28th in goals against per game, and 23rd on the power play with the 11th best penalty killing unit.
While Saad has not disappointed the same cannot be said by many of his teammates. Johansen has just six goals, Nick Foligno has only lit the lamp five times (and signed a big contract extension last spring), blueliner Jack Johnson is a -15 and David Savard (who also signed a big contract extension this summer) is a -13 as well. Finally, talented youngsters Ryan Murray and Alexander Wennberg have not lived up to the hype, at least up until this point. Once again what looked like a promising season has gone up in smoke.
Where do the Jackets go From Here?
The first step Columbus has to take is to greatly improve their blueline. I am not saying that the Jackets have sub-par defensemen but if they want to be a serious contender in the East their play on the back line has to get dramatically better. I don’t see that fit in the NHL’s upcoming unrestricted free agent class this summer. That is going to mean Columbus will have to go the trade route. That is where Ryan Johansen comes into play.
It is clear that the mix of Johansen and Tortorella is not working and with the remaining bad blood between himself and the organization from the last contract negotiation, it’s clear it’s best for both sides to part ways. Johansen could be used as a chip to land at least a solid front line defenseman.
In terms of the Blue Jackets pipeline Columbus has two young kids not that far away from the NHL that should have the fan base very excited. They are defenseman Zach Werenski and forward Sonny Milano. Werenski is currently playing for the University of Michigan, while Milano is in the AHL. Werenski is projecting as a first pairing defenseman while Milano looks like a top-six forward. It’s not impossible that Werenski makes the Blue Jackets next season and Milano could see some time in Columbus later this season.
Finally, based on their current place in the league standings, the Blue Jackets will have another top pick in the upcoming 2016 draft. Who knows if the ping pong balls bounce the Jackets way they could wind up with the number one overall pick and a potential franchise player in Auston Matthews.
There is a lot of work to do and difficult decisions ahead for the Blue Jackets. This is an organization with a lot of assets so it’s not impossible that we could see a big turn around for this franchise as soon as next season. But are President of Hockey Operations John Davidson, General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen and Tortorella the right people to lead this franchise to the promised land?
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