The Columbus Blue Jackets were, as many outlets across the league reported, slated to finish in the bottom five of the NHL again this season. With a relatively unproven, and often injury-prone, blue line and the question mark on the health of Sergei Bobrovsky, there was much to worry about. But with the insurgence of a few young names to the roster, the system seems to be providing early improvements and a brighter future for a young team.
Columbus Blue Jackets System Providing Early Improvements
Special Teams
The first, and most noticeable, aspect that has played a large role in the massive improvement to the start of the season would have to be special teams. The powerplay and penalty kill last year offered little to no hope for anything positive. Proof of this is the fact that the Blue Jackets finished 21st in the league last year on the powerplay, with a dismal 17.3% success rate. If that wasn’t enough to make you believe it, they had an equally average 81.0% on the penalty kill as well. Neither of those are anything to write home about.
It’s an undeniable fact that the assistant coach of a team plays a large role in the special teams systems, and Brad Shaw deserves a massive amount of credit for his work. His knowledge, along with the rest of the staff, to install a system that would suit players like Alexander Wennberg perfectly, who is second in the league in assists with 13 (behind only Connor McDavid), deserves praise. Along with the fact that the team came into this season in noticeably better shape, this is a combination for special teams success. At 33.3% on the powerplay, first in the league, and 83.3% on the penalty kill (13th), it’s hard to deny the improvement in this area of play.
As for the players coming into the season in shape, much of this has to do with the attitude that Tortorella and his staff have put in place in the Blue Jackets dressing room. The hard-nosed philosophy that they bring to the table has brought a sense of accountability to a young team; an invaluable trait to winning games. The fact that many of the players said the preseason was one of the hardest they’ve ever been a part of in their lives, makes for a much more in shape, hard working, and more disciplined team come time for regular season hockey.
The Blue Line
Another thing that fans came into the season worrying about was the blue line, primarily due to a lack of a real veteran presence. The emergence of Zach Werenski for the Cleveland Monsters late last year in the AHL season and Calder Cup Playoffs left many wondering if he would make the roster, and where he would fit in on it. Little did hockey fans in The Buckeye State know, he would emerge as an early favorite for the Calder Trophy.
With the emergence of Werenski, and the steady and solid play of Seth Jones, the first pairing looks very different from what most people originally thought. Add Ryan Murray having slight injury issues so far, it has been a major blessing in disguise for a young Blue Jackets team.
It’s hard to look at any of the defenseman that have been involved in the mix so far in this young season and state that they’ve played poorly. When you take into account that the Blue Jackets have allowed the third least goals against so far, sitting at 32 in 13 games (they gave up 34 in their first seven games last year), and see that they’re right around the top third in the league for goals against per game, there’s plenty of reason to believe that the blue line has improved under current coach John Tortorella.
The Goaltending
The major plight to the start of the 2015-16 season was, without argument, the goaltending of Sergei Bobrovsky and Curtis McElhinney. Although their atrocious play and injury issues resulted in the fans getting a better look at young goalies Anton Forsberg and Joonas Korpisalo, it left much to be desired in the wins column.
Bobrovsky finished the 2015-16 season with a dismal stat line of 15-19-1, a well below starting goalie standards .908 SV%, and an equally disappointing 2.75 GAA to boot. Some will contribute this to the groin issues he’s had in past years, and others solely to the terrible start to the season killing his confidence. One thing is for sure: he went into the off-season with a point to prove, got into phenomenal shape, and is now showing everyone why he once won a Vezina Trophy, albeit in a shortened season.
So far this season, Bobrovsky has been a great point of optimism for the fans, and it is more than noticeable to see how much more comfortable and happy he is with his play. Spending the off-season with Team Russia in the World Cup of Hockey, where he singlehandedly kept them in a few games, definitely played a part in him coming into the season in shape and ready to put the fans worries about him, and his ailing groin, to rest.
https://twitter.com/imfleming16/status/797892928945258496
The Result
The result of everything seemingly falling into place so far is a much happier fanbase, and a much improved start to the season. The players are buying into what the coaching staff is selling, and the fans are buying into the team.
Despite the fact that the season is still young, there is reason for the fans in Columbus to believe that they can challenge for a wild card spot sooner rather than later. This season may not reap the rewards of a spot in postseason hockey, but there’s no longer any doubts that what John Tortorella, Brad Shaw, and the rest of the staff are doing is working. Only time will tell when this young team takes that next step and gets the metaphorical playoff monkey off their back for good.
Main Photo:
