Columbus Blue Jackets season preview
The Columbus Blue Jackets have had a very interesting past few weeks. With Mike Babcock resigning before even coaching practice, it will be interesting to see how this team rallies around going through that off-season adversity. Pascal Vincent is now the new bench boss, and he has a ton of talent to work with on this roster. I don’t think Columbus is a playoff team, but they should take a ton of positive steps this season.
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Offense
The top six on this team have a ton of talent and skill, but there’s a solid mix of young and old. Columbus struggled mightily when it came to scoring goals last season, but they can’t be fully to blame considering that they were riddled with injuries. They didn’t have one single player that participated in all 82 games, so this year if the group can stay healthy, it should be a much different story. Three players that will get a ton of attention are Johnny Gaudreau, Patrik Laine, and the third overall pick, Adam Fanitlli. The Blue Jackets have a ton of weapons up front, and I’m expecting them to be a much stronger and scarier team offensively.
Defense
The Blue Jackets were an absolute disaster defensively last season, but once again, a lot of that had to do with their roster issues. They had the second-worst goals against in the NHL (4.01) as well as the 25th-ranked penalty kill (75.1%). They added Damon Severson as well as Ivan Provorov to their blue line and having a healthy Zach Werenski will do them wonders. Columbus will be a better defensive team, but will they be extraordinary? Probably not.
Goaltending
Columbus’ goaltending could have been considered to be very ugly last season, but to be fair, the netminders didn’t have much help in front of them. Elvis Merzlikins will be the starter, and he is heading into his fifth NHL season. He only appeared in 30 games last year, but he has shown a ton of positives in the early parts of his career. With a stronger blue line in 2023-24, Merzlikins game should be much better. Daniil Tarasov will be his backup, and he is reliable, but won’t be much of a difference-maker.
Player To Watch – F Adam Fantilli
Even though he hasn’t played in a real NHL game yet, there is a ton of hype and excitement around the 18-year-old. He will definitely be competing for the Rookie of the Year, and I would not be surprised if he puts up 60 points in his first season as a pro. Fantilli is surrounded by a ton of skilled players and will benefit greatly. I’m very excited to watch this kid play.
Outlook
The Blue Jackets will be an exciting team because of all of the talented players on their roster, but I don’t see this team coming close to the playoffs. They’ll compete and give their opponents a tough game, but my expectations aren’t very high for this team.
