Let’s start this new season with a question. What immediately comes to mind when you think of the Columbus Blue Jackets these days? The answer of course depends on who you talk to.
Blue Jackets’ fans are of course excited. Thursday is opening day of the 2023-24 season for their team. The traditional “Walking the Blue Carpet” and Plaza Party are on the agenda outside of Nationwide Arena to signify the start of the new season.
But then there’s everyone else. By everyone else, we mean fans of other teams as well as members of the media at large outside of Columbus. To them, the Blue Jackets either don’t matter to them or they don’t expect the team to do much this season.
Need proof of their indifference? Look at what’s trending.
Blue Jackets Not Getting Headlines
The big story at the start of the new season is Blackhawks’ center Connor Bedard. He has points in each of his first two games including his first goal Wednesday night in Boston.
How popular is Bedard? ESPN said that the game between the Blackhawks and Penguins on Tuesday night was their most viewed regular-season game on record. It averaged 1.43 million total viewers.
Bedard is not the only headline in the hockey world. The Vegas Golden Knights lifted their Stanley Cup banner on Tuesday night. Other teams got their seasons underway hoping to be the next to lift the Cup.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but on a national scale, there has been very little fanfare around the start of the Blue Jackets season. Sure, there have been some mentions of them here and there. That only lasted for a few minutes and then it was onto another story.
Part of the reason for that is because many experts predict the Blue Jackets to be among the worst in the NHL again this season. “Bottom-feeders” generally don’t get headlines unless it’s about something bad. The team had that something bad happen before Training Camp even began.
Because of the Mike Babcock situation, the Blue Jackets got headlines but not the ones they wanted. They’ve moved on from that. But many folks around the country still have this at the top of their mind. To them, it’s the latest blunder for a team who has had trouble finding sustained success.
Read up on what the experts are saying about how this season will go. You won’t find many who have the Blue Jackets making the playoffs let alone making any kind of impact should they get there. It’s like they’ve already been written off even before the first puck drop. It’s a familiar feeling, isn’t it Blue Jackets fans?
Blue Jackets Stories to Follow
Finishing the 2022-23 season with just 59 points doesn’t instill a lot of confidence going into the new year. But that doesn’t mean the Blue Jackets don’t have interesting headlines going into the 2023-24 season. If it wasn’t for last season and then the Babcock situation, there would be more attention placed on these stories. Let’s attempt to highlight these stories now.
First and foremost is the NHL debut of 19-year old center Adam Fantilli. He couldn’t hide his smile on Thursday morning given the excitement of his first game. He said he got a text from Wayne Gretzky saying “Good luck on your first game.” He said he will have about 30 or so friends and family at Nationwide Arena for the game.
“(I’m) super excited,” Fantilli said. “You only get one first game so I’m trying to enjoy it as much as possible.”
The hype around the Blue Jackets for Fantilli is real. Many consider him the best prospect they’ve ever had with all due respect to Rick Nash. Big things are expected from him as he gets his feet wet in the NHL.
There are a few folks who do believe that Fantilli is a serious contender for the Calder Trophy even despite Bedard’s presence. The Blue Jackets are thought of as a better team than the Blackhawks. Fantilli could get significant playing time with stars Johnny Gaudreau and Patrick Laine eventually. They’ll be together on the same power play. But you will see Fantilli play with Kirill Marchenko and Justin Danforth in Game 1 to start.
Fantilli deserves more headlines than what he is getting. The Blue Jackets being able to draft him third overall is already one of the most important moments of their franchise. That era begins Thursday night.
Stories Beyond Fantilli
Fantilli is just one headline to follow. But there are several more stories that will be worth following that will impact how the 2023-24 season will go.
Laine is lining up as the Blue Jackets’ number-one center to start the season. This should be generating more headlines than it is. He hasn’t played 10 games at center yet in his career. He will play with Gaudreau and Cole Sillinger as his wingers. If you think you saw this as the “first line” on opening night in the summer, you are lying.
Then there’s the revamped defense with the additions of Damon Severson and Ivan Provorov. They will play together on Thursday night and possibly beyond. Many experts don’t think this is enough of a change to make a significant impact. Consider Zach Werenski is back and now you have a more respectable top-four more capable of competing.
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There’s what Elvis Merzlikins is trying to do. He’s looking for a major bounce-back season after enduring one of the worst seasons of any starting goaltender in recent memory. He has a new goalie coach in Niklas Backstrom helping him. He says he will eventually win a Vezina. Can he prove the naysayers wrong and deliver?
We haven’t even talked about the amount of young talent on the roster or on the way soon. Kirill Marchenko is poised to take the next step. Kent Johnson, although a healthy scratch Thursday, is expected to be a major contributor this season. Alex Texier is back and ready to resume his Blue Jackets’ career. This is a different team than last season led by a first-time head coach who took a 30-year path to get his chance in the NHL.
Perhaps that’s one of the most interesting stories of the early season. Pascal Vincent was hired after the Babcock departure. What will his impact be? Can he take the Blue Jackets to the next level?
Truth Is, Blue Jackets Matter
The truth is the Blue Jackets matter even if they don’t get the national attention or the headlines. They do not care that the experts are writing them off already.
The truth is these Blue Jackets are primed to be better than last season. Think of this. Think of how embarrassed the Blue Jackets were not only with 59 points, but then enduring the Babcock situation. They have every motivation imaginable to prove the doubters wrong. They do not want that feeling again.
Whether or not that leads to a massive jump in the standings and into the playoff picture remains to be seen. But the Blue Jackets will be more competitive on the ice. That should be the story here. Given their talented youth, they’re starting the process of heading in the right direction.
Don’t let the lack of headlines fool you. The Blue Jackets are excited for the new season and ready to take their best shot and proving people wrong.
The Blue Jackets matter. They will always matter. They don’t need national headlines to justify being important to talk about.
Enjoy the 2023-24 season everyone.
