In this edition of the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Union Junction Podcast, Mark Scheig and Nicholas Arnold discussed the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are squarely in the playoff race, the play of the team recently, particularly their schedule over the last little while, and they looked ahead to the team’s last road trip of the season outside of the Eastern Time Zone.
That’s followed by a conversation about Adam Fantilli’s growth since he was anointed the team’s number one center, then updates on the team’s injury situation that includes Sean Monahan, Boone Jenner, and Yegor Chinakhov. The show closed with more than half its running time dedicated to listener questions that focused on the Blue Jackets’ expiring contracts, potential trade targets, and explaining advanced stats.
Blue Jackets’ Schedule Easing Through the End of 2024-25
Coming off of a week of back-to-back games against the Toronto Maple Leafs and then the Carolina Hurricanes, the Blue Jackets schedule is about to get a lot easier. Their tough road trips with drastic time zone changes were frontloaded. Their last regular-season game outside of the ET will be on Feb. 2 in Texas against the Dallas Stars. After that, they have 15 home games and 13 away. The furthest they’ll have to travel north is to visit the Ottawa Senators twice, and once to each to see the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto. South, they’ll have to go to Florida once. Other than that, all of their games are either at home or on the road, only travelling to play against other teams in the Metropolitan Division.
Related: Trade Destinations for Blue Jackets’ Ivan Provorov
They will also face teams from throughout the standings. However, if they can make it through the next road trip and remain in a playoff spot, the Blue Jackets will remove high mileage as an impediment to their success and will win or lose solely on merit. The team is significantly better at home (17-5-3) than on the road (7-14-4), which should come in handy with more games at home left to play. A playoff appearance isn’t out of the question, which was not what we predicted coming into the season.
Blue Jackets’ Fantilli Shines As Number-One Center
A wrist injury to Sean Monahan was considered disastrous to the team’s playoff hopes when he exited early on Jan. 7. Monahan was having one of the best seasons of his career. Flanked by Kirill Marchenko and Dmitri Voronkov, he was centering one of the best lines in the NHL. But since then, the Blue Jackets have gone 6-2-1 in nine games without him, thanks in large part to the players who have stepped up in his absence.
At the top of that list is 2023 third-overall pick Adam Fantilli, who has become the de facto number-one center. With six goals and five assists through his last ten games, including his first career hat trick against the Atlantic Division powerhouse Maple Leafs, Fantilli has elevated his game. Also in the mix is American Hockey League call-up Luca Del Bel Belluz, who has seven points in his first nine games. He’s making a real case to become an NHL regular as a 21-year-old.
Other Listener Blue Jackets Questions on Union Junction:
- Is a gyro a sandwich? And, is cereal a soup?
- What will Dante Fabbro and Mathieu Olivier’s next contracts look like?
- Are there any timelines for GM Don Waddell to extend their pending unrestricted free agents?
- Who should the Blue Jackets trade for ahead of the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline? (Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller, and Brandon Tanev discussed)
- What advanced stats should people be looking at?
- Mark’s shocking choice of college major.
- Which defenseman has been most effective, statistically, while paired with Zach Werenski? The answer will surprise you.
- Should the Blue Jackets have personalized player goal songs?
The Blue Jackets are back in action on Thursday in Las Vegas kicking off a desert road trip – first against the Vegas Golden Knights, then against the Utah Hockey Club. Expect the next edition of the Union Junction Podcast in the schedule break for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
