The Curious Case of Columbus Blue Jackets’ James Wisniewski

The curious case of James Wisniewski is the tale of a defenseman for the Columbus Blue Jackets whose game turns hot to cold and back again like the seasons of the city he plays for. Public opinion of the player changes, too, with his game. It all started on a summer afternoon, three years ago….

Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

It was a summer like any other, I suppose. Hot and humid. Disappointment lingered in the air of Cincinnati as the local baseball club was underachieving. A short drive north would tell you that the feeling of melancholy hung like moisture in the summer air of Arch City. Not disappointment, exactly. Because the pride Arch City, the Blue Jackets ice hockey club, weren’t underachieving like the Red Stockings of Queen City. No, they were what we thought they were: bad.

It was on this day that the Columbus Blue Jackets would obtain a player who has since boggled the hearts and minds of  the cities citizens. The one, the only: James Wisnewski!

Since that fateful day way back in 2011, the Wiz has shown both sides of his game, sometimes in the same battle! I have seen with my own two eyes a slapshot from the stick of the Wiz that killed a goalie and scored a goal for the home team!

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But don’t be fooled, my friends, because as soon as he does something extraordinary, the Wiz does something to envoke the groans of his entire city. Not a mere two shifts after he scores a goal, he will let you down. Whether it be falling down on a routine play along the boards with nobody around him, or letting the puck “hop” over his stick and across the blue line, effectively ruining any chance for a power play tally, the Wiz always leaves his fans guessing.

Now the citizens of Arch City are no dummies. They understand a seasons worth of battles will bring out the highs and lows of a union army’s game. But what they don’t get is the extremities in inconsistency in the Wiz’s ways. Perhaps they will never be able to comprehend the ways of the mysterious Wiz. Perhaps they were never meant to.