Does a Joe Thornton trade to the Blue Jackets make sense?
Nov 16, 2014; Raleigh, NC, USA; San Jose Sharks forward Joe Thornton (19) reacts against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. The San Jose Sharks defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
The Columbus Blue Jackets scorched into the off-season winning 15 of their last 17, outscoring opponents 70 goals to 43 in that stretch. Combine that with the young core, minor potential for loss in free agency and you can see how the Columbus Blue Jackets have become the hot and trendy playoff pick for next season. The Blue Jackets made their first playoffs during the 2008-2009 season though were swept by the Detroit Red Wings and didn’t make it back till the 2013-2014 season but were quickly eliminated in the first round by the Pittsburgh Penguins, though they were able to pick up their first 2 franchise playoff wins. Two playoff appearances in 15 seasons would even make a Cleveland fan cringe, especially considering they’ve never finished higher than 7th in their Conference (only top 10 three times) and both appearances they failed to make it past the first round, a very Cincinnati thing to do. It’s easy to see how they fit perfectly in the professional Ohio sports team diagram.
That said, all the hoopla about this Blue Jackets team going into next season isn’t a mirage. This team is stacked with talent. The problem is, when will all that talent be at full force? Injuries devastated the group this year, but that’s not the only issue. The team is young and with a young core not everyone is at their best or in their prime quite yet. Nick Foligno, Brandon Dubinsky, Sergei Bobrovsky, Jack Johnson and maybe a little earlier than expected Ryan Johansen are in their prime. The rest haven’t fully established themselves in the NHL game. Yes, they ooze potential but potential doesn’t always equate to a successful career and as we know in the NHL. Nothing is taken for granted, ask the recently booted Penguins about this. The NHL playoffs are a blood bath. Last season half of the higher seeded teams went down in the 1st round. This season looks to be more of the same as the #2 Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks have begun their off-season early, the Minnesota Wild knocked off another #1 seed while the Detroit Red Wings and New York Islanders are one game away from joining this Goliath mashing list. Essentially the point is, the window to hoist the Stanley Cup doesn’t seem to be open as long as you would expect to be, very much like it’s real life window counterpart here in Columbus, Ohio. A minor injury is the difference from being eliminated in the first round or making a deep run for the Cup. You need every advantage, no matter how small, it’s that competitive.
Look at the Penguins. The Crosby era Penguins have won the Cup only once and made it only twice despite making the playoffs for the last 9 seasons (4 times eliminated in the first round). Since the 04-05 lockout, 13 different teams of a possible 18 have made the Stanley Cup playoffs. Only two teams have won it twice, The Chicago Blackhawks and The Los Angeles Kings, the Kings won it last year but failed to qualify for the postseason this year. That’s a long graveyard of broken dreams and failed playoff beards. So how does this apply to the Jackets?
As I mention earlier the Blue Jackets were the hottest team down the stretch. They weren’t playing any slouches either, 9 of those 15 wins came against playoff teams still fighting for seeding. In those 10 games they went 9-1 (an overtime loss to the New York Rangers, this year’s President Cup Champions, was the only blemish) outscoring their playoff opponents 43-26. That’s downright nasty. That shows you can compete with anyone at the most important and balls to the wall part the season. It means just making playoffs might be underestimating these Blue Jackets, this team has the legit talent needed to make a deep playoff run. But is it enough? As I’ve pointed out, these series are a dog fight to the bitter end. You need to be able to respond to adversity, be able to adapt, showcase versatility and have plenty of depth, among many things. One of those things is playoff experience…..