Can you smell that? It smells like sweat, hard work, and optimism all rolled into one. That’s right Blue Jacket fans, training camp is one short day away, and if you are anything like me, your goosebumps will reside until 7 p.m. October 4th when that first puck drops. Summer seemed to crawl by, but now the days are whipping by and should continue to do so with hockey right around the corner! So, I thought to myself, what better a time to reminisce some of the best moments that 2013 had to offer in CBJ land. Now these will not be in any numerical order, just a rundown of five of the more memorable moments of the shortened 2013 NHL season for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Starting it off will be the man who will be missed around Columbus; it is Vinny Prospal and his now infamous “Point”. It was March 9th, and the Blue Jackets were leading the hated Detroit Red Wings 3-0 late in the third period. Vinny Prospal and Justin Abdelkader were jawing back and forth, obviously Abdelkader said something pretty stupid (because he plays for Detroit), and Vinny decided to let him know that the Blue Jackets were Vinning, I mean winning, by a pretty sizable margin. Prospal slowly removed his glove, and pointed at the scoreboard.
He received a 10 minute misconduct penalty because obviously they were playing a little league game, and that kind of unsportsmanslike gesture is frowned upon. None the less, every CBJ fan loved it and for good reason. The Red Wings have owned us for so many years, and this last year we returned the favor, by beating up on them and showing them that this Blue Jacket team is different. They aren’t going to just lay down and take their beatings like a puppy, they are going to come back at you like a rabid dog. Vinny’s beautiful gesture stated that just so eloquently. Even though he will more than likely not be back this season, he will not be soon forgotten, for so many reasons, and especially for his “point”.