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Columbus Blue Jackets Prediction: Improvement

By Michael Mallory |
Dec 17, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella looks on during the third period against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 17, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella looks on during the third period against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

The Columbus Blue Jackets finished near the bottom of the league again after an awful start, but the future looks bright.

There was a high amount of buzz around the Columbus Blue Jackets heading into the 2015-2016 season, but this buzz was shattered early and lead to a flurry of changes.

In Season Major Changes

All of this buzz was gone early after losing their first eight games of the season. This early game skid led to the firing of head coach Todd Richards. Richards was replaced by fiery coach John Tortorella.

Along with the addition of Tortorella the Blue Jackets traded center Ryan Johansen to the Nashville Predators for defenseman Seth Jones. Ryan Johansen looks like he will be a franchise center and Seth Jones has the making of a franchise defender. This trade may have been contributed to Johansen’s attitude, but it is always a shock when a top young center is dealt even for a player of Jones’ caliber.

What Exactly Went Wrong

The Columbus Blue Jackets have a bad history of coming out of the gates slow, but starting this slow is unheard of in the National Hockey League. They did not just lose eight straight, but they looked bad in all of these games on both ends of the ice.

Along with the slow start, he Columbus Blue Jackets really did not improve much throughout the season. The team was dinged up throughout the season, but injuries cannot be an excuse to finish the season with 76 poins and in 26th place in the league.

The defense was one of the worst groups on the roster early in the season. The defense was just sloppy, and it looked like a shooting gallery most nights. Along with the defense Sergei Bobrovsky did not look like himself when he was on the ice, but him being on ice was another issue.

The offense had some good production from young guys Brandon Saad, Boone Jenner, and Cam Atkinson. But the veterans minus Scott Hartnell were an issue. Captain, Nick Foligno, did not play up to his ability tallying 37 points after putting up 73 points in 2014-2015. Along with others unable to provide a scoring punch.

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Predictions

The Blue Jackets will not end up at the bottom of the NHL standing, but they will be on the outside looking in when the playoffs roll around. Sergei Bobrovsky will bounce back from a rough 2015-2016 campaign.  Bobrovsky has looked stellar in the World Cup of Hockey and this will translate to success in the upcoming season.

Bobrovsky coming back and on his game will help the Blue Jackets be successful, but his success will not be enough for the Blue Jackets to make the playoffs. The Blue Jackets defense will also improve, but their back end will be young with Zach Werenski making the team and the teams defensive leaders being Seth Jones and Ryan Murray. Two of their youngest defensive stars.

The team will also being adding more youth to the line up with Bjorkstrand, Milano, and Anderson fighting for spots at forward. The team’s youth will show and will lead to the team to have some growing pains. They will show promise, but they will not have enough to make the playoffs in a loaded Metropolitan Division.

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