Five Things to Look Forward to from the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2018-2019

1. Pierre-Luc Dubois in His Second Season

It took the rookie center more than a few weeks to find his way to the top line in late 2017. Dubois started the season as a third line winger and ended up playing between Cam Atkinson and Artemi Panarin, rolling hot into the 2018 playoffs.

If that’s not impressive enough, PLD stealthily broke the Columbus Blue Jackets rookie points record by posting 48 (20G, 28A) in just under 17 minutes per game. To show coach John Tortorella’s trust in the young center, his time on ice rocketed to almost 24 minutes per game in the playoff series versus the Washington Capitals.

No matter what happens with Panarin, a full year on the top line with a season under his belt should help propel Dubois to the next level. The former third overall pick has a ceiling somewhere. The problem is that no one has a clue how high it goes. Just don’t be surprised when he’s a (hockey) household name in just a few months.

PLD could be the first long-term, top talent center the Columbus Blue Jackets have ached for since Ryan Johansen‘s short stint before the Seth Jones trade. This year’s performance could cement that next-tier status. The best part of it all might be that Dubois just turned 20 years old 2 months ago. It goes without saying that the future for #18 is dangerously bright.

2. What Happens with the Embarrassment of Wing Depth?

Having too much young talent is a blessing the Blue Jackets are certain to never complain about. Even though there are three or four defenseman competing for the sixth blue line roster spot, the forward group is more intriguing to me.

I say this mostly because of the endless variables that could pit some guys in the AHL for the duration of the season, while others may be impossible to pull from Columbus.

It would take me a week to exhaust every possibility but a few that stand out in my opinion are as follows.

How do you keep scoring prodigy Vitaly Abramov out of Nationwide after he posted another 104-point season and now plays center as well? If Brandon Dubinsky resurfaces and plays near the form of his old self, does Lukas Sedlak spend his entire year in Cleveland? How good can Anthony St. Clair be and does his success or failure decide Sonny Milano‘s fate?

Inevitable injuries will allow many of these players to see ice time that they might not have otherwise. Still this doesn’t account for the endless options John Tortorella will have at his disposal. Even trying to project the lines at the end of the season seems a ridiculous prospect.

 3. Special Teams Improvement

Finishing 25th and 26th (respectively) in the league at power play and penalty kill is not something you’d expect from a playoff team who had the eventual champs on the ropes. To further that point, I can’t imagine many teams in NHL history performed that poorly on both special units and still managed to amass nearly 100 points.

This forces me to wonder, how good could the Columbus Blue Jackets be if their special teams just hovered near the middle of the league? How many points could the Jackets stack up if they ranked in the top ten?

Unfortunately, I don’t have the time or energy to calculate the algorithms that would suggest potential outcomes. However, it doesn’t feel like a stretch to think that if the PK and PP improve significantly, the CBJ could etch out another five or six wins.

I’m not saying the Jackets would have cracked 110, or won the Metro. You would think though that good (not great even) special teams play might equate to half a dozen wins or losses, whichever way the gate swings. That changes your playoff opponent, your seed, your home ice advantage, etc.

At the risk of sounding like an excuse, I would argue that the Jackets made the playoffs despite their weak special teams. Ironically, you could also say that special teams (the Caps PP specifically) also sealed the team’s ultimate fate.

Now you can see how encouraging it is to think about how much room for growth this young team has. If the power play, or penalty kill, or both play substantially better, that could mean big things for the boys in union blue.

4. The Post-Jack Johnson Era Matchup with the Penguins

Unlike many sensationalist writers, I don’t want to overhype the Jack Johnson ordeal. That doesn’t mean though that it can’t still be fascinating.

In a sport without much off-ice drama, the Jack Johnson scenario is unique. I also don’t want to pile on Johnson or pretend like he’s been anything less than a classy player. Despite his potentially misspoken reference to playing in a “winning culture”, the cheeky vet typically played hard and humbly in Columbus.

It only adds fuel to the intrigue that many NHL analysts and the bulk of the Blue Jackets community were befuddled by the Penguins 5 year, $16 million dollar offer to the defenseman whose best days are clearly behind him.

As an avid non-lover of all things Penguins, I am particularly ecstatic with the signing but just as enamored with Pens fans’ blind defense of the bizarrely-generous contract.

The beautiful Blue Jacket icing on that cake is John Tortorella’s very candid response to not only Johnson’s aforementioned comment, but to the Pens GM Jim Rutherford. Rutherford’s delusional assessment that Johnson was benched in the playoffs because of favoritism did not sit well with the CBJ’s fiery bench general.

Countless expletives ensued and a fresh gallon of high-octane gas was dumped square on the Jackets-Pens rivalry.

5. What About Joonas?

I am almost always the last one to count anyone out. Let me get that out of the way. I am a forgiving fan, but I have expectations and my own limits as well.

After showing promise in 31 starts in goal for the Jackets during the 2015-2016 campaign, Joonas Korpisalo has played worse each year since. Blaming the defense isn’t an available option either as the CBJ defensive corps has improved annually since Korpi’s debut.

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Joonas came in as a rookie and posted a very respectable 2.60 goals against average (GAA) and .920 save percentage (SV%). In 16-17 he dipped to 2.86 GAA and .905 SV%. Last year, he backslid again, posting career lows of 3.32 GAA and .897 GAA.

I bring this to light because Sergei Bobrovksy is in the final year of his contract and could play elsewhere next year. The same games for Koorpisalo. On top of that, Latvian phenom Elvis Merzlikins waits on more year in Europe, arguably ready for NHL ice right now.

So, what about Joonas? I feel like we know what we’re going to get from Bob. The cool and collected Finn though, is a bit of a wild card.

If Korpi can get his game together and show marked improvement, he could be heir to the keys of Nationwide’s goalie nets. If a deal isn’t done with Bob, can Joonas carry the flag for Columbus? Can he play well enough that Elvis doesn’t leapfrog his seniority before even stepping foot in Columbus

We have all seen Torts brag on Korpisalo’s ice cold veins dozens of times. There is real pressure on #70 this year though. I like his character as much as anyone on the Jackets roster, but great character alone doesn’t win hockey games.

Personally, I am eager to see what Korpi brings to the arena in 2018-19. We could be watching the near future of the franchise.

Summing It Up

The Columbus Blue Jackets are primed for a strong 2018-19 season. These are just a fraction of the myriad issues that will shape the team’s tremendous success, or surprising failure. Regardless of how any of these five shake out, it’s hard to argue that it’s not a great time to be a fan of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Enjoy the process Columbus faithful.