Columbus Blue Jackets Staring Down the Barrel: Canes Come to Town

Want to know what to expect in tonights Columbus Blue Jackets vs Carolina Hurricanes game? You’ve come to the right place.

Coming off an opening night win over the Detroit Red Wings, the Columbus Blue Jackets have a short turn around until their next matchup. Fortunately for them, so does tonights opponent the Carolina Hurricanes.

After an opening night loss in overtime the the Islanders, the Canes are in the great state of Ohio for a divisional matchup. To get an insider look on the Carolina Hurricanes, I sat down with Andrew Ahr, Hurricanes Senior Writer for CanesCountry.com.

Andrew, and all the folks over at CanesCountry.com do a great job covering the Jackets divisional opponent and one of the most intriguing teams in the league. Be sure to follow Andrew on twitter and check out the great coverage at CanesCountry. 

Lansing Murphy: Quite the offseason for the Canes! Huge shakeup from the owner on down, big trades, a nice draft. What was the most important move the Canes made this offseason in your opinion.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Andrew Ahr: The biggest move that the Hurricanes made this offseason was the blockbuster trade that sent Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm to Calgary for Dougie Hamilton, Micheal Ferland, and defensive prospect Adam Fox.

This was a defining moment for the franchise as it marked a new era in Hurricanes hockey.

Lansing Murphy: We’ve heard all about the stud Russian rookie Andre Svechnikov who was drafted second overall this year. But tell us about Martin Necas, the 12th overall pick from 2017 who made the squad this year.

Andrew Ahr: Martin Necas is Raleigh’s best kept secret. The 12th overall pick in 2017 made the team out of camp last year but played in only a few games before being sent back overseas for further development.

Necas has incredible ice presence and hockey IQ coupled with an NHL caliber frame, something that he’s built on even more over the past year. Prior to this season Necas was the best forward prospect we’ve seen in nearly a decade (before Svechnikov) and we’re all excited to see what kind of damage he can do in Canes red.

Lansing Murphy: If you were the Blue Jackets GM, what would you do with the Artemi Panarin situation?

Andrew Ahr: If I were the GM in Ohio, I’d first sit down and have a conversation with Panarin. My highest priority would be resigning the exciting Russian.

If there was absolutely no way he’d resign with the Jackets, then I’d wait the season out a bit until some solid teams either lost a goal scoring forward or got off to a bad start. At that point I’d look to capitalize on Panarin’s stock with futures to keep the franchise competitive into the future.

Lansing Murphy: What scares you most about playing this Columbus Blue Jackets squad?

Andrew Ahr: The scariest thing about this club is Seth Jones and Zach Werensnki. It’s scary that one best top pairings in the league is in the same division as the Hurricanes.

Lansing Murphy: How do you see tonight’s game playing out?

Andrew Ahr: Honestly, I see us losing in a tight matchup, but I guess that’s just my Hurricanes pessimism shining through. A nine playoff-less years really takes a toll.  I wish the Jackets nothing but the best tonight.

Wishing us nothing but the best. That’s that southern hospitality that makes North Carolina one of my favorite places to visit.

Thanks again to Andrew for talking to us about tonights’ game. Be sure to check out his work and give him a follow.