The Columbus Blue Jackets are through 21 games of the season. Let’s hand out some letter grades for every forward’s performance thus far.
The Columbus Blue Jackets forward group has been a slight step behind their blue line brothers through 21 games. Not by much but there are far more questions and striking concerns up front compared to the defenseman.
There are have been two solid lines that have emerged, a huge surprise in an offseason signing, and a few puzzling performances. The team is led by Cam Atkinson in goals who has 13 through 21 games including a hat trick against the Carolina Hurricanes on November 17th.
Coach Tortorella has emphasized checking, or the lack thereof, from his forward group and it has led to some surprise healthy scratches and some puzzling line combinations. There is still plenty of time to shake out the bottom two lines but there are some real issues that need to be addressed sooner rather than later.
Now, lets hand out our report cards for the first quarter of the season to the forwards in reverse alphabetical order.