Five Reasons the Blue Jackets Won’t Make the Playoffs

This week we’re taking a dive into a two-part series, discussing why the Blue Jackets will – or will not – make the playoffs this season.

I find it’s always better to break the bad news first. In this series, we’ll start by covering some of the potential pitfalls for this team, that could prevent them from contending this season. In short, we’re asking this question: what could go wrong for this team?

Obviously, it’s hard to predict where the team might finish the regular season ahead of time. We don’t have a crystal ball to have a glimpse into the future. On paper, this is probably the most talented team the Blue Jackets have ever had, one that should be on the upswing very soon. But as we know, this franchise never seems to find luck, and for that reason (logically), we are all skeptical. So, lets take a look at where things could go haywire in a hurry.

#1 Reason the Blue Jackets don’t contend: time is not on our side.

This is a two-fold statement. First, this team is incredibly young, especially at its competitive core. Sure, they have some solid veteran pieces like Johnny Gaudreau, Boone Jenner, Patrik Laine, and Zach Werenski. They even added some nice pieces to the back end. But, the competitive window for this team only opens when the younger guys are ready to take on bigger roles. Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson, David Jiricek, Cole Sillinger, and on down the list.

The other side of this equation: even though they added some experience to the blue line, this team has to gel before they’re ready to contend. Even with all of the talent, believe it or not, this takes time. It may not take the entire season, or half of the season, or less; but there will be growing pains in both the age of the players, and their experience together.

This is the main reason I don’t see this team competing for a playoff spot quite yet. The solutions to their issues on the blue line and down the middle are in place, but they’re going to need time to adjust and grow together. This year should be about building a foundation for success, and then next year they should be looking to use that foundation to contend for more.

#2 reason the Blue Jackets don’t contend: the locker room is in shambles.

Don’t take that as a statement, it’s more of a question. After the hiring (and subsequent resignation) of Mike Babcock, the entire hockey world started asking about a possible division in the Columbus Blue Jacket locker room. A lot of the players have spoken out in the opposite fashion, saying it’s brought them closer together. We hope that’s the case.

But if it’s not, this season is doomed before the puck even drops. As soon as the news broke about Babcock, veteran players including captain Boone Jenner, star forward Johnny Gaudreau, and tough guy Mathieu Olivier; all came to defense of the photo sharing practice used by Babcock to get to know them.

The young players had an entirely different experience, however. They were not comfortable with what happened. Our hope is that both sides were able to come to some sort of middle ground and work through their differences. There have been rumblings that some of the team meetings were pretty heated, so it’s something to be aware of as the season approaches. Few things will doom a team quite like locker room disfunction.

#3 reason the Blue Jackets don’t contend: the goaltending stinks.

One of the other things that will doom a team, regardless their talent? Awful goaltending. The Jackets had some of the worst goaltending in the NHL last season from top to bottom, really except for a solid stretch of play from since-traded Joonas Korpisalo. They’re taking a big risk by running it back with Elvis Merzlikins and oft-injured youngster Daniil Tarasov.

Will their faith in the two pay off? Hard to say at the moment, but early indications are somewhat concerning. Elvis struggled to find the puck on two of his three goals against in his preseason debut – and mishandled it on the third Pittsburgh goal. I’m willing to attribute that to rust, but it is something to keep an eye on.

Worse; Tarasov hasn’t even practiced with the team this fall, finding himself rehabbing through yet another injury. If either one of these guys can’t take the reins and take the starting job for this team this season, they’re in big trouble. The roster is good, but it’s not good enough to overcome poor goaltending. I have a feeling that this will be a question mark with this team all season, unless we’re proven wrong.