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Opening Night Brings Promise for the Blue Jackets

By Curtis Deem

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 07: Kirill Marchenko #86 of the Columbus Blue Jackets celebrates with teammates after recording an assist on the eventual game-winning goal by Adam Fantilli #11 against the Washington Capitals during the third period of the NHL preseason game at Capital One Arena on October 7, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 07: Kirill Marchenko #86 of the Columbus Blue Jackets celebrates with teammates after recording an assist on the eventual game-winning goal by Adam Fantilli #11 against the Washington Capitals during the third period of the NHL preseason game at Capital One Arena on October 7, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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Finally, it’s opening night for the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 2023-24 NHL season is officially under way, with many teams across the league having already debuted.

Tonight, the Blue Jackets start a new season by hosting the Philadelphia Flyers at Nationwide Arena. It’s been 181 days since the team last faced off in a regular season NHL game. Almost exactly half of one year since they took a mostly forgettable 5-2 loss on home ice against the Buffalo Sabres to close out the season.

A lot has changed since then. The Jackets enter the new season with plenty of fresh faces; including new head coach Pascal Vincent behind the bench. He’s joined by new assistants Mark Recchi and Josef Boumedienne, as the team looks to shift gears and depart from the Brad Larsen era in Columbus. More importantly, the team has made some significant changes to the actual on-ice product, starting with this guy:

Rookie Adam Fantilli makes his NHL debut tonight – on his birthday – and he enters the league as the most highly touted prospect in Blue Jacket history. After a season full of pain and suffering, the franchise is rewarded with the first true #1 center prospect they’ve ever had. Fantilli brings the requisite size, skill, and two-way play you want from a top line center; and he’s as competitive as they come. I expect him to be an immediate difference maker.

The Jackets also start the season with two new veteran faces on the blueline: Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson. After giving up a franchise record 330 goals against last season, a revamp was certainly much needed here. One big value that both of these guys bring: they’ve stayed remarkably healthy throughout their NHL careers. If they can do that here, the Jacket defense should be in really good shape; which should inevitably help with the goaltending.

COLUMBUS, OHIO – SEPTEMBER 24: Damon Severson #78 of the Columbus Blue Jackets skates with the puck during the second period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Nationwide Arena on September 24, 2023 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OHIO – SEPTEMBER 24: Damon Severson #78 of the Columbus Blue Jackets skates with the puck during the second period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Nationwide Arena on September 24, 2023 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images) /

Speaking of goaltending, another new face starting his season with the team: backup goaltender Spencer Martin, who was acquired via waivers just two weeks ago. Only one other new face joins the team, and he’s actually an old face: forward Alexandre Texier returns after a nearly two-year stint back in Europe. He looks revitalized and ready to go.

All of these additions mean that the Jackets enter the season with a lot of promise, and hopes of a brighter future. There will be some growing pains this year, but this team should be a lot more competitive and fun to watch than the one we last saw at Nationwide Arena, all the way back on April 14.

As always, it’s us against the hockey world. Now, if they can just stay healthy…

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