For most of the 2023-24 season, the Columbus Blue Jackets have resided either near or at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. Therefore, it would take a huge run at this point for them to make the NHL Playoffs.
But this is also a young hockey team that will eventually get there, so Blue Jackets fans can still tune in and scope out the potential competition for when their team makes another postseason run.
When do the NHL Playoffs begin in 2024?
The Blue Jackets 2023-24 regular season will end on April 16th, and just four days later, on April 20th, 16 teams will compete for the Stanley Cup. Potential teams to watch in the Metropolitan Division include the New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes, and perhaps even the Philadelphia Flyers.
How would the Blue Jackets earn a postseason berth this season?
If Columbus can do something similar to what the Edmonton Oilers did earlier this year, then they will become legitimate contenders. However, that would be tough for the Blue Jackets to accomplish, given their overall youth and injuries to some of their top players.
If they end the year on a high note with more wins than losses, the Blue Jackets will have something to build on starting next season. This wasn’t supposed to be a big year for Columbus, but another foundation-setting one for a brighter future.
Recent History of the Blue Jackets in the NHL Playoffs
Since the Blue Jackets have only been around since the 2000-01 NHL Season, most of their postseason history is relatively recent. They first made the playoffs in the 2008-09 season but lost to the eventual Western Conference Champion, the Detroit Red Wings. They would not win a playoff series until 10 years later when they swept the heavily-favored Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019, and they followed that up with another appearance in 2020.
(Historical data provided by Hockey-Reference)