The Blue Jackets' playoff hopes were dashed with the Montreal Canadiens defeating the Carolina Hurricanes last night at the Bell Centre. It's a disappointing end to a magical season from a group that banded together under very difficult circumstances. The Jackets will either finish 9th or 10th in the Eastern Conference, depending on the outcome of tonight's final regular season games.
While missing the playoffs is certainly hard, I'm not sure anyone expected them to be anywhere close. At the start of the season, most pundits picked this team to finish dead last in their division. Many had them penciled in as the worst team in the entire NHL this year. At the time, we were in no place to argue that perspective.
It would have been completely acceptable for this team to take the easy route and do exactly what everyone expected them to do this season: play out the string and finish at the bottom. As fans, we had no idea what to expect from them this year. Many of us weren't even thinking about hockey.
But, this group did not let anything hold them back. Not an offseason tragedy. Not a perceived lack of talent, or an overabundance of inexperience. They were not going to let the media write their narrative for them this year. It was them against the world, and I'm damn proud to say that they proved the world wrong.
This team, after the loss of its most skilled offensive player, will finish in the top-10 in scoring this season. As of right now, only six teams have more goals scored on the season, and only two of them are in the Eastern Conference.
They not only stayed battle this season, they gave us arguably the most exciting Blue Jackets team we have ever seen. They made it all the way to game 81 while still in the playoff hunt. Think about that: a bounce here or there, and this team would have made the playoffs this year. That's incredible.
Under Dean Evason and Don Waddell's tutelage, this team has already made a 21 point jump in the standings this year. A win tonight makes it a 23 point improvement - and would bring them to within two points of third place in the Metropolitan Division. It feels like they deserved better, but sometimes things just aren't fair.
Why this ending hurts.
The reason this team was in the fight until the end is an emotional one. This wasn't a hockey team this year. This was much, much more than that. This group banded together in an extremely difficult time. From top to bottom, they were all in this together. Every single person around this franchise was battling for the person next to them.
The team became so close, that Don Waddell felt his best move at the deadline was to just keep everything intact. There was something magical going on around this team this year. As fate shows, it wasn't their year to go all the way. But, I will forever stand by his decision to let this season play out and give these guys a chance to go to war together.
They earned it. While it wasn't a perfect season, I can proudly say that nobody took any nights off this year. Missing the playoffs stinks for everyone who was involved here - emotionally or otherwise - but, that's not the part that hurts the most.
Bummed.
— Union and Blue (@UnionAndBlue) April 17, 2025
Not bummed that the Jackets are missing the playoffs. Better days are ahead.
Bummed that this tremendous group is seeing their magical season, playing for a much higher meaning, coming to an end. #CBJ
The toughest part is that after tonight, we will never see this team as it's fully assembled, ever again. This was a special group that was playing for a higher cause. They worked hard in memory of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau. I have no doubt that they would be so proud of the way this team came together and competed this season.
The 5th Line will be in Nationwide Arena tonight, hopefully louder than ever. This team deserves an amazing sendoff for everything they gave us this season.