A look at how former Columbus Blue Jackets are doing in the Stanley Cup Final.

For sports fans, seeing players who used to play on your favorite team, go somewhere else and win a championship can be hard. But for CBJ fans, it seems like it happens every year. Jeff Carter, Jack Johnson and Ryan Murray are the most recent ones that come to mind. 

But this year, seems a bit different. The one player every CBJ fan seems be watching is Sergei Bobrovsky. The former Jackets goalie has been playing well, like really well, and it has left some asking "where was this in Columbus during the playoffs?" 

Going into this playoff run for Florida, Bobrovsky had played in 51 career playoff games, having a record of 17-29 with a GAA over 3. His best playoff season being in 2019 when the CBJ upset the Tampa Bay Lightning in the now infamous four game sweep. He went 6-4 that playoff year. 

This year the Panthers went on a tear, upending Boston, Toronto and Carolina on their way to the Stanley Cup Final versus Vegas. In this playoffs, Bob, as he is affectionately known, is a stellar 12-5 with a GAA of 2.50, and a Save % of .924. He has played well, unfortunately for him, he ran into the steamroller known as the Vegas Golden Knights. Now down 3-1, there is only one person that can save Florida, and his name is Sergei Bobrovsky. 

The IceCats also have a couple other former Blue Jackets on the team. Veteran and former Ohio State Buckeye Zac Dalpe. He has played in 12 games and has one goal. The journeyman Anthony Duclair has played in 19 games, and 11 points.  

Vegas also has a trio of former Blue Jackets playing in this series. But with Vegas, these three are making their presence felt, and in a big way. 

Jonathan Marchessault only played two games with the CBJ and had zero points. Lots of Jackets fans didn't realize he once suited up for Columbus, while others knew he did, even though it was only a pair of games. Marchessault was traded from Columbus to Tampa Bay in 2014, where he went on to play 47 games for the Bolts, tallying 19 points, and 8 goals. But Tampa chose to not re-sign him. So off to the Panthers he went, playing one season in 2016-17. And here's where Jonathan Marchessault makes himself known as a legit NHL player. In 2016-17 he played in 75 games, racking up 51 points, 30 of those being goals. 

But later on in 2017, Florida lost him to Vegas in the expansion draft by exposing him. It was an easy decision for Florida, but possibly a costly one. Vegas had an inaugural season for the record books, reaching the cup final in year 1. Every stat was inflated. They steamrolled everyone. Jonathan Marchessault was no different. He went on to play 77 games, scoring 75 points, with 27 goals. And he hasn't really slowed down since. 

This playoff season Jonathan Marchessault has played in 21 games. With 13 goals and 11 assists and a +16, he could very well win the Conn Smythe, as long as the Panthers don't come back. He's winning the MVP.

Keegan Kolesar was drafted 69th overall in 2015 by Columbus, but never made it to Nationwide Arena. He was traded on June 2, 2017 to Vegas for a 2017 second-round draft pick. He made his debut in 2019-20 playing in one game, scoring a goal. And since that time, he hasn't looked back.

He has 55 points in 196 career games. And in this years playoffs, he has played in 21 games, and has 5 points. He does have 48 PIM though, and lays some big hits. He knows his role. 

And now we come to William Karlsson, a massive fan favorite in Columbus, who's name echoes through the halls of Nationwide Arena. Surely its from all the goals he scored while wearing Union Blue right? Karlsson played in a little more than two full seasons in Columbus, after being traded from the Anaheim Ducks, so surely he must've been pouring in points right? William mustered 47 points, scoring 16 goals. 

I made the above comments in jest. Karlsson played well for his 4th line role, but that wasn't going to be enough to protect him over Josh Anderson in the expansion draft, so off to Vegas he went. 

His 6 years have been good I'd say, although its been up and down. His first year in Vegas was absolutely insane. He dropped 78 points, scoring 43 goals and was a +49. But that's not even the crazy part. This mans shooting % was a whopping 23.37%, how is that even possible? Is that even sustainable? The answer for him, was no. 

Every year since that 2017-18 season, his points have dropped, and his shooting % was cut down anywhere from half, to a third of that first season. Now I will give you there was the Covid shutdown year, and the shortened season the year after that. This past season was much better, scoring 53 points, and netting 14 goals. 

This playoff season Karlsson has played in 21 games, scoring 11-5-16. His 11 goals are second to Marchessaults 13, and one ahead of Chandler Stephensons 10. A complete 180 from his assist heavy regular season. If not for Marchessault and his Conn Smythe numbers, William Karlsson or goalie Adin Hill could have possibly won it. But I'm sure they'll take lifting the Stanley Cup over any MVP trophy any day. 

Most CBJ fans I know aren't rooting for Vegas for various reasons, as Bobrovsky is still #1 in some fans hearts, but having this many former players playing for a championship is cool. One day CBJ fans, we'll get to watch current Blue Jackets play for a cup, and this city will be shaking.