It's been a long Summer, but the season is finally here
The 2023-24 is right around 24 hours away, and for fans of the CBJ, it couldn't come soon enough. But it's not just the fans who want this season to start, it's the media, the front office, and the players as well.
Last season was terrible, just downright awful. And it started in game 1 when Patrik Laine went down with an elbow injury. Soon after, player after play went down. Justin Danforth, Jake Bean, Zach Werenski, Adam Boqvist, Daniil Tarasov, Elvis Merzlikins, and the list goes on and on. It even claimed Jake Voracek's career.
As the season wore on, everyone started to realize that the season was going off the rails, and not in a "They're going to miss the playoffs" way, but in a "The CBJ might get Connor Bedard" way.
As we got closer and closer to the end of the season, fans were actively rooting for the team to lose, it was a weird thing to watch, to be honest. With two games left, the Jackets were oh so close to locking down the best odds for the #1 overall pick, all they had to do was lose to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres. Emil Bemstrom scored what is now an infamous powerplay goal 16:35 into the second period, and Johnny Gaudreau scored an overtime winner to beat the Pens, this win put the CBJ out of the running for the best odds. The Nightmare On Nationwide would seem to continue.
May 8th: It was time for the NHL Draft Lottery, most people who pay attention to the Blue Jackets knew the CBJ was going to drop from 2 to 3 in the draft, but they had hope anyway. And sure enough, the Jackets fell to 3, just as expected. Leo Carlsson, welcome to Columbus.
June 28th: NHL Draft night. Everyone knew what was going to happen with the first two picks, but it was at three where people were intrigued. Would Jarmo take Leo Carlsson or Will Smith? After Bedard went at one, the Anaheim Ducks shocked the hockey world when they took big Leo Carlsson out of Sweden. The CBJ Draft watch party being held at PINS Mechanical erupted, and I mean absolutely erupted because they knew what was coming next. Even with that, some fans were whispering "Jarmo will still take Smith", but that didn't happen. It was Adam Fantilli. BetMGM had the odds of Fantilli going third at +1800, I wonder if anyone took that bet? Emil Bemstrom was officially forgiven.
Free Agency: Jarmo Kekalainen went out and made a splash before free agency. He traded for a pair of veteran defensemen that should help solidify a defense that has had troubles of late. Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson, welcome to Columbus. Provorov was traded from the Flyers, meanwhile, Severson, who was set to hit unrestricted free agency, never got there. The Jackets convinced Severson that he was who they wanted in free agency, and didn't let anyone else swoop in and steal their guy.
July 1st: The Jackets announce the hiring of Mike Babcock. Reviews were mixed on the hiring, but the Jackets front office seemed very excited about the hiring. Then on Sept 12th, all hell broke loose. You can read about that here. Babcock was being accused of "getting to know" players by going through their camera rolls and asking about their families. A few days later it took a turn when the NHLPA got involved and started interviewing players in private. And then on the 17th, Babcock resigned. What a whirlwind week it was. You can read all the Babcock articles below.
The Blue Jackets have drafted Adam Fantilli, Hired and fired Mike Babcock, hired Pascal Vincent, and have now completed training camp, the only thing left is to play the games, and that starts tomorrow at Nationwide Arena against former coach John Tortorella and his fighting Flyers.
There will be plenty to do if you want to get down to the Arena District early. There is going to be a Plaza Party featuring a live band, games, and all kinds of fun. At 6 p.m. there is going to be a march to the arena. The "Union Blue March" will start at the corner of Vine and Front, and will conclude on the doorstep of Nationwide Arena.
Welcome to the 2023-24 NHL season!
Join Jason Newland's Columbus Blue Jacket page on Bunches, a new app that connects sports fans. Also, you can watch a new YouTube game show about the Blue Jackets, Around the Fifth Line.