Metro/Celebrini Race Update With 32 Games Remaining

And just like that, the 2023-24 season is about 2/3 of the way complete. Tomorrow marks the start of the "second half" for the Columbus Blue Jackets, and for some people around Columbus, the end can't come soon enough.

But for some die-hard fanatics of the team, they don't want the season to be over, even if it has been off the rails since before the year even started. They want hockey non-stop, year round, even if the team is not having a good year, and I personally fall into the latter.

For fans of the CBJ, it has most definitely been a love/hate relationship with the team this season. From the botched hiring of Mike Babcock, the demotion of certain players, the questionable coaching decisions, or just the overall product on the ice, it's been an absolute whirlwind of emotions for the people who pay good money to watch this team play. The good news is, the team hasn't played terrible a lot this season and they've been in most games. But it's those pesky third period blown leads that sticks out in everyone's minds, and rightfully so.

With that being said, let's take a look at the standings in the Metropolitan Division. Can the Jackets play well enough to catch anyone? Should they? 

Metropolitian Division

The way the rest of the schedule looks for the Jackets, I just don't see them catching anyone in the Metro. Every team except Columbus is within striking distance of the last playoff spot. 

The Race For Macklin Celebrini - The consensus #1 overall pick currently plays for Boston University. He has 39 points in 24 games as a freshman and sits 5 points back in the NCAA scoring race. San Jose should be the team tanking the hardest for Celebrini as he spent his younger years playing in San Jose. His father, works for the Golden State Warriors of the NBA, you can check out the connection here. Columbus will have a hard time tanking harder than Chicago or San Jose this season.

The Jackets will probably end up in the 4-6 range in the draft if the season plays out the way it's expected to. Columbus has an awfully hard schedule the rest of the way including playing 8 games in April against teams either leading their division, currently sitting in a playoff spot, or will be battling hard for the last playoff spot. 

They also travel to California this month, and then to Arizona, Colorado, and Vegas in April. The schedule is not set up for success, so fans of the tank should inadvertently get their wish. While fans who don't like tanking will be miserable for the rest of the season. 

Which side do you sit on?

Columbus needs to work to either to catch teams in front of them, or behind them. 

More From THN Columbus

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.