Though the Columbus Blue Jackets play in one of the more out-of-the-way corners of the NHL neighborhood, no team - NO TEAM - has suffered through more drama since, even before, the start of the 2023-24 season.

So much, in fact, that we've split our extended Kraken Reaction conversation with THN Columbus site editor Jason Newland into three parts.

Actually, heartbreak for the Blue Jackets and their fans extends back to the birth of the franchise in 2000. 

Consider that Columbus and Seattle, which joined the league two decades later, have the same number of playoff series wins: one. (We're excluding a COVID-necessitated "qualifying round" victory for the Jackets in 2020.)

In our first video, Jason explains a possible reason behind Columbus' history of woe: their home rink, Nationwide Arena, is cursed.

No, really.