Everybody who predicted the Columbus Blue Jackets would make the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season, raise your hand.
That’s what I thought – none of you are looking for acknowledgement. That’s because no one in the hockey world expected the Blue Jackets to be a playoff team in 2012-13. Yet, with two games left in their season, they reside in eighth place and are threatening to make their second-ever playoff appearance.
Through 19 games, the Blue Jackets were who everyone expected them to be – a last-place team. But in their last 25 games, they boast a 17-5-3 record. In the midst of that great run, they acquired Marian Gaborik at the trade deadline, which made people believe they were serious about making the playoffs.
Here are five reasons why Columbus is a playoff-calibre team.
1. Sergei Bobrovsky
The last few seasons there have been serious Hart Trophy candidates from the goaltender position. This year is no different, but the goalie in the discussion certainly comes as a surprise.
Bobrovsky has been sensational all season long for the Blue Jackets, even when the team wasn’t winning games early on. For that reason alone, this team wouldn’t be in the playoff mix without him.
His save percentage of .930 and goals-against average of 2.06 rank among the best in the league, and he should absolutely be in the Vezina Trophy race. This kind of season was unexpected from ‘Bob’ after he regressed in Philadelphia last season.
Outside of fluke seasons from Pascal Leclaire and Steve Mason, Columbus hasn’t necessarily been a breeding ground for successful goaltenders over the years. But Bobrovsky, in his first season with the team, is putting together the best season any Blue Jackets goaltender has ever had.
2. Attitude change
When the Blue Jackets opened the season in Nashville back in January, you could tell there was a totally different attitude in the locker room. They were joking, having fun, had a look of confidence and optimism that simply wasn’t there before. Is this a direct correlation to captain Rick Nash being traded last offseason? Possibly, and the fact no one expected them to sniff the postseason was a motivating factor for sure.
Said defenceman Jack Johnson on Jan. 19: “There’s definitely a different atmosphere around the rink, on the ice, in the locker room, and even away from the rink when guys get together. It’s nothing but positive. If things go wrong we’re not going to let it bother us.”
The last part of that quote stands out, and Sunday’s win in San Jose represents that. After blowing a two-goal lead, the Blue Jackets responded with a late goal to capture a big 4-3 win over the Sharks.
3. New faces on the ice
Remember when the Atlanta Thrashers traded Ilya Kovalchuk and suddenly they became a tight-knit, hard-working team? There are similarities here.
Trading Nash may have been the best thing the Blue Jackets have ever done. It was a fresh start for an organization that badly needed one. Though no one has officially stepped into their vacant captaincy, there are plenty of leaders in the room – and most have been accumulated in the last calendar year.
When you think about the likes of Marian Gaborik, Brandon Dubinsky, Nick Foligno, Artem Anisimov and Adrian Aucoin, all have played in important playoff games – they know how to win and know what it takes to be a playoff team. Those individuals didn’t leave their leadership and experience with their previous clubs.
Also, instead of relying on Nash to provide all the offence, the Jackets now possess more depth than ever before.
4. New faces off the ice
When John Davidson went from St. Louis to Columbus last fall to become president of hockey operations, some wondered why he would make that move given the state of the Blue Jackets. But Davidson turned around St. Louis, who was 30th in the NHL when he took over, and he’s doing it again in Ohio’s capital after the Jackets finished dead last at the conclusion of last season.
Quite soon into the shortened season, Davidson and the front office made a change at the general manager position, firing Scott Howson. Jarmo Kekalainen was hired from Jokerit of the Finnish Elite League, becoming the first European GM in NHL history.
“He understands the game on both sides of the pond; he understands people; has a gift for evaluating talent,” Davidson said earlier this month of Kekalainen. “He’s very driven, too.”
Don’t underestimate the effect the new blood in the front office has had on the new vibe with these Blue Jackets, as Davidson and Kekalainen try to begin a winning culture in a place that has never won a playoff game.
5. Hardworking mindset
A quote from Nashville Predators captain Shea Weber last month:
“They’re good. They play a really strong system and everyone has bought in to what they need to do. All four lines are contributing and all six [defencemen] and their goaltender is playing well.”
That’s a similar statement to what opposing coaches or players would say about the Predators over the past decade, but Weber was actually talking about a Blue Jackets team that has instilled that hard-to-play-against mentality.
Head coach Todd Richards deserves a lot of credit for changing the mindset of his team, as they have brought their lunch pail to work on a nightly basis this season. They play hockey the right way, don’t give up in games and possess a work ethic that has rarely been seen from Columbus over the years.
