Folks, we're almost there.
The Blue Jackets march again tomorrow night, at long last. What's new? The uniforms (sort of), for one. Then, there are some new faces, not the least of which is offensive dynamo Artemi Panarin. The young core of the team is a year older.
So, what's in store for the Blue Jackets this season? We scoured Craigslist for the biggest table we could find, then chained our writing staff to it until they gave us this piece of content.
Hopefully, our intern Andy remembered to release them. Either way, here is the fruit of their labor:
What excites you about the Blue Jackets?
SAM: That they finally won’t have that hack Rob Mixer tweeting. Wait, this goes out to everyone? Crap.
I’m excited for the young players to get a chance and to stick with the team. Pierre-Luc Dubois looks like a Mack truck on skates thus far and Sonny Milano looks like a player right out of a Mighty Ducks movie. He is always spinning and always in an offensively advantageous position. How does he do it? If Gabriel Carlsson can step up as well, they have one of the best young cores in all of hockey.
DAN: For the first time in my Blue Jackets fandom, I legitimately feel good about the back end (meaning, the defense and goaltending battery). Is the center depth ideal? No. Are there unanswered questions for secondary scoring? Sure. But I know I can count on Bobrovsky, Jones, Werenski, etc. to perform at a high level. When was the last time the Blue Jackets could boast that a player could even theoretically be on a Norris ballot, let alone two?
KYLE: There’s just something about teams that are built from the back-out. Obviously it all starts with Bobrovsky, but that defensive corps is one of the best in the league. Seth Jones will be even better, Zach Werenski seemingly improved his one-timer and could be an even bigger contributor on the power play. Sure, Artemi Panarin will have a big impact, but on a team that lost a *lot* of bottom-six scoring, the blueliners will be the engine for this team, and they look to be up to the task.
JEFF: Zach Werenski. OK, there’s more than that, but how much fun is it gonna be watching this guy get better and better now that he’s 20 years old? Also, how insane is it that he was that good as a 19-year-old? There are so many young players I want to see develop — how Oliver Bjorkstrand, Sonny Milano and Pierre-Luc Dubois settle into their roles could be the story of not just the season but the next few years for Columbus — but Werenski is one of those true, special, transcendent talents you only get every so often, and the sky is the limit. On top of that, head coach John Tortorella raves about his work off the ice, too. He’s the total package and should simply be a joy to watch.
ROB: Maybe it’s part excitement and part nervousness for the unknown with this team, but I’m kind of looking forward to seeing how they handle the curveballs. I’ve said this before, but a lot of things went right for them last season. Basically everything did. No major injuries, solid special teams, no prolonged losing streaks. It all adds up to what we got, which was 100-plus points. But it’s going to be harder this season and I keep thinking of John Tortorella and a phrase he often uses, which is “you have to add another layer.” These layers are usually from adversity and getting through the shit, which you’re going to have to deal with. The Blue Jackets are a dynamic team with some bright young stars, and I think they’ll be pretty good, but when they learn how to play pissed off in tough situations, they’ll be even better.
In your mind, what could trip them up?
JEFF: I’m still a bit concerned about the depth up front, and I’ve not been shy about saying this team probably needs to add another center at some point this year. But here’s my biggest fear: Something going wrong with Sergei Bobrovsky. The reality over the past five years is that when Bobrovsky is healthy and playing well, the Jackets are one of the best teams in the league. When he’s not, they’re simply not a playoff team. Now, this is as good as a team outside of the net as the CBJ has constructed in his career, but say Bobrovsky goes down and the Blue Jackets need 20-30 games out of Joonas Korpisalo and whatever body becomes the backup. That’s a nerve-wracking thought. He needs to be healthy and at a certain level of play for this team.
DAN: Big-name players playing big in big games. If you’ll recall, Alexander Wennberg and Sergei Bobrovsky were, well, bad in the playoffs. Artemi Panarin, even with all of his hype, has never been to the second round of the playoffs. The playoffs are just a different beast than the regular season, and though it would be foolish to just mentally skip the regular season, teams are ultimately judged for what they do in the postseason. Oh, and it’s not like this team has fared well in past seasons with high expectations.
KYLE: This team really, really needs another quality center near the top of the lineup. I’m a big believer in Alexander Wennberg – the kid can play – but Brandon Dubinsky isn’t a difference-maker at that 2C spot. Now, put him at the 3C spot and task him with shutting down another team’s top line, and he’s certainly up to the task. But this team needs a guy like Matt Duchene. The only problem is that he’s seemingly the only option out there. Guys like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jean-Gabriel Pageau would be great, obviously, and if their teams weren’t looking to contend, there’s a chance they’d be available at a similar price. But that’s not happening. As they’re currently constructed, they’re a good team. Add in a piece like Duchene, and they may be the team to beat in the East – if not the entire league.
ROB: They’re missing a center. Nick Foligno playing in the middle just isn’t ideal and it robs them of crucial depth up front. He’s a serviceable guy to have there in the short term, but it can’t be something they go with for more than 30 games. If the Blue Jackets make the playoffs again and get near the 100-point mark with Foligno as a full-time center, I will gladly take the L but I can’t see it happening. They need another piece.
SAM: They have some really milquetoast depth offensively. If Zac Dalpe is your answer to any fourth line problems, you should be concerned. They need Josh Anderson and Boone Jenner back as soon as possible. They also need them to stay healthy, because putting lifelong AHLers in the lineup as a stopgap is a recipe for trouble. John Tortorella has also liked putting his bottom-six lines up against top lines in the defensive zone. That won’t work with a lot of the personnel they are currently employing.
Which player, who is either unproven or coming off a down year, most needs a good year?
KYLE: Boone Jenner got off to a cold start last year – and he’s starting this year on the shelf – but if he can stay healthy and return to his 2015-16 form, watch out. Adding a healthy, top-form Jenner to a stable of wingers that includes Panarin, Atkinson, Bjorkstrand, Anderson and one (or both, if they go get a guy like Duchene) of Dubois/Foligno would make a lethal group of forwards, and give the Blue Jackets depth on the wings that few, if any teams could match.
SAM: I am going with Matt Calvert here. Everyone is going to tell you that he has nothing to prove and that he is a legend in the organization, but he needs a good year to earn another contract. He has not been the same player offensively the past couple of seasons and injuries continually derail him. As it stands right now, he won’t be re-signed without a huge pay decrease but if he can top 25+ points, Calvert may see more time in the 614 past this season.
DAN: Oliver Bjorkstrand is perhaps the biggest wild card on this team. He still hasn’t played a full year in the NHL and is a notoriously slow starter. You could tell me right now that he'll score eight goals or 28 goals in 2017-18 and I wouldn’t be surprised at either number. If he can produce, he’ll provide a huge boost to a lineup that could use some secondary scoring to help out the vaunted top line.
JEFF: Pierre-Luc Dubois is being counted on for a lot — though less than if he was playing center, but I digress — and I feel like they need him to be at a certain level of competence even though he’s still a teenager who has never played an NHL game. Right now, the second- and third-line wingers are Dubois, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Sonny Milano and Matt Calvert. I love Bjorkstrand’s game and my admiration for Matt Calvert is well documented, but there’s some obvious questions there that need answered, especially in terms of experience and dependability. Getting Boone Jenner back will help there, but someone like Dubois really needs to be a solid NHL player for this whole shebang to work.
ROB: I’m with Jeff here — Pierre-Luc Dubois is a player the Blue Jackets need something tangible and productive out of. He needs to be capable and show that, despite limited minutes, he can chip in some offense and ease the burden of the Panarin-Wennberg-Atkinson trio, and beyond that, the Bjorkstrands and Folignos and others. Scoring was a team effort last season and the Blue Jackets are going to need to do it again, even with the addition of Panarin. Dubois stepping in and contributing in his rookie season would be a huge boost to the club’s chances in 2017-18.
Blues get one back but shortly after Dubois scores to make it a 4-1 game. Someone wants to make the team, eh?#CBJ pic.twitter.com/7YzbOmHz0M
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) September 27, 2017
Does Zach Werenski win the Norris, or will Seth Jones take it?
JEFF: I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility for them to tie, at which point the Norris Trophy would be cut in half, but then one of the two would offer to let the other have it rather than destroying it, thus proving he’s the true, rightful owner. ANYWAY. Back in the realm of reality, I think that despite all of the glowing things I said about Werenski earlier, Jones is more likely to win it. First off, he’s older, and secondly, he just looks more like a defensemen to the people who will vote on this kind of thing. No matter how good Werenski is all over the ice, some will just see him as a 20-year-old offensive genius, but Jones has the scoring skills, defensive zone abilities and impressive defenseman-looking body to make people around the game really get behind his candidacy. This sounds stupid, but for a sport that willingly puts people like Mike Milbury in an analysts’ chair, don’t tell me it’s THAT crazy.
DAN: I genuinely think that Zach Werenski will end up being one of the top 4-5 defensemen in the NHL, but this may be a bit premature. Seth Jones is a dominant force that is simply a more complete defenseman at this point in his career. Werenski will have the advantage of playing on the top power play unit, but Jones gets the nod for all-around defensive game. Isn’t it wild that he’s played in 315 NHL games but is only 23 years old? We’ll have a similar conversation around Werenski in due time.
KYLE: They’re certainly both capable, but a lot has to break right for either of them to get it. If Werenski shows improvement, and the Jackets make a run at the division, he’ll make it interesting. But he’ll need some help. Erik Karlsson has to show that he’s not a machine (unlikely), the Kings have to take a big step back and Brent Burns has to come back down to earth. Might be a year or two too early for Werenski to take home the hardware, but I think he’ll have a big enough impact to be invited to the NHL Awards as a finalist.
SAM: Neither of them is going to bring it home but I think out of the two, Seth Jones has the best chance to bring it home. We don’t know how Werenski is going to adjust to what's coming his way in his second NHL season and because of it, I am not going to bet on him. Seth Jones is the safer pick and he may very well score 50 points this season and no one would bat an eye. Plus, until Erik Karlsson is out of this league, it will always be his trophy to lose.
ROB: Listen, I love Werenski. He’s probably going to be one of the best Blue Jackets players in the team’s history when his career is wrapped up. But we’re probably a year ahead of appropriately talking about him being a Norris Trophy winner. In my mind, this year’s award has Brent Burns and Victor Hedman atop the list of contenders, but both Werenski and Seth Jones are in that next group and could make a serious run before too long.
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