In the immediate aftermath of the Stanley Cup being awarded to the Vegas Golden Knights, there was much ado about the advantages given to the recent expansion franchise.
And while I think it's true that Vegas had some clear advantages - coming in as the sole franchise for the year, being able to take advantage of panicking GMs, and more promising terms on available players than past expansions - the reality is that they've done a masterful job of building on that edge in the past six years. Vegas is, in many ways, a model NHL franchise. They're a high-revenue organization that is attractive to visit for fans and sign with for players. It got me thinking... what advantages disadvantages are inherent to Columbus, both from a historical/legacy, city/state, and team-building perspective? Here are a few that came to mind:
An Original Six/Storied Franchise
My everlasting memories of the 'NHL On NBC' era are being ungodly frustrated by the consistency with which the same teams appeared on TV virtually every week.
Red Wings-Rangers, Blackhawks-Bruins, Flyers-Penguins. I mean, we get it. Big TV markets, original-six franchises, east coast exclusivity (minus Chicago). It's just exhausting. But it also makes business sense; people tune in to see the big-market teams. On the one hand, it's not accurate to ascribe NHL success to being a historical/old franchise, but the league-wide cache/perception exists, nonetheless.
Are the Blue Jackets an original six/storied franchise? No.
Eliminated from the conversation: Toronto, Boston, Detroit, Chicago, Montreal, New York (Rangers), Pittsburgh, Philadephia
A Recent History Of Success
One truism in life and in sports is that momentum breeds momentum. The inverse is true, too, as the Blue Jackets and their fans know all too well. Having a string of success has a trickle-down effect that permeates throughout the organization and into the league at large by virtue of courting better free agents, players that want to commit long-term, more visibility, higher revenues, etc. Players want to win, it turns out, and will sometimes make concessions to play for a winner.
I think about someone like Brent Burns, a defenseman who waived a no-trade clause to play in Carolina. Carolina? Are they a storied franchise? No, but they have been winning an awful lot of hockey games over the past few years.
Do the Blue Jackets have a recent history of success? No.
Eliminated from the conversation: Vegas, Colorado, Tampa Bay, Carolina
An Inherent State/Topographical Advantage
Five teams (Nashville, Florida, Tampa Bay, Las Vegas, and Dallas) reside in locales with no state income tax. The players on these teams make materially more money than their peers. This loophole is unlikely to be altered, and it's part of the calculus that players must go through if they have the ability to pick their next home city. The Blue Jackets, according to the above link, are right around league-average in overall tax burden.
But taxes aren't the other inherent advantages that some teams have. Some players want to live in a coastal metropolis, or on the beach. Some players want to play on an east-coast team for the relative ease of travel on their bodies.
Do the Blue Jackets have an inherent locational/topographical advantage? No.
Eliminated from the conversation: Florida, Nashville, Dallas, Anaheim, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Jose, Vancouver, Washington, New York (Islanders)
An Up-And-Coming Team
It can be hard to find the right word, but some teams just seem to be on the right trajectory. It certainly beats joining a team on the downswing.
Do the Blue Jackets look like an up-and-coming team? This is the closest I've been to a 'yes', but it's hard to say with much conviction given how last season went.
Eliminated from the conversation: Buffalo, New Jersey
Genuine Star Power
Chicago has already been 'eliminated', but it doesn't take a prophet to recognize that future free agents will be excited to play with a generational player like Connor Bedard. The same can be true for the Connor in Edmonton. Zach Hyman turned himself from a 40-50 point player into an over-a-point-a-game player playing on the juggernaut Oilers. What an advantage that is. Aside from free agency, it's just easier to build a roster with a superstar than the alternative.
Do the Blue Jackets have genuine star power? Perhaps? Again, I'm tempted to say yes due to Johnny Gaudreau, but... nothing that resembles generational talent.
Eliminated from the conversation: Edmonton
A Major-League City
This one doesn't fit neatly into an advantage/disadvantage and instead is just commentary. One reality of living and playing in a city like Columbus is the relative anonymity that comes with it. Some players love that, while others crave the spotlight and pressure derived from the city/media.
Similarly, Columbus is a major metropolitan city but lacks an NFL/NBA/MLB team. Filling that void for a century was Ohio State football, and they remain the clear-cut number-one sports priority in the area. Is that a turn-off for players? In Philadelphia, for example, Flyers players are secondary in popularity to the Eagles and 76ers, but that makes more intuitive sense. Again, not sure if it impacts player thinking or not, but it's not difficult to imagine Vegas players being thrilled that they are the obvious athletic priority in their market.
So, where does this leave Columbus?
Well, in the same boat as other teams like the Ottawa Senators, Calgary Flames, Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota Wild, Arizona Coyotes, and St. Louis Blues. All of these teams have flashes of some of the categories; the Blues are borderline a legacy franchise, and the Wild have Kirill Kaprizov, who is certainly in the conversation as a legitimate superstar. Arizona, despite the turbulence, is a desirable place to live.
Sure, there have been stories for years about players with families choosing to sign in Columbus, citing the safety of the city, the schools, the perhaps surprisingly good golf, the zoo (sarcasm intended on the last one). And maybe this is much ado about nothing; in the past two offseasons, the Blue Jackets landed the top free-agent player (Johnny Gaudreau) and arguably this year's top defenseman (Damon Severson).
At the end of the day, the Blue Jackets can't control a lot of this. Can they become an original six/historical franchise? No. Is Columbus akin to New York City? No. But many other cities listed above aren't either. What allows them to succeed can be surmised in one, very obvious word: winning.
Winning cures all ailments. You win, and your perception changes. You have rivals. Your visibility increases. Your crowd becomes part of the fabric of the organization. Players imagine themselves winning and playing there. And instead of pushing the snowball up the proverbial hill, you just allow momentum to run its course.
