The Columbus Blue Jackets had a remarkable season this year finishing fourth in the Metropolitan division and making the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history. They also won their first playoff game in franchise history against the Penguins in game two and then they won their first playoff home game in franchise history in overtime of game four.
The biggest reason why they made the playoffs was because of emerging stay Ryan Johansen who had a very quiet 33 goal season. They're still working to extend him to a long term contract as I type this article. Sergei Bobrovsky also had another great year in goal for the Blue Jackets and now Columbus is poised for an even better season. Let's take a look at a preview of this Jackets team.
Offense
Columbus had a very good offensive team last year led by Ryan Johansen. There were also other players that had great years such as Brandon Dubinsky who they signed to a six year extension this offseason. He had 50 points last season and should be the next captain of the Blue Jackets when they name one since he's a great leader. Boone Jenner emerged as another potential starter in the NHL with a very good rookie NHL season where he had 16 goals and 29 points. He should double that next season. Nick Foligno also is a big reason to the Blue Jackets success where he was top five in points last season. He should continue to do very well playing alongside Brandon Dubinsky. There are other players who should also have good years next season like Matt Calvert, Cam Atkinson, or Artem Anisimov. Look for the Jackets offense to be strong next season.
Defense
The Jackets defense has some guys who aren't well known in the NHL yet but are very good. The defense is led by Jack Johnson, who in my mind, is one of the most underrated defenseman in the NHL. He's also a great leader and mentor to young defenseman like Ryan Murray who I will touch base on later. Jack Johnson led the team in points during the playoffs with seven and had the second most points of any defender in the regular season next to James Wisniewski. Jack Johnson usually pairs up with Ryan Murray who had a great rookie season for them. That should be the pairing go into this season as well and could be one of the best in the NHL.
James Wisniewski had a great year for the Jackets as he was second on the team with 51 points. He'll be paired with Fedor Tyutin going into this season which is also nice. The last pairing is going to be David Savard and most likely Dalton Prout since the Jackets let Nikita Nikitin go via free agency. Prout played a little over half of the season and got six points so he should be fine on the third defensive pairing. The defense doesn't look as strong next season since Nikita Nikitin isn't there, but it should be good.
Goaltending
The Blue Jackets have one of the best goaltenders in the world in Sergei Bobrovsky who's coming off a Vezina trophy for best goaltender in the NHL a couple seasons ago. He was also a big reason why the Jackets made the playoffs this season as he won 32 games and had a save percentage of .923. He's a top five goaltender and will prove that this season when he has better numbers.
Backing "Bob" up will be Curtis McElhinney who backed him up last year. He got ten wins last season for the Blue Jackets in 28 games but don't take that out of proportion since Bobrovsky was pulled a few times during the season due to his bad play. This should be a good duo for the Jackets heading into next season as long as both are ontop of their game.
Special Teams
Columbus has a nice advantage over many teams in the power play category where they were 11th last season which is very good. Ryan Johansen had some nice power play goals for them and so did Jack Johnson. The Jackets usually have them both out there on the first power play unit which is smart because they are great playmakers. Look for the power play to also have Nick Foligno and Brandon Dubinsky on the top unit as well. James Wisniewski would be the other player on the point next to Jack Johnson which forms a very good powerplay that can be dangerous.
The penalty kill for the Jackets is in the middle part of the league so it's average. It showed that it was an average penalty kill in the playoffs when the best power play team in the Penguins lit them up on the power play in a couple of those games. We'll see how it does this season.
Outlook for Season
The Blue Jackets come into this season wanting more. The fans got a glimpse of what's in store for the future. This is a team that will make the playoffs again this season and finish third in the Metropolitan division setting up a playoff series against the number two team in the division which will be the New York Rangers. Who wouldn't want to see Rick Nash return to Columbus for a playoff series and King Henrik go against "Bob."