2009-2010 record: 32-35-15 (79 points)
Did not qualify for the playoffs
Captain: Rick Nash
Alternate Captains: Sami Pahlsson, R.J. Umberger, Rostislav Klesla
3 Players to watch: The face of the franchise is Rick Nash. He is also the team's best player and the one guy that can actually keep opposing coaches up at night. He will be expected to lead the Blue Jackets in scoring again. Two seasons ago, Steve Mason was the talk of Columbus as he led the team to their first playoff run on the way to winning the Calder Trophy and being a finalist for the Vezina Trophy. Last year was two giant steps backward for him, as the "sophmore slump" caught up to him in a big way. He will need to at least, find a happy medium between the two seasons. Last year, Nikita Filatov had some run-ins with then-coach Ken Hitchcock, which forced his exile to the Russian Leagues.
Things to look for: The most obvious thing to look for is how Mason rebounds from a nightmare season. If he's closer to last year's numbers, the Blue Jackets are in trouble. The blue line is alright, but lacks an offensive presence. Sure, they can defend in their own end, but too often, without a puck moving defenseman, they're having to do that a lot. Look for Kris Russell or rookie John Moore to help out in that regard. The offense was decent, with Nash, Antoine Vermette, Kristian Huselius, and R.J. Umberger all netting 20 plus goals. However, with a rather questionable situation in goal, the Blue Jackets almost have to get into shootouts with the opposing team, which they cannot do on most nights. Filatov and Derrick Brassard are going to be looked upon to add to the offensive totals while guys like Ethan Moreau and Chris Clark are expected to add experience and mental toughness to a team that lacked it last year.
Prediction: 15th in West
Song: Iced Earth-Declaration Day
It sounds fitting, since the Blue Jackets were named after their Civil War heritage, with many of the generals of that war coming from Ohio. It could also be taken as the Blue Jackets' make or break year, since they have the young pieces in place for the most part and some veteran leadership that they lacked last year.
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