2015-16 record: 34-40-8 (76 points)
Missed the playoffs
Captain: Nick Foligno
Just about anything that could go wrong with the Columbus Blue Jackets' season did, ranging from a slow start that cost Todd Richards his head coaching job early in the season to Ryan Johansen butting heads with John Tortorella, leading to his trade to Nashville for Seth Jones to goaltending that either couldn't stay healthy, get any decent production, or both. A full season of Tortorella behind the bench should at least give the team some stability, plus the pipeline is ripe with players that will either help the team at the NHL level or in Cleveland, where a Calder Cup winning year undoubtedly gave the youth playing there a major boost.
Up front, there's a lot of talent on the wings, but no number one center. That used to be Johansen, but given the trade, that leaves a collection of second line centers to try and fill the top center role until Pierre-Luc Dubois is ready for the role. Dubois has a pretty good chance of sticking with the Blue Jackets straight out of the draft, but won't have to produce right away, as Boone Jenner, Brandon Saad, and Cam Atkinson all are fairly sure bets to score more than 20 goals apiece, with the first two netting 30 goals each last season. However, production took a major nosedive beyond the top four, particularly with Nick Foligno, who may have been the one to suffer the worst from the Johansen trade. Besides Dubois, other rookies up front that could make the opening night roster include Oliver Bjorkstrand, Josh Anderson, and Sonny Milano. The return for Johansen was Seth Jones, who was thought to be the heir apparent in Nashville. Columbus is now his team, and he won't have to wait to see if he's ready to be the lead dog on the Blue Jackets' blue line. Along with Ryan Murray, who finally stayed healthy for a full season, David Savard, and possibly Zach Werenski, youth will be served on the blue line, and the potential to be great is there. That would greatly help the overall defense that saw only Calgary end up worse than them. It is Sergei Bobrovsky's crease for now, but he must remain healthy and produce consistenly. The backup role is Curtis McElhinney's for now, but even worse numbers may put his spot on the NHL roster in peril, particularly since Joonas Korpisalo played well enough when he filled in on the NHL and was lights out in the AHL playoffs. Special teams suffered, as well, as the offensive woes from the back end manifested itself on the team's dive in the power play standings while the team was too undisciplined too often to offset any ability on killing penalties.
Prediction: 6th in the Metropolitan Division
The Blue Jackets must avoid another slow start, an undesired trademark of Richards' teams as head coach, and they must rediscover what made them on the verge of perennial playoff appearances. Of course, health is one thing that can solve a lot of problems, but figuring out who can carry the mail down the middle is going to be a bigger issue that won't be solved so easily.
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