The Columbus Blue Jackets finished the regular season with 98 points, good for the eigth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. In the opening-round against the top-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning, the Blue Jackets swept the Lightning right out of the playoffs in four games. That feat was massive, and a complete surprise. This may sound like a bad pun, but Lightning doesn’t strike twice. In round two, the Boston Bruins ended the Blue Jackets Stanley Cup dreams, sending them home in six games. The sweep of the Lightning is something that will be rememberd for decades to come.

The Blue Jackets key to their success was their defense, which finished the season eleventh in goals allowed, and second in penalty kill. Their power play was awful, good for twenty-eigth in the league. The Blue Jackets used their first-round draft choice, nineteenth overall, on defensemen Lassie Thompson from Kelowna of the Western Hockey League. In free agency, they made one significant move. They resolved to fix their poorly performing right winger Gustav Nyquist, formerly of the San Jose Sharks and Detroit Red Wings. Nyquist is outstanding on the power play, and is now signed to a four-year contract. The Blue Jackets are locked, loaded, and ready to see if they can capitalize on their stunning playoff upset from a year ago.

The Columbus Blue Jackets had a solid season a year ago, finishing with 97 points. They made the playoffs and faced the Capitals in the first round. The team was strong, and it took them to six games before losing the series. This was a very competitive series as only two games were decided by more than one goal. The Blue Jackets best player is 26-year-old left winger Artemi Panarin who finished the year with 82 points, leading the team in both goals in assists. 23-year-old defensemen Seth Jones often gets involved on offense as he finished the year with 57 points. The Blue Jackets also have some nice young talent, such as 20-year-old center Pierre Luc-Dubois who finished the season with 48 points.23-year-old winger Oliver Bjorkstrand finished the year with 40 points as well. The Blue Jackets plan right now is very simple, to hope that this young talent continues to improve to help these core players who are in their prime.

The Columbus Blue Jackets had a nightmare 2015-2016 season. The team finished the season with just 76 points, good for the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference, and the fourth-worst record overall in the league. The Blue Jackets needed to fix their weak offense this off-season, and ended up with the third overall selection in the 2016 NHL draft. Columbus ended up taking left winger Pierre-Luc Dubios, who is currently playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League as a prospect. He will be expected to form a tandem with young center Alexander Wennberg going forward. The Blue Jackets are off to a slow, but expected start so far this season, as they have just 7 points on the young season, good for the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference.

The Columbus Blue Jackets will be known for their 16-game winning streak from the end of November through early-January. Yes, that’s right. The Blue Jackets went an entire month without losing a game. For the season, Columbus finished with 108 points, which gave them the third seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Due to the strange playoff format, they were matched up against the second-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins, who ran them out of the playoffs in five games. The Blue Jackets had a dead quiet, and when we say dead quiet, we me very quiet offseason. They did nothing in free agency. Not one, single, transaction. They also traded out of the first round to protect players from the expansion draft. They have a talented roster in their prime, and we will see if they get the job done.