Columbus Blue Jackets thread

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The Oi said:
These guys any good
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They were, until they weren't!

Pushed hella hard to regain playoff position, ran into injuries to their to RH Defenseman Damon Severson, Best Enforcer/Energy Guy/Backbone to our Team Identity Mathieu Olivier recently broke his hand in a fight, and Zach Werenski has looked exhausted/not entirely himself ever since returning from the Olympics and coming down with a serious flu/stomach bug that had him out for a week to 10 days.

But Z's been forced into playing between 25-30 minutes most nights as they essentially only have 4-5 playable & competent NHL defenceman. This on top of losing his Defensive partner which has bumped their remaining RHD into roles that are a touch too rich for their baseline level of play & capabilities. Also, due to some poor roster construction we have a number of LHD that are being forced into playing RHD which makes things vastly more difficult at times because this forces them to make a ton more plays on their backhand side instead of their natual forehand. This can be readily exposed with their defensive zone puck retrievals & is also notable in that their are at a supreme disadvantage in Board Battles along the wall just due to the nature of their handedness not being appropraite for the task at hand.

"Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Damon Severson will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season after undergoing successful shoulder surgery on April 2, 2026. The 31-year-old was injured on March 26 against Montreal following a shoulder-to-shoulder hit. He is expected to recover in time for training camp in September."

Including the March 26th game against the Habs, CBJ are 1-6-1 with their sole win being that last second rally against Detroit in which their pulled a victory out of their ass to save their playoff hopes as they went on to miraculously win in the shootout!

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Prior to Severson's injury they were on a heater of a run since January 11th, they hired a new coach on the 12th of January:

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TLDR: The Blue Jackets are yet again on the outside of the playoff bubble & likely not enough games remaining to catch the teams in front of them unless the Flyers totally collapse and CBJ win out to end the season with a tough schedule of @MTL, BOS, WSH to close out their season.
 
Olivier's fight where he broke his hand against Boston:

 


I hope they gut the team. This country club bullshit has lasted too long.
 


www.nhl.com

Zach Werenski named winner of James Norris Memorial Trophy | Columbus Blue Jackets

Werenski is first player in Columbus Blue Jackets history to capture the award as NHL’s top defenseman
www.nhl.com www.nhl.com

The Grosse Pointe, Michigan native became the fifth U.S.-born defenseman in NHL history to record multiple 80-point campaigns in 2025-26 after notching 23-59-82 in 81 games in 2024-25, and is the third to accomplish the feat in consecutive seasons, joining Phil Housley (1991-92 to 1992-93 with Winnipeg) and Brian Leetch (1990-91 to 1991-92 with NY Rangers). He’s also the third American blueliner to notch consecutive 20-goal campaigns along with Housley (six-straight from 1986-92) and Reed Larson (five-straight from 1979-84).

The James Norris Memorial Trophy was first presented in 1953-54 by the children of the late James Norris in memory of the former owner-president of the Detroit Red Wings. Nominees are voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association at the end of the regular season with the top three vote-getters designated as finalists.

Werenski is the franchise’s all-time leader in assists and ranks second in points, third in games played, fourth in shots on goal and fifth in goals with 135-330-465 and 1,846 shots in 642 career games in 10 NHL seasons with the Blue Jackets. He leads all NHL defensemen in even-strength goals (104) and ranks third in goals, fourth in shots on goal and eighth in points since making his NHL debut in 2016-17. He was selected by Columbus in the first round, eighth overall, at the 2015 NHL Draft.
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