Two seasons ago was the pinnacle of the Columbus franchise to this point. They made their first playoff appearance, and rookie goaltender Steve Mason took home the Calder while also being up for the Vezina. Then, last season, the Blue Jackets built on that success by... completely collapsing and finishing with one of the worst records in the league. They ended up 32-35-15, good for 79 points which left them with the fourth worst record in the league, and that's with a league leading number of overtime losses as well. This led to the dismissal of coach Ken Hitchcock, and now the franchise is looking to rebound and push toward another playoff appearance, maybe this time with a win in the postseason.
Interestingly enough, the Blue Jackets appear intent on trying to turn things around with the exact same team that did so poorly last year. There's not a single notable free agent signing on the books, and they've brought back pretty much every free agent they had as well. Well, there is one name of note joining the team, or rather re-joining the team, and that's Nikita Filatov. Not particularly happy with the situation in Columbus, he bolted to Russia last year. Now, and the fact that Hitchcock is gone isn't a coincidence, he's back and he should provide a boost to the Jackets' offense. So, that's something.
However, the real key to Columbus' play this season will be Mason. Two years ago, when they made the playoffs, he had a 2.29 GAA, a .916 SV%, and 10 shutouts. Last season, he had a 3.05 GAA, a .901 SV%, and five shutouts. That's a big drop in save percentage, one that needs to be fixed this year. Can he do it? Or is Mason destined for a Jim Carey-esque career?
Plus, who is going to provide him with defensive support on a team that had defenseman post a plus rating? The Jackets finally have some pretty good player behind Rick Nash on offense, though this was still a low scoring team last year, but they need to get better on the defensive side of things as well. Regardless, unless Mason recaptures his Calder winning form and somebody steps up on defense, I don't see any chance of the Blue Jackets making the playoffs this season. I think they'll be better than last year, but not be nearly enough.
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