So what will it be this season? Death by asteroid? Alien invasion? Mayan end of days happens a year early? Darth Vader blows up rebel base? Predator kills Ahhh-nold? Forest Gump dies from gun shot to rump? Indiana Jones smashed by large bolder? Elliot Ness slain by Al Capone?
Whatever it may be if you've started to read the early season predictions the CBJ might as well pile into a coffin and bury themselves b/c the good guys have no chance!
The first to predict the Jackets to be put on ice before the season begins was the Hockey News:
Why: The rookie sensation from 2008-09, Steve Mason slid off considerably in 2009-10 and the Blue Jackets franchise went from playoff team to lottery hopeful. The Jackets are still in desperate need of a legitimate first line center to set up Rick Nash and his goal scoring prowess and they also need someone to move the puck from the blueline. There are a lot of good young pieces in place, but in the extremely difficult Western Conference there is no room for error.
Next up is the early season power rankings from CNNSI.com that was sent in via Dave - the Jackets rank 29th out of 30 teams:
When the big offseason acquisition is Oilers castoff Ethan Moreau, it's a good bet that Nationwide Arena will have plenty of available dates come early April. Still, there's reason for hope in Columbus, starting with a revamped coaching staff that includes Scott Arniel, Bob Boughner and Bard Berry. It's a youth-oriented group that seems well suited to get the most out of the team's young talent. And if Steve Mason rebounds, and Nikita Filatov grows up, the Jackets could surprise.
One thing I can tell you with certainty CBJ fans is get used to these predictions - outside of the CBJ faithful ain't nobody picking the Jackets to make the playoffs this season.
You know -- maybe that is a good thing because nobody picked them to make the playoffs the year they did so either.
I'll have my season prediction up closer to the season but I'll be honest with you now -- I don't have them in the playoffs. While I don't think they will be as bad last year when everything went wrong -- with the current roster it would take everything going right to get in.
If I'm Arniel I use all these "predictions" as bulletin board material to remind my squad what the hockey world thinks of our chances.
The good news is that in the "new NHL" (can I still say that in season 5 since the lockout?) there have been major shakeups in the standings every year. This time last year the Hockey News and just about every other publication had the Coyotes and Avalanche out of the playoffs. Another thing I can tell you is there will be more shakeups this season.
Can the CBJ be one of those that shake, rattle and roll?
That is why they play the games.
-LTL
