During an NHL draft, nothing is ever certain. Sure, the consensus top-3 or 5 picks usually go off the board without surprise, but even then, it doesn’t happen all the time. The Columbus Blue Jackets selected Pierre-Luc Dubois over Jesse Puljujarvi or Barrett Hayton was picked by the Arizona Coyotes with the 5th-overall pick in […]

At the time of his selection with the 14th-overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Alexander Wennberg was seen as a key piece for the Columbus Blue Jackets franchise moving forward as a possible top-line or top-six center as the first selection of newly hired Finnish general manager Jarmo Kekalainen. However, in the seven […]

With the exhibition games starting to wrap up, the NHL is now just days away from putting its 24-team playoff format into its next stage with the play-in qualifiers giving each of the 16 teams a chance in a five-game series to grab a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In a perfect world, there […]

The National Hockey League is days away from attempting to complete its 2019-20 season with a 24-team playoff tournament to decide a Stanley Cup Champion. The Columbus Blue Jackets, among the other 23 teams, brought a roster of 31 players into the “secure zones” or “bubbles” located in the hub cities of Toronto, Ontario, and […]

The Columbus Blue Jackets were awarded an expansion franchise on June 25, 1997, and were set to take the necessary steps to establish itself in the National Hockey League in the 2000-01 season. Enter Doug MacLean who was hired as the first general manager in Blue Jackets history on Feb. 11, 1998. His previous managerial […]

Since breaking into the National Hockey League in the 2000-01 season after being selected third overall in 2000 by the new expansion franchise, the Minnesota Wild, the hockey world knew that the Slovak forward Marian Gaborik could leave his mark with the Wild and the NHL. 20 years later, no one could have expected the […]

Ever since the NHL hit pause on its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, each team, whether it be deep in a playoff position or in the race for one, has looked to finish a season built on blood, sweat, and tears. With the announcement of a return-to-play postseason format that will include 24 teams […]

Ever since Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen was named Scott Howson’s successor on Feb. 13, 2013, the franchise’s fortunes have dramatically changed and they have slowly earned respect around the NHL. Kekalainen’s focal point, among his many duties as GM, and what was missing from the early Blue Jackets’ history, was strong drafting. […]