Now that is BOLD considering Day hates the Jackets.
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“@Aportzline: RT @skeezer1212: @Aportzline are you on record about if you think they should trade Nash, *Carter? / Not my place. Reporter, not columnist.”
Since my predictions tend to have a Murphy's Law effect, I'll keep them to myself as to not jinx the CBJ.
But, here are some observations-
After not caring about the lockout one way or another, I found myself intently following twitter Saturday night and Sunday morning. I woke up Sunday with a sense of excitement about hockey coming back. I didn't expect to be this excited. I understand some people will be mad at the NHL/NHLPA, but I don't really care. They're running a business just like any other and they had to get their financial house in order. I like the product and I will still buy it.
I think a shortened season gives us a better chance to make the playoffs. Hey, at least it's mid-January and we're still in the race.
I thought all along the best case scenario for the CBJ would be a season long lockout, followed by a draft that gave us three chances at #1. This would allow our key players to develop and would give us a big boost in new talent through the draft.
We didn't get exactly that, but we did at least give Johan and others half a season to develop. Plus now we won't have the urge to push Murray into the NHL too soon. He will be AHL eligible next year.
I like where the team and the org are headed. Drop the puck!
Now that is BOLD considering Day hates the Jackets.
Yeah, I'm not sure he's in a hurry to work with the Jackets front office again. At least with how I understand how it went down. With Davidson up at the top, I'm not sure it would happen that way again.
1. The Jackets make a playoff push, but are knocked out in the stretch finishing 9th in the West.
2. Nash wins his First playoff game as the Rangers beat the Kings for the Cup.
3. Atkinson scores 20 in the shortened season and earns his spot on the first line.
4. The club finally wises up and packages Brassard+ for Assets at the trade deadline.
5. We get screwed at the draft and don't get a top 10 pick.
2. Nash wins his First playoff game as the Rangers beat the Kings for the Cup..
Impossible.
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"Every game, every point is a necessity." -- Ty Conklin, January 2007
"I'll have a chance to compete for the post of first issue. This is the most important thing." -- Sergei Bobrovsky, June 2012
Guys like Dubinsky, Anisimov, Nikitin and Tyutin (who've been playing) lead the team, while guys like Umberger, Johnson, and Foligno have below average seasons.
Wait, that's not so bold...
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Truth should never get in the way of a good persecution complex.
1. The Jackets make a playoff push, but are knocked out in the stretch finishing 9th in the West.
2. Nash wins his First playoff game as the Rangers beat the Kings for the Cup.
3. Atkinson scores 20 in the shortened season and earns his spot on the first line.
4. The club finally wises up and packages Brassard+ for Assets at the trade deadline.
5. We get screwed at the draft and don't get a top 10 pick.
Only way that happens is we finish 10th worst and someone below us wins the lottery. But bold nonetheless
The Jackets will make me wish we still had the lockout. Not really bold but that's all I got.
No scenario where I could see this.
Either we suck, get the #1 pick and we draft a superstar forward, or we do better than we expect, multiple young guys emerge as good NHL players, and we accelerate the rebuild by a year, maybe more.
All of that is better than sitting at home, then getting screwed in a draft lottery when they do the average again.
Before last season, it seemed to me that the Blue Jackets always seemed to start off the season hot, then cool off during course of the season(or of course, terrible slumps). I think the problem with that was leadership(the so-called 'country club atmosphere'), but I also think that problem is gone now.
I think we will make the playoffs based on these points:
1)We get off to a hot start. That will be a great benefit in a shortened season.
2) Bobrovsky(sic?) turns into a legitimate starting goalie-his performance behind our D will keep us in it once the hot start is gone.
3) Our defensemen depth will handle the load of the season and keep us in it.
4)Our offense will just do enough to help us win close games.
It it doesn't work out, no big deal, I feel we are on a upswing as an organization no matter what.
