The Columbus Blue Jackets shocked most of the NHL a season ago when the team came out of nowhere to earn its first playoff spot in franchise history simultaneously shirking the somewhat dishonorable distinction as The Only NHL Team to Have Never Made the Playoffs.
The Jackets tallied 92 points last season, the most in the history of the franchise, despite playing in arguably the toughest division in hockey with the likes of Detroit, Chicago and St. Louis.
As the seventh seed in the Western Conference Playoffs the Jackets drew the unenviable task of playing defending champion Detroit in the first round and were promptly swept away by those puppy-kicking, cookie-thieving, no-good-girl-scout-strangling Red Wings.
Unfortunately for the Jackets and their fans the team expounded nearly all of its energy during the furious late-season push to make the playoffs.
Now, as the 2009-2010 season looms expectations in Columbus are nothing short of dizzying. The team has clearly shown a commitment to winning and the recent signing of guys like Antoine Vermette and Derick Brassard to long-term contracts serve as proof.
Vermette, acquired in a mid-season trade from Ottawa for goaltender Pascal Leclaire and a second-round draft pick last season, was signed to a five-year extension earlier this week; he netted seven goals and dished out six assists in just 17 games for Columbus last season.
A few days prior to the Vermette deal, the club agreed to a four-year extension with Brassard. Brassard scored 10 goals and added 15 assists in only 31 games last year before his season was cut short with a dislocated shoulder that sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
Having Vermette and Brassard for a full season coupled with stars like Rick Nash and defending Calder Trophy Winner Steve Mason make the Blue Jackets a legitimate threat to seriously compete in the Western Conference.
Even the well-written and insightful NHL Examiner Chris Morgan thinks the Jackets can seriously compete in the gauntlet that is the Central Division.
Columbus has received some national media attention, too.
Columbus will begin its regular season at home on Saturday, October 3 against Minnesota, it will mark the third time in four years the Blue Jackets have begun their season Nationwide Arena.
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