Any Hope for CBJ?

[*Awful Llama*]

Tonight the Jackets drop the puck on another season, and most might suggest the answer to my question would be an unequivocal 'no.'  To be honest, that's an assessment that's hard for me to argue against.  Just look at the off-season the team just went through:

- Johnny Hockey died, the second active player to die in an accident in just a little over three years.  

- Patrik Laine couldn't get out of town fast enough.  

- Questions abound about Boone Jenner's "upper-body" injury and how long the Jackets will be without their captain.  

- The team has employed it's fourth (fourth!) head coach in just 18 months.

- Every hockey publication, The Hockey News being a good example, has already buried them with predictions of a last-place finish in the Metropolitan.  

Given all of that, and despite my desire to be optimistic, I don't have a lot of hope that this season will be anything more than another long slog to early April tee times for these guys.  Yeah, I'll watch tonight and throughout the season, probably get up to Nationwide a time or two, but it's hard not to see this as yet another lost season before they even drop the puck.

What say you, hockey fans?

[SunsetBengal]

My biggest hope is that they can win the head to head series with the Carolina Hurricanes this season. That way I can talk shit to some of my former coworkers about it.

[*Awful Llama*]

(10-10-2024, 07:28 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: My biggest hope is that they can win the head to head series with the Carolina Hurricanes this season. That way I can talk shit to some of my former coworkers about it.

I always hope they'll do well against the Leafs, Pens and Wings, because their fans invade Nationwide when they play those teams.

[cinci4life]

Hopefully they improve their defense/goalie play or it's going to be another long season.

[cinci4life]

And they're already getting screwed by the replay room.

[TecmoBengals]

I want to enjoy following the Blue Jackets, but it's hard when it seems hopeless they can win. The Johnny Hockey situation was just tragically sad as he was such a good dude. Will they ever land the #1 pick and get a franchise saving player? I doubt it.

[*Awful Llama*]

(10-11-2024, 05:45 PM)TecmoBengals Wrote: I want to enjoy following the Blue Jackets, but it's hard when it seems hopeless they can win. The Johnny Hockey situation was just tragically sad as he was such a good dude. Will they ever land the #1 pick and get a franchise saving player? I doubt it.

Yeah, they always seem to do just well enough to finish ahead of at least another team or two.  They got lucky last year when Anaheim passed on Fantilli and he fell to them, but it would be nice if they could snag a #1, franchise-changing pick like a Crosby or a McDavid.  I remember when they signed Gaudreau, what an out-of-left-field, massive story it was.  There was such a buzz around the team we hadn't seen since that 16 game winning streak, when I'd listen to the NHL Sirius channel and it was constant Jackets coverage.  Such a tragedy all around.  

[*Awful Llama*]

(10-10-2024, 10:36 PM)cinci4life Wrote: And they're already getting screwed by the replay room.

A nice, unexpected W tonight, and in Denver, no less.  Haven't been a lot of those over the years.  Makes me ever-so-slightly more hopeful.  Florida, Buffalo and Minnesota at home the next three.  Maybe they can get two of those three and get off to a decent start for the season.