Currently sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the Columbus Blue Jackets are set to miss the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. It's not an overly new position, given the organization struggled through much of their first 15 years in the NFL. Between their inaugural season in 2000-21 and 2015-16, the team reached the playoffs only twice.
However, for a period of four straight years from 2017 to 2020, Columbus was a playoff team. They loaded up for a run in 2018-19, acquiring both Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel in an all-or-nothing move. However, while they did reach the postseason once more afterwards, it's been downhill the last few years.
Now with the team far outside of contention, we look at a few reasons why the Blue Jackets are still a long way from getting back to the playoffs.
Blue Jackets must establish better core
Comparing the Blue Jackets' top stars to those of other teams, Columbus doesn't match up overly well.
Up front, Johnny Gaudreau instantly became the team's top forward from the time he signed. Then with Zach Werenski, Patrik Laine, Ivan Provorov, Boone Jenner and Damon Severson, Columbus has some pieces in place. Overall though, it's still quite a thin core of veteran talent.
As a result, the Blue Jackets are really relying on young players to help fill in the gaps. However, the organization has had issues developing talent. Boone Jenner and Zach Werenski are the only two players on the roster who were both drafted by Columbus and have played at least 250 games with the team.
Of the Blue Jackets' nine first-round picks from 2012 to 2019, Werenski is the only one currently on the roster. Considering these draft years represent the age group of players which make up the core of most NHL teams, it's clear why the Blue Jackets lack top stars.
Now, the team does have some really promising young talent. Adam Fantilli could be on his way to becoming a franchise player for the team, while the likes of Yegor Chinakhov, Kent Johnson, Cole Sillinger, Dmitri Voronkov, Kirill Marchenko, David Jiricek and others could all be key pieces. However, it could be years before many of those players contribute.
With a veteran core not strong enough and prospects still earlier on in their development, it's tough to see Columbus creating a solid enough group to compete in the near future.
Struggles to retain talent
At least part of the Blue Jackets' trouble establishing a core can be attributed to their struggles retaining talent. Notably, all of Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky, Seth Jones and Pierre-Luc Dubois weren't willing to stay with the team long-term. These players made up three of the team's top-five scorers, plus their starting goalie during Columbus' 2019 playoff run.
When four top players all aren't willing to stick around, it presents huge challenges. As a result, the Blue Jackets have stuck in a cycle of trying to compete, then ultimately selling off later.
It also doesn't look like this trend is poised to stop based on the happenings of the current season. Elvis Merzlikins was public with the fact that he requested a trade. Kent Johnson ended up in the AHL for part of the year and switched agents to Pat Brisson, who notably represented both Dubois and Jones when they left Columbus. David Jiricek was also public in his frustration with being sent back to the AHL.
While the Gaudreau signing did help to break the reputation of Columbus being an undesirable market, it's clear the team is still having issues handling their talent.
Columbus' lack of direction
Ever since the 2019 playoff push, it's seemed like Columbus has lacked direction. There have been some moves signaling a rebuild, but others which contradict that for an emphasis on competing now.
Last season, we saw the team sell Vladislav Gavrikov and Joonas Korpisalo to the Los Angeles Kings. While both were on expiring contracts, it was clear the the Blue Jackets were in no place to compete. But then immediately over the offseason, the team made moves to get more competitive. Columbus signed Damon Severson to a long-term contract, then traded future assets for Ivan Provorov.
As the Blue Jackets go back-and-forth between a rebuild and trying to compete, they're left without a clear direction. With some young talent to build around, Columbus should be willing to have a bit of patience. Severson will likely be into his 30s by the time the Blue Jackets are even competing. Provorov has just one year remaining on his contract. Some of these moves can be chalked up to desperation from the ousted Jarmo Kekalainen last summer, but regardless, Columbus is still looking to establish a legitimate direction.
They should be looking to either compete now or build for the future, but not both. Given their current situation, the latter seems more realistic.
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