5 moves the Blue Jackets can make to get back to the playoffs

The Columbus Blue Jackets had an impressive year but got cut short in the playoffs. Here are some moves they could pull to not only reach the playoffs but possibly the Stanley Cup.

For the past few years, what can be said about the Columbus Blue Jackets is that they’re respectable. They earn a real “A+ for effort” when it comes to their playoff campaigns.

While they were able to reach the First Round this year, the Blue Jackets were cut short by the eventual title holders, the Washington Capitals. For a moment, it really did seem like the Caps were going to be hopelessly lost among the flurry of Blue Jackets. The Jackets practically clawed the first two games from them… but yet the story ended with the Cup being transported to D.C.

Statistically, the Capitals and the Blue Jackets weren’t on the same page. And the only category that they squeezed past the Caps was in goals against per game, literally only edging them by 0.146 of a point.

That being said, many thought that the inconsistency of lineup might cause the Capitals to falter… instead, it was the lack of consistency for the Blue Jackets that led to a four-game Caps winning streak.

The Blue Jackets played admirably, sure, but the Capitals shouldn’t have walked away so easily. Now, the Jackets should be out for blood, and out to prove that they deserve a spot in the playoffs once more. To do this, they’re going to have to swallow a bit of their pride and make some changes.

Here are five things they could do to clinch that Round 1 spot.

5. Get a franchise defenseman

There was a lot of hope that Ian Cole would be just this for the Blue Jackets. Cole had led the Penguins to two Stanley Cups, so he should be able to hop right in and mesh with the rest of the boys in Columbus, right? Wrong.

It’s not like he shot himself completely in the foot, but the ‘noise’ that the Jackets were hoping to make in the playoffs was not led by him. It took him awhile to find his footing as a late-season add, and he made some pretty notable hiccups, including a tripping which cost him a $5000 fine.

To top it all off, his playoff numbers were just mediocre. To get back to round one, this team cannot skate by on mediocrity.

The truth of the matter is, the Blue Jackets need to keep the puck away from the net, and they need a guy who isn’t afraid to fight for it. They need a John Carlson, or an Erik Karlsson… for goodnesses sake, just any type of Carlson/Karlsson. These guys have the ability to forget they’re defensemen, shooting a terrifying amount, but also remember that their number one job is keeping that puck away from the net.

Defensemen are the ultimate multitaskers of the game of hockey, and good ones tend to be hybrids of many different skills. They get touted as support to the forwards, but in reality, their job is to weave in seamlessly, read opposing lines and driving them away. So before the season hits, it would be a smart move to find some raw talent and place them on the blue line to move that little black puck far away from Bobrovsky.