The Columbus Blue Jackets are coming off a successful 2016-17 regular season campaign. They finished fourth in the NHL with 108 points and were consistent throughout the campaign.
The problem for the Jackets was they were paired with the highly motivated Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the playoffs and promptly lost the match-up 4-1 and were 
never really in the series.
The Blue Jackets were sixth in the league in goals scored with 247 and scored at a 3.01 goals per game pace.
Their success on the defensive side was a gaudy second place in the NHL with 193 goal yielded at 2.35 goals per game rate.
The special teams were a bit stellar but solid nonetheless with the power play ranked 12th at 19.9% success rate and the penalty kill was ranked ninth with an 82.5% kill rate.
Cam Atkinson led the Jackets in scoring with 35 goals and 62 points. Alexander Wennberg, Brandon Saad (now with Chicago Blackhawks), Nick Foligno, and Sam Gagner (now with Vancouver Canucks) rounded out the top five scorers for the Jackets with 50 points or more.
Sergei Bobrovsky had an exceptional season in the Jackets’ nets and the club needs that same magic this coming campaign to build on last year’s momentum and continue the excitement for the team in Columbus.
Bobrovsky was 41-17-5 in the regular season with a 2.06 goals against average and 0.931 save percentage.
Bobrovsky is supported by a solid corps of defensemen including Zach Werenski, Seth Jones, Jack Johnson, David Savard, and Ryan Murray.
Newcomer Artemi Panarin (from Chicago) joins Alexander Wennberg, Nick Foligno, Boone Jenner, Brandon Dubinsky, Cam Atkinson, Matt Calvert, Josh Anderson, Lukas Sedlak, and Oliver Bjorkstrand on the forward lines. The talent is, for the most part, intact from last season and head coach John Tortorella will be tasked with igniting that spark from the last campaign.
Columbus signed big defenseman Doyle Somerby. to a two-year deal that will see him ice in Cleveland for the Monsters in the American Hockey League. At 6’5″, Somerby will be the tallest player in the system. His defensive skills coming out of college are solid but the offensive side of his game was limited while icing for Boston University for four years.
The Metropolitan Division will not be any easier this season with the Washington Capitals hungry after losing yet again to their nemeses in Pittsburgh, and the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders, and Carolina Hurricanes ramping up their talents.
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