An unexpected pleasure arrived the other day when my old pals Me, Myself and I dropped by the local tavern. Over suds and a warm pretzel, the conversation quickly turned to the Blue Jackets, who open their season Oct. 1 against Buffalo at Nationwide Arena.
I ended up refereeing the discussion because, well, these three amigos don’t always play fair. Me is extremely opinionated and Myself is no picnic. I is (am?) more rational, but even he has his moments.
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Let’s dive into the three-way debate happening inside my head.
Me: Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: The Jackets are primed to make the playo …
Myself: STOP!
Me: As I was saying …
I: You mean as Me was saying.
Me: What is this, an Abbott and
Costello routine? Fine, as Me was saying, the odds are in our favor. It’s hard to go seven seasons without making the playoffs. We’re at six and counting, having last reached the postseason in 2020.
Myself: The Covid season doesn’t count, but go on.
Me: OK, grump. Anyway, we’re tied with Chicago for the third-longest non-playoff streak. Detroit is at 10 seasons, San Jose is at seven. The point is, it’s hard to miss Lord Stanley’s party so many times in a row. The odds suggest the CBJ will break the jinx in 2026-27.
I: Try telling that to the Red Wings. But, seriously, I have a good feeling about this season, too. We were right there last spring, until the roof caved in the last three weeks. This is the year the roof remains up and we kick the door down.
Myself: Back up a second. What’s all this “we” stuff? When did you all suit up for the Jackets? Then again, maybe the team would have a better chance making the postseason if Me and I actually did take the ice? Regardless, let’s check the facts.
Toronto gets best player, Blue Jackets get best deal
- Fact 1: The Blue Jackets just traded their most skilled offensive weapon to Toronto. Kirill Marchenko got what he wanted, which was out of Columbus. Sure, the Jackets made the best of a tough situation. Credit general manager Don Waddell for getting more in return than most fans expected, but the bottom line is the CBJ traded away their top goal scorer from a year ago. Marchenko faded down the stretch, when the team needed him most, but his ability to create and score from anywhere on the ice will be missed.
Me: Allow me to jump in. Marchenko didn’t want to be here, so you had to move him now, not later. It becomes toxic to keep a player whose downer attitude creates a distraction in the dressing room.
I: The way I see it, Toronto got the better player but Columbus got the better overall deal. Matthew Knies, the key piece in the trade for the Jackets, is a 6-foot-3, 230-pound 23-year-old forward who plays “heavy,” which fits into the style of play being pushed by coach Rick Bowness. Knies has scored 23 and 29 goals over the past two seasons and is one of only three players to total 50 or more goals and 300 hits over that stretch, per The Athletic. Heavy, indeed.
The CBJ also offloaded goalie Elvis Merzlikins and Miles Wood, ridding themselves of Wood’s $2.5 million salary through 2028-29 and eating just 18% of Merzlikins’ $4.2 million salary this season ($759,600). Columbus also picked up Steven Lorentz and Emil Andrae in the deal, as well as a second-round draft pick.
Myself: Can we please keep the main thing the main thing? We were talking about the playoffs, which brings me to …
- Fact 2: Zach Werenski’s status was up in the air over the summer, similar to Marchenko’s, to the point that Waddell attempted to trade the All-Star defenseman to Dallas, until Werenski used his no-move clause to veto the deal.
Marchenko didn’t want to be in Columbus. Does Werenski? He says yes, as long as the Jackets make, and keep making, the playoffs. But if Marchenko was going to be a distraction, what about Z? Don’t think for a minute that his status won’t re-enter the picture if the Blue Jackets are out of playoff contention come February.
I: It does feel a bit hypocritical to give Werenski a pass while throwing Marchenko under the bus, but let’s refocus on the topic at hand. Will Columbus make the playoffs?
Postive vibes coming from Blue Jackets dressing room
Me: Yes. Call it a gut feeling. Call it misplaced confidence. Call it what you will, but I like the vibe coming from inside Nationwide Arena. Last year’s late collapse left a bitter taste in everyone’s mouths, and this still young team is hungry to show it can compete into early April and close the deal. Expect Adam Fantilli to play fast and free, now that his contract holdout has ended. Expect a beefed up Kent Johnson to rebound from a dismal 2025-26. Expect Werenski to do typically wonderful Werenski things and expect Bowness to carve out a kick-butt culture to change what has become too much of a country club atmosphere.
Myself: My gut feeling says … no way. Who is the sniper on this team? The top line of Fantilli, Johnson and Knies shows promise, but that’s always been the problem with the CBJ. Every year when the season dies, their one-word grave marker reads “Potential.” Until they prove they belong in the playoffs, they don’t belong.
I: The pieces are in place, but it’s hard not to be gun shy with this bunch. Are the Jackets substantially better suited to win now than a year ago? I think not. The best thing they have going for them is Bowness’ insistence on reshaping the culture, although even that is a tightrope walk. His message of tough love might wear thin if the season doesn’t get off on the right foot.
I’ll leave it at this: If the CBJ are in playoff contention in late March, this time they’ll run through the tape instead of tripping 10 yards short of it.
Me: I’ll drink to that.
Myself: If you think this team is playoff bound, you’ve already had too much to drink.
Me and I: STOP!
Sports columnist Rob Oller can be reached at roller@dispatch.com and on X.com at @rollerCD.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets playoff push or same old story? The debate inside my head
