Age is nothing but a number.
The Blue Jackets started last season as the youngest team in the NHL and finished the season as the second youngest, behind the New Jersey Devils. According to EliteProspects Columbus is presently listed as the youngest team in the league going into this next season.
However, the team is currently carrying an inflated roster with 28 players on it. By the time the season starts, they will have to let go of five of those players. Most of the players they are likely to send down to Cleveland are younger than the roster's average age of 25.36 years old. This should help to increase the average age of the roster before regular season play begins. Though, either way, the Jackets will once again be among the youngest teams in the NHL.
Another aspect to look at is the experience level of each team. According to that analysis, the Blue Jackets were the least experienced team in the league last year. And while they technically are less experienced going into this season, they have jumped up to sixth from the bottom. The question is, have they added enough veterans to not only help on the ice but to assist with the development of the younger players?
Columbus has extended quite a few players this offseason, but they have brought in just three veterans from outside teams. They traded for one of them and signed the other two as free agents. Let's take a look.
- Johnny Gaudreau
The biggest free agent signing in the history of the club came out of nowhere for most hockey fans. The Blue Jackets swooped up Gaudreau at the eleventh hour, shocking the hockey world. The star left winger had 115 points last season, so obviously he will bring a lot of skill to the team, but how experienced is he? Outside of appearing in one game in the 2013-14 season (his first), Gaudreau has eight seasons and 602 games under his belt. Therefore he is quite the seasoned veteran, as well as a superstar.
- Erik Gudbranson
The physically imposing defender has played in 641 games over the course of eleven seasons. He will bring some much-needed toughness as well as a veteran presence to a blue line that was largely inexperienced and garnered the well-deserved reputation of being too soft.
- Mathieu Olivier
True to the rest of his career, Olivier won't likely see the ice in too many games this year. The team traded for him as a depth and toughness piece of the puzzle. His greatest contributions will likely come during practice when he can help some of the other forwards add the two-way element to their game. Olivier has appeared in just 48 games over the course of three seasons with an ATOI of just over ten minutes.
The Blue Jackets will still be young and inexperienced during the upcoming season, but they have not only filled holes playstyle and skill-wise, they have also added a veteran presence to a team sorely in need of it.
