Welcome to the offseason of low Columbus Blue Jackets expectations.
Arguably the lowest expectations the club has seen since before the 2012-2013 season, too.
Last week, it was BetOnline.ag projecting the Blue Jackets to have the third-worst chance to win the Eastern Conference in 2019-2020. This week, it's SuperBook, having Columbus at an 82.5 total point estimation for this upcoming season.
NHL R S Pt totals
— Jeff Sherman (@golfodds) July 22, 2019
An 80.5
Ar 91.5
Bs 100.5
Bf 83.5
Cgy 96.5
Car 94.5
Chi 90.5
Co 100.5
CBJ 82.5
Dl 96.5
Dt 76.5
Ed 85.5
Fl 96.5
LA 74.5
Mn 84.5
Mtl 89.5
Nsh 97.5
NJ 88.5
NYI 94.5
NYR 88.5
Ot 68.5
Ph 90.5
Pt 95.5
SJ 94.5
SL 96.5
TB 108.5
Tr 102.5
Vn 88.5
VGK 103.5
Wsh 97.5
Wg 96.5
This 82.5 point total is the sixth-worst in the entire league and more than a 15-point drop-off from the 98 points the team earned last season.
The top of the list is who you could have guessed, the reigning Presidents' Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning at 108.5. This is understandable - they're a great regular-season team, after all.
The loss of Sergei Bobrovsky, Artemi Panarin and Matt Duchene are surely playing a heavy influence into many projections of the Blue Jacket's upcoming season - so it's not like it's an outrageous guesstimate. However, if the team was lacking any motivation for a revenge tour against their lost free agents, they're gaining reasons by the day to prove the hockey world wrong next campaign.
