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.
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.