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Summer Thoughts Of A Bored Fan

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OWSH45's picture
7/25/25 at 4:53p in the Blue Jackets Forum
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Here it is, almost August. Temps in the 90's with a heat index above 110. No important hockey news. What is a Blue Jackets fan who doesn't like baseball to do to fill the time?

Yegor Chinakhov is in a no-win situation (cue Be Good To Yourself by Journey). If he plays decently and avoids another injury, Waddell can demand more for him in a trade. But that also makes him more important to the Jackets. Which could mean waiting for an offer sheet next summer when his contract expires.

We should not expect Werenski to have another offensive season like the one just behind us. But a full season of Mateychuk should compensate. And Fabbro may have a little more offense in him.

Could Carter Hart be the goalie who makes Elvis a buyout candidate. Hart was found not guilty and, as soon as Bettman quits playing master of the universe, he'll be eligible to sign. 

With a season behind him and a full off season to prepare, I wonder what Dean Evason is going to come up with. The Jackets caught a lot of teams by surprise, last season. That won't happen, again. Hockey is both a physical and a mental game. The physical part is obvious. The mental part is making adjustments because of what a team, or player, is doing. Then that team/player making adjustments to counter the other team/player, and so on and so forth.

The killing of Johnny Gaudreau brought this team together. Unlike some previous seasons, guys played for each other. Gudbranson has said that the Jackets were more supportive of each other than he'd seen in his time here. People who are locker room cancers cannot be allowed to infect the "all for one and one for all" unity of the Jackets. Which is another reason to get Elvis and Chinny off this team asap. Maybe all they need is a change of scenery, but as Blue Jackets, they're anchors.

The Jackets have upgraded their roster and I have no doubt Waddell will continue doing so. But remember, development and improvement are not linear processes. There can be stalls, side steps and even regression. So, while I believe the Jackets are a playoff team, they could just miss the playoffs, again. That will not be a failure, not when there are so many variables.

Enjoy August. Training camp is not far away.

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