Columbus Blue Jackets: A Curious Case Study in Small-Market Hockey
The 2021 NHL season has shown how competitive the professional side of hockey is. If anything, this season has shown just how much certain analytics matter in building a contending team. With the new division alignments for travel purposes, there are some clubs that have emerged out of the ashes as your-easy-to-spot favorites, then you have your dark horses, your pretenders-or-contenders, and of course, your fringe teams, and the tank jobs. The Blue Jackets are one such club that is struggling to find their identity this season. They are definitely a pretender-or-contender. While on paper, the Jackets look like a team that should be running the table with an absolute stellar side. Instead, they have been the equivalent to lukewarm hot cocoa: their play doesn't give that warm feeling that things are going right. Despite some dominant performances, they have been absolutely terrible in others. There is severe inconsistency in the lineup. On paper, this team should a Stanley Cup cont...