I still love what Jarmo did last year. Love the sweep of the TBL too. Well earned and hard fought victory.

But all of this just brings home the inexplicable (to me) inability of CBJ and the city of Columbus to attract and keep players. I’ve spent a lot of time in Columbus, go to at least one CBJ game at Nationwide a year, and know Columbus to be a really great, fun (if small and Midwestern) city.

Granted hockey is not and will never be the main sport or preoccupation of that city - not even if Ohio State wins the NCAA. Columbus is all about Ohio State football - take it from someone who’s shopped Polaris Mall during a Buckeyes game and had it all basically to themselves. And someone who’s logged time in an Ohio State basement. (This devotion comes regardless of whether a person has gone to OSU or gone to college at all).

That said, I still think CBJ should have an easier time getting and keeping players than they do.

I can sympathize with Jarmo in the situation he was in and I think he did the right things. Sometimes its a high wire act you find yourself in.

In the late 90's and early 00's the Blues were a very good team constantly trying to get past loaded teams in Detroit and Colorado and often would have some very key players coming up as UFA's.

They could never get over the hump but it would have been disastrous to the fan base had they bailed on the season and dealt a Geoff Courtnall, Brett Hull, Steve Duchesne, Al MacInnis and the like.

I get the not trading bob and Panarin if you don’t get the return you want, but I didn’t get acquiring Duchene, and more so, Dzingel. It was exciting! And Columbus needed something good to happen as pointed out above...it just isn’t a destination. Nashville wasn’t until it was. I think it was about tying to make your own luck.


Poor Tampa was the big loser. Have that kind of season that face one of the toughest 8 seeds ever