As the Boston Bruins take a well-earned rest as they wait for their western conference opponent, all I have is regret. As a Columbus Blue Jackets fan, regret wells into my soul with every Bruins win, because that could've, and should've, been us. And with that regret, comes disappointment. Now that we have had a few days to reflect on what was and what will be to come, I have to categorize the Blue Jackets run as disappointing. Sweeping the Lightning for the CBJ's first ever playoff win was amazing. But was it enough? Was the goal of this team to win 1 round? Is that why the Blue Jackets held on to Panarin and Bobrovsky instead of dealing them for assets? Did the Blue Jackets trade away pick after pick after pick to make it to the Eastern Conference semi-finals? Take away the opponent that the Blue Jackets beat. When they made all those moves, ask yourself if you would've been satisfied with one series win. I think many of you would answer no.
The 2018-2019 Blue Jackets will go down in history as making one of the biggest upsets in sports history. But they could've been remembered for so much more. Look at how the playoffs have progressed. The three teams that have traditionally dominated the east were all taken out in the first round, the Lightning, the Capitals and the Penguins. The you had a Boston team that were taken to their limit in their first round, playing on one day of rest. You took that advantage well to start, going up 2-1, with a critical game 4 in your home building. Win this one, and that may have been a knock-out blow. Instead, the CBJ were blown out in Nationwide Arena, and they would not win another playoff game. And then you would have had Carolina, a team that did not look remotely close to being on the same level as the Bruins. Take care of business at home, and it could very easily be the Jackets in the finals right now. Instead, the Jackets are at home thinking about what could have been. It could have been everything.
Now we are at present day and the near future looks dark. This team capped out at one playoff series win, and will not get better soon, and in fact will most likely get much worse. As everyone knows, the two best Jackets players during the playoffs will be gone with no compensation in Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky. In addition, the Jackets only have at most 4 picks in the upcoming draft, a third, two sixths and a seventh. No where near enough to replace the talent they are losing. And if they resign Matt Duchene (and I don't think they should) they lose a first round pick next year as well. The team will invariably be worse next year, and the championship window is closed for now. But there is a small bit of hope in the Jackets future. What they might lack in top end talent now they might have in the future. The Jackets core is still very young. The Jackets top-line featured 4 players under 24. And there were a fair few more sprinkled throughout the line up, with two more exciting young players set to join the Blue Jackets proper next season in Abramov and Merzļikins. The window may be closed right now, and maybe for the next 2-3 years. But this team is set up to make a big turnaround relatively quickly.
The playoffs weren't what was expected or needed. Even though the Blue Jackets had a storybook series against the Lightning, it quickly soured against the Bruins. The Jackets and their fans are left with nothing but dreams of what could have easily been. The Blue Jackets window to take home a championship that started in 2016 is officially closed with one playoff series victory. But it's not all bad. The Jackets are young. Through the shrewdness of John Davidson (who is also gone) and Jarmo Kekäläinen, the Jackets are in a place to reopen that window in a short amount of time. 2018-2019 was disappointing at best, and a failure at worst. And 2019-2020 probably won't be better. But after that, it's anyone's guess.