Outlook:

Despite being swept by the eventual Western Conference Champion Detroit Red Wings, the Columbus Blue Jackets made their first playoff appearance in team history. That alone is a notable accomplishment.

Under head coach Ken Hitchcock, many Blue Jackets had career years in 2008-09, and more importantly, they should be set in goal with last year’s Calder Trophy Winner, Steve Mason.

In 61 games, the then 20-year-old goaltender had a year that any rookie goaltender would want to have. To prove that, Mason had 10 shutouts, which was tops in the league, a 2.29 goals against average, second in the league, and was tied for ninth in wins with 33.

While Mason certainly deserves a lot of credit, the CBJ also saw Rick Nash post another 40-goal season and R.J. Umberger, who played his college nearby for the Ohio State University, had a career high in goals.

Nash and Umberger are back for another year and Antoine Vermette, who was acquired from Ottawa at the Trade Deadline, had seven goals in 17 games with the Blue Jackets. With his first full season in Columbus ahead of him, Vermette should benefit from the presence of Nash and Umberger.

Kristian Huselius also returns for the upcoming year for his second year with the CBJ. The veteran from Sweden and five-time 20-plus-goal scorer should see similar results from his first year in Columbus.

Former first round pick Derick Brassard should see more playing time this year and has plenty of potential. Another first round pick from 2007, Jakub Voracek, should see more ice time in his second season.

With a lot of upside and potential in the scoring department, the Blue Jackets did lose their share of forwards. Jason Williams left the team and went back to Detroit, while Michael Peca, Manny Malhotra and Jiri Novotny are still on the free agent market.

On defense, the Blue Jackets are looking solid for the upcoming year. Fedor Tyutin is a reliable option for the power play and while Mike Commodore and Jan Hejda are both more of a stay-at-home defenseman, they too can be puck movers when needed. A healthy Rostislav Klesla should help improve the defense and Kris Russel and Mark Methot should see improvements in their games.

After their first playoff appearance last year, and with a lot of talent, this will still be a difficult task for the CBJ to return to the postseason for a second straight year. The Western Conference is very competitive, and a lot of teams beneath them have improved.

On top of that, the central division looks like one of the toughest divisions in the NHL. Detroit and Chicago are the teams to beat still, while the St. Louis Blues have what it takes to be a potential sleeper team, and Columbus and Nashville are certainly playoff worthy.

Outside the division there are more contenders with an improved LA Kings squad as well as the Minnesota Wild (even with a shakeup in management) and the Dallas Stars, who should never be counted out of contention even though they missed the playoffs last year.

There could be four or five teams battling it out for the last playoff spot or two come crunch time, and while Columbus is one of those teams right now, I see them just missing the playoffs in 2009-10.

Prediction: Fourth in Central, Ninth in West

Projected Lines:

Rick Nash – R.J. Umberger – Jakub Voracek
Fredrik Modin – Derick Brassard – Kristian Huselius
Raffi Tores – Antoine Vermette – Jared Boll
Jason Chimera – Andrew Murray – Sammy Pahlsson

Fedor Tyutin – Mike Commodore
Jan Hejda – Rostislav Kesla
Kris Russell – Marc Methot

Steve Mason
Mathieu Garon