Blue Jackets: The Columbus Blue Jackets Will Have a Better Season

Last season was anything but stellar for the Columbus Blue Jackets. This season, however, will be different, and the Blue Jackets will have the chance to make a comeback after fixing last season’s mistakes.

In 2009, the Blue Jackets had one of their best seasons yet, making it to the NHL playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

However, the 2010 season was not as successful, and the Blue Jackets failed to make a repeat appearance in the playoffs.

There were several things that caused the Blue Jackets' setback last season; poor performances and Steve Mason’s sophomore slump.

Poor Performances

Several of the Blue Jackets' top players didn’t play up to par with their normal skill level last season.

This was a slight problem for the offensive players, but it was a major problem for the defensive players.

The defense last season was not as good as it had been in previous seasons, which made it a lot harder for the goalies to keep the puck out of the net.

To fix this problem, the Blue Jackets are going to need to seriously step up on defense next season, and work on it during the preseason in practice.

Since the team will have had time to work on this, and have had time to work with their new coach, they should be able to improve their game by the beginning of next season.

Sophomore Slump

The golden boy for the Blue Jackets in their 2008-2009 season was rookie goalie Steve Mason.

This past season, Mason suffered from what is commonly known as the sophomore slump. In his second NHL season, Mason’s game went from superior to inferior.

He had a major slump in his ability to block shots on goal, which hurt the Blue Jackets who were depending on seeing a performance out of Mason like they had the season before.

Luckily, this pattern usually lifts after a player has suffered from a sophomore slump, and Mason will most likely come back better than ever next season.

As long as his confidence isn’t too shaken, and he continues to work hard, Mason can come back and be the excellent goalie that his team needs him to be.

New Coach for a New Season

Previous Blue Jackets Coach Ken Hitchcock was let go earlier this year, and the Blue Jackets have brought in Scott Arniel as the new coach for the team.

With a new coach, who has actually played at the professional level before, the Blue Jackets have a chance to see what caused their poor performance last season and to change how they play.

If Arniel can beef up the defense and help the offense improve upon the talent they already have, the Blue Jackets could become an unstoppable force on the ice.

As long as the team has learned from their mistakes last season, they have nowhere to go but up, meaning more winning in the next season.