Blue Jackets' offseason moves creating excitement among the fan base

Chuck Willis looked at his phone and could hardly believe what it was saying.
The longtime Columbus hockey fan and Pataskala resident was at a camp for his church's youth group the night of July 13 when the news that shocked the hockey world broke.
The Blue Jackets had signed Johnny Gaudreau, the six-time All-Star and one of the biggest free agents of all time, who had hit the open market after finishing tied for second in the NHL last year with 115 points.

"I read it twice and I was like, 'No way,' " Willis said of his reaction. "I was texting my wife (Ginger), and she didn't know who he was. I said, 'He's Johnny Hockey. Trust me, this is awesome.'
"It's unbelievable. It's going to be awesome when the season starts. I'm so excited."
Willis said that Thursday night at Nationwide Arena, moments after he purchased a quarter-season package to become a new Blue Jackets season ticket holder. The organization hosted an open house that night for fans interested in becoming new members of the season ticket holder family, and suffice it to say there was quite a reaction.
Fans steadily streamed to the check-out desk to purchase their new plans, continuing a run on tickets that began the day Gaudreau signed. In the 24 hours after the announcement that Johnny Hockey would be coming to Columbus, the Blue Jackets sold twice as many full season-ticket equivalents as they would typically sell in a week this time of year. In the two weeks since, average daily season ticket sales numbers have matched or surpassed what the team typically sells in a week of July.
As you might expect, much of the excitement is because of the Blue Jackets' offseason moves, higlighted by the signing of Gaudreau and the contract extension that will keep fan favorite goal scorer Patrik Laine in Columbus for the next four seasons. Add in another draft that included two more highly praised first-round picks as well as the addition of Gaudreau's Calgary teammate Erik Gudbranson and Blue Jackets fans are starting to think big.
The Blue Jackets have missed the playoffs the last two seasons, but general manager Jarmo Kekalainen's quick reset of the team's roster has added plenty of top-line talent like Gaudreau, and the future appears even brighter with Columbus boasting one of the top prospect pools in all of the NHL.
For Dublin native Tom Schulte, who purchased a quarter season package with his wife Brittany (pictured above), the Gaudreau signing provided a bit of validation after some high-profile player defections in previous years.
"We're both from here and we're going to be living here for a while," he said. "With the previous narrative of everyone wants to leave Columbus, they want to go to the big cities and bright lights and everything, to have a top-15 player in the NHL choose to come to Columbus and be here and to be on our team, raise his family here, that makes the hype even stronger."
Or, as Brittany put it, "Gaudreau and Laine? It's not a hard choice (to buy tickets)."
For Tony and Mary Marucco of Grove City, the chance to buy a quarter-season package came down to a couple of factors. Originally a native of Illinois, Tony attended his first game at Nationwide Arena in the early 2000s and fell in love with the sport, and the Maruccos have attended games each season in recent years.
With the team's recent additions and looking for a fun way to spend a few nights out each year, the Maruccos decided to buy tickets in section 216.

"What the Jackets have done this year, they are definitely building a team that they want to see results," Tony said. "I expect the Blue Jackets to be in the playoffs this year with this team. It's going to be a great season, and it will be fun.
"We come to a game or two every year, so we thought, hey, this will be a good date night and it'll get us out of the house and we'll come see some good hockey."
Willis is a longtime hockey fan who can trace his roots back to the Columbus Owls of the IHL and the Columbus Chill of the ECHL, while Schulte remembers the Blue Jackets being founded and has fond memories of both attending games and playing street hockey with his friends when he was growing up in Dublin.
The interest in the sport and the Blue Jackets has long been there for many of those at the open house, but the prospect of seeing the dawn of a winning era of Blue Jackets hockey helped lead to the decision to get season tickets.
"After we win the Stanley Cup and we end up selling out, we'll already be here," Tony Marucco said.
Those who want to purchase season tickets can
fill out the form at Ticket Central
or call the Blue Jackets ticket office at 614-246-3350.
Single-game tickets for the 2022-23 season also are available here
.