It feels like the Blue Jackets have had a number of make-or-break moments already, but with the NHL's trade deadline a week away, the final direction of the Blue Jackets season is about to come into view.
Will Columbus be "sellers" at the NHL trade deadline, and if so, how much of a for sale sign will be placed in front of Nationwide Arena. Or will Jarmo Kekalainen hold serve and still give this team a chance to make a run for a fifth straight playoff appearance?
A 1-5 road trip to Detroit, Tampa Bay and Florida makes it seem like the former is more likely than the latter, and the reality is Columbus is seventh in the Central Division and 25th in the NHL in points percentage. Simply put, the team has to immediately take a step forward in terms of results to make a playoff run.
But it's also not impossible, with the team five points out of the last playoff spot in the Central. Heck, two seasons ago, the Blue Jackets were five points out of a playoff spot with eight games to go, then went 7-1-0 down the stretch to qualify on the way to beating Tampa Bay for the franchise's first-ever series win.
Right now, Nashville holds the fourth-place spot in the Central with a .526 point percentage, which puts the Preds on pace for 59 points. Columbus currently has 36 points, which means the Blue Jackets need to shoot for 23 points in the last 16 games.
Difficult? Yes. Impossible? Probably not. That would mean something like 10 or 11 wins down the stretch could put Columbus in a potential playoff spot (11-4-1 or 10-3-3, for example, would put Columbus at 23 points in the last 16 games).
Again, 11-4-1 is tough. To get there, the Blue Jackets will have to immediately start getting results (winning 11 of the last 16 after winning just 14 of the first 40 is a big ask). But NHL teams are fully capable of such a stretch, something the CBJ has proved repeatedly in recent years (remember, Columbus went 19-2-5 at one point last year, won seven of eight to close 2018-19, went 15-1-1 to end 2014-15 and won 16 in a row in the 2016-17 season).
Columbus also is ending a stretch in which 10 of 12 games came against top-three foes in the Central with this upcoming series against Tampa Bay. Down the pipe, the Blue Jackets have two games against each of the teams they're battling with for the last playoff spot (Chicago, Nashville, and Dallas) plus three against Detroit, though four against the Lightning and two against the Panthers won't be easy.
So that's where things stand. And going back to the make-or-break theme, the Jackets have three games left before the trade deadline next Tuesday. We
laid out some of the roster situations last week
, but with unrestricted free agents-to-be like David Savard, Nick Foligno, Michael Del Zotto, Riley Nash and Mikhail Grigorenko on the roster, there are deals that could be made if things don't go well this week.
But in the meantime, the Blue Jackets are focusing on what is right in front of them.
"I think you're disappointed any time you're not where you want to be, but that's not fur us to look too far ahead," captain Nick Foligno said. "We're just still one game at a time. We know what's going on, guys. Let's be honest. What know what's going on around us and where we sit in the standings, but you start worrying about that, you forget what is in front of you and that's (going) game by game and how you're getting better each and every day."
