The disappointment in the Blue Jackets locker room was there both because of the loss and the emotion that comes with the players realizing the opportunity they thought they had to have a special season was gone, and because of the uncertainty to come.
"It just [stinks]," defenseman Seth Jones said.
Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno tried to maintain some semblance of optimism by talking about hope, about how maybe what the Blue Jackets accomplished this season can be a convincing argument to anybody wondering if Columbus is right for them.
Columbus won seven of its last eight games to get into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, swept the top-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round and pushed the Bruins to six games in the second round.
Foligno said it has to be considered a growth spurt season for an organization that had previously never played a game in May.
"I think people see what we're doing here, other players," Foligno said. "We're hoping people want to be a part of this. This is a pretty special group."
Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said he shouldn't have to convince anybody to want to be in Columbus.
"We have a good team, we have a great city, we have great ownership," Kekalainen said. "I think that should convince anybody to want to stay. We have a winning team and I think we can really build on something here. If that's not enough then I don't know what is."
Kekalainen indicated there will be conversations with the pending UFAs in exit interviews this week. After that, he said they'll have a better idea where players like Panarin, Bobrovsky, Duchene and Dzingel stand.