Domi, Koivu see Columbus as a place to win

Max Domi could hardly contain his excitement.
Upon being traded to the Blue Jackets last week, he looked at the roster in his new landing spot and felt pretty good about what he saw.
It's a team that is just one of three to make four consecutive appearances in the final 16 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It's a team with some high-end talent in the likes of All-Stars Cam Atkinson, Seth Jones, Zach Werenski and Joonas Korpisalo as well as young talents like Pierre-Luc Dubois, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Elvis Merzlikins, to name a few.

And it's a team he thinks is ready to make a run.
"That team is outstanding, and any way I can help them and jump in there and do my part to help them get over the hump and become Stanley Cup champs is the goal," Domi said. "It's a special group and I'm very grateful and fortunate to be a part of it."

Two words stand out in that statement, and it's not hard to find them. Columbus has eyes on the Stanley Cup after having become playoff regulars, and the moves to add Domi and center Mikko Koivu are signs that some in the NHL world are taking notice.
Both of those players -- one an up-and-coming forward in the league, the other one of the NHL's most respected veterans -- saw something in Columbus that made them excited to be part of a team on the rise.
For Domi, he embraced a trade into the organization despite playing for one of the league's most storied franchises in Montreal. For Koivu, he had a chance to sign with anyone in the league after 15 seasons in Minnesota, but he felt comfortable inking a deal with the Blue Jackets because he sees a chance to contribute to a team on the cusp of doing something big.
"Playing hockey, you want to win," Koivu said. "I never got a chance to go far in the playoffs. That is my No. 1 goal, and individually, you realize that more and more once you get more experience and you see the teams and players having that success as a team. That is something that drives me right now, and that's the reason I signed with Columbus."
With the two moves, as well as the signing of Russian forward Mikhail Grigorenko, Columbus has shored up the middle of its lineup and added scoring depth. Domi is expected to take over as the No. 2 center behind Dubois and contribute offensively after posting a career highs of 28 goals and 72 points in 2018-19.
Koivu, meanwhile, remains one of the top defensive centers in the game and will bring leadership while likely filling a shutdown center role, allowing Boone Jenner to move back to wing to make better use of the alternate captain's forechecking abilities. Grigorenko, meanwhile, is a former first-round pick who scored at a nearly point-per-game pace in the KHL who is hoping to add scoring and contribute to the power play.
Those players will join a respected core in Columbus that includes such players as Dubois, Bjorkstrand, Atkinson, Jones, Werenski, Jenner and captain Nick Foligno, among others. The fact that those players are part of a team on the rise, with wins in playoff series the past two seasons vs. Tampa Bay and Toronto, has helped make Columbus a more attractive landing spot.
"100 percent, if you would ask any player," Koivu said. "I think that's one of the angles that I looked at with the teams that were on the list and the teams that I was talking to. I think as a player you want to join a team that you know is hard to play against, and I believe that they proved that over the last couple of years. I think it's obvious. They have been in the playoffs four straight years now. They have played Tampa both times (the last two years), and really, if you look at the games and look at the series, not just the year before but also this year, it was very tight and so it could go either way.

"What I like about it too is the core has been there for the most part for each and every year, and the young talent that they have, all that combined and then they're well coached. Playing against that team, it's never an easy night. I think those were the things that I would look at as a player and something you want to be a part of.
"I think it's not just my opinion. I think if you asked any player, you see how they improved over the years and are a really well-respected organization throughout the league."
Winning tends to beget winning, and in Domi and Koivu the Blue Jackets are bringing in players who each have Stanley Cup Playoffs experience but who want to progress further than they ever have before in the postseason.
And each sees Columbus as a place where it could happen.
"Columbus is right there and it's a team that's ready to win the Stanley Cup," Domi said. "Playing in that rink, it's very difficult. It's a challenge. It's very loud; the fans are unbelievable.
"We have a special group, and I'm just really looking forward to being a part of it."