It’s mid-March and the Blue Jackets are still in the playoff hunt.
To Blue Jackets fans that have followed the team since they arrived in Columbus, this isn’t exactly a cause for joy but rather apprehension. They’ve seen this story before, and although the collapse has usually occurred by this point in the season, the story hasn’t ended well.
It would be hard to deny, though, that this season feels a little different. The team seems tougher and the buzz around Nationwide Arena before and after games is palpable.
The irony of this is that a playoff chase, a buzzing city and exciting, championship hockey is exactly what Blue Jackets founder John H. McConnell had dreamed of when he worked so hard to bring a team to this city.
McConnell passed away last April after a battle with liver cancer just as the Blue Jackets’ 2007-2008 season was ending with no chance of making the playoffs.
It’s hard to imagine there being a more beloved owner in professional sports. McConnell loved this city and loved the Blue Jackets. Players and team employees all referred to him as “Mr. Mac.” McConnell would record video messages for the first and last games of the season, thanking fans for their support and promising them that the organization was doing everything it possibly could to bring a winning team to Columbus.
And the truth is, they were. The Blue Jackets’ failures of the past can be attributed to mistakes in the selection of players and what the organization financially invested in them (Adam Foote comes to mind), but it cannot be attributed to a lack of financial support from ownership. McConnell let his “hockey people” make the hockey decisions, and did not get in the way, but he always wanted hard working players with good character. McConnell lived with the Golden Rule in mind. “You don’t cheat. You don’t lie. You help your neighbor,” he said.
Maybe the Blue Jackets will crumble late in the season again, like the team has done so many times in the past. Maybe this is all a mirage, and the Blue Jackets will miss the playoffs like they have every year in franchise history.
Or maybe this year is different. The Blue Jackets have a packed arena and a never-before-seen buzz throughout the city. The Blue Jackets may even have another advantage.
John H. McConnell, looking down on what he has brought to this city, might be asking the hockey gods to give the Blue Jackets their day in the sun.
Mark Stetson can be reached at [email protected].
