Congratulations Detroit on beating Anaheim!

Blograkers wishes you the best in the 2nd round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs!

How to deal with "Missing the Playoffs Depression"

There are several Columbus Blue Jackets fans facing the harsh realities of coming so close to the playoffs, only to have it ripped from under the feet by the Minnesota Wild.

This "Missing the Playoffs" depression can be debilitating for several hockey fans in and around Central Ohio, so I have taken upon myself to list a few different ways to cope until next season. 

1. Embrace The Hate

    Find an enemy and take your anger out on them. Whether its the Detroit Red Wings for simply existing, Rick Nash for turning his back on the team/city/your sister, the Wild for sneaking in the playoffs over the CBJ, surely there is a party that is deserving of your negative energy. You can have as much fun rooting against somebody or something as you can rooting for your beloved hometown Blue Jackets. 

Just ask me. I've been an Anaheim Ducks fan all my life. 

2. Support the Springfield Falcons

 The Falcons have quite a few Jackets on the roster (biggest names being CBJ regulars Dalton Prout and Ryan Johansen) and they could very well be playing for the Calder Cup if all things go well. Plus, they aren't the Syracuse Crunch!

3. Develop a New Hobby 

  Sure, you love hockey. You love Blue Jacket hockey. The new absence of it has left a hole in your heart. What can you fill it with?

Try one of these: learning a new trade, read a novel, take singing lessons, learn a new musical instrument, binge drinking, experiment with crystal meth, terrorize the children of your neighborhood, breaking and entering, writing creepy letters to your exes, etc.

Any of the above will fill that hole in your heart and add some summertime excitement in your life until the puck drops again this fall.

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Other notes: Hunter is under investigation for possible substance abuse and/or plagiarism following his recent acclaimed entry The Perfect Storm. This is out of character and we will get to the bottom of this very soon.

I'd like to thank interns Viqsi and Skippy for keeping the website up and running while I was on assignment bugging Sergei Bobrovsky's place and learning the Russian language. More on this later.

The Perfect Storm

Well.... I gotta admit, the Blue Jackets done good. Against all odds and all reason, they pulled the season out of our collective asses, and impressed virtually everyone in the NHL, including yours truly.

Anybody who says they saw this coming is a liar. This goes for everyone in the organization. What happened here was beyond the usual hopes and P.R.

Who do we have to thank?
JD? JP? JK? TR? Bob?  
Certainly all of the above.
And certainly, not the fans, who left in droves. Even the fan-atics didn't see this coming. Those who say they did are revisionists at best.

I think we need to thank RICK NASH.
Yes, in all seriousness, RICK NASH.

Rick Nash understood his TRADE VALUE to the team. He understood that his continuing presence in Cbus was helping neither him, nor the team.  He knew he wasn't the kind of leader the team needed. We villified him for it while he was captain, and we villified him for recognizing we might be better off without him. He was right. Howson was not.

When it was LEAKED, we all boo-ed Rick, ....and now in 20-20 hindsight there is virtually no disagreement that trading him was ultimately the RIGHT THING TO DO.  Rick was the brick that needed pulled. And somehow, he knew this, and said as much. ...And the walls came tumblin' down.

This wasn't Howson's idea, or JD's -who wasn't even around then. This was RICK NASH'S IDEA. Rick Nash said he wanted the Jackets to be able to "get something" for him. He understood this team wasn't going anywhere with him. True, even RN didn't know how soon his trade would impact the team. He couldn't have imagined what happened next. Nobody did. And that's what makes it such a great story.

It was the PERFECT STORM nobody saw coming:

• The Nash Trade sent a shutter through the organization and lockerroom, and fandom. It signaled the beginning of the end. 
• The Nash trade brought guys without history. 
• The Nash trade precipitated other trades as we were obviously in a "brick by brick" mode now.
• This lockerroom makeover virtually assured a bad start.
• It can be strongly argued that the Nash trade precipitated the hiring of JD  --who's presence obviously inspired the lockerroom. Say what you will about XGMSH, but JD brought a NHL pedigree and tanned swagger to the organization we've never had.
• The now-ironic firing of Howson -who had assembled the a cast of misfits who would start bad and finish beyond-strong. Looking back, we might be praising GM SH, instead of villifying him. But the truth is, he ALSO needed to go, as he was a better judge of personnel than leader. And he had no tan.
• The emergence of an attacking 60 minute style of play, epitomized by Matt Calvert.
• Wizzer's injury which gave Prout his chance, --and who could be the greatest find of the season other the Bob.
• and the UN-expected emergence of Sergei Bobrovsky, who's inspiring play cannot be under-estimated, and is only listed last on this list because it is so obviously FIRST.

Add your own point and reshuffle the order. Doesn't matter. Victory has a thousand authors, and failure but one. 

Regardless of what happens next season, THIS CBJ season was EPIC.  ...And not only for CBJ fans, but for every suffering fan-base.

Miracles happen.  They are rarely orchestrated.

And we were there.

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Yes, it's true I have sobered up long enough to post this column.
With reporting by Viq and Skippy the Mattlund Intern on work-release.