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Columbus columnist: Blue Jackets are “the biggest mess in the NHL”

Rick Nash

Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch has posted a lengthy, insightful and scathing first-half review of the Blue Jackets.

Titled “It’s Never Been Worse,” Portzline conducts a thorough investigation of the franchise from top to bottom, trying to identify areas for improvement that would change the culture of the struggling club. That he chose now to write this piece speaks volumes -- the Blue Jackets are in their 11th year of existence, but have just 13 wins in 49 games and in real danger of breaking the franchise-low for wins in a season (22, in 2001-02...the current BJs are on pace for 21.)

This despite the fact they’re spending over $62 million in player salaries, 1oth-most in the NHL.

More, from the Dispatch:

What’s more unappealing in sports than a club with a bloated payroll and the worst record in the league? What’s more disheartening for fans than a club that opened the season with such high expectations only to fizzle quickly into the worst season in franchise history? What could be more maddening for onlookers than to see a collection of players perform so far below their abilities, their track records?

It’s painfully obvious that something significant must be done to salvage what has become the biggest mess in the NHL. Minor moves won’t cut it. It can’t be player in, player out. Can’t be just pending UFA for future draft pick. It’s not about having enough speed, strength, skill or smarts ... it’s about culture. The numbers don’t add up because the math is all wrong.

Portzline then goes on to address various areas of concern:

-- The club has a lack of winning pedigree throughout, from players to the front office. Only Sammy Pahlsson and Brett Lebda have won Stanley Cups while “under [GM Scott] Howson, a significant level of expertise has been chased from the building. [Ken] Hitchcock, Don Boyd and Bob Strumm were all gone from the organization in the span of months.”

-- The lack of moves given this year’s disastrous results. The only trades/player acquisitions were for Lebda, Nikita Nikitin, Mark Letestu and Colton Gillies. The club also took a long time before turfing head coach Scott Arniel.

-- Mike Priest, the club president, has little hockey background (he was owner JP McConnell’s financial guy) and a less-than-stellar reputation throughout the league.

Under Priest, the front office has lost its share of employees who were a credit to the organization, well-respected in the community. Priest dabbles in hockey decisions, too, which many find problematic. A handful of coaches who have interviewed for jobs with the Blue Jackets often refer to Priest’s ‘PI” test -- which measures a candidates ability to fit in an office environment -- with either incredulous humor (what the?) or a resentful scorn.

Coaching in the NHL is not an office job, they note.

For more, check out the full piece at Dispatch’s Puck Rakers blog.