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Columbus Blue Jackets 'further ahead' than GM Don Waddell expected
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- Columbus Blue Jackets 'further ahead' than GM Don Waddell expected
They're not supposed to be in the hunt for a playoff spot , but it's past the midpoint of the season and the Blue Jackets are right in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference.
More: Columbus Blue Jackets 2024-25 midseason report card: As, Bs and a couple Cs
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They're one of the NHL's most surprising stories, and it's not just preseason prognosticators who are surprised this isn't another painful grind in Columbus. Don Waddell, the Blue Jackets' president of hockey operations/general manager , is also a little surprised by his new team's impressive progress.
“I thought we’d have a lot more trouble scoring goals," Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell admitted. Columbus is averaging 3.36 goals per game.
Are they ahead of schedule?
"I'd have to say yes, to be truthful," Waddell said. "I thought we'd have a lot more trouble scoring goals. I think we're leading the league in scoring goals at home. We give up some goals, but openly and candidly, I'd have to say yes ... we're further ahead than I thought we'd be at this point."
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The Blue Jackets have scored 98 goals in 23 home games for an average of 4.3 per game. They've also piled up 148 goals for the season, which was tied for sixth in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche — a perennial Stanley Cup contender.
Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski leads Columbus with 50 points this season.
The Jackets had also scored six-plus goals in a game 10 times, which is just one shy of their franchise record for an entire season. They're also doing it without star forwards Patrik Laine , who was traded to the Montreal Canadiens , and Johnny Gaudreau , whose death in August tore up the Blue Jackets emotionally just weeks before training camp opened.
Gaudreau was their leading scorer for two seasons after picking the Blue Jackets as an unrestricted free agent. The Jackets, who hired Dean Evason as coach in July, also lost four key players to shoulder injuries early — including captain Boone Jenner and alternate captain Erik Gudbranson .
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"It's not surprising from a 'skill set' standpoint," Waddell said of the season's first half. "It is after all the things that happened to us in the summer, though. You get thrown curveballs, and like I said to the team when we first started ... nobody's going to feel sorry for us, so let's not feel sorry for ourselves. Let's make the best of it."
Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli has seven points off three goals and four assists in the month of January.
That's what the Blue Jackets are doing, and they've put themselves in the middle of a tightly packed group chasing the playoffs. Nobody predicted that in October.
"I've always been a glass-is-half-full kind of guy, and when I go in the locker room every day, I get that smile on my face as these guys get ready to play," Waddell said. "Dean has obviously done a great job and we're going to be battling all the way to the end."
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets 'further ahead than GM Don Waddell expected
