After an up-and-down offseason, the Columbus Blue Jackets are ready to start a new season

The Columbus Blue Jackets are set to put a tumultuous offseason behind them when they return to the ice on Thursday at home against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Since the regular season ended, the team hired and fired head coach Mike Babcock after allegations of violating the privacy of players by asking to see their cell phone photos.

The Blue Jackets were able to draft Michigan center Adam Fantilli with the third overall selection in the draft. Fantilli's arrival in Columbus provides some hope for the franchise.

After finishing last season in last place of the NHL's Metropolitan Division, could some new acquisitions reverse the fortunes of the beleaguered Blue Jackets?

WOSU's Matthew Rand spoke with sports journalist Aaron Portzline, who covers the Blue Jackets for The Athletic, about the team's upcoming season.

Transcript

Matthew Rand, WOSU: Let's talk about the aforementioned coaching shake-up. The Blue Jackets had high hopes for head coach Mike Babcock, who resigned last month just before training camp. Remind us what happened and also talk to us about how the team has adapted since.

Aaron Portzline: [It was] kind of a mess right before the season started. Mike Babcock, who was a controversial hire for some of the things he was accused of doing in Detroit and Toronto before he got to Columbus, it sort of reared its head, I think, before anybody could have imagined it would.

There were allegations from players that he invaded their privacy ... by scrolling through their phones and looking at their pictures, reading their text messages in at least one case. [It was a] bullying tactic, I think most would agree. And the Blue Jackets were faced with a controversy barely a week before training camp started.

Mike Babcock resigned—never admitted to any wrongdoing—but the Blue Jackets moved on and elevated associate coach Pascal Vincent to the head coaching position. He's a first-time NHL head coach. He's coached as head coach and assistant coach at all levels of hockey before this. Very well respected and they've had a very energetic and I would say impassioned training camp. But it appears the players want to play for Pascal Vincent.

And I think there's a sense of relief among many that the Babcock situation reared its head and was taken care of before the season. As messy as that was before it could really get into the season and truly mess up another year in Columbus.

Matthew Rand, WOSU: The Blue Jackets’ roster has some fresh blood this season, first and foremost in No. 3 draft pick Adam Fantilli. What can you tell us about him?

Aaron Portzline: [Fantilli] is an exceptional talent. They were delighted to get him. Number three overall in the draft this year, a player who spent one year at Michigan. Won the Hobey Baker Award, which is [essentially] the Heisman Trophy of hockey. As an 18-year-old, that does not happen very often that a freshman wins the Hobey Baker. He comes to Columbus, probably the most ballyhooed prospect since Rick Nash.

Also, to his benefit, he's a centerman, and that is such a key position in this sport a such a position of need for the Blue Jackets. Really historically, that's the one position that has really confounded them how to build a team. It's hard to find those franchise centers. They feel like they have one with Adam Fantilli.

Matthew Rand, WOSU: Could the team realistically reach the playoffs this season, and what do they need to do to accomplish that?

Aaron Portzline: Well, the great thing about sports is you never know until the games are played. But if I were a betting man, and I'm not, I would not expect that in Columbus this year. There's just too many things that have to get settled and too far to come from last year. They totaled 59 points last year. They missed the playoffs by almost 30 points. That's a significant number.

I think there's a lot of talent here. I think they could surprise some people this year and I think the future in Columbus is fairly bright. But there's so much to figure out here, how the team interacts with the head coach, Pascal Vincent, the new system he's trying to teach them. All of these young players take a long time to get adjusted into positions.

Patrik Laine has moved from the wing where he spent his first seven years in the NHL and is going to try to play center this year. That takes time.

There are new players coming into the organization, too. Veteran defenseman Damon Severson, Ivan Provorov. They're really good players. They're established players. But it's a new setting for them and they may have new playing partners, so it's going to be a volatile start to the season, I do anticipate. But there's talent there. There's reason to believe there could be some fun nights in Nationwide Arena.