from Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch,

On his first day of work with the Blue Jackets last November, John Davidson compared the “brick by brick” construction of the Arena District with the patient, painstaking approach he would use inside Nationwide Arena to rebuild the downtrodden hockey team.

That phrase has taken on a life of its own — in the daily lexicon around the rink, and even on T-shirts in the gift shop.

But no one could have expected Davidson and the Blue Jackets to have this many bricks in place only months later....

“It’s always nice to underpromise and overdeliver,” said Davidson, who noted that previous general manager Scott Howson left the cupboard stocked beyond what many realized.

“From what I saw, we just needed to grab this thing, change that culture, and make sure people knew their seat on the bus and go from there.”

read on