from Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch,

Blue Jackets media day was well along Wednesday when Lori Schmidt of WBNS radio threw a question at the three players who sat at the front table: With much left unchanged, what is the reason to think that this year will be any different from last year?

Quietly, captain Nick Foligno breathed: “Good question.”

It is the central question.

Expectations were high at this time last year. Some pundits made the Jackets the chic pick to win the Metropolitan Division, despite the team’s shortcomings on defense and, after the Ryan Johansen trade, at center. The Jackets started 0-7, fired their coach and wondered what happened to their goaltender, Sergei Bobrovsky, best friend of orthopedists on two continents.

They were out of the playoff hunt by Thanksgiving. They finished last in their division and 27th in the league. They return the same players, by and large.

So, they sell the process. “Come grow with us,” as John Davidson, president of hockey operations, said again Wednesday. It is September, and they have yet to lose a game. It is a time for hope. They sell that, too.

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