Columbus is at the bottom of the heap and are turning to a 20 year old prospect to boost their performance. Desperate times...

Changes to the coaching staff, young players being promoted, and several veterans retiring or being released is the theme for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Read more to find out why they believe they finally need to be taken seriously on the ice.

With Season 10 about to start, all the GMs in the CMHL are getting geared up for a new year. I thought I would take a minute to reflect on a draft of old.

They say you have to wait 5 years before you can analyze a draft. So while I can't predict 2018, I can reflect on 2008 (the summer after Season 4).

So let's look at my own draft - who was a boom and who was a bust?

With the 2012 draft coming to a close last week, all the GMs in the CMHL have fresh prospects in their eyes. But only some of them will pan out, and only a few will become stars. Every year we go through this ritual, and hope we are the lucky few.

They say you have to wait 5 years before you can analyze a draft. So while I can't predict 2017, I can reflect on 2007 (the summer after Season 3).

So let's look at my own draft - who was a boom and who was a bust?

Today's loss was the final straw for Blue Jackets GM habsfan93.

Although Jon Quick played reasonably well in the 3-2 shootout loss to Chicago, his play in the last 1-2 weeks has been generally abysmal. Quick was brought in as an upgrade over the struggling Henrik Lundqvist, but he only brought more of the same.

So after today's game, GM habsfan93 announced a string of moves, starting with the trading of Jon Quick, John-Michael Liles and Maxime Talbot to the Vancouver Canucks for Ryan Miller, Jay McClement and Dmitri Kulikov.

Henrik Lundqvist has, for the last 3 years, been the definition of stability. Since his CMHL debut in Season 4, Lundqvist has hoisted the Stanley Cup, won the Calder Trophy, won the Conn Smythe Trophy, been to the All-Star game, and has been a Vezina runner-up in each of 3 straight seasons.

But on Wednesday, he found himself pulling on an Ottawa Senators jersey.

One year after winning the CMHL Stanley Cup, the Blue Jackets found themselves this spring without a trip to the Cup Finals for the first time in 5 years, as they lost in seven games to the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference Semi-Finals. A lot was expected of this team. Although they considerably changed the team nucleus following the Cup win in an effort to stay within the league salary cap and maintain the future competitiveness of the team, the Blue Jackets nevertheless posted a 55-20-7 record, good for 2nd place in the West and a fifth straight Central Division title. With that kind of regular season performance, the Jackets looked to be in good position to become the first two-time Cup winners in league history, and a fairly easy first round defeat of the Vancouver Canucks had them well on their way. But in the semi-finals, they ran into a resilient Los Angeles Kings team that, against most predictions, pulled off a 7-game upset of the Phoenix Coyotes in the quarter-finals. The Jackets took the Kings to 7, but in the end, the Kings had lady luck on their side, and they knocked off the Jackets prior to the Cup Finals for the first time in Blue Jackets franchise history. It was a sad moment for the team, but I only see the light - this team is still a dynasty, a premiere franchise in the CMHL. You can't win every year, but you can sure as hell try and I guarantee you we will be back in the spotlight in no time!

Still basking in their glory after winning the Season 5 Stanley Cup, the Columbus Blue Jackets started looking ahead to next season - and they like what they see.

The votes are in, and much like in the playoffs, the goalie made sure he had the upper hand...

The Columbus Blue Jackets clinched their 4th consecutive Central Division title yesterday with a win over the Division Rival Chicago Blackhawks. The win was their 49th on the season, a mere 4 wins away from the club and CMHL record of 53 wins in a single season.