I didn’t see this until just now, but Bethany (of Bethany’s Hockey Rants) is now the official Blue Jackets blogger for Kuklas Korner. Which is FREAKING AWESOME!

Her new blog is here. Do us Jackets fans proud!

Via icethetics (who’s punny name I just understood today):

The Columbus Blue Jackets have unveiled a new logo to be used this season to honor the memory of their founder John H. McConnell. It was announced on the team’s official web site yesterday.

And as one commenter on that post points out, it looks 10 times better than the logo the Chicago Blackhawks used when Bill Wirtz died:

You can’t tell if that’s a memorial or a web site plug. Screw you, Chicago, Columbus knows how to mourn.

(Yes, with football season around the bend, I’m going to be posting more. I might actually try to relaunch the site… these categories got way out of hand, and I think I’d like to move to tags anyways.)

He’s so good, Rick Nash wishes he knew how to quit him, apparently.

Alright, that’s a low blow. Still, Pazzy continues to impress (and infuriate those who keep droppig the ol’ “THERE’S A HOCKEY TEAM IN COLUMBUS? A-HYUCK HYUCK HYUCK”). Still, if I just gave LeBron a “LeBron our Lord and Savior” catagory, should  I give Leclaire a “I am become Leclaire, Destroyer of Worlds” catagory?

Wednesday:

Friday:

Oh. Okay.

If it wasn’t obvious when the Jackets went and lost 6 of their last 7 before yesterday, last night’s absolute embarrassment at home should make it clear: The Blue Jackets will once again miss the playoffs. Or, as some folks on the HFBoards put it, they’ll remain “the only team in the NHL without a playoff loss!” It has been absolutely heartbreaking to watch this team, who scrapped all season long in a fight for respect, fold it up against teams like Chicago and Los Angeles. And the reason is simple… the young guys are still too young, and the old guys are too old.

That being said, I went into this season hoping to snag at least third in the division, and to be this far out before losing all hope for the postseason is much more than I expected. I knew that Ken Hitchcock had a year to get his plan in action, but new GM Scott Howson needs more time to clear the air of Nationwide Arena of the stench of Doug Maclean.

And in that sense, at least there will be no more confusion… the Jackets will be sellers at the trade deadline. Howson will be able to bring in the players he wants, get rid of some of the flotsam and jetsam, and start building a team that Hitchcock can actually work with (although I’m still a little pissed that Jody Shelly was traded away, and his protogé Jared Boll hasn’t quite stepped up).

But next year, no more excuses.