10 NHL Teams To Watch This Season

9. Columbus Blue Jackets

The Jackets are rising stars in the NHL backstopped by an abundance of young and exciting talent. Sergei Bobrovsky is coming off a Vezina campaign as the league’s top goaltender for the second time in his relatively young career. The defense is led by Seth Jones and Zach Werenski, youthful stars with high draft pedigree who’ve quickly established themselves as leaders from the blue line.

Last season, Columbus approached the all-time record for longest winning streak in an attempt which ended at a still-staggering 14 games, and with a roster benefitting from another year of experience, the Jackets promise to win a lot of games once again.

In years past, the strength of their division was the biggest factor against the success of the Blue Jackets, but with Washington having weakened and Pittsburgh coming off a second consecutive Cup victory, fatigue amongst their rivals must eventually set the stage for a Columbus takeover. Having hopefully learned from last season’s first round playoff defeat, can the Jackets deliver on their promise and go further this time around?

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Chest thumping James Bond and Haruki Murakami fanatic living in China. Once had a fever dream about riding a rowboat with Davos Seaworth. He hasn't updated this section since Game of Thrones was cool, and boy does it show.