COLUMBUS, Ohio — A collection of notes, insights, ruminations and did-you-knows gathered throughout the week for the Columbus Blue Jackets:
Change at the top?
For many, the first public indication that the Blue Jackets are transitioning at the ownership level came in late May when Don Waddell was introduced as the club’s new president of hockey operations and general manager in the Founders Club at Nationwide Arena.
Mike Priest, the longtime club president on the business side, was there, as expected. So was John Davidson, who would remain with the club even as Waddell replaced him at the top of hockey operations. But the other figure in the news conference photo piqued interest.
John H. McConnell II, son of Blue Jackets majority owner John P. McConnell and grandson of beloved franchise founder John H. McConnell, joined Waddell, Priest and Davidson on the dais. He did not speak at the assembly, but his presence spoke volumes.
And it wasn’t a one-off.
McConnell II has become a regular at the NHL’s board of governors meetings, was on site in Nationwide Arena last week as Waddell worked his way through his first trade deadline with the club and traveled with the Blue Jackets for last Sunday’s game against the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden, watching with Waddell at press level.
The Athletic has made multiple requests to interview McConnell II through the Blue Jackets public relations staff, but he has not yet been willing.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, in an interview with The Athletic earlier this month, acknowledged that John P. McConnell, 70, remains the majority owner of the Blue Jackets, but that McConnell II, an alternate governor with the club, is expanding his role.
“It’s not unusual in a family-owned team for the younger generations to get more involved,” Bettman said. “In Anaheim, the Samuelis’ (Ducks owners Henry and Susan Samueli) daughter (Jillian Reddin) runs the (AHL) team in San Diego. Danny Wirtz stepped up (in Chicago) when Rocky Wirtz tragically passed.
“That’s good for the community and the stability of the franchise. John H. has been attending board meetings. John P. I’ve seen recently and he’s still involved, but he retired from Worthington Industries (in 2020), so this is consistent with that.”
A club spokesman this week told The Athletic that there are no immediate plans for an announcement regarding John H. McConnell II’s future role with the club.
“Getting more people involved doesn’t require any change,” Bettman said. “Who operates the club is up to the owner.”
Ownership involvement with a sports franchise can be a tricky business.
John P. McConnell has stayed out of the way of his hockey executives, allowing his front office to make decisions without his input. Priest, who watches the money side of the business but also deals closely with Waddell and staff, has said he speaks frequently with McConnell.
But while John H. McConnell, the founder, was a regular at games and would often be shown on the scoreboard — drawing a huge ovation from the Nationwide Arena crowd — John P. McConnell took on a decidedly more private persona.
It bears watching how John H. McConnell will handle the job if he, as expected, ascends to become majority owner. He’s a passionate hockey fan and has become friends with several players, past and present. From 2012-14, he worked in the Blue Jackets marketing department and co-chaired the NHL All-Star Game events committee when Columbus hosted the game in 2015.
His growing presence in recent months, including at several team functions, suggests that he’ll be more of a hands-on owner than his father.
John H. McConnell II, Mike Priest, Don Waddell and John Davidson pose after the Blue Jackets introduced Waddell as president of hockey operations and general manager in May 2024. (Aaron Portzline / The Athletic)
A time for veterans
One of the best aspects of this Blue Jackets season has been the explosive growth of the club’s young talent, from Adam Fantilli’s ascension as a two-way center to Kent Johnson’s playmaking wizardry and Kirill Marchenko’s next-level play as a finisher.
Those three were the Blue Jackets’ top line — Fantilli in the middle, Johnson to his left and Marchenko to his right — in Saturday’s 4-0 shutout loss to the Rangers. As angry as Fantilli was after the game and as frustrated as Marchenko seemed, this game is not on them.
The Blue Jackets look panicked and mentally overwhelmed right now, as if this first taste of a playoff stretch is too rich for them.
It’s time for veteran players to take the lead. It’s a time for ugly goals and relentless, tenacious checking. The older players, especially the ones who have been through this before, need to be the drivers.
Veteran defensemen Damon Severson can’t cough up the puck to Rangers center Mika Zibanejad in the neutral zone less than two minutes into the game, starting the sequence that put the Blue Jackets down 1-0.
Center Boone Jenner, who centered the second line between two youngsters — Yegor Chinakhov and Dmitri Voronkov — matched a career-worst minus-4 rating on Saturday. Jenner has nine assists in 10 games since his return from shoulder surgery, but he’s looking for his first goal of the season.
Tough guy Mathieu Olivier tried to get New York’s Matt Rempe to fight him early in Saturday’s game, but Rempe let him know it wasn’t going to happen. The Rangers didn’t want to give the Blue Jackets any extra juice, and the plan worked.
The bottom two lines were OK but didn’t outwork the Rangers. They didn’t make life difficult on goaltender Igor Shesterkin. Were there more than two scrums all night?
The Blue Jackets’ pretty plays aren’t working right now. All that room on the ice they’ve exposed this season with their skill and speed has evaporated. NHL refs are starting to swallow their whistles on calls that aren’t egregious.
Hockey is different now. If the Blue Jackets don’t figure that out quickly, their season will be a moderate success, not a storybook finish.
GO DEEPER
Blue Jackets look nervous, panicked vs. Rangers as they fall out of playoff spot
Take 5, Jamie Healy
Take 5 is a quick, breezy sit-down with a Blue Jackets player, coach or front-office staffer. This week’s features head equipment manager Jamie Healy, who has worked in hockey — the now-defunct International Hockey League, the ECHL and, since the Blue Jackets were born in 2000, the NHL.
What are your favorite restaurants in Columbus?
Cento in German Village is a favorite. Barley’s (Brewing Company) is good, always reliable. Tastes like homemade. We have food here at (Nationwide Arena) most days, so lunch is here. Back in the day, before we had food, we used to go out quite a bit. There are so many places up and down High St., it’s hard to pick one. Away from this part of the city, I’m a big fan of Bonifacio in Grandview. And German Village Coffee Shop is a favorite. Always.
Favorite road city?
Vancouver. Love that city. I have a lot of friends there, so that helps. If you love sushi and seafood and oysters, it’s the place to go. You can go wrong with the scenery, too. The weather … sometimes it’s rainy, but it’s usually mild. Great city. You always know you’re going to have fun when you’re there.
What’s your top hockey memory?
With Columbus, it has to be the sweep of Tampa Bay (2019 playoffs). That’s the loudest I’ve ever heard this building. I know what we’re capable of. This building (Nationwide) can rock when you get that playoff atmosphere. And to win the way we did, against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning team. I was in Peoria (ECHL) when they won (a Kelly Cup). To win a championship at any level is gratifying. That’s the goal here, too.
You’ve worked with hundreds of players. Do you stay in touch with any?
I have. The guys that probably stand out from the Blue Jackets’ early days would be (Rostislav) Rusty Klesla, the first Blue Jackets draft pick. I’ve visited Rusty in Czechia, on the outskirts of Ostrava. When Rusty first signed with us, he bought a piece of land, and it’s right on the side of a mountain. Beautiful. He’s done well. I’ve met up with (David) Vyborny in Prague, and I’ve seen a bunch of guys (working for Team USA) at the IIHF World Championships. Serge Aubin, Petteri Nummelin, Espen Knutsen …
How did hockey start for you?
I worked through high school and college at the arena in Kalamazoo, Mich., already sharpening skates, scheduling ice, etc., and they needed a equipment guy, so the GM asked if I’d fill in until they found somebody. I said, “Sure.” I was done with college. I have a degree in criminal justice from Western Michigan. That was going to be my path, but lo and behold, hockey turned into my career. The first coach I worked with in Kalamazoo was (former Blue Jackets coach) Ken Hitchcock. I remember having lunch with him and meeting him for the first time at the bowling alley across the street from the arena. He was in the NHL (Dallas Stars) two years later.
Snacks
• A frost has fallen on the Blue Jackets’ offensive output at the worst possible time. They’ve been shut out in consecutive games — Thursday vs. Vegas and Saturday vs. the Rangers, both by 4-0 scores — for the seventh time in franchise history. The last time it happened was way back on Dec. 20 and 23, 2008, when the Jackets lost 2-0 at Phoenix (Ilya Bryzgalov was the goaltender) and 3-0 vs. Los Angeles (Jonathan Quick). Since the last time these current Jackets scored — Olivier scored at 10:29 of the third period vs. New Jersey on March 11 — they’ve fired 51 shots on goal without finding the back of the net.
• In case you’re wondering, the longest the Blue Jackets have gone without scoring is 219 minutes and 46 seconds, set during the franchise’s second season (2001-02). Yes, those Blue Jackets were shut out in three consecutive games: 2-0 at Florida (Roberto Luongo) on Dec. 5, 1-0 at Tampa Bay (Nikolai Khabibulin) a day later, and 2-0 vs. Colorado (Patrick Roy) on Dec. 8.
• When Olivier is credited with his next hit — likely early in Tuesday’s game vs. New Jersey — he will set a Blue Jackets regular-season record for most hits in a single season. Through Saturday’s game, when Olivier had five hits, he’s tied with Brandon Dubinsky, who had 248 hits during the 2016-17 season. It’s an impressive feat, to be sure, but this stat requires an asterisk. The NHL didn’t start charting hits until the 2007-08 season, so players like Tyler Wright, Grant Marshall, Aubin and others would have put up some impressive totals.
• Two Serge Aubin references today. You’re welcome.
• Marchenko played in his 200th NHL game on Saturday. He has 69-60-129, giving him the third most goals in his first 200 games with Columbus. The only two players with more are Rick Nash, who had 84, and Geoff Sanderson, who had 75.
• Washington’s Alex Ovechkin is closing in on history, and it could take place in Columbus. Ovechkin scored his 887th career goal midway through the third period of Saturday’s 5-1 win over San Jose. He’s now eight goals from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894 goals. At his current pace, he’d break the record vs. the Blue Jackets on April 12 in Nationwide Arena. Late last month, the NHL announced the faceoff for the game — originally set for 7 p.m. — would be moved to 12:30 p.m. to be aired nationally on ABC.
GO DEEPER
How many goals does Ovechkin have? Capitals great now 8 away from Gretzky’s record
• Here’s your Sunday Gathering Trivia question: Which former Blue Jackets player has scored the most points against Columbus after moving on from the club?
• Many have asked if the Blue Jackets plan to wear their Stadium Series sweaters again or if their only appearance will be that magical night in Ohio Stadium on March 1. We asked around this week. According to club PR boss Todd Sharrock, the Blue Jackets do not plan to wear them again this season, but nothing has been decided beyond that. Stay tuned.
• The Blue Jackets’ top minor-league affiliate has hit a rough patch, too. AHL Cleveland was swept in a weekend series in Texas, losing 5-4 (Saturday) and 4-1 (Friday) to the Texas Stars (Dallas Stars affiliate). That’s four straight losses for the Monsters, who are just 2-6-1-1 in their last 10 and have slid to fifth place in the AHL’s North Division. They’re still in a playoff spot, but sixth-place Belleville sits just two points back with a game in hand. Next up is a two-game set next weekend in Laval, Quebec, against the AHL’s top club, which is coached by former Blue Jackets bench boss Pascal Vincent.
• Trivia answer: According to the NHL stats department, the Rangers’ Artemi Panarin, with 11-12-23 in 18 games, has scored the most points vs. Columbus among former Blue Jackets players. Panarin left the Blue Jackets as a free agent after the 2018-19 season. Two others are not far behind: Jeff Carter, who retired after last season, had 12-7-19 in 28 games, and Anthony Duclair has 6-13-19 in 15 games against the Blue Jackets after playing for them.
(Top photo of John H. McConnell II: Adam Cairns / Imagn Images via Columbus Dispatch / USA Today Network)
