The 2011/2012 season for the Columbus Blue Jackets was a nightmare. The team finished dead last, with a record of 29-46-7, for 65 points. They finished nine points behind the 29th-ranked Edmonton Oilers.
One consolation for a terrible season is a high draft pick. The Jackets had the best chance of any non-playoff team of drafting first overall, but first had to win it in a draft lottery. Naturally, the Jackets failed to win the lottery, losing to the Edmonton Oilers.
What more can you do other than laugh? With the way things have gone for Columbus since expansion it should come as no surprise that the year they finished last, and decidely so, they can’t even get the top overall pick.
Barring trades, the Jackets will pick second overall. If they keep the pick, options could be Ryan Murray, Mikhail Grigorenko, Alex Galchenyuk or Filip Forsberg.
They could attempt to move up to first overall in a deal with the Oilers, as they may have more interest in a defenseman than consensus number one Nail Yakupov.
We’ll follow up in the coming days with more thoughts on what the team should do with the number two selection.