- Cole Sillinger says the Blue Jackets are done talking about their playoff drought
- Columbus hasn’t reached the postseason since 2019-20 and missed by six points last spring
- Read below for video of Sillinger’s full media availability and his blunt take on his first five seasons
Cole Sillinger has heard enough about the Columbus playoff drought.
The 23-year-old forward met with local media Wednesday, four days after signing a three-year, $13.875 million deal that got him out of an arbitration hearing. He was asked what has to change for the Blue Jackets to finally get in.
“I think for us as a group, it’s kind of enough talking about it and more so going out there and doing it, and putting the results in each and every night. I think everyone on our team is putting in the work. There’s no doubt about that.”
Watch Sillinger’s full media availability video here:
Columbus hasn’t played a playoff game since 2019-20. The Blue Jackets were second in the Metropolitan Division on March 24 last season, then went 2-8-1 over their final 11 games and finished 40-30-12, six points behind Philadelphia and seven behind Ottawa for the last wild card in the East.
A year earlier the margin was thinner still. Columbus went 40-33-9 and came up two points short of New Jersey for third in the division and two points short of Montreal for the second wild card.
Rick Bowness said his piece in April, after a 2-1 loss to Washington closed the season. He is back behind the bench this fall, and Sillinger was asked what it means to have him from the first day of camp rather than from January.
“There is a bitter taste in everyone’s mouths with the way the year ended, and I know there’s a bitter taste in ‘Bones’ mouth too. To have him and to get on the same page with him right from the start of training camp, I think is going to be huge for our group going forward.”
Getting back to Ohio is clearly on his mind, and the Blue Jackets pulled the line for their own graphic. Sillinger called it a long summer and said he’s already itching to see the room again:
His read on his own five years was blunter than anything he said about the team.
“Looking at my career to this point, I’d say it’s probably more unfulfilling than fulfilling. I know that there’s more in there that I want to provide, and I know that collectively as a group, we expect more from ourselves.”
Since Columbus drafted him 12th overall in 2021, he has played 367 games, more than anyone else from that class, with 51 goals and 89 assists. He missed one game last season, and that was an illness.
Charlie Coyle and Mathieu Olivier are both under contract, which puts Sillinger back on the line that gave Columbus its steadiest two-way minutes a season ago. He wants a higher bar for all three of them.
