(The 2014-15 NHL season is nearly upon us, and attempting to handicap the winners and losers can sometimes leave us speechless. So we decided to break down all 30 teams with the next best thing to words: Emojis!)

Last Season In Emojis

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Last Season, In Summary

After another long absence, the Columbus Blue Jackets made an appearance back in the postseason in 2013-14. A 43-32-7 (93 pts.) record earned them one of the Eastern Conference’s two wild spots along with the Detroit Red Wings.

The bright spots that Columbus showed down the stretch at the end of the 2013 campaign carried over into last season. Sergei Bobrovsky didn’t regress too harshly after a Vezina Trophy winning year. Ryan Johansen broke out and led the team in scoring, setting himself up for a raise as an RFA. It all broke right, for once, and a solid regular season set the Blue Jackets up for a first round match-up with their new Metropolitan Division mates in the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Columbus put a scare into the the second-seeded Penguins, including a pair of overtime wins, but the Blue Jackets would eventually fall short in six games, five of which ended with a 4-3 scoreline.

Despite the unhappy ending, the franchise is now covered in good vibes heading into this season — well, outside of Johansen’s contract situation. There are playoff expectations for this team and anything short would be a disappointment.

Last Season’s Definitive Highlight

Nick Foligno’s overtime goal in Game 4 gave the Blue Jackets a 4-3 win, their first ever playoff home victory. Just listen to the Nationwide Arena crowd.

Off-Season Transactions

The biggest move made by general manager Jarmo Kekalainen over the summer was swapping disgruntled R.J. Umberger with Scott Hartnell of the Philadelphia Flyers. Somebody create a #HartnellDown board inside Nationwide Arena.

With more kids coming through the system, there were a number of players who became ex-Blue Jackets since last season. Nikita Nikitin was handed a two-year, $4.5 million deal by the Edmonton Oilers after being dealt for a fifth rounder in June. Blake Comeau moved on to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jack Skille signed on Long Island. Matt Frattin heads back to the Toronto Maple Leafs after being dealt for Jerry D’Amigo.

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