COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 18: A Columbus Blue Jackets fan holds an Ohio flag with the fan motto '5th Line' up outside of Nationwide Arena prior to going in for Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins on April 18, 2017 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)

The Columbus Blue Jackets Season and Preseason schedule have come out and I’m upset. Four home games in the preseason and the Jacket should have gone on the Ohio Tour.

The regular season and preseason schedule for the Columbus Blue Jackets have been out for a few weeks. With all the fun going on at the expansion draft, entry draft and free agency, not many people have looked at the schedule.

Let alone the preseason schedule which sees the Columbus Blue Jackets matching up in home-and-homes with the Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The preseason schedule though is a big swing and a miss by the Jackets. The club is missing out on a huge opportunity to grow the game and the fanbase around Ohio. Four preseason games should have been played outside of Columbus to showcase the new top dog in Ohio professional sports.

No Better Time Than Now

The Jackets should have taken these four games as an opportunity to build upon the huge success of last season. Playing a game in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Toledo and Youngstown would have been huge for the future of the club. Everyone loves a winner and the Jackets have an impressive product to show off.

After a playoff season and incredible 16 game winning streak, the state has a winner. All that rabid Ohio sports fans need now is some more familiarity with the great game of hockey. Having people who can’t make the trip to Columbus see the beautiful game in their back yard is the perfect way.

I know many will say that there is already hockey in all these towns and many hockey fans. Those folks that already have bought into an NHL team are not the reason for this tour. It’s about those who aren’t into hockey that have a unique opportunity to see their state’s professional hockey club in their town. Those folks following the Jackets season are already flirting with the idea of becoming more invested as fans. Those folks could take this chance to go watch the CBJ in their backyard.

As hockey fans we know that once you see the game live, you’ll be hooked. This tour is all about these potential Jackets fans who need that extra push.

Combating the Plague of Red Wings and Pens Fans

The Jackets came into existence and many of the state’s hockey fans were already passionate about the Wings and Pens. Finally, the Jackets have a product that can compete with those two historic clubs. It’s time for the club to cut into the fandom of these two teams in Northern and Eastern Ohio.

It of course isn’t going to happen overnight. Or in a year. But steps like playing a game in the Huntington Center in Toledo will show a kid growing up in Northwest Ohio that the Jackets are Ohio’s team and they don’t have to follow in their parent’s misguided footsteps and be a Detroit fan.

Or a kid in Warren, Ohio going to a game at Covelli Arena in Youngstown who sees the Union Blue troops on the Phantom’s ice. They will have the option of choosing to root for their state’s team or the evil, evil Penguins.

The Jackets need to take back their boarders. Ohio is ours, and this tour would be another way to show it.

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Now I know this is a pipe dream. Four home games still means thousands of people in Nationwide Arena and more revenue for a team that quite frankly needs it. But the long term gains are so much greater. The future fans you gain by putting this great team in front of new hockey fans would pay off in a big way.

So CBJ front office, if you take my idea, all I ask for is free tickets and a driver to these four games. You have a year to plan for the 2018 preseason Ohio Tour!