COLUMBUS, Ohio — During his latest podcast on Tuesday, Bill Simmons was asked by a listener named Patrick B. who the most irrelevant franchise in professional sports is.

Patrick suggested that it was his Columbus Blue Jackets, and Simmons laid out his case for why they could fit that bill.

Simmons’ explanation drew the attention of the franchise’s account on X, who took a shot at Simmons and his former site, Grantland.

And in fairness to the Blue Jackets, Simmons got plenty wrong.

“They haven’t made Round 2 of the playoffs ever.”

Correction: They did in 2019. Ironically enough, they played in the second round in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Boston Bruins, a team that Simmons, a Massachusetts native, is probably very familiar with.

“They’ve missed the playoffs 20 of 25 times.”

That’s close, but not quite accurate. They’ve missed 19 of 25 times.

“Their greatest accomplishment? They swept the 2019 Panthers in Round 1.”

That’s the right state, but the wrong team. It was the Tampa Bay Lightning they swept in those playoffs, which is still one of the biggest upsets in playoff history because the Lightning had overwhelmingly won the President’s Trophy.

It’s also worth mentioning that this third point directly contradicts his first point.

Despite the inaccuracies of some of Simmons’ comments, there was one general point that stands out.

The Blue Jackets don’t have a lot of history to fall back on.

This is a franchise that has yet to get past the second round of the playoffs, and they’ve only even gone there once.

Columbus has yet to host a Game 1 of a playoff series.

The franchise hasn’t even played in a Game 7 in its history.

Meanwhile, the Vegas Golden Knights, who joined the NHL in 2017, 17 years after the Blue Jackets did, reached the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season and won the Cup five years later.

The Seattle Kraken, who debuted in 2021-22, went to Game 7 in the second round of the playoffs in only their second season, which is one game deeper than the Blue Jackets have been.

So when you look purely at results, the Blue Jackets are the least accomplished NHL franchise of the 21st century.

Winning breeds relevance. Just ask the Florida Panthers. They had not been very relevant or successful for most of the late 2000s. But now, they are back-to-back Stanley Cup champions and a franchise that has quickly become as popular as any.

The Blue Jackets and their fans have craved a run like that. They haven’t had that extended run that goes into late May and not only captivates the home fans, but those around the hockey world.

But throughout sports, there have been plenty of other franchises who have experienced next to no team success since 2000.

In the NFL, the Miami Dolphins haven’t won a playoff game since December 30, 2000.

When it comes to MLB, five teams have won fewer than 10 playoff games since 2000. The Cincinnati Reds have won only two playoff games this century, both of which came in 2012 against the Giants. The Pittsburgh Pirates have won just three playoff games since 1992, which was also the last year that they won a playoff series.

The resurrected Charlotte Hornets may be the only franchise that has had less overall success in its history than the Blue Jackets. From the time the Hornets returned to the NBA as the Bobcats in 2004, they have made the playoffs just three times and never reached the second round.

The Sacramento Kings have not won a playoff series since 2004, and the New Orleans Pelicans have won two playoff games since 2018.

In other words, while the Blue Jackets are the least successful NHL franchise since their inception, they are not the least successful in pro sports in that time.

That’s obviously not a high bar to clear, however, and they are long past due to have a modicum of success that the rest of the NHL has.

The good news for the Blue Jackets is that the core they have built, led by Kirill Marchenko, Zach Werenski and Adam Fantilli, could help them reach new heights.

It might not be this year because of their youth and relative lack of playoff experience. But for maybe the first time in team history, the team has the ingredients to make a run down the road.

Simmons didn’t get much right about the team. But the general point he was trying to make is the Blue Jackets as a brand just don’t resonate much outside Central Ohio and their lack of history is a big reason why.

There is a way for the Blue Jackets to fix that: win and win big.

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