Blue Jackets fans to stage protest

File/Doral Chenoweth III

After nine miserable seasons and one very brief playoff run, Blue Jackets fans thought the worst was behind them going into a 2011-'12 season that offered much hope in the form of several major offseason signings.

Those fans thought wrong.

Heading into this weekend's All-Star break, the last-place Jackets have won 13 games out of 49. And diehard fans—many who have stuck with the team since its inception—are finally speaking out in a planned protest this Saturday outside Nationwide Arena. Their targets: club president Mike Priest and general manager Scott Howson, who many blame for the team's woes.

A column posted Thursday by Dispatch Blue Jackets beat writer and blogger Aaron Portzline outlines many grievances against Priest and Howson, saying, "(I)t’s painfully obvious that something significant must be done to salvage what has become the biggest mess in the NHL."

--Ben Zenitsky