“We don’t have careers that go into our 50s and 60s, so we have to make the most out of the time that we have playing hockey.” Recall what Mathieu Olivier said when he signed his $18 million contract extension with the Columbus Blue Jackets? Well, they’re words that most NHLers can relate to, to the core. They all live and breathe hockey, but the window of opportunity is relatively tiny. A fact that Olivier can no doubt relate to on a deeper level. Because it gets harder when that window becomes even tinier because of external factors.

But let’s briefly cast our memories back to the 2022 NHL Draft. It’s a time of movement, rumors, anticipation, and nail-biting moments for fans who are hoping their favorite players don’t get traded. But of course the trades always happen, and that year one move saw Mathieu Olivier get traded by the Nashville Predators to the Columbus Blue Jackets. It may have looked like just another ordinary trade on the outside, but it wasn’t quite so. Because mere weeks before it occurred, Olivier had just begun to return from an alarming injury.

While appearing on the 551st episode of Spittin’ Chiclets, Mathieu Olivier was asked about the story behind his trade to Columbus. Part of the reason was, as you might have guessed, the injury. “Yeah, so that’s another kind of story where a little bit of an injury bug where so that year in camp, so I made the team the the Covid year, had a few minor injuries that year where I missed some games, but overall I was with the team the whole year and poised to make the team again.”

Sounds all good so far, right? But in an unanticipated twist, that little injury bug turned out to be a lot more problematic. “Hurt my back in camp and took a while to figure out what it was but basically herniated a disc in in my lower like L5S1 and the disc was was protruding on my sciatic. So my left leg was just completely like dead couldn’t use it, couldn’t walk for 2 minutes.”

It’s understandable that any player wouldn’t want to miss out on time on the ice because of an injury and Olivier was no different. “I had to like lay down a lot and so I was fighting it all year and trying to put off surgery and trying to play through it,” he admitted. But this wasn’t just any minor niggle that could be powered through. Olivier may be known for his tough hits and physicality, but even he had to ultimately take the time to rest and recover.

“And it was just not a good decision. I should have just gotten it fixed right away but long story short I get it fixed in February and at that point I was already back in Milwaukee, and I come back in March which was great because they had to do it endoscopically instead of just opening you up which you know fast-tracked everything and next thing you know my leg’s feeling normal again, I’m feeling great.”

And then came the trade, though Mathieu Olivier admitted he had no hard feelings over it. But it’s to applaud the Blue Jackets star that he was determined to bounce back on the ice, with all his dedication and hard work. But while we can appreciate Olivier’s tenacity, is everything well with the Columbus Blue Jackets?

The hullabaloo around the Columbus Blue Jackets’ locker room

Amidst a spell of poor form, all the scrutiny was directed not just at the players for their performances on the ice but also for their locker room. And no, I don’t mean their locker room culture or the environment of the locker room; we’re talking about the actual, physical locker room itself. And it was journalist Aaron Portzline who broke the rather unexpected news on X.

“#CBJ dressing room has too many players and not enough stalls, so center Cole Sillinger has a seat and a temporary locker in the middle of the room. Pretty convenient location: trash can right behind him, back to the coaches…”

It’s the kind of situation you would expect in an underfunded AHL team, hardly befitting of an NHL franchise worth tens of millions. But there you have it; it is indeed the reality, although it wasn’t intentional. It just so happened that all players—injured, uninjured, and recently called up—all shared the same locker room facilities, thus leading to this makeshift arrangement.

But while this whole locker room situation shakes itself, the Blue Jackets need to rediscover their winning touch back on the ice. And with Mathieu Olivier newly locked in and motivated, he and the team will next face the Vancouver Canucks in a bid to get their season back on track.