Seth Jones: Blue Jackets have 'come a long way'

When Seth Jones was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets from the Nashville Predators in January 2016, few expected the club he was joining to set a season record for wins (50) and points (108) just a year later.

Now, he recognizes that expectations for the club have changed a bit since he arrived.

"We want to win the Stanley Cup right now," Jones said Wednesday, according to Dan Rosen of NHL.com.

Jones added, "We've come a long way, I'll say that. When I got to Columbus, you knew it was in the room. You knew the core. You knew the values of the team. You knew the leadership and you knew it was there. But last year, we definitely translated it to the ice."

That core consists of such talented players as Zach Werenski, Cam Atkinson, and the recently signed Alexander Wennberg - all of whom are 28 years old or younger.

Last year's 108-point performance made a statement to the rest of the league that the Blue Jackets are the real deal. Jones doesn't expect his opponents to forget it, but isn't satisfied with the status quo.

"We're not catching any teams off guard this year and we all know that," Jones said.

"Every year you have to get better. You have to build on something. Last year wasn't good enough. We had a great season. We came a long way from the year before. But it wasn't good enough. We have to be that much better to be at the top of the league, where we want to be."