Columbus Blue Jackets Re-Sign Cody Goloubef

Mar 19, 2015; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Cody Goloubef (29) skates against the Vancouver Canucks during the second period at Rogers Arena. The Columbus Blue Jackets won 6-2. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

The Columbus Blue Jackets have re-signed defenceman Cody Goloubef today to a two year deal according to BlueJackets.com that will keep him in Columbus (or Cleveland) until the 2016-2017 season. No word yet on the amount of cash, but I’m assuming it can’t be enough to really shake up the off-season plans, though we will see.

Goloubef was the 37th pick in the 2008 NHL Draft. He spent 3 years playing for the University of Wisconsin from 2007-2010 before joining the Jackets…see not all college players are above signing with the teams that drafted them, Reilly. He’s played 53 games in the NHL over the course of the last 4 seasons, seeing the most amount of time this past season with 36 games where he posted 9 assists and notched a Plus/Minus of 12, good enough to tie for 2nd on the team with Mark Dano and behind new Captain Nick Foligno. 

Goloubef, still only 25, is a solid re-signing in the weakest spot for the Jackets. The blue-line will be an interesting spot to watch all off-season as the Jackets are likely to add talent. This signing tends to make it seem like Goloubef will be in Columbus for quality games and minutes, not in Cleveland for this upcoming season,  most likely as 5-7 defender.  The Jackets must have liked what they saw from him this season and believe he can hold his own at the next level in full minutes.

“Cody is a mobile, puck moving defenseman who makes good decisions on the ice and we’re excited about his future as a Blue Jacket,” GM Jarmo Kekalainen said. “He has shown steady improvement in his game and we believe there is more room for growth in the coming years.”

With defencemen Jack Johnson, David Savard, Dalton Prout, Ryan Murray, Fedor Tyutin and Justin Falk all still on the roster it’ll be interesting to see how things shake out. This re-signing might be opening the door for Falk, only 26, to walk out of Columbus as he only saw the ice in 5 games after the March trade with the Minnesota Wild sent him and a 5th round pick over for Jordan Leopold. He is a restricted free-agent this off-season and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him go.

The one thing this team seems to really have going for them on the blue-line is younger depth. Murray only 21 is the golden egg, but continues to get cracked. In the 13-14 season he played 66 games posting 21 points with a 4 Plus/Minus but only played 12 games this past season due to injuries. If Murray is healthy he is the future star of this blue-line.

Savard is still only 24 with two (pretty much) full seasons under his belt, including a solid past season with 11 goals and 25 assists, doubling his output from the previous season. Prout is 25 with 3 half-three quarters seasons down. Since posting a Plus 15 in the 2012-2013 season, he hasn’t been all that impressive. He played 63 games this past season notching only 8 assists with a -14 Plus/Minus. If he’s not let go this off-season he’ll be in a show me season as his contract is coming up next off-season. He’ll no longer be considered a prospect and hasn’t shown enough output or growth so far to keep him around, so this season is vital.

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Though there is youth, there’s no proof of talent moving forward. Savard, Murray and Johnson (and probably Goloubef now) are the only safe bets for this team next season. Everyone else could be let-go or unloaded in a trade this off-season to bring in more talent or a younger batch to hopefully develop (Tyutin will be 32 before the season starts). This be an interesting position to keep an eye for the rest of this off-season. Whether it’s through Free Agency (Mike Green and Jeff Petry are names to keep watch of), through trades (rumors so far seem keen on acquiring outside talent through trades over free agency) and there’s also the draft, which most mocks have been almost exclusively addressing the blue-line.

Definitely stay-tuned in this ongoing process.

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