Dec 17, 2014; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild defenseman Justin Falk (44) fights with Boston Bruins forward Gregory Campbell (11) during the first period at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Justin Falk was re-signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets today via the Blue Jackets website. Details are a little more clear than yesterday’s Cody Goloubef signing. Falk’s will only be a one year, two way deal, meaning he can be optioned down to Cleveland (figuratively, not literally as Cleveland is north) without clearing waivers. This more than likely sets up for him to spend most of his time in Cleveland as an injury emergency call up on the blue-line for the Jackets.
As we went into more detail yesterday, the Jackets blue-line is the most watched position this off-season due to the need to add more talent. Yesterday I speculated Falk could be let go but I don’t believe this signing moves the needle at all. I see most of his playing time as a Monster in Cleveland.
“Justin is a good, young defenseman who was a solid addition to our hockey club late last season and we are pleased that he will continue to be a part of our group on the blue line next season,” GM Jarmo Kekalainen said.
Falk, 26, 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. And this quote from GM Jarmo Kekalainen doesn’t exactly ooze of excitement. “Justin is a good, young defenseman who was a solid addition to our hockey club late last season and we are pleased that he will continue to be a part of our group on the blue line next season.”
There aren’t many specifics in there as there was in yesterday’s quote on Goloubef where Jarmo praised Goloubef as “A mobile, puck moving defenseman who makes good decisions on the ice and we’re excited about his future as a Blue Jacket. He has shown steady improvement in his game and we believe there is more room for growth in the coming years.”
I still believe Jack Johnson, Ryan Murray, David Savard and Goloubef are the only locks for next season’s Jackets blue-line with more additions coming via trade, free agency (through the likes of Mike Green and Jeff Petry) or through this upcoming draft where many believe we’ll end up with Ivan Provorov or Zach Werenski (or through a trade up for Noah Hanifin).
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This does add depth, though not sure how much quality depth. He did have a nice game on March 6th against the New Jersey Devils, notching a goal and an assist but that was his only points all season (in 18 games with the Jackets and Wild) while finishing with a -9 Plus/Minus on the season with 14 penalty minutes. He played in 5 out of 20 possible games with the Jackets tallying 76:05 of ice time.
This continues to be a position in flux so continue to check back as we keep an eye on the blue-line.