Columbus Blue Jackets Defense with Seth Jones Returning
The Columbus Blue Jackets should soon see the return of Seth Jones. How will the defensive pairs shake when he does?
The Columbus Blue Jackets are hopefully going to get a big boon to their impressive d-corp with Seth Jones returning Thursday. It isn’t official yet but all signs are pointing that way. So what do the Jackets do when he returns?
No more Jack Johnson. End of article.
Well its it a little more complicated than that. Torts loves Jack and his style of play. Jack is an ideal defenseman for the playoffs. And I’m sure Torts would like to let Jack play through his current funk so he is ready for the post season.
But Jack’s play has been worthy of benching. He has been terribly sloppy and has cost the Jackets on the scoreboard. Not only that but his offensive game has been just as bad too. He hasn’t found ways to drive the offense from the backend, even when paired with Zach Werenski.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Lets work through the D-pair options.
Top Pair
Not a ton of debate here. Seth Jones will return alongside his trusted teammate Zach Werenski and form one of the top pairs in the NHL.
Second Pair
Since picking up Ian Cole at the trade deadline the second pair has been fantastic. Cole was arguably the Jackets best move thus far and pairing him with Savard has worked wonderfully.
It would be a huge mistake to split up Ian Cole and David Savard. The Lumberjackets have been rock solid and a great contrast to the Jones-Werenski pair. Breaking up these guys isn’t an option.
Third Pair
The only other options are Nuti and Murray. Markus Nutivaara has two goals in the last three games and has 21 points on the season. Ryan Murray has been racking up the points and playing well in his own zone too. Torts even trusted Murray to play top pair against the Rangers.
Nuti and Ryan Murray play well together and are an above average third pair. Taking them off the ice right now with as well as they are playing, would be a mistake.
Heck, I’d even argue that Dean Kukan, if healthy, is a better option at this point than Jack in the third pair. Pairing him with either Nuti or Murray is a solid option. This leaves benching Johnson as the only option in my mind.
So tomorrow I bet the pairs will look like this.
Seth Jones – Zach Werenski
Ian Cole – David Savard
Ryan Murray – Markus Nuitvaara
Next: CBJ Boast Best D-Corps in East
Season long starter Brandon Dubinsky got the scratch last night against the Rangers. Tomorrow should be the night Johnson gets scratched.