CBJ Offseason Gameplan

A free agency splash seems imminent, if the team is going to look to fix these issues in the immediate future. They should have the cap space, and it’s been made clear that this team will be stronger and better defensively next season.

There are a few very good centers currently slated for free agency: Evgeni Malkin, Claude Giroux, Patrice Bergeron, Vincent Trochek, Nazem Kadri, or Ryan Strome all jump off the page. But the issue here is two fold; none of these players fit into the competitive age group to play for this team long term. And, I see it as unlikely that any of these players would be attracted to Columbus, to play for a team that’s likely 2-3 years away from contending.

More likely, I expect those free agency dollars to be spent on correcting the size and defense depth issues. Josh Manson, Colin Miller, Nikita Zadorov, Erik Gudbransson, Brett Kulak, Jan Ruutta and Ilya Lyubushkin all come to mind.

They will have to outbid other teams, but I think Manson could be a great solution on the back end. Coming off of a Cup win, he’s big, plays physical, is solid defensively, and would bring a veteran presence to the back end. He’s 30 years old, so it’s possible that he only has a few good years left; but that would buy time for the team’s prospects to develop. Giving a player like Corson Ceulemans an additional year or two of development, could make a big difference in how he turns out as an NHL player.

What I don’t see, is this team making a splash with someone like Johnny Gaudreau or Filip Forsberg. They’re in pretty good shape as far as scoring wingers go, several of them being young, high end prospects who are ready to see NHL ice. In the end, I expect the free agency splash to “underwhelm” a lot of fans, but correct key areas of the lineup. They did this last summer with Sean Kuraly, who was brought leadership and an energetic spark to the young lineup.