CBJ Christmas Wish List
With Christmas rapidly approaching (this is a reminder, you procrastinators), the Jackets have plenty of things to wish for. After all, they currently sit 30th in the NHL, and seem to be going the wrong way. Today we’ll take a look at a few things the team may wish for this season, to make future seasons more meaningful.
Dear Santa: A little bit of lottery luck…
The Jackets sit at the bottom of the standings for a variety of reasons, but many of those question marks have answers within the system. The most glaring need for the Blue Jackets, however, is a top line center.
One can make the argument that Kent Johnson, Cole Sillinger, or even Luca del bel Belluz could develop into that role over time, and they might. But neither of the latter two have the kind of offensive ceiling to call them a legit top line center. And Johnson, while supremely talented, is just starting to wade into the position for the first time since junior hockey.
Enter the 2023 NHL Draft. I may sound like a used car salesman here, but any number of these guys should do the trick. Whether it’s Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli, Leo Carlsson, or even Will Smith; there are top line centers to be had this summer. The Jackets just need to play out the suffrage of this season, and hope for a high pick.
Having picked first overall just once in our history – a pick they traded up for, no less – it seems like we deserve it. Johnny Gaudreau signed here last summer. Zach Werenski, Patrik Laine … maybe this is a sign that the curse of this franchise is nearing its end. Surely, this has to be our year, right?
Stocking stuffer: Can we fit a 2c…
Lest we forget about the second line. Look, Jack Roslovic is fine in this role as a stop-gap, but does anybody see this team contending for a playoff spot – let alone a Cup – with him in this spot? It’s hard to see it happening.
In my opinion, this is where Kent Johnson or Cole Sillinger could slot in over time. But, it’s time to see the team progressing in one direction or the other here. Now that Kent has moved to center with Boone Jenner out, lets keep him there and develop his game in that role. He’s looked really good, even scoring in each of the last two games.
Or, let’s give Cole a shot at a more offensive role. He’s done everything that’s been asked of him so far, but he still sees bottom-six minutes and virtually no power-play time. With the season already well out of reach, it seems like the right time to experiment with the roster and see what we have for the future. He’s been struggling this year, would a run at things in a more offensive role help him out of his funk? Is he going to be a second line center or not?
Gift from grandma: Homemade defense…
This one may fix itself in time, but for the immediate future: defense is a huge need for this team. The thing about the defense is, many of the pieces that are here, are the guys who have to handle the workload. Zach Werenski is out for the year, as is Jake Bean. But it’s time to see guys like Adam Boqvist, Nick Blankenburg, Andrew Peeke, and Erik Gudbranson making improvements to this team’s back end.
Most importantly, what is going on with Vladislav Gavrikov? If we aren’t keeping him around, there had better be immediate help acquired to fill his role – a role in which he’s been eye opening in all the right ways for the last few games. Trading him now guts this team even more, and while there are prospects on the way, there isn’t much in the way of immediate help – especially on the left side.
The biggest wish for this team, fingers crossed, is the continuing development of some of the prospects in the system. David Jiricek is definitely playing like a future top pairing guy in Cleveland (AHL). Corson Ceulemans looks like a steady two-way guy that can help out in the near future. Denton Mateychuk and Stanislav Svozil are probably years away, but they also look like potential top-four guys.
Buying time for these guys is key, which is why it’s so important for the guys who are here now to start making their marks.
The sneaky gift we aren’t expecting: Goaltending surprise…
This isn’t a knock on Elvis and I apologize in advance if it comes off that way. But, this hasn’t been his season at all. His confidence clearly isn’t there, and his play has held this team back in most of his starts this year. Hopefully he can rediscover his game soon and we won’t have these discussions any more.
Unfortunately, Joonas Korpisalo has been only marginally better, and with neither of the NHL guys able to stay healthy, Daniil Tarasov has been thrust into a role that he’s probably not yet ready to hold down.
That said, Daniil has been really good. His save percentage (.913) is the best of the three, and the team does seem to play more confidently in front of him. Is it possible that the goaltender of the future, is actually the goaltender of the now for the Blue Jackets? Time will tell. Either way, it would be nice if the ‘tenders would steal a game for this team here and there.
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More likely, improvements to the defense and center depth of this organization, is the biggest need for the team’s goaltending issues. Tarasov will likely get sent down as soon as Joonas and Elvis are ready to play again. So, don’t expect dad to show up with this surprise on Christmas day, unless mom wrapped up some of the earlier gifts on our wish list.
Most of all, health…
The Jackets lost their fifth in a row last night, with 11 regulars out of the lineup. In a nutshell, that’s their problem at this point in time. They’re actually playing pretty well, but the talent just isn’t there and some of the guys who started out really strong, are now starting to show that they’re really just AHL players after all.
Getting back to health is what this team really needs. Even though they won’t get everyone back, icing something closer to an NHL roster will make the games more competitive again. Or at least, the coaching staff and management can evaluate the roster and weed out who they want to keep through the entire rebuild.
Next. What Did We Do to Deserve This?. dark