Deadline Discussion: Boone Jenner
Now that the All-Star break is behind us, the entire NHL sets an eye towards the annual trade deadline. As is the case this time of year, rumors are flying around like crazy, and with the Jackets sitting dead last in the NHL, fans of other teams are hoping to see their clubs poach away talent at bottom dollar. One name that’s surprisingly come up in these rumors: Boone Jenner.
Typically when this kind of rumor pops up, there’s legitimately something there. The old “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” saying, and all that. But for the Jackets, this one is a little bit surprising and seems to come out of nowhere. Jenner is the team’s captain, a guy who has done everything right for this franchise since they drafted him.
He’s spent much of his career as a winger in the middle six of the lineup, but is currently centering the top line on most nights, working surprisingly well with superstar Johnny Gaudreau. This points back to what I said a moment ago: he’s doing exactly what they need him to do.
Boone’s value to the very young Blue Jackets almost cannot be measured by on-ice statistics, but we can start there. Through 40 games, he’s tied for the team lead in goals (14) and sits fourth in points (26), despite missing 11 games due to a broken hand. He’s scoring at a career-high .65 points per game, while also taking most of the key faceoffs and matching up against the top centers from the opposition on a nightly basis.
He does this by going to the difficult areas – like the front of the net, where he plays on the power-play; and he’s usually the first guy into the corners on the fore-check. These are exactly the kinds of things you need to see from your veterans when you have a young NHL team, and the captain of the Blue Jackets does them all pretty well. He’s one of the few veterans in the lineup, and he does a little bit of everything pretty well.
For a team so young and desperately thin down the middle, it really doesn’t make much sense at all to trade a productive center like Boone. But his value off the ice is even more immeasurable. Even in the midst of their rebuild (or, reload, if you prefer), they need guys like this around to remain competitive.
JENNER, JENNER, JENNER.
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) January 24, 2023
Shot, SCORE 💥💥💥
BOOONE Jenner with the twisted wrister 🤯 pic.twitter.com/XUhwPg9PhN
Exciting young players are fun to watch, but eventually they have to learn how to play the game the right way, on both sides of the puck, to be successful. Oftentimes, having guys like Jenner around, can make all the difference for a young player in their development. So why trade him at the deadline?
The only reason I think the Jackets even consider trading Jenner at the trade deadline this year: someone wants to significantly overpay for his services.
Jenner is signed for three seasons after this one, with a very team-friendly $3.75m AAV contract. At 29 years old, he may be on the back-end of his prime … but he’s still in his prime, and the Blue Jackets shouldn’t have any desire to move him. That contract will age well because while he may lose a step by the 2025-26 season, he’s not a guy who has relied on speed for his game. He can still be a bull in front of the net in four years.
All of that said, if a team like Toronto comes along and wants to acquire Jenner for their middle-six, you have to listen. Any GM of a last place team should be willing to listen to every trade call, and look for opportunities to improve their team for the long-term. The best part about teams calling you to inquire about players? You can set the price as high as you want.
Let’s talk hypothetical for a moment: you have a player on the way out for whatever reason. Maybe he’s asked for a trade, maybe his contract is expiring, or maybe the club just feels the need to move on. If the Jackets were actively looking to trade Boone, I think the price would be around what they expect to get for Vladislav Gavrikov: a first round pick and another mid-round selection (think third or fourth round).
But since the Leafs are rumored to have come calling, Jarmo Kekalainen is in the position to ask for quite the haul. I can only guess that the package might be something similar to what the Lightning gave up for Brandon Hagel last year: two first round picks and two prospects who were recently selected in the second round.
The two are similar players in style, but there are some differences between Hagel and Jenner. Notably, Hagel is six years younger, and has less than half of the contract hit that comes with Jenner. But that might honestly be to the advantage of the Blue Jackets here, because it’s not often that a team can go out and acquire a cost-controlled player in his prime, who is captaining another NHL team. That kind of experience could be extremely valuable to the Leafs in a 7-game playoff series.
The other major difference here: the Blackhawks were actively trying to trade Hagel, and I don’t believe that to be the case with the Blue Jackets and Jenner. So Jarmo Kekalainen can set his price and hold firm because, well, we didn’t want to trade him anyway. You either come out of this with a ridiculous overpayment by the other side, or you keep your captain. From the Leafs that probably means their next two first round picks, plus something like Nick Robertson and Matthew Knies, or Fraser Minten. It’s a huge cost, but is it worth it? Would it put them over the top?
Whichever outcome occurs, I don’t see this as a losing situation for the Blue Jackets. Boone is far more important to this team, than any perceived trade value from the outside. He’ll only be traded if someone wants to throw the entire farm at us.
Next. The All-Jacket All-Star Skills Competition. dark