Five Bold Offseason Predictions for the Columbus Blue Jackets

At some point this week, we’ll see the end of the Western Conference Finals, and the league will shift to the Stanley Cup Final series. Once the Cup has been won, the offseason kicks off in rapid succession, with the NHL Draft now under one month away – followed almost immediately by free agency. Today, we’ll offer up five bold offseason predictions for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

This is a huge offseason for GM Jarmo Kekalainen and the Jackets. They’re looking to turn the corner from lottery team, to playoff contention – and in a hurry. He has to nail this offseason from a variety of angles, or else he could find himself in the unemployment line in the not so distant future.

There is reason to be optimistic here, in my opinion. Jarmo has done a terrific job over the last two summers, reloading the prospect pool and making it one of the best in the NHL; as well as signing Johnny Gaudreau via free agency last summer. Credit where it’s due, and I do believe this team is not as far from contention as the naked eye might believe. Here are our predictions for how he might steer the ship.

The Head Coaching Hire is Bold

Alright, this one might not be all that bold a prediction. But, it seems like the first domino that will fall this summer – maybe even as soon as this week – is a new head coaching hire. We have talked in the past about how important it is for Jarmo to get this hire right, and that still holds true. In fact, his own job’s future likely depends on this hire working out. It’s that important.

For these reasons, this hire is going to reflect on Jarmo’s personality in a lot of ways. It’s going to be bold, and in my opinion, will change the look of the entire franchise overnight. It seems like Peter Laviolette is leaning towards taking the job with the New York Rangers, which takes one of the leading candidates off the board.

The confirmed names that the Jackets have spoken to, off the top of my head: Pascal Vincent, Andrew Brunette, Kirk Muller, Mike Babcock, Sergei Fedorov, and Patrick Roy. If you want something bold, really bold, and reflective of Jarmo’s typical decision making process; I would not be surprised to see any of these names called. In fact, the only ones I would potentially cross off my list with that history in mind, are Vincent and Babcock. If you like drama, Patrick Roy might very well be the guy here.

The boldest move the Jackets could make isn’t on this list however. Joel Quenneville is supposedly meeting with Gary Bettman soon, in regards to reinstatement to the league. Could an under the radar job in Columbus help him re-establish his name in the NHL? It certainly wouldn’t be popular, at least not right away – but, let’s not forget that this sport is about wins and losses first. And, let’s be honest: winning cures a lot of things.

Whoever is hired for this job, will be expected to turn this team around quickly, and have them in a playoff push within two seasons. It’s not impossible, there’s a lot of good talent here and more on the way. The only question I have here: is the quick turn-around important enough for Jarmo to sell his soul to save his job?

It sure seems like the Jackets want to get this head coaching hire out of the way before the draft, and it totally makes sense. The coach they hire may affect the player they target at third overall, and they might want to have the coach’s say on that player.

But more importantly, it seems like they want to get this coaching hiring done so they can turn their attention to overhauling the roster. Some of this work needs to be done before the draft, which is exactly 30 days from today. I say this knowing that they want to flip their second first round pick for immediate help. The trade may not happen until they are on the draft floor, but the framework for these deals is usually put in place well in advance.

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The LA Kings First Rounder is Traded – But Not for a Defenseman

Jarmo has gone as far as saying that he would trade this pick for immediate help. They want to replace Vladislav Gavrikov on the back end, who was in fact the player traded for this pick. But, teams aren’t exactly lining up to trade top-four defensemen with term, so I fear the Jackets will be diving into the free agent pile to sign one instead. There will be options there.

For the purpose of this asset, the Jackets make a deal for a top-two line center. As far as which center they got after, we can only speculate. But, consider the fact that the salary cap will again remain mostly flat (expected $1.5-$2.0 million increase) – and how many teams are pushed right up against it, with the need to add players to fill out their rosters.

And, on top of that, you have several teams who are outspoken about wanting to reset their roster, or get younger in general. One team I’m keeping a close eye on is the Calgary Flames. New GM Craig Conroy spoke honestly about wanting to get younger, also adding that he would not let top talent walk for nothing.

One quick look at their roster situation gives you an idea of where they might be looking to trim some fat – and save some ugly negotiations later. In particular, look at their centers. You have Nazem Kadri for the next six seasons, paid like a top line center. Mikael Backlund, rumored to be their next captain, will certainly be getting a nice extension soon.

Where does that leave Elias Lindholm? If the team wants to get younger, paying three centers at the levels it will take to keep them all well into their 30s, seems counterintuitive. Could that leave Lindholm on the outside looking in? Will Conroy look to deal him with a year left on his deal, to maximize return value? Could the Jackets put together a package of young assets that the Flames might like?

You get the idea. Naturally, we could say the same thing about defenseman Noah Hanifin; but the Flames would be wise to lock him up longer-term. They have a lot of impending UFA defensemen there, and he’s a legit top-four guy that they could build around. If they don’t want to, then he should be a guy high on Jarmo’s list of targets as well.

Our last bold predictions go hand-in-hand. The Jackets will be working hard to improve their back end this summer, which should help the goaltending and in turn, improve the team immensely.

If you’ve kept up so far, we have talked about dealing the LA first round pick for immediate center help. We also mentioned the team diving into free agency for that second pairing defenseman, to tide them over until the prospects come along. But, do they like their options there?

The Jackets Avoid a Big Free Agent Splash and Make a Blockbuster Trade Instead

We’ve heard the clichés quite a bit over the years. Build from the draft. Take advantage of cash-strapped teams. Brick by brick.

My prediction here is that the Jackets aren’t enamored enough by any of the free agent defensemen. Maybe they’re asking for too much money or term to make Jarmo comfortable. Or maybe, he just doesn’t like the fit. So, he goes back to working the phone and drums up a blockbuster deal to land a building block defenseman that helps this team immediately, and into the future.

This kind of move would hit all three of the cliché boxes I mentioned above. He could use some of their future draft capital, and prospects, to go out and get a legitimate top-four defenseman with some term, from a team who needs to clear cap space from their own roster.

The kind of trade I have in mind is almost certainly not going to be popular with everyone. In fact, I think it would surely involve dealing one or more of your favorite players/prospects from the current roster/system, in a real swing for the fences.

With the quality of prospects they have, the logjam of forwards returning next year – especially in the bottom six – and the strength on the right side of the defense corps; the Jackets deal from a position of strength to address a position of weakness. They pluck away a left hand shot D that can play on the second pairing, or fill in on the top pairing in case the unthinkable happens with injuries again this year.

As far as which player that is, I can only speculate. But, I’m quick to point out that nobody saw Jarmo acquiring Seth Jones, or Brandon Saad. Or after that, Artemi Panarin. He has a knack for putting out feelers and making moves when they make sense, which is what we’re counting on here.

Bonus Prediction: Jack Roslovic Will be Involved

Just a gut feeling/hunch here. Jack has been a somewhat productive player in his time here, but if they’re adding a center to this team, which we fully expect them to do – I would not be surprised to see Roslovic involved in that deal, going the other way. The experiment has to come to an end at some point; I don’t see them extending him, and the Jackets shouldn’t just let the asset expire.

That’s all for our predictions – do you have any of your own? Feel free to share them in the comment section below, or via our social media channels (facebook) (twitter)!