Columbus Blue Jackets: the Defense is Set, are Centers Next?
After making two big offseason splashes before the Stanley Cup Finals are even finished, Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen would be wise to turn his attention to the center ice position next. And he’ll almost certainly fill one spot at the draft later this month.
We talked last week about this team’s new-look defense corps. This group should be able to keep this team in a lot of games – they’re suddenly a deep, experienced team on the back end, with some durability and solid defenders added.
Still, hockey is a team sport, and that is evidenced further in the defensive zone than any other place on the ice. You can have players like Connor McDavid or Sidney Crosby, who can produce offense regardless the situation, line mates, or competition. But to have an effective defense, there is no one player that is good enough to defend against entire opposing teams.
Strengthened the top four of our defense a little more today 💪https://t.co/hbVu9ul4Sq
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) June 9, 2023
Sure, some guys are better than others – but if you pair an elite defender like Jaccob Slavin with someone like Gavin Bayreuther, and run out Jack Roslovic for defensive zone starts … it’s going to be tough. After correcting the blue line shortcomings, another key component the Jackets were missing last year: depth and experience down the middle. Here are the three ways they can correct that issue this summer.
The NHL Draft: With the third overall selection, the Columbus Blue Jackets select…
Our expectation here is that this pick will be Leo Carlsson. Barring any surprises in the top-two picks, he’ll be the best player on the board when the Jackets come up to make their pick. They took him, Adam Fantilli, and Will Smith all out for meals this week – and one of those three will be their selection at third overall, I’m confident enough to say it’s 100% at this point.
Fantilli will likely go second to Anaheim, which has been well discussed. I do think there’s a chance the Jackets take Smith over Carlsson, but what it comes down to for me is projecting these guys at the pro level. Carlsson is three inches taller, already with a year of experience under his belt against men. He doesn’t have the flashy offensive upside that Smith does, but he projects more as a strong, all-around skilled two-way center – and he does still have top line scoring potential.
The Jackets have Johnny Gaudreau and Kent Johnson, who will both be long-term puck distributors here. Does adding another guy like that really make a lot of sense? Carlsson would be an excellent compliment to add to a line with either one of those guys, and he could become the big, heavy minute 200-foot center they have long desired.
They come away with Leo Carlsson or Will Smith at the draft – great! But, neither of these guys are going to play in the NHL until 2024, and probably not in prominent roles for another 1-2 years after that. So what do they do in the meantime?
In my opinion, they need to add at least two centers, and preferably guys who are going to play in the top-six. This is no easy task, and it’s going to be expensive. But, the good news here: they have plenty of assets to spare.
Read. Andrew Peeke Could be a Prime Trade Candidate. light
Let’s make a deal…
Swing over to capfriendly.com and check out some of the teams who are either at the cap, or right near the cap … with rosters that don’t have enough bodies to even ice a team, or restricted free agents that they’ll really want to keep. The New York Islanders are one team who have too many centers, and a clear need for right hand shooting defensemen, for example…
It’s evident that in a year when the cap will remain almost flat, there are more than a few teams who are going to be selling good players for pennies on the dollar. One thing Jarmo Kekalainen has done a terrific job of: keeping money aside to address other areas of the lineup. With so many young assets set to battle for jobs this fall, he’s in prime position to strike with a big trade, taking advantage of the situation. Here are the players legitimately competing for jobs with the Jackets this fall, with the bolded names being locks:
Forwards: Johnny Gaudreau, Boone Jenner, Patrik Laine, Kent Johnson, Kirill Marchenko, Jack Roslovic, Sean Kuraly, Eric Robinson, Alexandre Texier, Cole Sillinger, Emil Bemstrom, Liam Foudy, Mathieu Olivier, Justin Danforth, Hunter McKown, Dmitri Voronkov, Yegor Chinakhov, Trey Fix-Wolansky … and these are just the guys already under contract. Do they extend Brendan Gaunce, Josh Dunne, or Carson Meyer?
Defense: Zach Werenski, Jake Bean, Damon Severson, Ivan Provorov, Erik Gudbranson, Andrew Peeke, Adam Boqvist, Tim Berni, Nick Blankenburg, David Jiricek, Jake Christiansen.
The bolded names here gives us 13 forwards and 7 defensemen. This leaves us with just one more roster spot to try and fit in one of the guys not highlighted (13 names listed here). Two things to take away from this situation:
- There are too many bodies for too few roster spots. You have to find room for at least 2-3 of the players not highlighted; there are too many guys here who deserve to be in the NHL.
- There is a clear lack of top-two line centers.
If you were to put together a package around some of your secondary/young pieces, as well as future draft picks, you might be able to pluck away a legitimate top-six center. It will be costly, but the lists above prove that it’s not impossible for Jarmo to strike here. Side note: Jack Roslovic might be an ideal returning piece for a team that offloads a good center. He’s cheap, and a team could take a flyer on him to replace some of their lost productivity.
So they’ve drafted our center for the future. They’ve acquired one center for now. Do the Jackets run it back with Boone Jenner in a top-six center role, or do they look elsewhere?
There is one other way they could add to their center depth here. If you’ve followed along, they’ve added two top-six centers, though one probably won’t be there for two years. In the meantime, do they try to add one more piece for insurance?
Free agency options…
Bargain shopping is one way to add center depth to your team, and it wouldn’t mean giving up important young assets. There are a few good players available via this route this summer; and with not many teams having the cap space to afford to add much to their roster – and the Jackets having some premier wingers to play with – Columbus could do well here.
I’m not talking about the long-term options available, such as JT Compher or Pius Suter. They’re still young-ish and could be looking for multi-year deals. I’m talking about adding a guy like Jonathan Toews or Ryan O’Reilly, who might be willing to sign a two or three year contract. They could step into a middle-six role with the Jackets and find themselves in an ideal spot, playing alongside a couple of talented young players.
Or, is it possible that they could give a look to a player who needs one more chance with an NHL deal? Sean Monahan could come really cheap, and he has a good history with Johnny Gaudreau from when they played together in Calgary.
If they’re looking for someone to play on their top line, I don’t think the free agency method is the way to go. But if they’re looking to add a veteran that can help stem the tide until players like Cole Sillinger, Dmitri Voronkov, or whoever their third overall pick is – this could be an effective way to do that.
Regardless, I don’t see Jarmo throwing the bag at any of the players available in free agency. It’s going to be a shorter term deal for that reason, and it will have to be the right kind of guy. A veteran player who can help this team on the defensive side of the puck, in the faceoff dot, and with enough skill to produce and keep pace with the younger offensive talent.
Next. CBJ: Trades Change Plans on Defense. dark