Breaking Down the Columbus Blue Jacket Roster: Who Gets Cut?

I count ten names that should be in serious contention for those remaining four spots. And, you could make the case for almost all of them, that they cannot be cut.

Let’s start with the easy one again: defense. Missing from our list of “locks” is one of the top defense prospects in the world, David Jiricek. If he comes to camp and proves he’s ready to be a difference maker, you can’t block him. This alone forces the team’s hand and makes them keep 8 defensemen – because there are already 7 guys who cannot be sent down without the risk of losing them.

And what about Nick Blankenburg? He’s on a two-way deal, and it’s hard to pencil him into that group of 7 as things stand, so it’s easy to say we can send him to Cleveland. But, he was one of the most assertive, hard working players the team had last year. Can you really cut him if he shows out better than two or three of the guys on NHL only deals? He’s done it before.

The only name that seems to be an “easy” cut here is Tim Berni. He’s still an RFA, yet to be extended by the team – but, he played in 59 games here last season, and did not look out of place. We have to mention him as making a push, especially when you look at the depth on the left side.

What makes things more tricky when you start looking at forwards is: keeping an eighth defenseman around means that you can only keep three of the seven players we have on the bubble. And there are plenty of guys with strong resumes here.

First, let’s talk about team toughness and Mathieu Olivier. I thought he had a strong season with the Jackets last year, all things considered, and I like the way he rounded out that fourth line. Clearly the club’s brass thought highly of him as well – enough to extend him with a two year, one-way contract. This is a player that had some rumblings around his name at the trade deadline, and with a cheap contract, he’s an NHL player that certainly wouldn’t clear waivers. Do you really risk losing him for nothing?

Emil Bemstrom has long been the subject of slander amongst CBJ faithful, and I would argue that most of it is tied to unfair expectations that he arrived in North America with. In reality, he’s been a quietly productive two-way winger, who isn’t out of place in this team’s bottom six. He’ll never be the top-two line scoring winger (like Oliver Bjorkstrand) that we thought we were getting, but perhaps one of the best coaches in NHL history can unlock more from him?

Still, Bemmer is probably one of the easier cuts to make from this list … which really says a lot about the situation this team finds itself in. He cleared waivers once last season, and I could see the team risking that again. If he doesn’t clear, he’s easily written off by some of the younger prospects in the system.

Justin Danforth will return from major shoulder surgery, with one year remaining on his contract. He’s a 30 year old journeyman who has been written off plenty of times in his career – but knowing Mike Babcock the way that I do, this is exactly the kind of player that will catch his eye in camp. Danforth works tirelessly, is reliable on both sides of the puck, with just enough speed and finish to fit perfectly into Babcock’s system. Don’t overlook this guy until the team makes the final decisions in its bottom-six.

There are some players in the organization that seem to get overlooked on a regular basis. It’s easy to do with the talent Jarmo has acquired over the last three summers, but let’s not give up on any of these guys just yet.

Speaking of the bottom six … why not Liam Foudy? After scoring just three points through 35 games, he found his confidence towards the end of last season, scoring 7 goals and 11 points in the final 27 games. He’s probably in direct competition with Eric Robinson for the fourth line left wing job as we approach camp, and he brings basically every tool Robinson does, with a couple of caveats: he’s almost a million dollars cheaper; and there is still that “former first round pick” potential here. If Foudy shows up healthy, confident, and looks good; does the team have to make a decision with Robinson instead?

Which brings us to a trio of highly touted prospects for this team, each of whom should be part of the future core. Let’s assume you’re sending down all three defensemen (Berni, Blankenburg, Jiricek) so that you can keep four forwards. One of them is probably going to be Mathieu Olivier – then you can pick three of the following: Bemstrom, Danforth, Foudy, Cole Sillinger, Yegor Chinakhov, and Dmitry Voronkov.

Like Foudy, Cole Sillinger is probably in direct competition with one player for a job to start this season: Jack Roslovic. Suddenly, the Jackets have some depth down the middle after drafting Adam Fantilli. He joins Roslovic, Sean Kuraly, and Boone Jenner as the likely centers for this team; which means Cole has to beat one of them out. Now, they could move Boone back to the wing, but he’s a reliable two-way player who looked pretty good with Johnny Gaudreau last season. Until someone takes that job away from him, it’s his.

More likely, as much as it pains me to say it, I think Cole starts the season in Cleveland. They let him develop by keeping Roslovic around until the middle of the season; then he’s a deadline deal to a contending team. This will be Sillinger’s opportunity to step into a middle-six job for the long-term. Roslovic leaves us all wanting more, but in the end, he’s still a relatively consistently productive ~40 point center in the NHL. There’s decent trade value there on an expiring deal.

Yegor Chinakhov is so underrated by his own fanbase that it’s absurd. I almost put him in our list of “locks”, which should give you an idea of how I feel about him and his ability to make this team out of camp. Last season, he was quietly producing at the same pace as Gustav Nyquist, while being a reliable two-way player for this team until he went down with injury. At that point, I think the team decided to “punt” and send him to the AHL, where he could play meaningful games and keep his confidence high.

Much like Justin Danforth; Chinakhov is a guy that Babcock will love. He works hard on both sides of the puck, and at some point his shooting ability is going to make him a premier goal scorer in this league. Having a coach that can help the team get him the puck in the right areas, is probably going to open up shooting opportunities for Yegor. He can wire it.

Dmitry Voronkov finally makes the jump from Russia, and he’s probably one of the most NHL ready prospects in the system. Like the other guys in this section of the roster, he’ll have to win a spot; but he brings a different toolset to the table. He’s big, really strong, physical, and he can play center. At some point, he’s the heir apparent to Sean Kuraly in that third/fourth line checking role. But for now, they have Sean Kuraly, so I think it’s more of a mentorship.

One idea that comes to mind here: Voronkov might make both Eric Robinson and Liam Foudy expendable and start the season as this team’s fourth line left wing. If he has a strong camp, I think it’s very possible. If he has to start the year in Cleveland, that is an option – but it’s also worth noting that he has an “out clause” and can return to the KHL if he isn’t playing in the NHL this season.

On Friday, we’ll make these decisions ourselves and release our way too early roster prediction for the Jackets. As you can tell from this article, there are plenty of questions that need answering – and we might have some surprises. Stay tuned!