We took to social media yesterday and tasked everyone with cutting players to make the final Blue Jacket roster. As expected, some names appeared on nearly everyone’s lists; but there were some surprises, too. Today we’ll break down some of the ideas.
It might seem like an easy task at first glance, but I don’t think that’s the case. We count no fewer than 29 players vying for 23 jobs this fall – and every single one of them has a worthy resume; a reason for being on the ice with the Jackets. There are 17 forwards, 10 defensemen, and 2 goaltenders that you could make an argument for having on the team.
You can look at some of these guys and pretty easily assign them to Cleveland because they have two-way contracts. But, what happens if they come to camp and show that they’re ready? Do you risk losing some of the other guys on this list for nothing? Is a trade in the works? There really is a lot to break down here.
Alright, now cut 2-3 defensemen. (If you're only cutting 4 forwards, you have to cut 3). #CBJ
— Union and Blue (@UnionAndBlue) July 25, 2023
Werenski, Boqvist, Provorov, Severson, Bean, Gudbranson, Blankenburg, Peeke, Jiricek, Berni https://t.co/ZUitYZhzrh
First, we’ll knock out the easy one: goaltending. You need two, and the Jackets have exactly two. Barring any trades, Elvis Merzlikins will enter the season as the team’s starter, with Daniil Tarasov backing him up. Tarasov’s contract is now a one-way deal, and I don’t think the team would be willing to risk losing him for nothing. So, any other goaltender they bring on board, likely becomes the bouncer between Cleveland and Columbus this year. Again, barring any trades.
With that said, we’re down to 21 jobs for 27 people. The next method we can use to narrow things down is to look at the players who are 100% locks to be on the team. This is due to their role/productivity, or even just their contracts and the team’s desire to hang onto viable assets during the rebuild. And there are quite a few locks.
Forward locks (10): Johnny Gaudreau, Patrik Laine, Boone Jenner, Jack Roslovic, Sean Kuraly, Eric Robinson, Alexandre Texier, Kent Johnson, Kirill Marchenko, Adam Fantilli.
Defense locks (7): Zach Werenski, Ivan Provorov, Damon Severson, Adam Boqvist, Jake Bean, Erik Gudbranson, Andrew Peeke
Just like that, without anybody actually trying out for the team, we’re down to 4 jobs for 10 players – most of whom played significant time in the NHL last season. As you can see, there are a lot of decisions to be made by the Jackets. So, who is on the bubble?