Columbus Blue Jackets: Grading Jarmo Kekalainen’s Off-Season

The most important area of improvement to the actual roster: acquiring legitimate NHL defensemen. The Blue Jackets found themselves shelled a lot last season because the defense corps on a lot of given nights, was made up of 1-2 guys best suited for third pairing minutes; and a handful of guys probably more suited for AHL minutes.

Jarmo was quick to act here as well. While the Stanley Cup Finals were still being played, he made two separate deals to acquire top-four defensemen, first acquiring Ivan Provorov from the Philadelphia Flyers; then Damon Severson from the New Jersey Devils just two days later.

To acquire Provorov, the Jackets sent a 2023 first round pick (#22 overall – Oliver Bonk) and a conditional second round pick to the Flyers; while the LA Kings got involved in the trade as well, retaining 30% of Provorov’s salary to help facilitate the deal and clear up some cap space of their own. This move helps the Jackets replace beloved defender Vladislav Gavrikov, who was sent to the Kings at the trade deadline for that very same first round pick.

Still not finished shoring up the back-end, Jarmo went out two days later and acquired Damon Severson from the New Jersey Devils in a rare sign-and-trade. By dealing a third round pick, he was able to keep Severson from hitting the open market – while also giving him an eighth year that no other team would have been able to offer. For the second year in a row, he boasted that they were able to acquire their most coveted free agent on the market (the other being Erik Gudbranson in 2022).

The two defensemen share one common theme that was probably held in very high regard by the Jackets: they have been able to stay remarkably healthy throughout their careers. Both guys are legitimate top-four defensemen in this league, and immediately give the Jackets a viable second defense pair, if that’s how they’re used.

Most importantly, these moves buy the Jackets some time to allow their prospects to develop. We were hitting a crossroads this summer, where the team needs to contend soon; or they’ll risk making the locals restless. But, the team also wasn’t ready, as constructed, to contend for a playoff spot. By picking up two very good NHL defensemen, Jarmo may have bought this team’s top prospects one more year to mature – which often makes all the difference.

Jarmo’s grade for acquiring Provorov and Severson: B

The only thing that keeps these moves from being an “A” for me is Severson’s contract. I do think that signing a guy like that to an 8-year deal at a cap hit north of $6m, is a risky move. Already with Erik Gudbranson, Andrew Peeke, Nick Blankenburg, and Adam Boqvist in the mix, what does that do to top prospects David Jiricek and Corson Ceulemans? Both guys play on the right side, and at some point, you need a spot for them.

Equally as important as fixing the situation on the blueline: the Jackets probably needed to come out of this summer with two centers if they wanted to contend. One of those was going to come from the draft, which definitely happened. The other? Well…

We may have soaked up all of our available luck at the NHL Draft this season. After the Chicago Blackhawks took the obvious player (Connor Bedard) with the first overall pick; the Anaheim Ducks went to the stage and took Swedish center Leo Carlsson second overall. Which meant that, after losing the draft lottery, coveted center Adam Fantilli was left available to them.

Jarmo wasted no time in making the pick, securing the most highly touted prospect in franchise history. It seemed to be a match made in heaven early on, as Fantilli made it clear that Columbus was his preferred destination at the draft. Excitement abounded with the player, the team, and the fanbase alike.

With an NHL ready frame, Fantilli brings size, speed, tremendous skill, and a world class work ethic to table for the Blue Jackets. If the preseason is any indication, he will be a huge difference maker for this team right away. He has been fantastic.

Jarmo’s grade for drafting Adam Fantilli: A+

There’s a lot of luck involved with a player like this falling into our laps, but they still had to make the pick. And, the rest of their draft earned rave reviews from scouts and analytics folks around hockey, so it’s hard to say anything negative about their process here.

As far as acquiring another center for the immediate future? That hasn’t really happened yet. The team did sign prospect Dmitri Voronkov, bringing him to North America for the first time this summer, and he looks like a future two-way pivot with some snarl. But he doesn’t look fully ready, and in my opinion, he’s probably most likely suited as a bottom-six guy.

The issue down the middle for the Jackets hasn’t so much been about the number of guys they have … the issue has been, they lack top-end guys. They acquired one for the future in Fantilli, who may or may not step right into that role. But otherwise, they run it back with some combination of Boone Jenner, Jack Roslovic, or converted winger Patrik Laine. So we enter the season again with big question marks down the middle.

Jarmo’s grade for acquiring a top-two center: C

Wait, he didn’t do anything here. Why does he get a “C” grade?

Well, because his options for acquiring a top-two center were probably not beneficial to this team, and not making any move was probably the correct decision. We’ve seen a TON of talk about acquiring Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames, but I’m always quick to point out that, aside from two outlying seasons, he produces at roughly the same pace as Jack Roslovic or Boone Jenner.

I get that he had great chemistry with Johnny Gaudreau, which is why he had a couple of strong seasons. I also get that he’s a strong two-way player. I agree that he’s probably exactly the kind of center we need for our team to take a step forward. But where I dig my feet into the dirt on this subject is with his age (28) and the fact that he’s going to want a massive 8-year contract, probably somewhere north of $8.5m AAV.

Not only does Elias Lindholm cost you a huge package, including first round picks, prospects, and probably an NHL player or two – he also costs you a future core piece that you won’t be able to afford to keep, once they are due for a new contract. And, most importantly, while he would be an upgrade; can you really view him as the piece that puts this team over the top as a Stanley Cup contender? I have a hard time believing it.

Jarmo’s overall grade for the summer: C-

Major upgrades to the roster and some draft luck bring up what would easily be an “F” grade for the Mike Babcock fiasco. That whole process was so embarrassing, that even a strong offseason otherwise, gives our management a low grade. Even though he made major improvements to the roster and had a great draft, the Jackets come into the season with question marks down the middle, in goal, and behind the bench. This feels like a make or break year for this management regime, and a lot has to go right for this team to go anywhere.