We Expected Them to Struggle, But The Blue Jackets Need to Shake it Up

Missing in action: the best players for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Let’s start right at the top. Johnny Gaudreau is tied for 8th on the team in scoring, with Justin Danforth and Erik Gudbranson. Yes, you read that right. He has 1 goal and 6 points on the season. He’s not been hurt; he’s played in every single game. I don’t know what is going on here, but you can see that he’s not himself. He’s fumbling the puck, not skating hard, and looks completely lost on the ice. If he’s injured or needs some personal time away from the team, they should do whatever it takes to get him right, because clearly, something is bothering #13.

Part of the issue might be his linemates. Jack Roslovic started out red hot, but he’s cooled way off since the first handful of games of the season. He has 2 assists in his last 8 games, but was still plugging along on the top line with Gaudreau and Boone Jenner; until Patrik Laine returned this weekend. Jenner is fine as a stop-gap alongside Gaudreau, but even a blind man can see that his speed and skill just aren’t on the same level. Boone does lead the team with 7 goals, but I wonder how much better that line would be with someone like Adam Fantilli in the middle?

The defense corps has been a complete mess this season. Surprisingly, the goaltending has held up and done its job behind them; but I would be dumb not to point out that having Erik Gudbranson as your best defenseman for much of the early part of the season, is not a recipe for success. That’s not to offend #44, who has six points in his last six games (great for him); and has been playing really solid defensive hockey.

That’s more to point out that Ivan Provorov, Damon Severson, and Zach Werenski; just have not been good enough. Especially in their own end. This has been the real issue with this team – they cannot get the puck out of the defensive zone with any accuracy or efficiency. Jake Bean has mostly been the #6 guy here, and he doesn’t escape accountability here either.

My main point about the defense? Andrew Peeke is not an NHL player, and Adam Boqvist has not done enough to earn ice time. This is all going on while David Jiricek is again demoted to the AHL – in spite of the fact that he absolutely looked the part of a second pairing defenseman. And, Nick Blankenburg continues to shred the competition in Cleveland, but he can’t get a look on the big club either, because he’s blocked by two guys that he’s passed over many times. Contract situations as they are, and such.

I’m not saying that Jiricek and Blankenburg would make all the difference up here. But after a night when Bean and Boqvist played less than 10 minutes, and did not see the ice for the final 15 minutes of the game … how much worse could things be with them on the third pairing instead? At least then they’re gaining vital experience. And, I would be willing to bet that they could at least play well enough to take the odd shift near the end of the game. Which might have made all the difference.

Ultimately, the fact of the matter is, this team needs to find a way. We’ve seen enough of them saying things like “we’re improving”, “we’re close”, or “just need some bounces to go our way”. We can’t be okay with a team that has won one game in its last ten – no matter how close they were. Somewhere, management has to make a move that kickstarts the season for this team. Or, maybe move out of the way and let someone else run the show.