The Columbus Blue Jackets will have the same personnel on defense that they did last season. Their top-4 was pretty well locked in at the end of the year, but it's possible that things could shift around early next season. Here's an alternate take on how the pairings could come together.
Starting with the top pairing, it's hard to see anything changing. Zach Werenski and Dante Fabbro fit together extremely well. Once Fabbro was claimed off of waivers, Werenski's game opened up like never before; resulting in him finishing second in Norris Trophy voting for best defenseman in the NHL. Feels pretty safe to say: those two will be leaned upon to eat up a lot of minutes together again next season.
Behind them, there is a lot of depth, but not an obvious second pairing. At the end of last season, rookie Denton Mateychuk and veteran Ivan Provorov played together in that role. They were good, and it wouldn't be hard to pencil them in together if not for the other circumstances involved.
Notably, both of them are left-hand shots, which isn't ideal in today's faster-paced NHL. It can be difficult for a player playing on their off-side to take the puck and move it ahead quickly enough to avoid forecheckers. That extra half second is an eternity in the modern game, which is why teams covet right-shot blue liners so much.
The other two guys who will be expected to play each and every night are both right shots: Damon Severson and Erik Gudbranson. Severson found himself in the press box when the games started to really matter, but that cannot continue. His contract dictates that he needs to play and be effective if this team is going to have any real chance of success.
Meanwhile, Gudbranson missed most of the season due to a shoulder injury that required surgery. His leadership and physical on-ice presence were sorely missed last year. Once he got into the lineup and up to speed, he helped stabilize the team's third pairing - which had struggled for most of the year.
How can the team get the most out of its bottom-four?
Unless head coach Dean Evason wants to have a pairing with two left shots, and another pairing with two right shots; he's going to have to find a way to use everyone to their fullest potential. That means breaking up the Mateychuk-Provorov pairing that was pretty effective near season's end. I think he can do that, feed everyone their proper minutes, and make it all work.
We have seen the team try Provorov and Severson together in the past, and that doesn't seem like a solution. They are very similar players, who like to have the puck on their sticks and move it up the ice. When they're together, at least one of them isn't being used as effectively. They'll need to play on different pairings. With that in mind, maybe this works:
1: Werenski - Fabbro
2: Provorov - Gudbranson
3: Mateychuk - Severson
Jake Christiansen (extra)
This look balances everything out, in my opinion. The top pairing is your 20-25 minutes per night tandem that plays in all situations, against any competition. The second and third pairings can be rolled out in even numbers at 5 on 5. They can then further dole out ice time with power-play and penalty killing minutes.
Ideally, Erik Gudbranson isn't playing in the top-four. But, if the ice time is divvied out equally between these two pairings, it really doesn't matter. I think having two predictable veterans together could give the Jackets more reliable minutes.
For the last pairing, Mateychuk worked with Provorov; so why not try him with a similar player who needs a boost in Severson? If need be, they can also shelter that pairing. Severson has been known to struggle when the minutes get too big. And, while Mateychuk was stellar as a rookie, it's far from a guarantee that he hits the ground running as a sophomore. We have seen that before. Recently.
This is a situation that will be interesting to follow once training camp starts. The Jackets will need to figure it out if they're going to make a run towards the playoffs next season.