The Blue Jackets found a solution to their top line left wing problem in an unexpected way. With the team struggling to find offense, GM Don Waddell went out and acquired Mason Marchment for pennies on the dollar. He turned out to be perfect piece to fit into this team's first line puzzle. Will that be the case long-term?
That Mason even became a Blue Jacket was pretty surprising in the first place. "Mush" was traded from the Dallas Stars to the Seattle Kraken last June. With one year remaining on his contract, the Stars dumped him off for a couple of middle round draft picks.
This was a simple cap dump deal for Dallas, with the Kraken hoping to cash in on a buy low forward. But things just did not work for Mason in Seattle. He got into 29 games, scoring 4 goals and 13 points, adding 26 penalty minutes and a -4 rating.
As a result, he became an under the radar trade chip ahead of the holiday roster freeze. The question that needed answered here: was his scoring dropping off as a result of the wrong situation/system; or was his scoring dropping off because he's aging out of his prime?
With the Blue Jackets sputtering and struggling to gain any ground in the playoff race, Waddell thought the cost was worth the risk. He went out and acquired Marchment for two draft picks. It really worked. The fit was perfect right from the beginning.
Mush scored his first goal in his first game for the Jackets. Then added two goals in his second game. He picked up points in his first five games in the Union Blue-a new franchise record-and became exactly what this team needed down the stretch.
Sometimes, it's not about going out and getting an elite talent. In this case, it was about acquiring the right player to support this team's two young top line scorers. In 39 games played after the trade, Marchment scored 32 points (15 goals), adding 30 penalty minutes and a +21 rating.
Over the course of a full season, that's roughly a 31 goal, 67 point pace; which would have tied him for the team lead in scoring amongst forwards. An excellent return in exchange for a couple of lottery tickets. I'll give him an A+ for this season, graded solely on his time in Columbus.
Will the Blue Jackets bring him back?
One of the biggest storylines in Columbus this summer: what will this team do with all of their free agents? Mason Marchment is right near the top of the list of importance amongst that group. I think it's pretty likely that he will be back, but the deal has to make sense.
For starters, I don't think Waddell and the Blue Jackets can view him as a long-term solution on the top line. He will give them very good minutes wherever he plays in the lineup, but the fact of the matter here is that his career scoring high is 53 points. That's not top line production.
Part of the reason his totals with the Blue Jackets this season were so impressive: he scored on more than 20% of his shots on goal. That's not sustainable (his career average is around 13%, which is inflated because of this season). Also, staying healthy has been a big issue in his career-he's played in more than 68 games just once.
More likely, I think the Jackets should look at him as a placeholder on their top line. A guy who can skate there when called upon, but is better suited in a middle-six role. At 6'5", Mason is a bit of a unicorn in today's NHL: he's a pest who isn't going to get pushed around, and he can score.
He's a pain in the neck to play against. For those reasons, he would be a great guy to keep around. Just not for top line dollars, and preferably not for more than 3 or 4 years of term.
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