Tonight's game in Pittsburgh is the 41st of the season, which marks the halfway point for the Columbus Blue Jackets. It's time to grade the team from top to bottom, starting today with the front office and coaching staff.
The Blue Jackets have been a pleasant surprise so far this season, currently battling for a playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. This comes in spite of the loss of their beloved star forward Johnny Gaudreau just before training camp kicked off. Nobody would have blamed this group for having a terrible season this year.
Instead, stability from the top down has helped organize everyone and has the machine working better as a whole. In this article, I'll grade GM Don Waddell's moves so far; and then we'll run through some thoughts on the coaching staff. At the end, I'll give an overall grade for the entire group.
Reflecting on Don Waddell's first half season in Columbus...
The Blue Jackets hired Waddell at the end of May, just before the off-season kicked into high gear. It didn't take long for him to start putting his mark on this organization. Just three weeks later, he relieved Pascal Vincent of his duties as head coach - a move that seems really wise to this point.
This coaching change would look a lot better if the team didn't somewhat fumble the bag in their attempt to hire Todd McLellan as Vincent's replacement over the summer. But, unlike the coaching fiasco of the year prior, Waddell was able to recover and bring on Dean Evason. I give Waddell high marks for landing on Evason, even if it wasn't a clear cut process. Call it a "B" overall.
At the draft, I thought the organization added some good pieces throughout. I do have concern - a lot of concern - about 4th overall pick Cayden Lindstrom's health and future. But Charlie Elick, Luca Marrelli, and Evan Gardner were all good value picks that are looking promising. Hesitant "B" grade here.
The on-ice moves for Waddell were relatively laid out and easy to predict, except for a few. As expected, he worked to clear out some of the fluff; starting with sending Alexandre Texier to the St Louis Blues in exchange for a 4th round pick at the 2025 draft. Some notable RFAs were allowed to walk, including Alexander Nylander, Jake Bean, Carson Meyer, and Nick Blankenburg. He then bought out Adam Boqvist to create even more flexibility. "A" grade on these moves, I don't think we're missing much.
Important RFA extensions were signed by Cole Sillinger, Yegor Chinakhov, Jake Christiansen, Jet Greaves, Kent Johnson, and Kirill Marchenko; with most of these being bridge deals, all making perfect sense. Don was then active in free agency, adding Sean Monahan on a four-year contract that looks to have been one of the biggest steals of the summer. He also brought in depth, adding Jack Johnson and Dylan Gambrell. Easy "A" in this section.
The biggest impact was probably made later in the summer, however. Waddell traded disgruntled winger Patrik Laine to the Montreal Canadiens, adding a second round pick into the deal to offload the full value of the Finnish sniper's contract. In return, Jordan Harris brought promise, but that promise hasn't panned out to this point. Still, they got rid of the distracting diva winger. "A", no notes.
The loss of Johnny Gaudreau in late August thrust Waddell into a tragically familiar scenario: preparing to play an NHL season after the loss of a teammate and friend. After the unthinkable happened, he added James van Riemsdyk, Kevin Labanc and Zach Aston-Reese to help bolster the forward ranks.
You can never replace what Johnny brought on and off the ice, but all three of these guys have brought a lot of value to the club. It's impossible to put a grade mark on this sort of situation, but it's hard to argue that Waddell did the best he could to help this team get through it. We'll leave it at that.
Finally, the David Jiricek trade. It will probably take several years before we know the true outcome of this one, but I like this for the Blue Jackets so far. In short, it's out of our control at this point. If the Wild develop Jiricek to his full potential, it will sting. But, Waddell recouped a lot of valuable assets in his place. "A" for me. Let's move on to coaching on the next slide, and then overall grades.