We're continuing our mid-season grades for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Today we'll look at the club's most tenuous areas: the defensive core, goaltending tandem, and working in their defensive zone.
Let's be honest: I'm unsure if anyone in hockey expected the Columbus Blue Jackets to contend for a wildcard spot halfway into the season. That isn't in the locker room or front office, at least. Despite the odds, the CBJ find themselves well within the playoff race at the halfway point in the season.
Much of their success can be attributed to the stellar play of alternate captain and longtime Blue Jacket Zach Werenski, who has elevated his play as the #1 defenseman on the roster to that of a possible Norris Trophy-winning caliber season. Other defensemen like Ivan Provorov and recent acquisitions/call-ups Dante Fabbro and Denton Mateychuk are also contributing positively.
However, the play of the remaining d-men and especially the goaltending core has been inconsistent at best. Let's take some time to examine the play of all of these young men and give them grades for their first half of the season.
You cannot highlight the defensive core of the Columbus Blue Jackets this season without primarily focusing on the more-than-stellar play of Werenski. He's second in the NHL, behind only Cale Makar in goals and points scored so far this season (as of the morning of January 9).
He has firmly positioned himself in the Norris Trophy conversation at the halfway point. Zach also finds himself in the top 30 of nearly every advanced stat among NHL defensemen (minimum 300 minutes played, per Moneypuck), including Corsi and Fenwick. He's thriving as a playmaker, puck mover, QB on the powerplay, and so much more. If we just scored the defense corps off his play alone, it'd be a solid A+.
His constant line partner, Dante Fabbro, is not far behind him in advanced statistics. As the only two CBJ defensemen with positive on-ice goals percentages, the pair have seemingly thrived together since Fabbro's claim off of waivers from Nashville. The two have played together for over 400 minutes this season and are fifth amongst those pairing in expected goals for percentage.
On the next slide, we'll look at a harsh truth.