This summer will bring change for the Columbus Blue Jackets. With plenty of cap space and a desire to take the next step, they are searching for ways to improve their roster. One pending unrestricted free agent that would be an excellent fit: right wing Mitch Marner.
His Toronto Maple Leafs saw their season come to a disappointing end yet again last night, losing game 7 at home by a 6-1 margin against the Florida Panthers. Another year, another offseason searching for answers in Canada's largest city.
But, in one way, this year isn't like the rest of the years where they've fallen just short. This time, two of their vaunted "core four" forwards are pending unrestricted free agents. Joining Marner without a contract beyond this season is veteran center John Tavares. This means that change is very likely coming for the Leafs.
Even with the salary cap set to rise to $95.5 million next season, it's going to be really tough for the them to fit both of these guys back into the fold. And, it's worth noting that they may not even want to do so, with the way this group has found ways to come up just short in every year they've been together. They are probably looking at other ways to take a step forward.
It could make sense for the Leafs to choose Tavares ahead of Marner. For one, he's a center. And secondly, he's probably going to come (a lot) cheaper. Add to this the fact that we are now seeing rumors that Marner may not be amenable to a return to the Leafs, and the writing is somewhat on the wall. (Does anyone blame him?)
If this is true, and Marner is going to be available this summer: why not the Blue Jackets? I get the apprehension about spending big in free agency, but let me explain.
History shows that Columbus is a desired destination.
When you think back, we were in a strikingly similar situation in the summer of 2022. That prior season, the Blue Jackets finished with a record of 37-38-7 (81 points). They fell short of the playoffs, but were mostly competitive right up until the end. Sounds a little bit like this year, right? It gets weird here.
That summer, the most prized free agent in many years became available. After finishing second in the entire NHL in scoring, the late Johnny Gaudreau hit the open market. And, unlike others who have sought the bright lights of Broadway, or the beaches of Florida; he chose to bring his talents to Central Ohio.
His reasons were simple: he wanted a quieter life, where he could raise his young family and play in the NHL. And, he wanted to be close to home. At the time, we were all shocked, but should we have really been so surprised? After all, Columbus has become a very desirable city. And, when the Jackets landed the most notable free agent in franchise history, everyone generally said the same thing: this is a sneaky good place to play.
It gets more strange. Similar to the Gaudreaus in 2022, Mitch Marner and his wife Stephanie just had their first kid (son Miles was born on May 4th). And, he hits the market for the first time as a 28 year old; after having spent his entire career under a microscope in a major Canadian market, just like Gaudreau.
It's entirely reasonable to assume that Mitch and his family may make their upcoming life changing decision, based on the same reasons the Gaudreau family made theirs. And, if that's the case, as we have seen: Columbus makes a ton of sense.
After all, this team showed us that they are ready to take another step. And, this time around, it's different. This team is now set up for long-term success, with a budding young core that may just be one or two tweaks away from being a perennial Stanley Cup contender. That wasn't the case in 2022, when the team was in the early part of its rebuild.
Players like this don't come along often.
Everyone said it when Johnny Hockey chose Columbus, so I'm going to say it again: if an elite player wants to play for your team, you do everything you can to make sure that happens. There are a LOT of on ice similarities here, as well. Both are undersized skill guys who are pass-first when they have the puck. And, like Johnny, this guy has it a lot of the time.
Marner has 221 goals and 751 points in 657 career NHL games, giving him a more productive career than Gaudreau at the same age. For further reference, that points total is more than 200 greater than Rick Nash's CBJ franchise record for a career (547).
And, before you poo-poo Marner's playoff history, consider this: he has 63 points in 70 career games, which would again be a Blue Jackets franchise record by quite a stretch. The thing is, it takes a team to win in the playoffs, and anyone can look at the Leafs and pick apart their team outside of its "core four" for his entire tenure there. The Blue Jackets are built differently, with an elite #1 defenseman already in house, as well as some great young building blocks and a mix of gritty depth veterans.
Columbus is one of the quietest media markets in the NHL. The Blue Jackets already have the supporting cast in place. What they need is an elite play driver to round out their top two lines. In my opinion, this would be a terrific fit for both sides. Lastly, as mentioned at the top: they have plenty of cap space (around $40 million) to get it done. The positives far outweigh any negatives here, in my opinion.
This is a player who needs a change of scenery to cement his legacy as one of the great players of his generation. I think that getting out of the spotlight of the hottest market in Canadian media, will be the best career decision Mitch could ever make.