The Blue Jackets have struggled to generate offense consistently through the early part of the season, and it is costing them games. One fact that cannot be overlooked any longer: their highest paid player is simply not producing. That has to change. This team needs more out of Adam Fantilli.
Their offensive woes have been perhaps no more apparent than in their most recent game against the Buffalo Sabres. As the other team scored goal after goal, it was evident that the Jackets just weren't going to be able to keep pace. It felt like they did not have the guns to do so.
Only, they really should have the guns to keep up with a team like the Sabres. The Jackets are not a team in a rebuild any longer. They're pressed right up against the salary cap, and they have a roster full of veterans who have produced offensively in the past.
Of course, a big part of the problem is secondary production. We have talked recently about Conor Garland, and also Matthew Knies. But we have given plenty of runway to the primary offensive weapons here; namely Fantilli.
Fantilli was signed to the richest contract in franchise history, just before the season began. His story flew under the radar a little bit because of the other happenings going on here. But, he got his payday, and now it's time for him to take that next step. He has not done that so far. Now, it's far enough into the season to start being concerned.
Expectations are high, and they are not being met.
Whether it's fair or not, along with the largest contract in franchise history comes larger expectations. We pointed that out after this deal was inked. Despite missing training camp, there was no runway for Fantilli to ease into this season. This team needed him to be elite right out of the gate.
All of the talk we heard from the head coach and front office was that they were not concerned about this player missing camp. We were told that he had been working out, and the communication remained open. He would be ready to go.
Now, we're almost 20% of the way into the season, and Fantilli has a whopping 6 points on the year. That has him in a 4-way tie for 8th on the team in scoring, alongside two middle six forwards and a defenseman who missed all of camp, as well as the first two games of the season.
If you want to find any one specific reason why this team is struggling to string together wins, it's starting to be pretty hard to ignore the elephant in the room. They need production from their #1 center. He was recently taken off of the top line and replaced with 32-year-old Sean Monahan, in an effort to open up the offense.
This isn't to say that Fantilli played poorly, or that the effort isn't there. In fact, it's quite the opposite. He looks a lot more active without the puck, and that has never been a weak area for him to begin with. He leads the team in faceoff percentage, and has some of the better underlying numbers of any forward here.
The problem is, hockey isn't played in the analytics department. Eventually, those counting stats need to start getting in line with the player this franchise needs him to be. As it stands, he's on pace for around 34 points over the course of this full season. That's not going to cut it.
It's still early, and there is a lot of hockey left to play. But, I'm starting to have some concerns about his game. Most notably, he looks like he's getting back to playing the game the way he did at the NCAA level, which time and time again has been proven ineffective.
Too often, he's carrying the puck directly into traffic and trying to beat guys one on one, instead of dishing it off and working to get open again. Even with his speed and skill, that's nearly impossible in today's NHL.
He needs to use his teammates better, and he needs to bear down on his chances when they come. This isn't the case of a great player on a bad team. He has plenty of support here, and the time for making excuses is running out. This team can't wait until mid-January for him to find his game again.
I'm not sure what the solution is from a team perspective. I'm sure they have talked to him and looked at tapes together. At some point, it's on the player to take that advice and put it to work. Hopefully #19 can do that relatively soon.
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