Damon Severson spent a lot of time in the press box.
This one is messy. Damon Severson found himself in the press box as a healthy scratch on multiple occasions this year. For a team that gave up so much in its own end, having one of its highest paid defensemen sitting out is very concerning.
Only one player on the entire roster (Zach Werenski) made more against the cap than Severson's 6.25m AAV this year. Worse, his actual salary this season was a hearty $8 million dollars. They paid him like a top pairing defenseman this year, but he could not earn Dean Evason's trust enough to stay in the lineup.
As the team scrapped for points late in the season, trying to claw their way into the playoffs; Severson was left out of the lineup for the last two weeks; in favor of players like Jake Christiansen, Jack Johnson, and Jordan Harris.
That's not to say that he's a bad player, or that this situation is unsalvageable. But, it's definitely something that needs to be addressed head on this summer. Neither team nor player will want to run this thing back and have the same situation next season.
I think Severson is a pretty good player. In 70 games played, he had 6 goals, 25 points and a +5 rating for this team, while averaging around 19 minutes per game. When he's playing a simple game, he's pretty effective and I think he could be a good second pairing guy in the right situation. The issue is that he's prone to the odd "off night", and when he makes mistakes, they are very noticeable.
Couple that with the fact that this team has at least four other guys ahead of him on the depth chart (assuming they keep Ivan Provorov and Dante Fabbro around) - three of them being good puck movers - and he's become a bit of a redundant piece in this lineup. To the point that Evason felt his team was better without Severson in the lineup.
His contract makes him essentially buyout-proof, at least at this juncture. So, there are really only two options for Waddell here: he can either try to find a partner that works and gets more out of Severson; or he can try to convince him to waive his full no trade clause and accept a fresh start somewhere else.
I do think there would be a lot of interest around the league in this player. He's a bigger right hand shot, who has stayed remarkably healthy through most of his career. And, as we pointed out, he's a pretty productive guy from the back end. Even his deep stats aren't really that bad. If he's used in the right role, he's capable of living up to this deal as the cap rises.
To make a deal work, the Jackets might have to eat some of his salary - or throw in some sweeteners, as they did with Patrik Laine last summer. But, I can't imagine that Severson is happy with how this season went, and for that reason I could see him agreeing to a fresh start somewhere else. This one will be a big story to watch this summer.
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