The Blue Jackets submitted their season opening roster of 21 players on Monday (9/28) at 5:00 pm. Since that time, the team has signed defenseman Carson Soucy to a 1-year, $1.5 million deal. To make room for Soucy, the team had to place Isac Lundestrom on Long-Term Injured Reserve.
At this time, Lundestrom, Damon Severson, and Dante Fabbro are all on injured reserve. That leaves 22 players on the active roster with about $150k in cap space.
The team cannot carry more than 23 players at a cap hit of $104 million. If everyone were to be healthy, a total of 25 players would be on the roster, and the team would exceed the salary cap. While the numbers (both bodies and dollars) work now, what could the Blue Jackets lineup look like if (and when) everyone is healthy?
Forwards (13)
This is a difficult position group to project because there are many deserving players who should be with the team. There are 11 players who are locks to stick with the team: Adam Fantilli, Matthew Knies, Valeri Nichushkin, Charlie Coyle, Conor Garland, Sean Monahan, Cole Sillinger, Mathieu Olivier, Kent Johnson, Ryan Lomberg, and Isac Lundestrom.
The team really likes Dmitri Voronkov, Danton Heinen, and Luca Del Bel Belluz. It won’t be easy parting with any of them. If needed, I think the team would prefer to waive Heinen with the hope of sending him to Cleveland.
That leaves 13 forwards, which is the quantity that I think the CBJ prefers to have. Although it is possible (yet unlikely) that the team could trade Voronkov or Del Bel Belluz. The Jackets would love to have Jack Williams on the roster. But it will be difficult to fit him in the lineup from a numbers perspective when everyone is healthy.
Defense (8)
This is the most crowded position group. Right now, the team has 9 NHL defensemen. There are 8 defenseman who should be on the active roster: Zach Werenski, Ivan Provorov, Damon Severson, Dante Fabbro, Erik Gudbranson, Emil Andrae, Carson Soucy, and Denton Mateychuk.
The 9th player, Jake Christianson, will be the 1st player squeezed out, as he has struggled over the past 2 seasons. His trade value is low, so he would likely be placed on waivers and sent to Cleveland if he cleared.
Goalies (2)
This is the easiest position group to project. Only 2 players are expected to be on the active roster: Jet Graves and Cam Talbot.
If the team makes the moves I suggest (waiving both Heinen and Christianson and sending them to Cleveland), the team should be cap compliant from both a number of bodies (23 players) and dollars ($918k under the cap) perspective.
Let me be clear: it’s rare in hockey to have a fully healthy lineup. It’s a contact sport; injuries happen. But GM Don Waddell must have contingency plans if the lineup is fully in-tact. I expect there to always be at least 1 or 2 guys injured, in which case you will need all the guys on the active roster.
A lot of difficult decisions could potentially be coming. Waddell will have to carefully weigh all options if (and when) the CBJ regains full health.
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