Along with the news of some player reassignments this afternoon, the Blue Jackets have announced a couple of injuries on their blue line. With Carson Soucy already in training camp on a PTO, the solution to their problems may be right in front of them.
We have talked ad nauseum this summer about how important this season is for this franchise. They need to get off to a strong start, and ride that momentum into a playoff spot next spring. The entire roster build may depend on it.
Unfortunately, training camp has not been kind to them. Already, center Luca Del Bel Belluz and defenseman Dante Fabbro have suffered injuries in preseason action. While Del Bel Belluz seems to have avoided the worst; head coach Rick Bowness today noted that Fabbro could be out longer than they anticipated.
His situation compounds an obvious issue: this team's defense corps is already razor thin heading in to the season. Currently, Damon Severson continues to recover from a season ending shoulder injury. He has been wearing the golden jersey, signifying that he's not allowed any contact in practice.
With the regular season getting started in just 8 days, it's hard to see him being ready when the puck drops. Those absenses leave the Blue Jackets with just five healthy defensemen: Zach Werenski, Denton Mateychuk, Ivan Provorov, Erik Gudbranson, and Jake Christiansen.
That's...far from ideal. Even if the organization decides that one of their prospects is ready, they are going to need to add another piece to this blue line if one or both of Fabbro and Severson are out for a decent stretch of time.
After all, a third pairing of, say, Christiansen and Guillaume Richard; is just begging to be taken advantage off. And that's not even diving into the special teams, where your depth is really tested.
The good news is, there is a solution to be found. In fact, they don't even have to look far.
Carson Soucy is already acclimating himself.
At Blue Jackets camp on a PTO (professional tryout offer) is veteran defenseman Carson Soucy. Even before camp got started, we saw a fit here. Now that we have seen him on the ice, we are even more intrigued.
He fits the bill that this team has long needed for its third defense pairing. He's big (6'4", 211 pounds), plays a simple, stay-at-home style, and can bring a little bit of physicality to the mix. Just ask Sabres defenseman Olen Zellweger.
If Soucy is willing to sign a one-year contract for a reasonable enough cap hit, this is a no brainer. He may not bring much to the mix offensively, but he's not a guy that is going to hurt you in any situation. He can kill penalties and do exactly what you need from your third pairing: eat up some of the greasy minutes.
I would argue that even if the team expects on of Fabbro or Severson back before the end of October; Soucy is a good guy to add to the mix. You can never have too many defensemen in this league, especially if you have playoff aspirations.
Worst case scenario, you can trade one of them a little further down the road. Teams are always looking to add depth to their blue line as the season wears on (see previous paragraph). Lets hope the Blue Jackets make the smart move here.
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