Blue Jackets shaping roster for future
It’s not over, but the Blue Jackets’ offseason has already provided a good look ahead at next season.
Josh Anderson, Markus Nutivaara and Ryan Murray are no longer part of the roster, but centers Max Domi and Mikko Koivu are Blue Jackets now. Another free-agent newcomer might be added — depending on the outcome of negotiations with restricted free agents Pierre-luc Dubois and Vladislav Gavrikov.
Those two have brought the Jackets’ offseason maneuvers to a halt, but the roster for 2020-21 is nearly complete. Here’s what it currently looks like:
Forwards
The Blue Jackets have 12 forwards under contract who are age 25 or older,
totaling $41.5 million in salary cap charges. That includes center Brandon Dubinsky, who could miss another full season with a long-term wrist injury, and 33-year-old veteran Nathan Gerbe, who might need to earn an NHL spot in training camp.
Also signed are young forwards Alexandre Texier, Emil Bemstrom and rookie Liam Foudy – all on entry-level contracts. Dubois and fellow RFA center Kevin Stenlund are unsigned.
Here’s a projection of the top four lines.
First line options: Texier, Dubois, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Gustav Nyquist, Cam Atkinson.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Nyquist at left wing here, but Texier played in that spot during the Jackets’ postseason and didn’t look overmatched. He also didn’t score any goals, which would’ve helped in a tightly contested first-round loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Could an unrestricted free agent fill that role?
Dubois, meanwhile, hasn’t missed a game in his three-year NHL career, regular season or playoffs, and appears on the verge of becoming a premium No. 1 center. At right wing, Bjorkstrand’s scoring prowess continues to emerge after he led the team with 21 goals despite an ankle fracture that caused him to miss the final eight games.
Second line options: Nyquist, Domi, Atkinson, Bjorkstrand, Texier, Bemström
Atkinson and Domi are both looking to rebound statistically.
Atkinson struggled through an early scoring slump and nagging high-ankle sprain that limited him in games (44), goals (12), assists (14) and points (26) – just one year after setting career highs with 41-28-69 in 2018-19.
Domi’s 17-27-44 for Montreal last season also was a significant drop. He did set career highs in 2018-19 with 28 goals, 44 assists and 72 points for the Canadiens.
Nyquist provides a solid 40 to 50 points every year, including 15 goals, 27 assists and 42 points while not missing a game last season, his first in Columbus.
Third line options: Nick Foligno, Boone Jenner, Koivu, Bemström,
Foudy, Mikhail Grigorenko
Not long after signing Koivu to a oneyear contract for $1.5 million, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said he envisions the former Minnesota Wild captain centering this line over Jenner. If so, Jenner is free to utilize his biggest asset — forechecking — rather than having to retreat as the first forward back defensively. Koivu’s 37-year-old body and coach John Tortorella will ultimately decide whether this happens, but it could be a real boon.
Fourth line options: Bemström, Eric Robinson, Grigorenko, Riley Nash, Foudy, Stenlund and Gerbe
Tortorella will have plenty of options with this group, and coaches love options. Multiple combinations of forwards could be used on this line until the coaching staff finds one or two who click.
Defensemen
The Blue Jackets no longer have an overflowing pool of Nhl-proven options, but the depth on the back is solid.
As it stands, seven defensemen are signed for next season at a total cap amount of $18.9 million, and Gavrikov is likely to get between $2 million and $2.5 million a year.
Here is a projection of the top three pairings.
First pair: Zach Werenski, Seth Jones
Only a few teams can make an argument about their top pairing matching this one. Werenski led NHL defensemen with 20 goals in 2019-20, a career high, and showed improved defensive skills that put him among the league’s top two-way defenders.
Jones’ offense dropped — he had six goals and 24 assists last season — but a fractured ankle limited him to 56 games. It also shined a spotlight on how much value he adds, as the Blue Jackets to immediately struggled after his injury. Thanks to the NHL’S pandemic pause, Jones played all 10 postseason games at full strength and set an NHL record for ice time with a mind-boggling 65:06 in the Jackets’ five-overtime loss to the Lightning.
Second pair: Gavrikov, David Savard The guys who usually spell Werenski and Jones have developed into one of the NHL’S most stout second pairings.
Gavrikov, a 24-year-old rookie last season, had little problem adjusting from the KHL and proved to be a near carbon copy of his partner, Savard — only a left-handed version. Their size, strength and willingness to block shots make them a headache defensively, and both possesses unheralded offensive skills.
Thirdpair: Dean Kukan, with Andrew Peeke or Scott Harrington
None of the Jackets’ remaining defensemen have the vision, hands or two-way effectiveness Murray provided when healthy. But his ongoing health issues are also a big reason Nutivaara, Kukan, Harrington and Peeke all received opportunities to prove themselves.
Kukan is similar to Nutivaara in playing style, a lefty puck-mover, but injuries have limited him in two of the past three years. Peeke, a right-handed shooter, impressed the coaching staff as a rookie last season and is a promising young defenseman at 6 feet 3, 194 pounds.
Harrington is a solid seventh option, but don’t count him out from earning a third-pairing role in camp. Injuries would likely bring another big blue-liner, Gabriel Carlsson, back into the mix.
Goalies
Should the tandem of 26-year-olds Elvis Merzlikins and Joonas Korpisalo remain the top two in net, the Blue Jackets should have one of the NHL’S top duos between the pipes. It’s also one of the most cost-efficient tandems, as both salaries combined eat just $6.8 million in cap space.
Having two talented young goalies, with more on the way as prospects, also gives the Blue Jackets trade chips that could help the roster another way. bhedger@dispatch.com @Brianhedger