Line Combos: CBJ Roster Discussion/Line Combos/Injury Report

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Gavrikov is having his best season yet playing 25 minutes a night on the right side for the Kings.

He will also be 30 at the start of next season and will be paid an obscene amount of money.

Now, if you want to argue that Jarmo and whichever coach were morons because they never tried Gavrikov on the right side next to Werenski, you won’t get an argument from me.

Personally I’d rather spend my time looking for legit guys in their mid 20s we could target. A few summers ago I was suggesting Rasmus Andersson.

 
I wasn't comparing Provorov to Gavrikov necessarily in terms of ability.

I was comparing their situations. Very simply, if we do not extend Provorov, I think the Jackets will quickly regret it like they did with Gavrikov. If we're going into next season with a 2nd pairing of Mateychuk - Severson, the team will be in big trouble.
 
I wasn't comparing Provorov to Gavrikov necessarily in terms of ability.

I was comparing their situations. Very simply, if we do not extend Provorov, I think the Jackets will quickly regret it like they did with Gavrikov. If we're going into next season with a 2nd pairing of Mateychuk - Severson, the team will be in big trouble.
And I remember not too long ago when some were complaining about acquiring Provorov
 
I wasn't comparing Provorov to Gavrikov necessarily in terms of ability.

I was comparing their situations. Very simply, if we do not extend Provorov, I think the Jackets will quickly regret it like they did with Gavrikov. If we're going into next season with a 2nd pairing of Mateychuk - Severson, the team will be in big trouble.
Except Jarmo did everything he could to extend Gavrikov. The player (through his agent) made it clear he was heading to free agency. If the team hadn’t read him, woolen would have been complaining about not maximizing assets or something.
 
Except Jarmo did everything he could to extend Gavrikov. The player (through his agent) made it clear he was heading to free agency. If the team hadn’t read him, woolen would have been complaining about not maximizing assets or something.
That's not true. Gavrikov wanted a long term deal while Jarmo was going shorter term.

I looked for the Portzline tweet that said the term difference but can't find it. Here's a quote though from Portzline's article saying that term was the sticking point:

Gavrikov, in the final year of a contract that carries a $2.8 million cap hit, is an unrestricted free agent this summer. Talks between Milstein and the Blue Jackets on a contract extension never gained much traction, with the two sides sitting far apart on the length of a new deal.

 
That's not true. Gavrikov wanted a long term deal while Jarmo was going shorter term.

I looked for the Portzline tweet that said the term difference but can't find it. Here's a quote though from Portzline's article saying that term was the sticking point:



My bad. Thanks for the refresher. I wonder what I thought of all that at the time. I was a big Gavrikov fan, not only for his play but his presence in the room.
 
I don’t see the point in arguing about Gavrikov vs Provorov when what we really need (and where we should invest the money) is a right defenseman. We have Werenski, and Mateychuk looks like a guy who could be a legit 2LD by the 26-27 season (if not earlier). The only possible reason you sign an expensive vet left D is if you have decided to trade Mateychuk for another young talented guy (Nemec for example).

Now, if you want to argue about which is better, I suggest you grab @ViD and debate hypothetical team Russia lineups.
You can't want a RD all you want, but if one isn't available you have to make do with what's available to you.
 
Now, if you want to argue that Jarmo and whichever coach were morons because they never tried Gavrikov on the right side next to Werenski, you won’t get an argument from me.

Was there a reasonable expectation that he would put Gavrikov at 1RD? No. I'm not going to call someone a moron for not doing an entirely unexpected thing.

Personally I’d rather spend my time looking for legit guys in their mid 20s we could target. A few summers ago I was suggesting Rasmus Andersson.


He wasn't available then. You can't really pat yourself on the back for wanting a widely liked mid 20s D who is not available.

My bad. Thanks for the refresher. I wonder what I thought of all that at the time. I was a big Gavrikov fan, not only for his play but his presence in the room.

I was a Gavrikov defender at the time (there were people who didn't think he was very good) but I'm guessing I wasn't in favor of a super long term deal (like the $5.75m x 8 I imagine he was looking for). Now we would consider ourselves lucky to have him at that price for the next 6 years.
 
Another way to look at that - Fabbro hasn't stopped his D partner from playing at NHL MVP level over the last month. That's a good thing, right? And for a guy who doesn't need a huge contract, that's a very good thing, right?
What is the goal? For the team to win hockey games, or for Werenski to win a trophy? Werenski looks good because of Zack Werenski, not Fabbro.

And I’ll ask this question, when the team is down, and in need of a goal, who does Evason pair with Werenski? Why??

There isn’t a single (top 6) defenseman on the roster who has made a difference on how Werenski has performed, produced, or looked on the ice this year. Each guy has had good and bad games.

There's a difference being top pairing defenseman and being able to play in top pair. I'm just hoping that Fabbro and his agent understand that.
He hasn’t done anything that all the other defenseman have done. If we have literally one of the best defensemen in the league, his pairing should actually be more impactful than it has been, IMO. I genuinely think Fabbro is a negative playing top pairing minutes, and or regularly with Werenski. Again, down 2 goals in the 3rd, Werenski gets a different partner. Why?
To me, the question isn't what they should do with Provorov but instead what can they do with Severson whose TOI/G is dwindling under Evason and whose 2nd PP spot was taken by Provorov and Mateychuk without a fight.

When the team is down a goal late in the 3rd period. Who does Evason pair with Werenski??
 
Provorov is the perfect example of a defenceman that looks better for a casual viewer than he really is. He plays a lot and does stuff, but he doesnt do that stuff very well. His good skating and heavy usage (playing minutes) give you the impression that he is good, sometimes even great. But the reality is that he is very average and actually quite poor at defending.

This is a few years old card, but he hasnt changed.

 
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You can't want a RD all you want, but if one isn't available you have to make do with what's available to you.

We keep hearing the team wants to make a hockey trade so I expect a hockey trade to get a right D. I also think it will include someone people don’t want to trade. My expectation is Voronkov could be involved. And it could land us a right D that another team’s fans don’t want to trade. I think we need to look for a team with good defense that could use more offense. Which is how we landed Seth Jones. It isn’t common for teams to move right D, but Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson is another example. Makes more sense to me than pining for Gavi or extending Provorov.
 
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We keep hearing the team wants to make a hockey trade so I expect a hockey trade to get a right D. I also think it will include someone people don’t want to trade. My expectation is Voronkov could be involved. And it could land us a right D that another team’s fans don’t want to trade. I think we need to look for a team with good defense that could use more offense. Which is how we landed Seth Jones. It isn’t common for teams to move right D, but Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson is another example. Makes more sense to me than pining for Gavi or extending Provorov.
I'd expect Sillinger or Chinakhov to be included before Voronkov. It would have to be a very signficant upgrade on RHD to motivate including him, especially considering the Blue Jackets' extra draft capital.
 
I'd expect Sillinger or Chinakhov to be included before Voronkov. It would have to be a very signficant upgrade on RHD to motivate including him, especially considering the Blue Jackets' extra draft capital.

What makes you think Sillinger or Chinakhov get you a decent right D? We are talking hockey trade. Not “let’s give up guys we are willing to give up and hope it gets us an upgrade” trade. It has to involve someone you don’t want to trade. Most of this board is like “he are seven guys I refuse to trade and let’s see what we can get by trading other pieces.” Life doesn’t work that way. Go back and read the reactions to the RyJo - Jones trade. There were people who were pissed. That is a hockey trade. That is what I expect. I think the board will melt down when we make a trade because we will give up someone people don’t want to give up. Wads will be called every name in the book. So will the GM of the other team involved in the trade.
 

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