The Blue Jackets coaching staff would never say this, but it’s clear they don’t have a lot of trust in Jiricek. His ice time in his three previous games went the wrong direction, from 17:05 vs. the Capitals to 9:15 vs. the Sharks and 8:50 vs. the Kings.
In five games, he has zero goals, one assist and a minus-2 rating, while averaging 11:47 per game.
“We have to think about what’s best for (Jiricek) right now,” Waddell said. “Obviously playing 8-10 minutes isn’t ideal. He’s 20 years old, and he still makes a 20-year-old’s mistakes.
“We’ll sit down (later this week) and talk about it, but we’re not going to make any decisions until we get home.”
Jiricek bristled last season when the Blue Jackets sent him to AHL Cleveland, so one can only wonder how he’d handle a demotion one year later.
In fairness, the Jackets have given Jiricek every chance to claim a top-four job on the right side from the beginning of training camp, but he hasn’t grabbed it. It’s possible — not likely, but possible — that Jiricek would prefer playing heavy minutes in the AHL vs. barely playing in the NHL.
Waddell, a veteran GM, isn’t likely to be swayed by how a player or his agent would handle an assignment to the AHL.
Still, it would be preferable to keep the peace with one of the franchise’s top prospects, a player who is projected as a top-pairing defender with a big power-play role. But Jiricek has not bloomed into that player yet in the NHL, only the AHL.