Speculation: Sorry to be the one to ask, but what do the Blue Jackets do?

[Maurice of Orange]

I had a lineup made for Columbus, but couldn’t bring myself to pick someone to play at 1LW.

Any type of hockey thought goes straight on Gaudreau brothers, just a range of emotions, as they weren’t that far away.

 

[majormajor]

Seattle is at 21 players with only 4k of cap space and needs to move a player to fill out the rest of the roster. Brandon tanev for future considerations would be a good bottom 6 options for CBJ.

It makes sense as a fan of both clubs, but the Jackets are doing Seattle a huge favor here. Tanev has lost his wheels and is very overpaid. I think there should be a return for taking him on.

Tanev has been on my short list ever since FA ended. He checks so many boxes for the Blue Jackets needs right now. Veteran voice and a LW4. There is only one stipulation...he has to accept a new number

I wouldn't expect Tanev at this stage to outplay Danforth or Olivier, but he can give you 40 games and is a very good guy to have in the room. If Seattle is willing to pay to move him I think there's a good deal here. If not, then I'd look at other overpaid vets like Iafallo who still have some tread on their tires.

 

[majormajor]

I could see him purely staying cause of the kids-his and Johnnys. He wanted his kids to grow up with JG's kids, IIRC

There are a lot of reasons why Monahan might prefer to stay in Columbus. There's some good vets to connect with like Jenner, Werenski, and Gudbranson, who he played with before, and Gudbranson was basically Johnny's best friend. And as you mention raising his kids with Johnny's kids is a big plus. I'm not sure if the Gaudreaus will stay in Columbus long term but it was where Meredith wanted to be and they have a ton of support there.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

Sadly it is a business. But I think Columbus could or may use the space to sign Fantilli and co. when the space is available.

Or potentially gather draft picks in a rebuild and take in some bad contracts.

 

[TaketheCannoli]

Hesitant to make this thread because I don't know where the line is here in terms of insensitivity.

It's an unspeakable tragedy what happen to Johnny and Matthew and this is going to be an insanely difficult year for CLB management, fans, and most of all, players. I'm sure on ice considerations are the furtherest thing from their minds at this exact moment.

With all of that said, the show must always go on and life must go on. Columbus are an NHL hockey team who have to play 82 games this year and they are a team overdue to compete. They've built up a very promising core and now have been dealt an awful blow not just in the locker room but on the ice too.

I'm sure there will be people to jump down my throat with "this isn't the time" or "who cares right now" but Don Waddell has to walk a tightrope of knowing when it's not appropriate to "replace" him in the lineup vs when he needs to focus on his job as a General Manager of a hockey club.

What do you think they do? What precedent is there for this in professional sports? They've lost their best forward and their biggest contract. Do they throw in the towel on this season and not even worry about on-ice results? Do they make a move before the season? Do they wait x amount of time until they feel it's appropriate to deal for a forward (deadline), next off season etc? There were rumblings about Kaprizov a while back, do they take a major run at him? Zegras?

Again, I'm not trying to take the focus off the tragedy and the lives lost, but there is a hockey element to this too. Hoping this can be a mature thread. Surely I'm not the only one to whom this thought has occurred and it does nothing to distract from the somber nature of the situation.

As a Blue Jackets fan I think the team needs to honor and memorialize Johnny Hockey while at the same time pressing forward. There is a season ahead and they are going to play it. They probably will dedicate the season to Gaudreau and thus will likely want to show up and make him proud.

At this point, there aren't a lot of options available to Waddell and frankly, they can't replace a guy like Gaudreau. I would suspect they will try to sign or trade for some veterans who are "glue guys" that can help set examples for the youngsters and help to mentor them and show them what it takes to compete in the NHL. I think Don Waddell knows what he's doing and will watch how he handles things this season.

 

[Voodoo Glow Skulls]

I had a lineup made for Columbus, but couldn’t bring myself to pick someone to play at 1LW.

Any type of hockey thought goes straight on Gaudreau brothers, just a range of emotions, as they weren’t that far away.

I get it.

Someone has to play 1LW.

Hopefully that player will get it.

 

[A1LeafNation]

It's now certainly a rebuilding year. Maybe they get Hagens. They should pick up an overpaid solid vet with an expiring deal, e.g. Iafallo. Someone who is a good leader.

KJohnson Monahan Fantilli
Chinakhov Voronkov Marchenko
Sillinger Jenner Brindley
Iafallo Kuraly Danforth
Olivier

Werenski Mateychuk
Harris Severson
Provorov Gudbranson
Christiansen



FWIW Sillinger and Fantilli aren't good at center yet (or in Sillinger's case, not good anywhere). Jenner and Voronkov are solid centers, I don't know why they are penciled at wing by the media and fans. Sillinger and Fantilli can slide over when they're ready.



It's not last year's Gaudreau that is irreplaceable, but the best was still to come for Gaudreau in Columbus. I wrote a long piece breaking it down, his primary assists were still in the top group of wingers in the NHL, it's the secondarys and goals that cratered. He just struggled to finish his many chances, and the very low secondarys are directly attributable to his linemates. Having him with, say, Monahan and Fantilli this year could have changed that.



In Columbus you can't just pay someone else in UFA and expect a better deal. Heck, the most plausible argument to lure elite talent was players who wanted to play with Johnny Gaudreau. Now the club has $20m to spare and good luck finding an elite player willing to sign a more team friendly deal than Gaudreau's.



If Evason lobbies for him, maybe. But it's a four year deal for a guy to solve a potentially short term issue.

Benn was the faceoff guy on Johnstons line his first couple years...they shared duties while Johnston learned to be a top 6 center on the fly in the NHL.

Silly and Voronkov can also split duties at C.

 

[Silky Johnson]

This year they should maximize their cap space somehow targeting cap strapped GMs.
NHL should compensate with maybe the 33rdOA pick going to CBJ

Why?

 

[Rubi]

There are a lot of reasons why Monahan might prefer to stay in Columbus. There's some good vets to connect with like Jenner, Werenski, and Gudbranson, who he played with before, and Gudbranson was basically Johnny's best friend. And as you mention raising his kids with Johnny's kids is a big plus. I'm not sure if the Gaudreaus will stay in Columbus long term but it was where Meredith wanted to be and they have a ton of support there.

I'm sure Meredith will move back to Philly where she's from and Johnny's family resides. Nothing beats family support.... especially for a single mother with two small children to raise.
As for Monahan... he signed a contract to play for CBJ and that's where he'll play.

 

[Silky Johnson]

What does the bluejackets do...?

a question easily ignored by 80% of posters.

WTF are you talking about. The Blue Jackets have a very easy choice here. They were not a good team with JG. They take on a little short term salary for assets and draft high this year and maybe next. Then they spend said cap on FA's to fill in spots on their roster.

 

[Charlie Conway]

It's a really tough position for the Jackets. I don't see much point in making a trade so close to the season just for the heck of it. It didn't look like they had made massive improvements during the offseason, so unless they're weaponizing cap space and taking on a bad deal for a player or pick, what's the point?

Better off signing a veteran to hit the cap floor and hopefully at least contribute and help behind the scenes. I don't know how many of those guys are left. Wheeler didn't show a whole lot with the Rangers on the ice, but he did seem very well-liked. Of the guys still out there, I'd give him a call to see if he had any interest in helping out, even if it's on a PTO to start.

Otherwise keep the space open and be ready to sign your RFAs and make grab someone in FA.

 

[Indy18]

In Columbus you can't just pay someone else in UFA and expect a better deal. Heck, the most plausible argument to lure elite talent was players who wanted to play with Johnny Gaudreau. Now the club has $20m to spare and good luck finding an elite player willing to sign a more team friendly deal than Gaudreau's.

To me right now the idea is to see in the next few years to get FA to come play with Fantilli and Co heading into their primes.

There is a very feasible chance this team could have Fantilli, Hagens, Johnny's successor KJ if he hits, a very young Dcore based around Jiricek/Mateychuk, Lindstrom ends up being a power forward with still alot of room to work with. Its really dark right now but we do have clean books and "help on the way" with the kids when they get more experience which is why its important to put mentors and vets around them right now.

Right now we only have 1 long term contract that could age badly and even then its not that expensive of one (Severson's) and very tradable in 3 years time.

 

[Silky Johnson]

The Jackets will dedicate their season to 'Johnny Hockey'.......but you seriously wonder how a franchise can recover mentally and spiritually from that kind of blow. Not only was he their highest paid player, but he was being relied on heavily to provide offense for a team that has a dearth of scoring already.

Columbus has a few nice pieces via recent drafts; but too many holes elsewhere in the lineup to make any noise in the Eastern Conference. But if anyone can turn the ship around, it's incoming GM Don Waddell.

And based on the tragic start to the season; the Jackets are one of the few teams in the East that I'll be really pulling for.

What happened to JG is certainly a tragedy but I think (and hope) that you have misconceptions regarding the fragility of people.

13500 people in the USA were killed by drunk drivers in 2022. There were 21200 murders. Other tragic and untimely deaths make up significant numbers. Many are equally tragic and effect large numbers of people but just get less attention for obvious reasons.

His immediate family and very close friends will of coarse be deeply affected but with proper support and a bit of luck will go on to live normal lives.

He will be celebrated & mourned by friends and colleagues but normal life will go on.

Sadly, this is not altogether an uncommon thing to happen and people get through these things everyday. Otherwise our society would have already collapsed.

 

[majormajor]

13500 people in the USA were killed by drunk drivers in 2022. There were 21200 murders. Other tragic and untimely deaths make up significant numbers.

I know it's not the point you were making, but worth sharing the stats here - according to MADD and NHTSA, drunk drivers are responsible for 1/3 of road deaths. 2/3 of those responsible are not drunk. And in total more than twice as many people are killed on the roads as are killed by murder. You won't hear about that on Fox News or any other fear-monger outlet that tries to scare people about murderers, but the roads are the real nightmare in the U.S. Especially for pedestrians and cyclists, their road deaths are skyrocketing, up about 80-90% since 2008.

 

[robbieberns]

Would be awesome to see them rally and maybe sneak into a wild card spot but realistically see them in prime lottery position. A big almost free hit year to see if maybe Elvis bounces back, Fantilli development, who in the org really steps up and proves themself on a team where opportunities will be plentiful. Next offseason will be the big one with how much money is in play. Provorov off the books, how is Lindstrom looking a year after the draft? Maybe they pick top 5 again and get a guy who slots in right away? Do they chase Marner in FA?

 

[Indy18]

Would be awesome to see them rally and maybe sneak into a wild card spot but realistically see them in prime lottery position. A big almost free hit year to see if maybe Elvis bounces back, Fantilli development, who in the org really steps up and proves themself on a team where opportunities will be plentiful. Next offseason will be the big one with how much money is in play. Provorov off the books, how is Lindstrom looking a year after the draft? Maybe they pick top 5 again and get a guy who slots in right away? Do they chase Marner in FA?

This is gonna be a rough year but there is alot of young raw talent on this team and a rather stong prospect pool that's only going to get stronger next summer. Looking at probably a top 5 and I wouldn't be shocked with 2 more 1st round picks (50% Provorov is going to 100% get a first as long as he's not injured NHL GMs for playoff depth as he's pretty much always available and I wouldn't be suprised we get a first for a major cap dump for someone trying to make room for playoff push and they need the space). We only have 1 contract that could age badly and even then its not that expensive. Basically Columbus is now an expansion team with how we should have been treated back in 2000. A hard reset on the franchise but should be promising long term as long as they don't start going big game hunting in FA until we know what holes to fill with what kid makes the cut and those who bomb out. The problem with Columbus really is they never truly committed to a proper rebuild/build up. The closest we got to that was right before our 2016-2020 playoff pushes.

 

[IslesNorway]

I think they really have to take this on the chin and accept they are going to be among the worst teams in the league the upcoming season. Of course, a tragedy like this can sometimes make the team come together and overperform, but the season is so long it's unlikely to last. Accept your fate for the time being, getting a very high draft pick next year will certainly move things forward for them, and with tons of cap space they can utilise other teams and build a good team in a short time.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Sadly it is a business. But I think Columbus could or may use the space to sign Fantilli and co. when the space is available.

Or potentially gather draft picks in a rebuild and take in some bad contracts.

What's interesting is the Blue Jackets preferred to give a 2nd to unload 100% of Laine's contract and taking a cheap/young Harris contract in return. That indicates to me that they want a strict budget this season and mandated by their owner.

$2.7M short from the floor now?

 

[KevinFinnerty]

I'm ok with them having a choice of any top 10 winger from any team if it was up to me. Terrible tragedy

 

[MessierII]

I am curious how the nhl handles them being below the floor.

 

[Accelleratii]

Given the circumstance and the timing of it, I think the CBJ will be granted a pass on the cap floor for this season. They'll have, and should have, this season to grieve and take it one game at a time. In other words, they don't need to do anything other than support one another, and any hockey related decisions can wait.

 

[Svechhammer]

I think it could go 1 of 2 ways, and I'm not really sure which is better for them, to be honest.

There is a part of me that wants to see them step up and make a run to the playoffs. I think it would be a hell of a story for the league, team and fans. But looking at the Metro, I dunno. It was going to be difficult with Gaudreau. Without, its so much tougher.

I think the better course of action, at least for the long term future of the franchise, is to blow it up a bit, make some key trades and try to stack the deck in the draft over the next 2 or 3 years. Trade one or two of the best current players for futures and build around what you have in the minors and what you can pick up in the draft. You do it right, and this team could be a monster in a few years. They already have a decent farm, you could now make that farm elite.

 

[DomBarr]

I am curious how the nhl handles them being below the floor.

I don't think they really care until the end of training camp so there is a lot of time to make a move or 2 to add $2.7 M in cap. They could just offer Tyler Johnson a 1 yr $2.7M contract

 

[CanMerc]

As for giving them a cap floor waiver, which I fully support, I’d offer it should be that they can’t go any lower than they currently are, but they won’t have to worry about that 2.7m for either this whole season or up to the TDL, where they can address it.

 

[squashmaple]

What's interesting is the Blue Jackets preferred to give a 2nd to unload 100% of Laine's contract and taking a cheap/young Harris contract in return. That indicates to me that they want a strict budget this season and mandated by their owner.

$2.7M short from the floor now?

All it indicates is they wanted a clean book going forward. Retention would've been a red line item next season, too. A buyout would've been longer than that (which is why they didn't buy out Elvis - Waddell is literally on the record saying that).

I think the better course of action, at least for the long term future of the franchise, is to blow it up a bit, make some key trades and try to stack the deck in the draft over the next 2 or 3 years. Trade one or two of the best current players for futures and build around what you have in the minors and what you can pick up in the draft. You do it right, and this team could be a monster in a few years. They already have a decent farm, you could now make that farm elite.

This is such a dumb take. There's nothing left to blow up. This is year four of a rebuild. There is no more "move players for futures" at this stage of the rebuild, and losing Gaudreau doesn't change that at all. The pieces to move out are long gone. What's left is: the building blocks making up what is already a top five farm system, immovable Elvis, and two vets who are core pieces (Jenner and Werenski). Fourth line vets like Kuraly might yield a fourth at the deadline. They're not trading off a Russian (all of whom are U25 and the first two only just signed their second contracts this summer) for picks, Sillinger, or Jiricek. The kids just have to step up.