One Trade The Blue Jackets Would Like To Have Back
June 23rd, 2011 is a day that fans of the Blue Jackets would like to forget. They made a big splash at the draft that day, acquiring center Jeff Carter from Philadelphia. He was supposed to be one of the centerpieces of their forward group but it didn’t work out like that at all.
Before even looking at what they gave up to get him, let’s look at Carter’s tenure with Columbus. It lasted all of 39 games where he picked up 11 goals and 10 assists, numbers that were considerably down from his time with the Flyers.
Some may want to attribute that to the fact that he simply didn’t want to be there. Philadelphia dealt Carter before his trade protection kicked in and he didn’t hide the fact that he wasn’t happy about it.
So, what did the Blue Jackets give up for those 39 unhappy games? A young winger and two draft picks. That doesn’t sound terrible until you look at who those players wound up being.
The young winger was Jakub Voracek who was coming off his entry-level deal and had already established himself as a capable top-six forward. The seventh overall pick in 2007 took his game to another level in Philadelphia as expected and has spent a large portion of his time since then as a fixture on their front line.
One of the two draft picks was the eighth overall selection in 2011. That was used on center Sean Couturier. While it took some time for the offensive side of his game to blossom, he has been an effective defensive pivot throughout his career. Heading into this season, he had back-to-back 76-point seasons and was on pace for another 70-point year before the pandemic hit. Couple that with his defensive skill set and you have a legitimate number one center which is what Columbus was trying to get when they added Carter. The other draft pick, a third-round selection, was used on Nick Cousins who has carved out a decent career thus far even though he has bounced around over the last few years.
(It wasn’t all good news for Philadelphia though. This move, coupled with the swap of Mike Richards to Los Angeles, gave them enough cap savings to pave the way for them to sign Ilya Bryzgalov to a nine-year contract. He was bought out two years later and the Flyers are now paying him through the 2026-27 season to not play for them.)
Needless to say, that initial trade didn’t work out very well for Columbus at all. Unfortunately, this wound up being somewhat of a double whammy situation as the deal that saw him leave the Blue Jackets wasn’t much better. Unfortunately, that’s what happens when you have a disgruntled and underachieving player who still had 10 years left on a now-illegal contract with a cap hit of over $5.27MM per season.
Carter wound up being moved to the Kings with Columbus receiving defenseman Jack Johnson and a first-round pick in return, a far cry from what they gave up to get him only eight months earlier.
While Johnson has taken a lot of heat for his current contract with Pittsburgh, he was a quality defender with the Blue Jackets, logging more than 23 minutes a night over parts of seven seasons with them. However, while he was trending toward being a two-way threat in Los Angeles, that part of his game rarely resurfaced in Columbus as he was more of a physical, stay-at-home defender. The upside was there but he didn’t live up to it.
The same can be said for who they selected with the 2013 first-round pick which turned out to be Marko Dano. He was holding down a regular spot in the KHL in his draft-eligible season which is no small feat but his offensive game never really materialized and instead, he has spent the bulk of his six full years in North America in the minors. They salvaged a bit of value by including him as part of the Brandon Saad–Artemi Panarin swap but that’s still not a great return on a first-round selection. As it turns out, Dano is now actually back with Columbus and could be among their recalls for their play-in series against Toronto after spending most of the year with AHL Cleveland.
Carter, meanwhile, went on to have a bit of a resurgence with the Kings, posting at least 50 points in each of his first four full seasons after the trade. He has slowed down since then though as injuries have limited him to just 82 points combined in the last three years. The 35-year-old still has two years left on his current contract.
In acquiring Carter, then-GM Scott Howson was hoping to pair a star center with their star winger in Rick Nash. Instead, they wound up with a trade tree to forget.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Columbus, Minnesota Out As Potential Hub City
The Columbus Blue Jackets were informed today that they will not play host to the NHL’s 24-team playoff reboot of the 2019-2020 season, tweets Blue Jackets’ reporter Jeff Svoboda. Minnesota has also been eliminated from consideration, per The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline and Michael Russo (via Twitter).
Columbus had been one of ten cities under consideration to host the remainder of the NHL season. With two arenas to utilize, there was at least some logistical cause for Columbus to merit serious consideration. There was no reason given for their elimination, so it’s hard to know at this time what the thinking was behind the process.
Las Vegas is believed to be a frontrunner for one of the two spots. It’s widely believed that Canada would house the other hub, though where exactly has remained up for debate. If indeed Vegas does take one of the spots, that could be reason enough for Columbus to fall out of the running. It’s been widely assumed that one hub city would be in the United States and one in Canada.
Portzline provides a quote from Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen, who said: “They had a lot of positives about our presentation, but they’ve gone in a different direction. It’s disappointing, but we were also among the last few cities to be considered. You take the positives along with the disappointment and you move on.
There is a decent chance that the final decision on hub cities will be announced this week, and perhaps even as early as today. Presumably, the NHL will not want to make their decision public until the logistics are worked out and finalized. That could still happen today, though that’s not a guarantee.
For now, what we know for certain is that Columbus and Minnesota are out. Per Russo, Vegas, Chicago, and Los Angeles are thought to be frontrunners on the U.S. front, while Edmonton, Toronto, and Vancouver are the likeliest hub cities north of the border.
Swiss Club EV Zug Offers 2020-21 Update On NHL Alumni
NHL fans are not alone in missing hockey and looking for any news from their favorite teams to fill the void created by COVID-19. EV Zug of the Swiss NLA has published an update for their fans courtesy of GM Reto Klay on the future plans of some of their more recent NHL draft picks. These fan-favorites include Columbus Blue Jackets forward Calvin Thurkauf, Washington Capitals defenseman Tobias Geisser, and former New York Rangers prospect Nico Gross.
Of the three, EV Zug offered little hope that fans would see Thurkauf back with the team any time soon. The big, two-way forward has exceeded expectation as a 2016 seventh-round pick, making his NHL debut this season with the Blue Jackets. The 22-year-old left Zug the year before he was drafted to play two seasons with the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets. During that time, he was also a standout for Switzerland’s entries at the World Junior Championship. Now in his third pro season, Thurkauf has recorded 52 points in 154 AHL games and suited up for three games with the NHL club this year as well. On paper, Thurkauf may not seem like a top prospect, but he has the chance to make a career out of his size and physical presence on an NHL checking line. A restricted free agent following this season, Klay suggests that Columbus is interested in an extension with Thurkauf. Expect the young forward to be back with the organization next year and possibly spending more time with the Blue Jackets.
Geisser is the name that EV Zug fans are most familiar with right now, as the 21-year-old defender played on loan with the team this season. A fourth-round pick of the Capitals in 2017, Geisser spent one more year with Zug in the NLA before signing on with Washington and spending the entire 2018-19 season with the AHL’s Hershey Bears. He began this season in the minors as well, but a logjam on defense prompted the Capitals to loan him back to Zug. If it were up to Klay, the same would happen next season. Not only does Zug value the big shutdown defenseman, but Klay feels that the ice time and responsibility that the club affords him is needed for his continued development. However, he admits that the decision is entirely up to Washington. Fortunately for Zug fans, due to Geisser’s entry-level contract sliding in his first year, there is no rush to get him back to North America if he is better off in Switzerland, as he still has a couple years left on his current deal.
In a much different place that Thurkauf or Geisser is Gross. The Rangers recently made the decision – scrutinized by some – to allow Gross’ draft rights to expire on June 1st. A fourth-round pick in 2018 who has been a solid two-way defenseman for the OHL’s Oshawa Generals for the past three years, Gross appeared to be the type of prospect who would be worthy of an entry-level contract. Instead, New York opted not to use the contract slot on one of more highly-regarded Swiss prospects in recent years. Because Gross is still 20 years old, he will re-enter the draft later this year, but the odds are likely low that he will be selected and will likely end up as an unrestricted free agent. While his NHL career outlook might look bleak, Klay believes that there will be opportunities for Gross in North America next season. He would like to see the capable blue liner return to Zug, but notes that Gross will have other options.
Blue Jackets Hoping To Re-Sign Calvin Thurkauf
- In a newsletter on EV Zug’s website, the Swiss NLA team indicated that the Blue Jackets are interested in working on a new deal for pending RFA winger Calvin Thurkauf. The 22-year-old had a career best 26 points in 53 games with AHL Cleveland this season while getting into three NHL games with Columbus as well. Thurkauf played in Zug’s junior system before coming to North America so if he was to decide to go back overseas, that would be his likely landing spot.
Blue Jackets Activate Seth Jones And Dean Kukan Off IR
Although we’re still more than a month away from the play-in round getting underway, the Blue Jackets made a pair of roster moves today, announcing that they’ve activated defensemen Seth Jones and Dean Kukan off injured reserve, paving the for them to suit up against Toronto in what will likely be early August.
The return of Jones will be huge for their back end. He led all Columbus players in ice time at 25:17 per game. While that actually represented a small dip compared to a year ago, that number was still high enough to rank seventh among all blueliners league-wide this season. He should step back into the number one role and play in all situations; not many teams welcoming back injured players will get a player that has as big of an impact as he does. He had missed the final 14 games before the pandemic shut down the season due to an ankle injury.
Jones’ offensive numbers dipped this season with 30 points in 56 games, his lowest point per game rate in any of his full seasons with the Blue Jackets. However, he made a big impact at that end a year ago when they made it to the second round and he’s certainly capable of doing that again. At the very least, he’ll take some of the pressure off Zach Werenski (who potted a career-best 20 goals this season) in the attacking zone.
After being a depth player the last couple of years, Kukan had stepped into a regular spot on their third pairing before a knee issue caused him to miss the final 29 regular season games. He wound up suiting up in 33 contests this year, collecting five points (1-4-5) while averaging just shy of 16 minutes per night. He may not be able to reclaim that regular role after being off for so long but at the very least, he’ll represent capable depth if and when injuries arise.
While not mentioned in this announcement, the Blue Jackets are also expected to welcome back forwards Cam Atkinson, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Nathan Gerbe for their best-of-five series against the Maple Leafs. Alexandre Texier currently remains on IR along with Josh Anderson and Brandon Dubinsky, neither of whom will be available.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Metropolitan Storylines: Columbus Blue Jackets
While the stretch run is officially over with the NHL’s declaration that the play-in games won’t be part of the regular season, we still have one division left to get to in our Stretch Run Storylines series. Our focus has been shifted to the Metropolitan Division with an eye on things to watch for in the postseason. Next up is a look at Columbus.
The Blue Jackets were one of the surprises of the postseason last year. Few gave them a chance against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Lightning but instead, it was Columbus that swept Tampa Bay. This version of the team lacks the star power last year’s group had with Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene, and Sergei Bobrovsky all playing elsewhere but they were right in the thick of the battle for a top-three spot before the pandemic shut the season down. They have a similar matchup as their first round clash last year as they’ll be taking on Toronto. Here is what to watch for from the Blue Jackets.
Return Of Walking Wounded
Some teams will benefit from getting a key player or two back from injury that may not have been available to play had the postseason gone on as originally scheduled. The Blue Jackets aren’t just getting a player or two back. Instead, a third of their lineup will be returning.
Oliver Bjorkstrand was in the midst of a breakout season in spite of ankle and rib injuries that cost him 21 games; he still managed to lead the team in goals. He’s back. Cam Atkinson was having a quiet year but is a top-liner for them still. He’s back from his lower-body issue. So is promising youngster Alexandre Texier (lumbar stress fracture) and veteran Nathan Gerbe (groin) whose performance after an in-season call-up was enough to earn him a two-year extension.
But that’s not all. How about adding back a 25-minute per game defenseman to the lineup? Seth Jones was one of just seven blueliners to have that ATOI and he is back from his ankle injury. Getting a number one defender back is a huge addition. Dean Kukan (knee) isn’t as well known but he was holding down a regular spot on the back end before he went down.
Despite that, there are some players who won’t be returning. Josh Anderson won’t be ready to go from his shoulder surgery and while he had a tough year offensively, his physicality will certainly be missed. Veteran Brandon Dubinsky (wrist) will also remain out. Even with them not playing, Columbus is getting several core players plus important regulars back. Not many teams can say they’ll benefit anywhere near as much from this delay as them.
Who Starts?
There were understandably question marks between the pipes heading into the season. There are now as well. But it’s a different set of questions entirely.
Heading into the season, it seemed like the Blue Jackets were being risky going with a relatively unproven tandem of Joonas Korpisalo and rookie Elvis Merzlikins. Merzlikins struggling early on only compound that. However, both got going as the season progressed and when Korpisalo went down, Merzlikins came in and went on a tear, making a compelling case to stay in the top role in the process.
Both now are healthy and with the fact that it will be more than four months between games before teams take to the ice again, it’s an entirely clean slate. Their three-week training camp could very well represent the competition to see who gets the nod in the first game against Toronto.
This series represents an interesting clash of styles. The Maple Leafs had the second-most goals in the league this season while the Blue Jackets allowed the third-fewest. With Columbus being a defense-first, low-scoring team, whoever gets the tap to start is going to have that extra challenge of facing a top attack.
Dubois’ Final Push
Heading into this season, Pierre-Luc Dubois looked like a prime candidate for a breakout year. His sophomore campaign was strong and he played well in their playoff run last season. Things didn’t quite go as planned, however. While he managed to lead the Blue Jackets in scoring this year, his goals per game and points per game averages dipped despite a small uptick in ice time. Losing players like Duchene and Panarin shifted Dubois from a secondary role to a front line one but the improvement in production wasn’t there.
As a restricted free agent this summer, that certainly doesn’t help his negotiating leverage. Of course, he’s still in line for a significant raise but between this and the expected flattening of the salary cap, the time may not be right for either side to commit to a long-term, big money deal that buys out the remainder of his RFA eligibility and takes out some of his UFA years. However, a big showing offensively in the play-in round and potentially longer would certainly help his case.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Columbus’ Josh Anderson Will Not Be Ready To Begin Postseason
The Columbus Blue Jackets announced back in early March that forward Josh Anderson had undergone labrum surgery in his left shoulder and would need four-to-six months to recover. At the time, that meant that Anderson’s 2019-20 season was over. However, given the lengthy pause in the NHL season due to COVID-19, a number of players – including some Blue Jackets – who otherwise would have been done for the year are now looking likely for the delayed postseason. Anderson though is not so lucky.
The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline relays from a team source that Anderson will not be ready for the beginning of the playoffs, widely expected to start up in early August. Hope is not lost that he could return at some point, but it would require a significant run from the Blue Jackets. Portzline writes that Anderson is not expected to be ready for game action until September at the earliest.
As a result, for Anderson to play again this season the Blue Jackets would first need to win their knockout round series with the Toronto Maple Leafs and then would need to upset a top-four seed in the first round of the playoffs. In fact, if the Blue Jackets are the only lower seed to win in the knockout round, they would face the No. 1 seed next. Fortunately, Columbus does have some experience with this accomplishment, shocking the world in 2019 by sweeping the President’s Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lighting in Round One. They also went six games with the Boston Bruins, the eventual Eastern Conference champs and the 2019-20 President’s Trophy winners, in the second round. Few would argue that the current version of the Blue Jackets is more talented than last year’s squad, but at least the majority of the roster has experience with facing stiff competition and coming out victorious. They also have recent playoff experience against top-four seeds in Tampa and Boston and went 4-0-2 against the Bruins, Bolts, and Washington Capitals this season.
If the Blue Jackets are indeed alive when Anderson is back at full strength, he could be a difference-maker for the team. The 6’3”, 220-lb. power forward is build for the physical, high-intensity playoff game and provides the size and aggression that Columbus sometimes lacks up front. Though Anderson struggled offensively this season while batting injury, recording just four point in 26 games, he notched 27 goals and 47 points last year and added another three points in ten playoff games. If Anderson is truly healthy, he could be an x-factor for a Blue Jackets team that would already have to be hot at the point of his return.
If Columbus does not stay alive long enough for Anderson to return, there is some question as to whether we have already seen the last of him in a Blue Jackets uniform, or at the very least playing for the team in the postseason. An impending restricted free agent, Anderson is heading into his final off-season under team control barring a long-term extension. Given his previous contractual battles with the organization, his arbitration rights, and the questions surrounding his health and performance this season, a multi-year deal this summer seems like a long shot. The team had previously been rumored to be shopping Anderson at the trade deadline this season and could resume trade talks in the off-season. If he does indeed re-sign, it will almost certainly be a one-year deal via arbitration of qualifying offer. Thus an impending UFA in 2021, Anderson would likely be back on the block next season, especially if the Blue Jackets do not look like they are headed for the postseason.
Snapshots: Brackett, UAH, Voronkov
The Vancouver Canucks will not be bringing back amateur scouting director Judd Brackett after failing to come to a new agreement. Brackett’s name has been in the news the last few months after reports surfaced that there was a dispute over how much control he had in Vancouver, something that Canucks GM Jim Benning confirmed today to Thomas Drance of The Athletic:
I believe in a chain of command… I don’t know too many places where a team is going to give a head scout total autonomy to make all the picks without collaborating with people higher up..
Brackett has been with the Canucks for more than a decade and is credited–at least partially–for the team’s relatively strong draft record.
- Amazingly, a GoFundMe to try and save the University of Alabama-Huntsville hockey program has reached its goal of $500,000. The program was cut due to financial concerns last week, but immediately fans of the team (and one famous alumnus) rallied to try and keep the Chargers from disappearing. No word yet on whether the plan has worked, but it was an impressive campaign nonetheless.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets will have to wait quite some time to get Dmitri Voronkov into the organization after the prospect forward signed a new three-year contract in the KHL today. Selected 114th overall in 2019, the 6’4″ center was a standout at the World Juniors for Russia, scoring seven points in seven games. His new contract will keep him in the KHL through the 2022-23 season.
Several Injured Players Ready To Return, Josh Anderson Still In Question
- Some teams will greatly benefit from this pause in the schedule if games eventually resume and one of those is the Blue Jackets. Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch provides an update on their long list of injuries, noting that defensemen Seth Jones and Dean Kukan as well as wingers Oliver Bjorkstrand, Alexandre Texier, Cam Atkinson, and Nathan Gerbe are all ready to return. Winger Josh Anderson is also a possibility depending on when games were to actually take place; he was listed as out four-to-six months following shoulder surgery just after the trade deadline. The earliest he could play is July if he’s on the quicker end of that timetable. Meanwhile, center Brandon Dubinsky (wrist) remains out long-term and isn’t expected to play if the season returns.
Ryan Murray Consulted With Doctors About The Possibility Of Having To Retire Earlier This Season
- To say that Blue Jackets defenseman Ryan Murray has been injury-plagued throughout his career would be an understatement. He has only played more than 66 games just once and multiple ailments have limited him to just 27 games this season. The blueliner admitted to John Matisz of The Score that he wondered if he’d be forced to hang up his skates early as a result of everything but after consulting with doctors, there has been no reason to seriously consider that. The 26-year-old has one more year left on his deal with a $4.6MM price tag and will be eligible for unrestricted free agency in the 2021 offseason.