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Salary Cap Deep Dive: Columbus Blue Jackets

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Current Cap Hit: $73,890,832 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Zach Werenski (one year remaining, $925K)
F Pierre-Luc Dubois (two years remaining, $894K)
F Sonny Milano (one year remaining, $863K)

Potential Bonuses

Dubois: $2.5MM
Werenski: $800K
Milano: $400K

Total: $3.7MM

The Blue Jackets got a big boost from Dubois who should provide the team with a top center for quite a long time as the 20-year-old had a solid rookie campaign as he posted 20 goals and 48 points. Those numbers should exponentially increase as he gets older, bigger and more comfortable in the league. It wouldn’t be surprising at all to see him develop into a 60-70 point player this year already. And with two years remaining, he will continue to be a bargain for some time.

Werenski had a mixed bag of a season as he saw his points totals drop from his rookie season (47 points) to his second season (37 points). Yet his goal totals increased from his rookie season (10) to his sophomore season (16). However, Werenski underwent surgery for a shoulder injury that had been causing him pain since October, suggesting he played injured all season. A fully healthy Werenski could give the team one of the top young defensemen in the league.

Milano arrived with much fanfare, but he struggled finding a permanent place in the lineup, as he often received relatively few minutes on the third line due to his struggles on defense. However, Milano showed flashes of scoring ability as the 22-year-old posted 14 goals in 55 games. With a year under his belt, Milano might be able to take those numbers to a much bigger level if he can prove he can play a two-way game for coach John Tortorella.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

G Sergei Bobrovsky ($7.43MM, UFA)
F Artemi Panarin ($6MM, UFA)
D Ryan Murray ($2.83MM, RFA)
G Joonas Korpisalo ($900K, RFA)
F Lukas Sedlak ($825K, RFA)
F Alex Broadhurst ($725K, RFA)
F Markus Hannikainen ($675K, RFA)
D Scott Harrington ($675K, RFA)
F Anthony Duclair ($650K, RFA)

The biggest news all offseason is the fact that Panarin has told Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen says he’s not ready to discuss an extension. Despite the GM’s attempt to speak to Panarin to convince him to stay, it looks like Panarin wants to head elsewhere once his contract expires at the end of the season and he becomes a unrestricted free agent. The 27-year-old winger posted a career-high 82 points after being acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks, but seems to be looking to play in a city with a more diverse market. While there have been rumors that Kekalainen has been looking into trading options, little has come from it. The team may opt to wait until the trade deadline, but that could also lessen the return.

Perhaps more concerning is the contract situation with Bobrovsky. The 30-year-old goaltender is also in the final year of his contract. While there is no talk of leaving Columbus, the Blue Jackets have to be somewhat concerned about the veteran goaltender’s asking price. He will be 32 years old when his next contract takes effect, but Bobrovsky wants term, the team could be paying him until he’s 40 years old and it’s extremely likely that the goalie will take less money than the $7.43MM he’s making on this contract. However, that’s a lot of money to be handing out to an aging goaltender. Bobrovsky’s numbers are still good as he posted a 2.42 GAA and an impressive .920 save percentage in 63 games. However, his struggles in the playoffs isn’t working for him either. Regardless, the team could find itself in quite the contract negotiations in the coming summer.

Duclair is another interesting player, who signed a one-year deal after disappointing in both Arizona and Chicago. The 22-year-old opted to sign a minimum “show me” contract to prove he belongs in the NHL, but he’s struggled to produce over the years after a successful season back in 2015-16 when he potted 20 goals. Since then, he’s managed to post just 16 goals in two seasons. If he can find his game in Columbus, the Blue Jackets could still retain him as he’s a restricted free agent.Read more

Blue Jackets Unlikely To Add At Center This Summer

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It was another strong regular season for the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2017-18. The team had its second-best finish with 97 points behind the strong efforts of all-world goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, blossoming young defensemen like Seth Jones and Zach Werenski, rookie forward Pierre-Luc Dubois and game-changing acquisition Artemi Panarin. Yet, the Jackets were again ousted in the first round and still have yet to advance past that stage of the postseason in their 17-year history. In evaluating what area Columbus needs to improve in next season, some will point to poor special teams or a lack of shots on net. However, the major issue this season was the center position, where everyone not named Dubois had a disappointing campaign. The scoring depth, defensive ability, and face-off success of the group was all lacking this year. Entering the off-season with more than $13MM in salary cap space, many think the Blue Jackets should make a competitive offer to John Tavares or even Paul Stastny or Tyler Bozak in an effort to solve their problems down the middle. As The Columbus Dispatch’s Steve Gorten describes, that is unlikely to be the case.

While on surface level Columbus seems to be in fine shape regarding the salary cap, Gorten feels that GM Jarmo Kekalainen needs to tread carefully when contemplating adding salary to the current roster. In the short term, the team already faces several free agency dilemmas. Restricted free agents Boone Jenner, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Ryan Murray are in need of new contracts and the team is surely to be interested in retaining several impending unrestricted free agents such as Ian Cole, Matt Calvert, and possibly Thomas Vanek. The team’s long-term considerations are more pressing though; Columbus will need to pay Panarin, Werenski, and Bobrovsky after next season, all of whom will command significant contracts in both term and salary.

Given these spending limitations, both this year and in the future, signing a top free agent center is unlikely to be the right move for the Blue Jackets. Instead, Gorten suggests that Columbus stand pat and wait for their current centers to rebound from down seasons. 23-year-old Alexander Wennberg showed 60+ point potential last season, but injuries and long stretches of poor play kept him to just 35 points in 66 games this year, the first season of a six-year, $29.4MM deal. Health may be all it takes to get Wennberg back into that true #1 center range and the 2013 first-rounder may still make his contract look like a bargain and could even end up being a superior player to Dubois. For his part, Kekalainen has trust in the young forward, telling Gorten “I’m 100 percent confident with Wennberg that he’s going to have a great year next year.” What Kekalainen may be more focused on is improvement in the bottom-six, where the Jackets need a return to form from veteran Brandon Dubinsky. The 32-year-old is midway through a six-year, $35.MM deal but did not play to that level this season. Dubinsky was held to just 16 points in what was easily the worst season of his career. A buyout at this point in the contract would be very costly to Columbus, who are left to hope that he can bounce back. Gorten also suggests that the depth down the middle could be substantially bolstered by a prospects like Lukas Sedlak, Alexandre Texier, or Jonathan Davisson taking a step forward in their development, while there is also the off chance that the Jackets could land a potentially pro-ready pivot like Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Isac Lundestrom, or Barrett Hayton at pick #18 in the first round.

Even if all of that doesn’t work out, Columbus will also have options like Jenner and captain Nick Foligno, who they have hesitated to leave at center full-time, but are more than capable of playing the position if necessary. Rather than handcuff themselves with a free agent contract that could cause problems down the road, Gorten seems right in his take that hoping for the in-house options to step up their game seems to better suit the Blue Jackets this off-season.

Minor Transactions: 03/26/18

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As teams around the league continue to snap up their college recruits and add them to the NHL roster, others are just playing out the string hoping for better odds at the draft lottery. Still, the league will continue to make minor transactions right up until the end of the season and we’ll keep track of them all right here. Check back throughout the day to stay up to date.

  • After announcing that Nick Foligno will be out for two to four weeks, the Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Alex Broadhurst from the minor leagues. Broadhurst has yet to make his NHL debut, but leads the Cleveland Monsters in scoring this season with 41 points in 66 games. Foligno will try to get back in time for the playoffs, but in the meantime the Blue Jackets will need to sort out their center position without his help.
  • Pheonix Copley is on his way back to the minor leagues, now that Braden Holtby has overcome the minor injury he was dealing with. Copley didn’t get into a game in his short stint, and is still waiting to make his Washington Capitals debut. The 26-year old goaltender could get a chance next season, if the Capitals decide that a new contract for Philipp Grubauer—who is scheduled to be a restricted free agent once again—is too expensive.
  • The Calgary Flames have swapped goaltenders, sending David Rittich to the minor leagues while recalling Jon Gillies. The Flames are all but eliminated from postseason contention after losing five in a row, and will have a tough offseason to deal with after trading several future draft picks to try and contend for the Stanley Cup this season.
  • Roberto Luongo is healthy for the Florida Panthers, as they have assigned Harri Sateri back to the minor leagues. The Panthers are in action tonight against the New York Islanders, with James Reimer starting in goal.

Injury Notes: Penguins, Blue Jackets, Bruins

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The Pittsburgh Penguins could be without rookie forward Zach Aston-Reese long-term. Actually, head coach Mike Sullivan described the injury as “longer-term”, though he refrained from putting any specific timeline on his return. He did say that Aston-Reese suffered an upper-body injury in practice, which is why he missed last night’s game, a 3-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils, and will presumably miss many more. While the Penguins made a splash with their acquisition of center Derick Brassard at the trade deadline, Aston-Reese has been a point-per-game player since being recalled to Pittsburgh, spending ample time beside Sidney Crosby. Fortunately for the two-time defending Cup champs, they are also deep at wing and should have no trouble making up for the loss of Aston-Reese in their top-nine.

  • While the Penguins lose a man to injury, the rival Blue Jackets add one. Columbus announced today that captain Nick Foligno has been activated from injured reserve. Foligno missed more than a week with a lower body injury suffered against the Penguins back on the 18th. However, he’s returning to the lineup sooner than expected. The Blue Jackets are thankful for Foligno’s quick bounce back; not only are they looking to solidify their playoff position, but they also lost forward Josh Anderson to long-term injury recently. Fortunately, Foligno’s return and the additions of Thomas Vanek and Mark Letestu at the trade deadline make for a timely situation to replace Anderson.
  • Speaking of trade deadline injury replacements, the Bruins could not be happier with how their additions played in the absence of Patrice Bergeron last night. When a player of Bergeron’s caliber goes down, the team always suffers. Bergeron will be out at least two weeks with a fractured foot and it showed right away last night on the defensive side of the match-up, as Boston surrendered three easy first period goals to the Carolina Hurricanes. However, it was Rick Nash and Tommy Wingels leading the charge to a comeback victory. The pair of new Bruins combined for two goals and an assist in 32 minutes of ice time as Boston won 4-3.

East Notes: Maple Leafs, Penguins, Bruins, Kukan, Foligno

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While the Maple Leafs have been linked to Red Wings center Luke Glendening, the team is also pursuing defensive depth in advance of the trade deadline, reports Postmedia’s Lance Hornby.  Pittsburgh’s Ian Cole has been speculated as a fit for Toronto previously but it’s looking less likely that he will be moved now and while Matt Hunwick – who is believed to now be available – is familiar with their system, the remaining term on his contract may be a concern.  The Leafs have room to fit someone in under the cap through LTIR this season but with their notable expiring contracts and core youngsters needing new deals fairly soon, a rental player may be the best way for them to go.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • Penguins GM Jim Rutherford acknowledged to Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he came into the season hoping to hold onto their first-round pick but that he is open to moving it in advance of the trade deadline. That would be somewhat of a rarity for them as they’ve held one at the draft just once in the past five years.  The player they took with that selection was Kasperi Kapanen back in 2014 who was dealt to Toronto just over a year later as part of the Phil Kessel trade.
  • The Bruins have Canucks winger Thomas Vanek on their radar, reports Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports Boston. It’s believed that Boston is on the lookout for some depth on the wing and Vanek is the highest-scoring pending UFA that is likely to be moved by the deadline (his 40 points are two higher than Buffalo’s Evander Kane).  Vanek carries a $2MM cap hit while the Bruins can add roughly $2.5MM in a full-season cap charge on deadline day, per CapFriendly.
  • Blue Jackets defenseman Dean Kukan suffered an upper-body injury in today’s game against Pittsburgh, the team announced (Twitter link). If he is projected to miss any time, that may play an impact on Ryan Murray’s conditioning stint which just kicked off  Kukan has held his own with Columbus since being recalled, posting four assists in nine games while logging just shy of 13 minutes per night.  Also injured in the game was winger Nick Foligno, who the team noted (via Twitter) has a lower-body issue.  While he has had a quieter year offensively compared to recent seasons, any prolonged absence would be a big concern for the Blue Jackets, who find themselves on the outside looking in at the postseason.

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