The Columbus Blue Jackets' disastrous season has been well-documented. The losing started early, the injuries followed, and the hole became deep in a hurry.
The injuries caused a constant stream of traffic up and down I-71, as their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, had to supply replacements. This, in turn, caused Cleveland to have a worse roster than they would have expected. So while it's obviously not ideal for an NHL club to miss the playoffs, at least a rebuilding team usually has a strong AHL team... right?
That's why these next few days are so crucial for the organization. To most reasonable people who believe that losing is terrible but also a necessary evil when a team sits in last place in the NHL with just two days left in the calendar, the overwhelming hope is that the Blue Jackets lose (in regulation) their final two games. But that couldn't be further from the reality a few hours north of Columbus.
The Monsters sit in sixth place in the seven-team North Division, and only the top five teams qualify for the playoffs. They finish the season with a 'three-in-three', an AHL special where they play games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, against the Utica Comets and a pair against the Rochester Americans. Utica sits in fourth place in the division, while Rochester is already clinched a playoff spot, likely as the number two or three seed.
Put another way, the Blue Jackets management is hoping to thread a very precise needle, in which their NHL club, which is being buoyed by a plethora of Monsters players, loses those games, drives north, then wins those games and qualifies for the playoffs. Bizarre.
#CBJ assigned D Jake Christiansen, F Josh Dunne, F Trey Fix-Wolansky, D David Jiricek, and F Carson Meyer to Cleveland.
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) April 12, 2023
Complicating matters is the fact that the Blue Jackets' season finale is on Friday, the same night as the Monsters' first game of the weekend. How will management handle those logistics? From my vantage point, the calculus is clear - send your AHL players to the AHL for the weekend.
The real question then becomes who plays for the Blue Jackets against the Sabres? I've long wondered how the NHL would look upon a team in this situation. Could the Blue Jackets call up players from the ECHL? Would they go as far as to use players on Amateur Tryout Agreements (ATOs), like an NCAA free agent? The organization has already accounted that prospect Stanislav Svozil will finish the season with the big club after getting bounced from the WHL playoffs. But who else? When the best thing for your organization is to desperately win at one level and desperately lose at another, how do you reconcile that when they are playing games at the same time?
It's a messy business, losing. Hopefully, the Blue Jackets organization is able to thread the needle this weekend. But in a season marred by an inability to be all that competent, it's from a given.
