The Columbus Blue Jackets front office is not taking a relaxing early-summer vacation.
The Stanley Cup has not yet been handed out, and the organization has already made two huge off-season moves, trading for two defensemen in Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that the organization wanted to make drastic changes to a roster that allowed a franchise-record 329 goals last season. Yes, the club was without star defenseman Zach Werenski for 69 games last season, but even with him in the lineup, the team was atrocious. And with Gavin Bayreuther being the solo pending UFA on the blue line, those changes were going to need to come primarily from external trades/signings, not just internal growth.
As such, the Severson move is the X-factor in the defensive depth chart. He played primarily on the third pair on a stacked New Jersey Devils defense corps alongside Brendan Smith and was the quarterback on the team's PP2. That kept his ice time at 19:57 for the season, higher than typical for a 5-6 defenseman. In the four seasons prior to that, Severson played higher in the lineup, averaging 22:47 in 287 games, where he tallied 33-104-137. Asking him to go from a third-pairing/sheltered role to the top pair is a big ask, but it's also the most likely day-one solution. Adam Boqvist, Andrew Peeke, and Erik Gudbranson are right-handed defensemen, but none have shown capable of playing in a top pairing role alongside Werenski. Top prospect David Jiricek could fit the bill, but it's quite a jump for any player to go from the AHL to playing big minutes and against elite competition.
If Severson is able to slide into a top-pairing role with Werenski, even for a season or two (before Jiricek is ready, theoretically), that's a huge upgrade over last season's roster. If not, things could get hairy.
Provorov is a left-shot, and it's unlikely that reported head coach Mike Babcock would want to pair two left-shot defensemen on the top pair. Of course, it's an option, but it's not optimal. And whereas Severson has been an analytics darling in his time in New Jersey, Provorov has really struggled in the past few seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers. Asking him to play on the top-pairing is probably a bit rich given his recent results. Again, much of this hinges on Jiricek. If he is ready to step into the NHL, perhaps the top four are already set: Werenski-Severson; Provorov-Jiricek. If not, someone like Boqvist or Peeke may have the inside track.
Gudbranson and Peeke are probably best suited for a bottom-pairing role anyways, and that would turn the club's liability a year ago into something that resembles an asset. That leaves some combination of Boqvist, Jake Bean, and Nick Blankenburg fighting for essentially one (or two, if Jiricek is in the AHL) spots. Of course, it's possible more transactions are coming, either this summer or as training camp begins. It would not be a shock, for example, if Bean, with one season remaining and a $2.3M cap hit, were placed on waivers. Time may have run out on the 25-year-old.
If Jiricek, Severson, and Provorov are able to solidify the top four, the Blue Jackets' defense is suddenly in good shape. That would allow for genuine competition at the bottom of the depth chart, and competition is a good thing. But there's plenty of room for error, and if any of those players falter, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the defense continue to struggle against quality NHL competition.
