What a week.
From the hiring of Mike Babcock as head coach (erm, not yet, wink-wink) to acquiring a pair of solid defenders, the Columbus Blue Jackets have been the busiest team in the league not playing in Vegas or south Florida.
Here's a few thoughts to absorb the week that was:
ONE: Babcock Was The Right Choice
The initial backlash of the soon-to-be-official hiring of new head coach Mike Babcock seems to be in the rearview mirror. Good. While far from a perfect man, a lot of the bad stories of Babcock have untold versions, come from people with their own faults, or have better endings than are acknowledges (Mitch Marner and Babs talked it out and it was a non-issue in a matter of days; Marner said it made him a better player). If the portion from that last line about people having their own faults made you think “we all have our faults, that’s no reason to…” — exactly. Babcock has done a substantial amount of good work in the mental health community in recent years, and while it may have taken longer for him to get there than most of us, he’s absolutely there now.
My only concern with the 60-year-old is whether the game has passed him by. I don’t think that it has, but the game has changed a lot — even in the few years he’s been away.
TWO: Provorov + Severson = Good Stuff
The Blue Jackets started the week with moving their second first-round pick in this summer’s draft (22nd overall) to acquire Ivan Provorov. There is certainly good and bad to his game, but even at his worst, he’s a second-pair guy and there is no way he doesn’t dramatically help the defense. If he can consistency play the way he did before Covid, he’s worth it.
But I absolutely love the acquisition of Severson. I don’t love eight years, but can we relax on everything having to be absolutely flawless? Sure, five years instead of eight would have been nicer. But you know what’s not realistic to expect? The best available defenseman in the free agency market (in the prime of his career), coming to the second-worst team in the league with a minor-league defense — all at the length and term deemed acceptable by Twitter users. Severson, the longest-tenured member of the New Jersey Devils prior to the deal, should play alongside Werenski on the top pairing and will be the best defenseman on the team other than Werenski since the days of Seth Jones. In short, the Blue Jackets legitimized their defense last week for the cost of two draft picks.
THREE: They're Not Done Yet
This does not feel like a team that is done — they can’t be. Free agency is still weeks away and word is that the team is still very active in the trade market. But consider this: this team has way too many players on its roster as of now. With the additions of Provorov and Severson, one could say that the blue line is mostly settled for the upcoming season: the two of them, a healthy Zach Werenski, a healthy Adam Boqvist the albatross contract of Erik Gudbranson, a seemingly-ready-to-go David Jiricek. But then what? Andrew Peeke is making nearly three million a year, Nick Blankenburg has seemingly won over the organization (and certainly the 5th Line), and then there’s Jake Bean, too. That’s nine defensemen, with no mention of the youngsters on the way. Decisions will need to be made, but from a broad perspective, it feels like Columbus would listen to offers on Peeke or Bean. And I have to wonder: what is the asking price if a team calls on Boqvist?
Then there’s the forwards. Let’s assume the following are a lock to crack the opening night lineup this autumn: Johnny Gaudreau, Boone Jenner, Kent Johnson, Sean Kuraly, Patrik Laine, Kirill Marchenko, Cole Sillinger, Dmitri Voronkov, and either Adam Fantilli or Leo Carlsson. That’s nine spots, and doesn’t include the following: Yegor Chinakhov, Justin Danforth, Mathieu Olivier, Eric Robinson, Jack Roslovic, or Alexandre Texier. It also doesn’t include guys like Emil Bemstrom, Liam Foudy, and Hunter McKown — none of those three seem likely to make the roster at this point in time. That also assumes no players inbound via trade, and it sure does feel like it’s only a matter of time before the Blue Jackets and Flyers swing a trade that sends Kevin Hayes to Columbus. Kekalainen and company will need to unload some of their current assets that seem to be stuck in the bottom-six in the new era of Columbus hockey. With that said, it was not a mistake that Roslovic and Robinson were not mentioned as one of the locks — I would bet at least one of them, if not both, are playing for another team by the end of summer.
FOUR: Will Smith Can't Be The Pick
I don’t think Fantilli is going to fall past Anaheim at number two. If he does, swoop him up and never look back. But assuming the Ducks take him — Columbus must not pass on Leo Carlsson. There’s no disrespect meant to Will Smith, the other name being discussed for the third overall pick. But he doesn’t feel like as sure of a thing as Carlsson, who impresses me more and more with every clip, interview, or testimonial. He’s going to be a stud and I think he’s a guy who can make an impact this fall to wherever he ends up. If this offseason has proved anything so far, it’s that Jarmo’s job is on the line. Drafting Smith is likely a pick for 2024-25 — time that Kekalainen may not have if 2023-24 is anything like 2022-23.
