The Columbus Blue Jackets had a surplus of forwards on the NHL roster heading into the season, and even with the injury to Patrik Laine, the AHL demotion of Eric Robinson, and the waiving (and subsequent claim) of Liam Foudy, the group is still over capacity.
On Saturday's 2-0 loss to the New York Islanders, Kirill Marchenko was named a healthy scratch as the odd man looking out. That would have seemed unfathomable heading into the season, as the second-year player had 21 goals in just 59 games as a rookie. But with a slow start - he's yet to score - the coaching staff made the difficult call. The Athletic's Aaron Portzline wrote about the "potentially awkward" situation in his Sunday Gathering column.
The situation with the Blue Jackets forwards — too many players, too few lineup spots — is potentially awkward enough that Vincent pulled the group together before Saturday’s morning skate to make it clear what was happening.
“It’s crystal clear,” Vincent said. “We can only dress 12, so we’re going to make some hard decisions. We told them this morning that it’s all about performance. It’s the NHL.
“It’s not great for some of them because we’re going to make decisions on guys who don’t deserve to sit out. But we’re mostly healthy and we have guys in the American Hockey League who are pushing, too. We have guys producing right now.”
The Marchenko benching follows a pattern of young and promising players being left on the sideline to observe, even if only for a game or two.
Kent Johnson was notably a healthy scratch twice in the first seven games, including the season-opener. Dmitri Voronkov has only played in two games after starting the season in the AHL, and has an 'out-clause' to return to Russia if he's not in the NHL when the calendar switches to 2024. The club's two best surprises, Jack Roslovic and Emil Bemström, have been made a healthy scratch.
The list of those forwards who have not been forced to watch one of their eight games from the rafters this season is Johnny Gaudreau, Boone Jenner, Adam Fantilli, Alexandre Texier, Sean Kuraly, Cole Sillinger, and Justin Danforth. That's an interesting list, and while it's a small sample size, it does clarify one thing: Pascal Vincent and his staff clearly value straightforward, predictable, and competitive hockey players.
There has been plenty of discourse about the validity of benching players, even for a game or two, like Johnson and Marchenko. The argument against is intuitive. These are theoretical foundational cornerstone players who are among the club's most promising prospects. Why send a message that could even theoretically alienate or hurt the confidence of a young player? On the other hand, these are professional athletes who need to be pushed, not coddled. They understand the stakes and the pressure.
As for my take on the situation, I think that Vincent has done more in eight games than his predecessor did in his tenure in terms of establishing a meritocratic culture.
This team is clearly interested in developing players, but that's 1B to 1A (winning hockey games). Sitting Johnson or Marchenko, or really anyone, for that matter, sends a message. It's then on that player to work his way back into the lineup and ensure his standing is no longer negotiable. Johnson is 21 years old. There are plenty of 21-year-olds who are still working at establishing a consistency in their game that endears themselves to NHL coaching. And, as Portzline made sure to indicate, the scratches aren't intended to be punitive, more so just a commentary on the number of players available.
Ultimately, it will be disappointing if Johnson or Marchenko are unable to actualize their incredible potential in the NHL. But right now, the priority is on winning games, and the coaching staff has 12 forwards at its disposal.
