Rosters are finalized across the NHL and the Columbus Blue Jackets are days away from starting the 2024-25 regular season Thursday at the Minnesota Wild.
As the team looks to get through the next few days of practice unscathed before the season starts for real, everything is pretty much set in stone in terms of the lineup for head coach Dean Evason.
Particularly on the blue line, the word from The Athletic's Aaron Portzline is Jake Christiansen is seemingly in line for a big promotion as he was on the second defensive pairing in Monday's practice alongside Damon Severson.
And now for the #CBJ defense. Appears Christiansen is getting a big promotion, while Harris and Jiricek are the extras for now.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) October 7, 2024
Werenski - Provorov
Christiansen - Severson
Johnson - Gudbranson
Harris - Jiricek
2/2
If Monday's practice lines are any indication, Ivan Provorov would slot alongside Zach Werenski on the first pairing, and newcomer Jordan Harris will play on the left side with David Jiricek. Denton Mateychuk thrived in camp but will ultimately head to Cleveland to play big minutes every night.
Not the worst thing for a young 20-year-old defenseman who will be able to play and develop while his next stop in the NHL will be sooner than later.
Dean Evason today on Denton Mateychuk: "The camp was fantastic, right? It really was. Clearly, we've got a lot of defensemen here. There are still 8 guys but I'll tell you this. For all of us, he's in the mix. Just because he's not here at this time, it's more of a numbers thing
— Mark Scheig (@mark_scheig) October 7, 2024
And on that note, just because opening night lineups will be what they are in roughly 48 hours doesn't mean change can't and won't happen pretty quickly. It's a fluid situation, but the Jackets could opt to move their pairings so that Werenski plays with Severson, which he did quite often last season.
| Games Played / Time on Ice | Scoring Chances For/60 | Scoring Chances Against/60 | Goals For/60 | Goals Against/60 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55, 454:19 | 27.73 | 30.77 | 2.91 | 3.7 |
| Games Played / Time on Ice | Scoring Chances For/60 | Scoring Chances Against/60 | Goals For/60 | Goals Against/60 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70, 85:28 | 36.51 | 38.61 | 2.81 | 3.51 |
In limited ice time during the preseason, Werenski played with both Provorov and Severson.
| Games Played / Time on Ice | Scoring Chances For/60 | Scoring Chances Against/60 | Goals For/60 | Goals Against/60 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3, 29:45 | 30.25 | 16.13 | 2.02 | 2.02 |
| Games Played / Time on Ice | Scoring Chances For/60 | Scoring Chances Against/60 | Goals For/60 | Goals Against/60 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3, 19:34 | 18.38 | 6.13 | 0 | 0 |
As Severson is signed for the long haul through 2030-31 ($6.25 million AAV), Provorov ($6.75 million AAV) is entering the final year of his contract as he will be a UFA this summer and could be a potential midseason trade bate for president and general manager Don Waddell.
The Jackets are starting the season with eight defensemen and Jiricek is among those who will try to stay in Columbus all season long. As Portzline mentioned on Sunday, Jiricek struggled a bit through training camp but has shown improvement.
"It got better as camp went on, but (Jiricek) started really slow," Waddell said. "It's gotten better.
"We know he has skill. There’s so much to like about his game, his potential. But he has to play within his limits and also within our system. If he does that, I think he's going to be fine."
Provorov opened camp playing with Jiricek and that could be a combination we see.
"The Blue Jackets want their defensemen — and not just offensive-minded Zach Werenski — to engage in the play offensively, to carry the puck low and to stay there when there’s a play to be made," Portzline said. "But the challenge is to thread the space between aggressive and reckless."
After Thursday's game against Evason's former team, the Blue Jackets head to Colorado to play the Avalanche on Saturday at 9:00 p.m. ET. The home opener will be on Tuesday, Oct. 15, at Nationwide Arena at 7:00 p.m. ET against the Florida Panthers.
