With the final 32 games of the Blue Jackets 2023-24 season kicking off on Saturday at home against the Tampa Bay Lightning, here are three things to watch in the second "half" of the year:
Trade Deadline
The NHL's trade deadline is a month from today on March 8th. The Blue Jackets have one pending unrestricted free agent, Jack Roslovic ($4M cap hit), and one pending restricted free agent, Jake Bean ($2.33M cap hit).
Will there be a market for either of these players? If there is, it's probably small.
What about players who have term left on their contracts? Ivan Provorov has another year at $4.725M, Adam Boqvist has one more year at $2.6M, Andrew Peeke has two more seasons at $2.75M, and Boone Jenner has two more years at $3.75M. In his latest piece, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman wrote that he "would expect teams to call on Boone Jenner" but "he’s got a partial no-trade and you can’t see Columbus doing it without a massive return."
Will the Jackets be able to receive a first-round pick in exchange for Provorov? What package would make them feel comfortable trading Jenner?
Goaltending Situation
After a chaotic few days involving Elvis Merzlikins' trade request and subsequent retraction, things have calmed down on the goaltending front.
Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov are the two goalies on the NHL roster, and they've combined to play 38 games with Merzlikins posting a 9-10-7 record with a .903SV% and 3.22 GAA while Tarasov is 3-5-2 with an .881SV% and a 3.79 GAA. According to moneypuck.com, Merzlikins has recorded 0.4 goals saved above expected (GSAx) while Tarasov has posted -8.1 GSAx.
The Blue Jackets' team save percentage is 89%, the same as in 2022-23.
Here's a statistical comparison between the '22-'23 Blue Jackets through the first 50 games of their season and the '23-'24 Blue Jackets. All five-on-five, xG, and per/60 stats are via @NatStatTrick. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/7c0w9xySDi
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) February 2, 2024
Can it improve in the second half? How much of it has to do with the team's defensive structure?
David Jiricek
Jiricek, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, has been the subject of controversy due to his demotion to the AHL on Jan. 25.
Last week, he scored a hat trick in a four-point effort for the Cleveland Monsters. Additionally, Friedman wrote that he's not being moved.
10. There was a short explosion around his AHL demotion, but the Blue Jackets made it verrrrrrrry clear they are not moving David Jiricek. They see the potential — and so does everyone else.
In six AHL games, he's posted 3-4--7. It'll be interesting to monitor his play in the AHL and if he will play in the NHL again this season.
With 32 games left, the Blue Jackets aren't going to make playoffs, but there's plenty of progress to be made.
