The narrative of this Blue Jackets season being filled with chaos has surrounded them from the start.
The infamous Mike Babcock debacle that unfolded less than a week before training camp was the spark, but the roaring fire that followed was fueled by Patrik Laine's injuries , Johnny Gaudreau's slow start, Kent Johnson's early assignment to the American Hockey League , Elvis Merzlikins ' request for "a new scenario," and rookie defenseman David Jiricek's discontent .
More: Why Blue Jackets star Adam Fantilli and Luca Fantilli are best friends 'for life'
Hovering over all of it is a 16-24-10 record coming out of the Jackets' "bye" week, not to mention a litany of blown leads in the third period. The Jackets' top two hockey executives, president of hockey operations John Davidson and general manager Jarmo Kekalainen , have taken heat all season, along with a coaching staff tasked with taking over for Babcock last minute.
"It seems like they're going sideways or backwards, not on the upswing, and last year was their worst year in franchise history ... for an expansion team that had a ton of tough years and has very little to show for it," Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli said of the Blue Jackets on a recent podcast. "It's not that people don't want to play in Columbus . It's that people don't want to play in Columbus with this management group and with this coaching staff."
Seravalli's comments were only the most recent slamming the Jackets' management and coaches for their development tactics. It's been a free-for-all most of the season, so Davidson pushed back during a candid radio interview on 97.1 FM prior to the break.
The Dispatch spoke with Davidson and Kekalainen recently about a number of hot-button topics.
"People are going to hear what they hear, read what they read, think what they think and have opinions, and that's what makes the hockey world go 'round," Davidson said. "But some of it, as far as I'm concerned, is folly. If you want to talk about our third periods, this and that, that's factual. Go for it. Goals against? Talk about it. It is what it is. It's the truth. Let's face the truth here ... but let's tell the truth, too."
Here are five "truths" about this season, as defined by the Blue Jackets:
One of the biggest misperceptions about the Jackets is: "They're terrible."
They're actually not terrible. They've become a tough out most nights, despite 13 late collapses.
After downing the St. Louis Blues 1-0 on Jan. 31 to conclude a five-game road trip with a victory, they went into the break with a 16-24-10 record. That has the Jackets in last place of the Metropolitan Division coming out of the break with just 42 points that has them tied for last in the Eastern Conference with the Ottawa Senators , a team some prognosticators felt was a playoff contender.
None of that, on its own, is sign of progress in Columbus. It takes a closer look to see that not all bad records are constructed the same.
The Jackets were 15-32-3 after 50 games last season, also in last place of their division and conference, but that team was riddled with injuries and rarely competitive. This year's Jackets, while hampered by key injuries for a long stretch, are competitive most games. Their biggest issue is a well-documented problem of fumbling away leads in the third periods of games ― 13 of them over the span of 12 games — and that's the biggest reason they're one of just four teams to already reach double-digits in overtime/shootout losses.
They also had early winless streaks of four games (0-2-2) and nine games (0-7-2) that were separated by one win, plummeting the Jackets from playoff contention early with a 1-9-4 record between Oct. 24 and Nov. 19. During that stretch, the Jackets lost four games they'd led in the third period and three others in the third.
Outside of those skids, their record is 16-15-6 for a .514 points percentage. That's not lighting the league on fire, but it's a signal that Columbus and its young roster led by a first-time NHL head coach is figuring some things out.
"When I heared (head coach Pascal Vincent) after the game in St. Louis , when he said that he didn't know quite how to describe it, but the players are 'all in,' that's what we want to hear," Davidson said. "The players are all in. They play hard every night, but we're trying to get good enough to win games every night, and it's a hard league. You need everything going to be able to win games consistently, and that hasn't happened yet. It's a process."
Another way to slice it is by looking at how the Blue Jackets have fared against certain types of competition.
Against the Metropolitan Division, for example, they're just 3-10-3. Against the NHL's other three divisions, the Jackets are 13-14-7, including 6-7-3 against the Atlantic and 7-7-4 against all Western Conference teams.
Should that trend hold, the Jackets could make tangible progress within the standings this season if they figure out how to improve against their own division. Fans and some in the media feel that's a misguided way to approach the Blue Jackets' situation, especially with another NHL draft lottery ticket on the way, but they already have a promising core of youngsters.
"In these last (32) games, if we can get some wins, and show these younger guys what it feels like to win in this league consistently, that's when you learn," defenseman Zach Werenski said. "That's huge for our group going into summer. We're getting healthy now, we're getting people back, so there's no excuses. The young guys have played enough, now the veterans have to take the lead and find a way to win some games before summer."
Jiricek's development path in his second pro season has become the biggest source of discontent about the Blue Jackets' front office.
He's been assigned to AHL Cleveland three times along with 36 NHL games for the Blue Jackets, but the latest demotion caused the biggest flap. Jiricek is back with the Monsters while tasked with working to improve defensive skills that weren't sharp enough to keep him in Columbus.
Critics feel the young defenseman should be making those improvements with the Blue Jackets after an all-star performance last year as an AHL rookie. The Blue Jackets counter that Jiricek had become a liability in the NHL and his solid numbers — one goal, eight assists and nine points ― were largely a result of the coaching staff's effort to shelter him away from difficult matchups.
Jiricek was told by management early in the season to "get a place" in Columbus, but Kekalainen said the rookie was also told he'd be sent to Cleveland to play bigger minutes if he lost his spot within the NHL playing group. That's exactly what happened, which led to Jiricek being assigned to Cleveland for a short two-game stint in January before rejoining the Blue Jackets for the start of their road trip leading into the break.
The consternation about his handling kicked into high gear when Jiricek was returned to Cleveland from the Jackets' stop in Calgary after watching the first game of the trip in Edmonton as a healthy scratch. Werenski's return from an ankle injury forced a roster move, so Jircek became a Monster again. Critics were quick to criticize the Blue Jackets for toggling the sixth overall pick of the 2022 draft so often, but Jiricek isn't the first young player who's dealt with it.
In fact, the list of top NHL defensemen who needed multiple seasons to mature at lower levels is filled with familiar names.
It includes Duncan Keith ( Chicago Blackhawks ), Cale Makar ( Colorado Avalanche ), Alex Pietrangelo ( Vegas Golden Knights ), Josh Morrissey ( Winnipeg Jets ), Devon Toews (Colorado Avalanche), Roman Josi ( Nashville Predators ), Thomas Harley ( Dallas Stars ), Moritz Seider ( Detroit Red Wings ), John Carlson ( Washington Capitals ), K'Andre Miller ( New York Rangers ) and Simon Nemec ( New Jersey Devils ).
Nemec was selected second overall in 2022 ― four spots higher than Jiricek in the same draft class. He played all of last season in the AHL plus 13 more games this season before the Devils recalled him.
Those who took less time include Werenski, Victor Hedman ( Tampa Bay Lightning ), Drew Doughty ( Los Angeles Kings ), Seth Jones (Chicago Blackhawks), Quinn Hughes ( Vancouver Canucks ), Pavel Mintukov ( Anaheim Ducks ), Kevin Korchinski (Chicago Blackhawks) and others.
Two big distinctions must be pointed out within that group. The first is that nearly all are rated by scouts as good to great skaters — which doesn't apply to Jiricek yet. The second is that Korchinski would likely be in the AHL for any other NHL team than the woeful Blackhawks.
Jiricek is back in the AHL because the Blue Jackets feel that's what's best for him. They're trying to develop him into a star NHL defenseman.
"I think it's been blown out of proportion," Kekalainen said. "He was struggling a bit before we sent him down, so this whole thing is because of the other (criticism) that we're taking, and everybody's piling on. I think it's ridiculous. We've communicated with him right from the start that if he's not playing for us, he's going to play there. It's been very clear, right from the start.
"It's our responsibility to put the players into positions where they can succeed. Jiricek was struggling toward the end, so he wasn't in the top six and the coaches weren't going to play him. So, he's going to play in Cleveland."
Almost as frustrating for the Jackets' front office is the criticism they've taken for the coaching staff shifting rookie forward Adam Fantilli from center to left wing on two occasions.
Fantilli, 19, is out for an estimated eight weeks now with a calf laceration, but he'd begun to play left wing prior to the injury.
He'd posted impressive offensive numbers for a teenager challenged by handling the top center role while Boone Jenner was out with a broken jaw, but that had begun to stall. Vincent and assistant Mark Recchi wanted to help Fantilli reignite his engine by freeing him from the defensive responsibilities of playing center, so they pushed him out to the wing after Jenner returned.
It wasn't a shift in long-term focus for Fantilli, whom the Jackets still see as their top center of the future.
"Adam Fantilli playing left wing, for me, was an idea which everybody bought into because it's hard to play center ice as a very young first-year player," Davidson said. "When you're the center, you're the quarterback in your own zone. It's really hard. So, if he's playing left wing then he has the freedom to just go do what he wants to do ... just go play. At the same time, we're trying to help him learn the game a little bit. It's just the natural evolution of a hockey player when they're young. None of this is personal. It's just trying to make people better and help them get where they need to be."
The Blue Jackets have an impressive core of young impact players who are getting where they need to be.
Dmitri Voronkov is a revelation as a rookie power forward who can play center or wing. Kirill Marchenko continues to show all the tools necessary to become a scorer. Yegor Chinakhov is rapidly developing into a two-way force. Cole Sillinger has rebounded nicely from his sophomore scoring struggles. Fantilli showed flashes of brilliance prior to his injury, along with Kent Johnson and Jiricek at times.
That's seven young players with bright futures, and the Blue Jackets still have Johnny Gaudreau , Werenski, Jenner and Laine, plus a host of others with NHL experience who have helped them stay competitive in most games.
That young core group is expected to take the lead eventually and push the Blue Jackets to new levels that would make most of the griping from the outside disappear. It might not seem like it, based on record, but that time might be closer than many assume.
"We've got good young talent and we're going to get them to the promised land, but it's a hard journey and every single one of them is different," Davidson said. "You don't just sprinkle fairy dust on them and all of a sudden everybody's a good NHL player. It's tough with young players because you never know when they're going to pop. We're seeing several of them are popping right now, which is the type of stuff that you love to see."
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Jarmo Kekalainen, John Davidson fire back at Blue Jackets critics
