It isn't finalized, but the Blue Jackets ' roster for 2024-25 is already in focus.
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General manager Don Waddell still needs to re-sign three restricted free agents , disgruntled forward Patrik Laine remains in the NHL/NHL Players' Association assistance program and there are nearly two months left for offseason trades.
Waddell, however, has put together a projected NHL roster already. Assuming all three RFAs return, here's a look at what the Jackets' president of hockey operations has put together for the season-opener Oct. 10 in Minnesota :
Signed (9):LW Johnny Gaudreau , C Sean Monahan , C/F Boone Jenner , C Sean Kuraly , LW/RW Yegor Chinakhov , RW Mathieu Olivier , F Justin Danforth , C Adam Fantilli , F Dmitri Voronkov
Unsigned (3):LW/RW Kirill Marchenko (restricted), C Cole Sillinger (restricted), F Kent Johnson (restricted)
Unavailable NHL/NHLPA assistance (1):RW/LW Patrik Laine
AHL options:LW James Malatesta, C Dylan Gambrell , C Luca Del Bel Belluz , RW Gavin Brindley , RW Trey Fix-Wolansky, RW Jordan Dumais, LW Mikael Pyyhtia, C Owen Sillinger, C Hunter McKown, C Luca Pinelli, F Max McCue, RW Cameron Butler
Potential forward lines
Gaudreau-Monahan-Chinakhov
Jenner-Fantilli-Marchenko
Johnson-Sillinger-Voronkov
Danforth-Kuraly-Olivier
Breakdown:The biggest unanswered question is about Laine, who remains in the NHL/NHLPA program with no certain timeframe for release . Without being cleared, it will be almost impossible for Waddell to acquiesce the forward's wish for a "change of scenery" trade.
The good news for the Blue Jackets is their depth of firepower up front, even without Laine.
Waddell's signing of Monahan on the unrestricted market reunites him with Gaudreau, his longtime friend and former teammate in Calgary , and increases Jenner's versatility as either a forechecking wing or dependable center.
Monahan, if he stays healthy, deepens a lineup that's expected to feature Fantilli, Sillinger and Kuraly down the middle behind him on the next three lines. Should multiple young forwards have breakout seasons among a group that includes Fantilli, Sillinger, Johnson, Chinakhov, Marchenko and Voronkov, the Blue Jackets could form a dangerous forward group to defend.
At the AHL level, there shouldn't be a lack of talented options to fill voids if the Jackets aren't hit with another avalanche of long-term injuries, likely starting with Malatesta, Del Bel Belluz and Fix-Wolansky.
Signed (7): Zach Werenski , Damon Severson , Ivan Provorov , Erik Gudbranson , David Jiricek , Jack Johnson, Jake Christiansen
AHL options:LHD Denton Mateychuk , LHD Stanislav Svozil, RHD Corson Ceulemans , RHD Cole Clayton, LHD Samuel Knazko , LHD Ole Julian Bjørgvik-Holm
Potential defense pairs
Werenski-Severson
Provorov-Jiricek
Christiansen-Gudbranson
Breakdown:Another year awaits with big question marks on the back end. The biggest has yet to be answered since Seth Jones was traded in July 2021 to the Chicago Blackhawks .
Who's going to play on the top defense pairing with left-handed Zach Werenski?
Severson is the expected answer, but it's by default because he'd slot better into the second pairing along with Provorov. Jiricek, whose skating and off-puck decisions are a concern, isn't ready for top-pairing minutes in the NHL and the only other right-handed option is Gudbranson ― a veteran who's nicely slotted into the third pairing at this stage of his career.
This isn't how it was supposed to play out following the Jones trade, which provided the Blue Jackets with a return package that yielded two young NHL defensemen – Adam Boqvist and Jake Bean – plus two high first-round picks used to select Sillinger (12thoverall in 2021) and Jiricek (sixth overall in 2022).
Three years later, Sillinger and Jiricek are the only ones still around. Waddell bought out Boqvist's final contract year , allowing him to sign with the Florida Panthers , and Bean signed with the Calgary Flames as a free agent after he wasn't tendered an RFA qualifying offer.
Those departures plus not re-signing Nick Blankenburg and trading Andrew Peeke to Boston created breathing room for young defensemen in the pipeline. Now, it's up to them to fill the vacated roles. Jiricek will most likely slot into the right side of the second unit with Provorov, while Christiansen or another young lefty is expected to battle with Johnson for time on the third pairing.
Werenski remains quarterback of the top power-play unit, but a competition to run the point for the second group could be interesting with Provorov, Severson, Jiricek and maybe Christiansen vying for it.
Signed (2): Elvis Merzlikins , Daniil Tarasov
AHL options: Jet Greaves , Zach Sawchenko , Nolan Lalonde
Potential tandem
Merzlikins
Tarasov
Breakdown:This is the third straight year since signing Merzlikins to a pricey five-year contract the Blue Jackets have not explored the trade market or free agency for goaltending.
Waddell feels that another attempt to fix Merzlikins' issues with availability (health) and consistency is better than the alternative of buying out the final three years of a contract that pays him $5.4 million per season. Thus, barring a trade, Merzlikins and the Blue Jackets are expected to head into another season tied together for better or worse. The biggest difference is that Tarasov, excluding injuries, is prepared to challenge for the No.1 role between the pipes.
Between injuries, the 6-foot-5 goalie posted better numbers last season than any of the Jackets' other four goalies. Prior to a suspected concussion that ended his season in early April, Tarasov went 8-11-3 with a 3.18 goals-against average and .908 save percentage while handling the starting role for multiple spans.
Merzlikins went 13-17-8 with a 3.45 GAA,.897 save percentage and one shutout while struggling with health issues and dropping to third on the depth chart for a two-week stretch that prompted him to make an unrequited trade request . He wasn't traded because no suitable trades were available, which makes Merzlikins similar to Laine this summer.
Improved play could result in trades to new locations for each, but without it both may stay put in Columbus for the duration of their contracts. What that means for the Blue Jackets next season is further uncertainty behind a a defensive group with limitations and liabilities.
At the AHL level, Greaves will again lead the Cleveland Monsters while providing solid organizational depth in case of injuries.
Going into the third week of July, the Blue Jackets don't have a head coach and have a full staff of assistants sitting on pins and needles waiting.
It appeared veteran Todd McLellan would fill the spot vacated by the firing of Pascal Vincent , but failed salary talks blew that apart last week and left two finalists remaining: former Edmonton Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft and former Minnesota Wild coach Dean Evason.
Both were fired last season amid terrible starts for their respective teams, and neither boasts the kind of NHL head coaching experience McLellan would've provided. Both offer more in that area than Vincent, but not much.
Woodcroft, a former assistant under McLellan at multiple NHL stops, is thought to provide more of a modern approach with his strategies and systems. Evason, 59, has a stern disposition and heavier lean toward the defensive side of the game.
Should neither be the right fit, don't rule out veteran Bob Hartley becoming an option. Hartley, 63, hasn't coached in the NHL since 2016 but won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche and coached for Waddell previously with the Atlanta Thrashers .
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Hartley has also coached Merzlikins with Latvia's men's national team and won the KHL's 2021 championship with Chinakhov as that league's top rookie.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Projecting Columbus Blue Jackets' opening roster for 2024-25
