The Columbus Blue Jackets aren’t playing around as they’ve been involved in the two big offseason trades already. First acquiring Ivan Provorov for their top-four on the left side before recently acquiring Damon Severson to play on the right side. The top four should now include Provorov, Severson, Zach Werenski, and David Jiricek moving forward, but the team has a lot of young suitors to potentially fill the other 2-3 spots on the roster. Now we’re faced with the question of who will go.
Can & Should Gudbranson be Moved?
The reason I ask the question of can and should Erik Gudbranson be moved is because he is a third pairing defender with a cap hit of $4 million AAV for three more years with a 10-team no-move clause. All of that isn’t ideal for a bottom-feeder who actually struggled to stay under the salary cap this season. Many injuries to the members of the team did allow him to play more, but he is still someone who should be matched up with lesser threats to score.
Related: Senators: 3 Most Likely Trade Destinations for Alex DeBrincat
The defense of the Blue Jackets is cleaned up and other than figuring out who the bottom pairing should be, they don’t have any other adds to make in that area. The forwards is what still has to be addressed, most importantly a top-six centerman. That will require cap space if the team is going to make a significant impactful addition. Moving Gudbranson’s cap would definitely help that out. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be an ideal cost to buy him out with three years remaining and moving him would be difficult. He is still a solid third pairing defenseman that is good to have on the team, just overpaid for that role. I think Gudbranson is safe for this offseason unless something comes up that really attracts their attention.
Blue Jackets Will Have to Part Ways With Young Defensemen
If the Blue Jackets’ top five defensemen are set, there is little room and lots of young players who will be fighting for opportunities. The difference next season from this one will be less chances to get in the NHL lineup for many players as Provorov and Severson are very durable. That wasn’t an accident and a healthy group should make for a much more successful season.
The Next Up
The Blue Jackets have seven young defensemen between the ages of 22 and 25 in consideration for two spots, and while some of them have much more potential and should get better looks, there are still too many to hold onto. The four that will get the most consideration for a spot on the Blue Jackets are Andrew Peeke, Adam Boqvist, Jake Bean, and Nick Blankenburg. While Peeke, Boqvist, and Bean all make between $2 million AAV and $3 million AAV, Blankenburg is the only waiver exempt player of the group. This will make it much harder for him to earn a spot out of training camp. Of the four, Peeke was the only one who stayed healthy as well.
The Lower Tier
While it’s very likely 2-3 of the first four names I mentioned will fill the spots on the Blue Jackets roster, there are others that spent a significant amount of time in the NHL last season because of all the injuries. Tim Berni (59 GP), Marcus Bjork (33 GP), and Jacob Christainsen (24 GP) all got experience and a fairly large NHL tryout. Bjork logged the most minutes per game and was arguably the most effective. Offensively he was without a doubt the best here, producing 11 points. All of these defensemen would have to pass through waivers, but none would be big losses if they were snatched up. It is also unlikely a team would lose their waiver order to do so unless they are already at the back of the line.
Who is Traded?
Blankenburg might be 25 years old, but since he doesn’t have to pass through waivers, he can be a great next-man up in the AHL to start out next season. I think it is best to carry seven defensemen, so one of Peeke, Boqvist, and Bean will have to be dealt. Peeke is the most reliable and most experienced out of the three, so I think he earns a spot in the opening night lineup. Boqvist is only 22 years old, was a high pick that was part of the Seth Jones package. He has slowly been improving over his four NHL seasons and has a long career ahead of him. If they don’t think he’ll get a lot of playing time, he could be moved, but that would hurt them in the future.
This should leave Bean as the odd man out. He’s 25 with the least experience of the three. Injuries didn’t didn’t help him this season, but when he got a good opportunity in 2021-22, he did perform, proving that he still has value. The Blue Jackets are too jam packed to be able to give him that opportunity again without a ton of injuries occurring to the defense. It would be best for the Blue Jackets to trade him so they don’t lose him on waivers for nothing and so Bean can get the opportunity to play more. I also think there could be a market for Bjork, but the return won’t be too high.
