By now, most of the ‘big name’ free-agent targets have signed, and the rest should find new homes shortly. While the Columbus Blue Jackets were one of the worst teams in the 2022-23 season, since the signing window opened, they haven’t brought in anyone.
While this may be surprising, there are a few reasons why general manager Jarmo Kekalainen and his team have been quiet. A lot of that has to do with the noise they made earlier in the offseason as well as some other changes they’ve made to the team outside of the market. The Blue Jackets’ inactivity is not a bad thing.
Kekalainen Beat the Market
On paper, it may seem like the Blue Jackets didn’t make any additions in free agency, but that’s not exactly true. The top free agent heading into the offseason was New Jersey Devils defenseman Damon Severson. Kekalainen got ahead of the market, trading for the Severson with a long-term extension. The sign-and-trade marks the second year in a row that the Blue Jackets have added the top free agent, but this time, they did it before the market opened.
Severson is a top-notch defender who has always been pushed down the lineup by other defenders in New Jersey’s system. This will be his first real chance at a top-pairing role, as he has historically averaged around 19-23 minutes per game.
More ice time should bode well for Severson, as the year he averaged the most ice time, he also reached career highs in points. That was in 2021-22, when he played 23:36 per game and scored 11 goals and 46 points. Following that offensive outburst, he doubled down on his defensive play last year, blocking the most shots in his career with 115. It was the first time he’d ever broken into triple digits in that stat. The balance of offense, defense, and the first opportunity on the top-pairing will make Severson a good addition to Columbus’ lineup.
Blue Jackets Added in Other Ways
There are a few other ways that the Blue Jackets have added to their team that will make them a better squad heading into next season. The organization signed several of their prospects who could push for a roster spot as early as this year.
Up front, there is the third-overall pick from this draft, Adam Fantilli — unique talent as a 6-foot-2 power forward with the skill and speed of someone under 6 feet tall. He’s also one of only three players to win the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in the American college system in his freshman year, following in the footsteps of Paul Kariya and Jack Eichel. In any other draft, he might easily have been the first overall selection. As a center, he’s the most exciting prospect the Blue Jackets have ever had.
There was a brief question as to if he would return to college next season, but that got answered quickly when Fantilli became the first player from the 2023 NHL draft class to sign a contract. There is no doubt that he will be on the opening-night roster, nor that he will be an impact player in the league for years to come. A lot of number 11 jerseys will be sold over the next decade or so.
The other addition at center is Dmitri Voronkov, who finally signed with Columbus after the last four years after being drafted in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He won a silver medal as a member of the 2020 Russian Olympic team, dressing in all six games and leading the team in penalty minutes. His last year with Ak Bars Kazan was his best, with 18 goals and 31 points in 54 games. At 6-foot-4, Voronkov is a big body who the Blue Jackets hope will make an excellent third-line center on a championship-caliber team.
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Then there are the additions on defense. That starts with the signing of Stanislav Svozil, who was named the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) East Division defenseman of the year after scoring 78 points in 56 games as the top blueliner for Connor Bedard’s Regina Pats.
Corson Ceulemans is another recently signed defenseman who could push for a roster spot at some point this season. The 2021 first-round pick spent the last two seasons as the University of Wisconsin’s top-scoring defender. He should start the season with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters but could see some NHL action.
The Blue Jackets will also benefit from Alexandre Texier, who returns from his self-imposed exile with the Swiss League’s ZSC Lions. Texier took a one-year sabbatical to spend time with his family in France after a couple of personal losses. He announced his return to Columbus earlier this offseason, which will be a boost to the team’s forward corps. There were times in the 2021-22 season when he was their best player. Although it feels like he’s been around forever, he’s still only 23 years old. There is still a good chance that Texier will be a part of the Blue Jackets for a significant amount of time.
Ivan Provorov joins Columbus through the trade market. In a blockbuster three-team deal, Kekalainen didn’t have to give up any roster players to acquire the stalwart defender from the Philadelphia Flyers. Provorov not only replaces but supplants Vladislav Gavrikov on the left side of the second pairing. This was a tidy piece of business to add stability to their top-four.
The final big addition is behind the bench. They’ve added a future Hall of Fame head coach in Mike Babcock, one of only 12 coaches in NHL history to win 700 games. He has led his team to the Stanley Cup Final three times, winning once in 2008, and was also the head coach of two Canadian Olympic gold-medal teams. He’s known for adding structure to his teams. His presence, along with all of the personnel changes on defense, should bring a boost to team defense as a whole.
Whether or not the Blue Jackets end up adding anyone else, they are significantly better heading into training camp than they were at the end of last season. The additions of Severson, Fantilli, Babcock, and the rest will make them much more competitive in the formidable Metropolitan Division. Their inactivity in July speaks to patience and planning that will make room for the up-and-coming players already in the organization, as opposed to adding players simply for the sake of adding them.