Welcome back to a Tuesday edition of Blue Jackets News & Rumors. We normally publish this piece on Monday’s. However in the event of a game on Monday night, we will push to the next available off day.
We’ll start this week by looking back at Monday’s game against the St. Louis Blues. We’ll then discuss some potentially tricky decisions facing the Blue Jackets when it comes to their final roster.
Blue Jackets 5 Blues 3
The Blue Jackets raced out to a 4-0 lead early before the Blues made their comeback. The game had a similar feel to the Buffalo game from Saturday. However this time, the Blue Jackets were able to hang on and win.
Boone Jenner, Kirill Marchenko and Justin Danforth scored first period goals. Cole Sillinger added one early in the second period. The Blue Jackets were in complete control. Then in a flash, momentum flipped.
Jakub Vrana and Sammy Blais scored less than three minutes apart to make it 4-2. Vrana added his second of night early in the third. Like Saturday, penalty trouble was catching up to the Blue Jackets.
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Jet Greaves was outstanding making 36 saves. He made a key save later in the third that kept it 4-3. Johnny Gaudreau then hit the empty net from inside his own zone to ice the game away.
As for takeaways from this one, two things stood out. First, Patrik Laine is doing well for himself at center. It was just his fourth game ever there. He was 8/14 on draws including 4/4 in the defensive zone. Imagine in year’s past seeing Laine in an important defensive zone situation. It’s happening now and in a small sample size, he’s doing well.
It certainly opens up the question about how center ice will start on opening night. The Blue Jackets are clearly testing Laine there to see if he can stick. If he continues to impact the game like Monday, he could start there. If nothing else, it gives Pascal Vincent options.
As for the second takeaway, Marchenko in my sight was the Blue Jackets’ best skater. He scored a goal. He was impactful in all areas of the ice. But it was his defense that popped for me.
While the plays won’t hit the scoresheet, Marchenko’s positioning and use of his stick in breaking up plays was a thing of beauty. He is quietly developing into an impactful two-way forward that can be trusted in big situations. In his two preseason appearances, he’s lined up on the right side on the top line.
While who Marchenko’s center will be is still up in the air, it seems apparent that he’s done enough to start the season as the 1RW. The only question now will be can he add more passing and assists to his game?
Tough Decisions
Leaguewide, teams are facing tough decisions as to who to keep on their roster. This is resulting in some interesting names on the waiver wire.
The Blue Jackets, at least as of Tuesday morning, haven’t placed anyone on waivers. However that is just a matter of time.
The potential exists in which there could be some very surprising names that show up there when final cutdowns come. There are four players that are squarely in the bubble that require waivers in which it’s entirely possible one or more of them end up there.
- Emil Bemstrom
- Liam Foudy
- Justin Danforth
- Eric Robinson
The surprising name on this list is Robinson. While it’s likely he makes the final roster, the performance of others coupled with his pending UFA status could sway the Blue Jackets into thinking of this as a possibility.
The other thing too in this case is that the Blue Jackets have more than enough bodies to fill the bottom-six. Should other players outplay Robinson, it could happen.
The takeaway here is that a potential prominent name could become available to other teams. Coach Vincent has already said that the players will ultimately make the decisions for them. But it won’t be easy decisions.
This next game or two could go a long way in determining who stays and who hits waivers. Don’t be surprised if it’s one of the four mentioned above.
Side Dishes
- The Blue Jackets have three preseason games left. Expect two of them to be more like a dress rehearsal of sorts. Pay attention also to how they are aligned in practices upcoming.
- We touched on it a little Sunday, but the Blue Jackets did claim Spencer Martin off waivers from the Vancouver Canucks. His one-way contract carries over. He’s the perfect candidate to start the season as the number-two behind Elvis Merzlikins if Daniil Tarasov isn’t ready to go. The team couldn’t afford to wait and then find themselves scrambling later. They jumped on the first good opportunity presented to them. This likely means Aaron Dell won’t get a contract now. But as of this writing, he’s still with the team.
- Vincent wants to be patient when possible. Don’t be surprised to see younger players off in other places to start the season. Denton Mateychuk and David Jiricek come to mind here. They’ve earned the longer look but the Blue Jackets can and need to be patient with their studs. They do not need to be rushed. It doesn’t sound like they will be. If they make the team, that means they were deemed ready now. I would not assume either make the opening roster absent an injury or two.