The Columbus Blue Jackets are in the midst of a much-needed break on their schedule. After playing 30 games in their first 60 days of the season, the team has three days between games before taking on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.
Now is as good a time as any to get caught up on the news around the Blue Jackets. While there’s a lot to discuss, we have to begin with the fallout from the Erik Gudbranson, Nick Cousins situation.
Gudbranson Suspended
To no one’s surprise, Gudbranson was handed a one-game suspension by NHL Player Safety for breaking rule 46.2. He was deemed both an instigator and an aggressor against Cousins. Gudbranson in the middle of play went after Cousins and started throwing punches against an unwilling combatant.
Earlier in the game, Cousins boarded Gudbranson on a dangerous play. The officials at first ruled a five-minute major against Cousins which allowed them to review. After the review, the call was deemed a two-minute minor.
Gudbranson was furious. He went after Cousins initially and then again later in the game. In the end, this whole situation could have been avoided had the officials done their job on the ice.
Reducing that hit to a minor allowed Cousins to stay in the game. This allowed Gudbranson the opportunity to take vengeance into his own hands since the officials didn’t do that themselves.
This is a case where it would be nice to hear from an official what they saw that made them say it was only two minutes. In Gudbranson’s own words, he told the media on Tuesday that it was a dangerous hit that could have had potentially serious health consequences.
Then consider other similar hits that have happened in the league recently. Take Evander Kane’s and Eric Robinson’s hits for example. Kane was not penalized. Robinson got a game misconduct. The rulebook does state it’s a judgment call for the officials. But that opens the door for inconsistency since one official might see it differently than another. It shouldn’t be this way.
Ultimately, Gudbranson was set up to fail by the NHL. While he clearly broke a rule that led to being suspended, he should have never been put in a position where he had to put justice into his own hands. The officials could have prevented that from happening. Instead, it’s Gudbranson who’s missing games and not Cousins. It also sets precedence that these kind of hits will continue if they’re not properly penalized on the ice.
Gudbranson will miss Thursday’s game in Toronto and will return for Saturday’s game against New Jersey.
Three Goalies
Elvis Merzlikins is close to ready to return for the Blue Jackets. Once that happens, that could make for a situation where the team has three goalies on their roster.
Think of the downstream effects this will have. That means carrying only one extra forward and defenseman instead of two. That also means trying to juggle playing time with three players capable of starting games.
Daniil Tarasov is back on the roster after completing his rehab assignment in the AHL. The obvious questions now are who plays in the next few games and how long can they go like this?
Carrying three goalies is not uncommon especially this season. Montreal and Buffalo are two examples of teams that did that for a bit. Philadelphia also comes to mind and there were others. However this hampers roster flexibility and is usually not a sustainable way of handling things in a season.
Related: It’s Time for Blue Jackets’ Tarasov to Take the Next Step
How will the Blue Jackets handle this? Since Spencer Martin was claimed off waivers, he cannot be traded. That rule is in there to prevent teams from claiming players and then turning around to trade them right away.
Ultimately, the Blue Jackets are going to have to decide on a path forward. It could mean a trade. It could mean someone ends up on waivers. As long as three goalies stay on the roster, it will be a question that hangs over the team until they make a hard decision.
Side Dishes
- According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, he believes that time could be running out on the Blue Jackets’ front office. (From ‘Insider Trading: Blue Jackets struggles could lead to front office changes‘, Bruce Garrioch, Ottawa Sun, 12/12/23)
- In the piece, Garrioch says the following: “The belief in NHL circles is that both could be shown the door if the club doesn’t get its act together and owner John P. McConnell isn’t the least bit pleased with where the Jackets sit. This isn’t the hope that Davidson and Kekalainen were selling coming into this year.”
- While it’s clear that the Blue Jackets aren’t where they want to be in the standings, what’s not clear is how close ownership is to pulling a trigger on this kind of move. They will have to decide a path forward and if this current group can get the team on the right path again. The takeaway here is that folks from around the hockey world are watching how this will all play out. Missing a fourth consecutive playoffs could prove to be the final straw. But a lot will depend on how the rest of the season plays out.
- My 0.02. This can obviously change in a flash, however I don’t suspect anything is imminent on that front right now.
- The Blue Jackets would have to go 32-17-3 or thereabouts in their final 52 games to reach 90 points. That’s a lot to ask.
