Welcome back to another week of Columbus Blue Jackets News & Rumors. Phew. Have you all recovered from the news cycle last week? Because the cycle isn’t going to slow down anytime soon.
We are now just 17 days from the NHL Trade Deadline. The Blue Jackets will be led by John Davidson through this. He recently appeared on a national radio show and had some definitive things to say about the captain.
Jenner Not Going Anywhere
Davidson appeared on the Jeff Marek show last week to discuss the state of the Blue Jackets after GM Jarmo Kekalainen was fired. Marek asked Davidson about Boone Jenner since there has been a lot of noise around his name of late.
Davidson didn’t hold back on his answer.
“We got a lot of calls on Boone. But Boone’s not going anywhere,” Davidson said. “And Boone doesn’t want to go anywhere.” Davidson admitted that he was being transparent with this situation.
Teams would love to add a player like Jenner to their roster. He plays the kind of game that translates well to the playoffs. He’s willing to go to the dirty areas. He’ll park in front of the net. But then he’ll take key faceoffs, score big goals and play in every situation. He currently leads the Blue Jackets in goals coming into the week. That even includes the time he missed due to a broken jaw.
But it is no secret what the Blue Jackets think of Jenner. Management loves him. It’s believed ownership really loves him. The players respect him. He is a coach’s dream.
For a trade to take place here, teams would have to drastically overpay. That might not even be enough. The Blue Jackets certainly have candidates that could be gone by the trade deadline. It appears safe to cross Jenner off that list.
Now the question to consider here is if it’s a smart move to exclude Jenner from trades? On one hand, you need a strong veteran presence to help lead the young players. He is the Blue Jackets’ captain for a reason. His leadership on and off the ice has been complemented in spades by the players. They really look up to him.
On the flip side, hockey is a business. If a team calls the Blue Jackets and offers both a first-round pick and a talented prospect, don’t you at least have to think about it? There are some teams that may try to do that especially given that Jenner has term left on his very friendly deal.
Still, it seems this group wants Jenner to continue to lead the Blue Jackets given everything he brings. Don’t expect a trade here unless there’s a deal too good to pass up.
Gaudreau’s Weird Season
Anyone who stayed up Saturday night to watch the San Jose game saw a strange sequence of events for Johnny Gaudreau. When was the last time you saw anyone get three breakaways in one period and not even record a shot on goal?
Gaudreau lost control of the puck on the first one. He hit the post on the second one and then missed the net on the third one. This sequence does capture how his season has gone.
Gaudreau has just seven goals this season, which is tied for ninth on the Blue Jackets. He hasn’t been able to buy a goal this season. However, he is producing in other ways.
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Gaudreau enters this week’s games with eight assists in his last six games including two helpers in San Jose. His 30 assists lead the team. He has played much better than he did at the start of the season.
His line with Jenner and Jack Roslovic were dominant against the Sharks. They controlled possession and were out seemingly every other shift. That line will stay together at least to start when they take on the Los Angeles Kings Tuesday night.
Gaudreau’s career-low for goals in a full season is 18. He’s at seven with just 29 games left to play. He also has a career-low shooting percentage of 6.5% and is on pace for the lowest number of shots on goal in a full season. Even despite that, he’s the Blue Jacket’s leading scorer by six. It’s been a weird season but he’s still finding ways to produce.
Voronkov Continues to Rise
Let’s start with a question. Which NHL rookie leads the league in goals since Jan 15? Yes, it’s Blue Jackets’ rookie Dmitri Voronkov. He has seven goals in that span including goals in consecutive games.
Day-by-day, he continues to get more comfortable with his surroundings in North America. It also appears he’s having fun. He was reunited with his fellow countrymen Yegor Chinakhov and Kirill Marchenko in San Jose. When the top line wasn’t out there, the Russians were out there and dominating.
Voronkov is doing his damage near the net. When you have a 6-foot-5 frame and are 240 pounds, that’s a massive advantage. He’s trending to become an incredible weapon in that area. Moving 240-pound players is no easy feat.
Voronkov already has the seventh-most goals for a rookie in Blue Jackets’ history. At his current pace, he should get to 20 goals and could challenge for the best rookie goal-scoring season in franchise history. He’s not getting much Calder love, but he deserves more recognition for the season he’s putting together.
Side Dishes
- Don’t expect the Blue Jackets to rush into a GM decision, unless they find someone who completely overwhelms them in the interview process. As we recently talked about, the position is highly coveted. It is also critical that they get this right.
- Fans who purchase a Blue Jackets’ ticket plan will get first priority to 2025 Stadium Series tickets. We’ll make sure we pass along news when it becomes available.
- The Blue Jackets are shooting the puck a lot in recent games. They’ve averaged 38.7 in their last three games including getting to 40 in Ottawa and San Jose.
- Zach Werenski’s next assist will give him 30 on the season. That would make the fourth time he’s done that in his career.
- On the prospect side, Ottawa 67’s Luca Pinelli has reached 40 goals on the season.
- Finally, have to discuss Jenner breaking 26 minutes in San Jose. While he deserves to play, this is not a good look given the overall circumstances. Why risk injury especially with someone with a history of back injuries? There’s no need to showcase him. While winning is important, playing him almost half the game is not the answer. Let the younger guys play even if they’re struggling. This is the time to do it.
