While the playoffs rage on, the season has ended for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Excluded from the tournament for the fourth straight season, there is a lot on the team’s ‘to-do’ list over the next few months. Hiring a new general manager (GM), making decisions on almost 20 expiring contracts, and prepping to select another player within the first six selections in the NHL Entry Draft are the headlines.
The Hockey Writers’ Blue Jackets’ writing staff and co-hosts Nicholas Arnold (me) and Mark Scheig are back with another edition of the Union Junction Podcast to talk about it all. On the show, we start by discussing the 2024 Draft class, now that the Draft Lottery has been set for May 7. We continue with a breakdown of the Blue Jackets whose contracts are expiring this offseason and make predictions if they’ll be re-signed short-term, long-term, or released. Then we had a discussion of Mark’s thoughts following the Blue Jackets’ locker cleanout day.
Also in an exciting professional development, Mark was able to vote on the NHL awards in his first season as a member of the Professional Hockey Writer’s Association (PHWA). So we discuss the voting process and a couple of names on his ballots before closing with your listener questions.
Blue Jackets Find Out Where They Draft on May 7
A date has been set for the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery. The Blue Jackets head into it with the fourth-best odds in the NHL at 9.5%. If the team wins a lottery, they could pick first or second. There is no chance they can pick third, but they can stand pat at fourth or even drop to fifth or sixth overall should one or two teams with worse odds than them leapfrog them with a lottery win.
Related: Blue Jackets Need Major Shake Up For Sake of Winning
There is a solid amount of highly touted prospects available to be chosen in the first half of the first round and Mark and I touched a bit on them in the episode. Of note is the presumptive first overall pick, Macklin Celebrini who became the fourth freshman in American college hockey to win the Hobey Baker Award as the best player in the country.
Generally, the rule is to pick the best player available, but it could be a tough decision for the Blue Jackets if they pick fifth or sixth to decide if they take a forward or defender given how full their prospect cupboard has gotten over the past few years.
Blue Jackets Expiring Contracts
Whoever the Blue Jackets’ next GM is will have a lot of tough decisions to make, with 18 players on expiring contracts within the organization. Most of these are young players expected to be the core of the team over the next five to ten years, so there is a lot on the line.
Among those players is Kirill Marchenko who has scored 20 goals in each of his first two NHL seasons. He’s a big body at 6-foot-3, has a wicked shot, and has been a glue guy in the Blue Jackets locker room. He could be a candidate for a long-term contract. Other players needing new contracts are Cole Sillinger, Kent Johnson, and Yegor Chinakhov. All three of them have shown flashes of brilliance. All of them are also 23 or younger, so are likely to be the future of Ohio’s team.
Other Topics Discussed:
- The chances Pascal Vincent returns as head coach.
- The possibility of an Elvis Merzlikins buyout.
- A tease of Mark’s long read around the Blue Jackets’ need to invest more in off-ice talent.
- Situations to watch for the Blue Jackets’ GM search.
The next Union Junction podcast episode will come after the Draft Lottery when we have a better picture of where the Blue Jackets are picking and of who might be available for them to pick in that slot. Keep your eyes open for it at some point in late May or early June.
