COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Blue Jackets will finalize their roster by Monday’s NHL deadline. But has your squad been decided two days before the start of the season?
Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen has been looking for a trade partner since the start of the offseason in hopes of alleviating the roster glut at both ends of the ice. But his desire for a move was only strengthened by the performance of some players in training camp.
The immediate focus is on defense. It’s possible a trade could be completed before the Blue Jackets open the season Thursday against Philadelphia at Nationwide Arena. If so, what players might be available to bolster another team’s blue line?
Kekäläinen revamped the Blue Jackets’ blue line in June with the acquisitions of veterans Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson, but he’s not done yet. The Jackets appear to be trying to make room in the lineup for David Jiricek, the No. 6 overall pick in 2022 who was sent to AHL Cleveland on Monday as the club took steps to reduce the roster to 23.
Jiricek, who spent all of last year with AHL Cleveland, had a strong training camp and preseason, going 0-2-2 overall and a plus-2 rating in four games. In Saturday’s preseason finale, he swapped top pair with Zach Werenski several times and didn’t look out of place.
The Blue Jackets are equipped with right-side defensemen. Adam Boqvist, Erik Gudbranson, Andrew Peeke and Severson are all good shooters, as is Nick Blankenburg, who was sent to AHL Cleveland along with Jiricek on Monday.
Of that group, Boqvist, a small but skilled 23-year-old, and Peeke, a sturdy, stay-at-home 25-year-old, would likely be considered the Blue Jackets’ most expendable defensemen.
On Monday, Boqvist practiced as the Blue Jackets’ seventh defenseman, suggesting he will be a good backup player in Thursday’s opening game. However, coach Pascal Vincent insisted that the lineup against the Flyers is still being determined.
Boqvist arrived in Columbus as part of Seth Jones’ blockbuster deal with Chicago in the hours before the 2022 NHL Draft. Over the last two seasons – 98 games total – Boqvist has scored more goals (16) than any other Columbus defenseman, second only to Zach Werenski (46).
The Blue Jackets have tried Boqvist on Werenski’s right side several times, but Boqvist’s defensive deficiencies and difficulty winning puck battles make him difficult to play on a top pair.
Peeke is almost the complete opposite as a player. He wins puck battles and donates his body to the cause most nights, having played more games (162) than any other Blue Jackets player over the last two seasons. However, he has limited skills and is probably best suited to a third line/penalty taker role.
Of the two, Boqvist would likely provide the greater return as talented defensemen are highly regarded in today’s NHL. Plus, at just 23 years old, he still has the potential to get better on both ends.
In normal times, trading a player with Boqvist’s skill set or Peeke’s competitiveness wouldn’t be a problem, especially with so many clubs looking for defenders on the right side to balance out their defenses.
However, the NHL has endured a stagnant salary cap in recent seasons, leaving most clubs with very little wiggle room under the $83.5 million salary cap.
According to CapFriendly, 19 of the 32 clubs are within $1 million of the salary cap, and eight clubs would be above that if they did not use long-term injured reserve.
The lack of cap space means most NHL GMs are either looking for trades where they can shed salary or make dollar-in-dollar-out swaps to realign their roster. So Kekäläinen is trying to make a trade in a difficult environment.
If he trades Boqvist or Peeke – or anyone else – he doesn’t want a squad player in return, because that doesn’t take the pressure off his stomach. The Blue Jackets have enough salary cap space (around $3 million) to bury another club’s poor contract in the minor leagues.
The Blue Jackets view Jiricek as one of their top prospects and place a high priority on his development. Vincent has made it clear that returning Jiricek to the minor leagues could be the best plan for his development.
But it was a difficult decision on Monday, Vincent said.
“A guy like Jiricek is the right fit,” Vincent said. “He’s close. He is a good player. We know he will be a Blue Jacket for a long time. But decisions have to be made and we have made them. Some are really hard.”
(Photo by Adam Boqvist: Charles LeClaire / USA Today)