COLUMBUS, Ohio — A collection of notes, insights, ruminations and did-you-knows gathered throughout the week that was for the Columbus Blue Jackets:
Item No. 1: The reward
It’s been another tough season in Columbus. The Blue Jackets have lost more than 40 games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2006-07. The last time they finished dead-last in their conference in consecutive seasons was 2002-03.
Advertisement
The only reward in a season like this is the benefit of having one of the first few picks in the NHL draft, which will be staged in June in Las Vegas.
The Blue Jackets are wedged solidly in 29th place in the NHL’s overall standings — they’re 10 points behind 28th-place Montreal and seven points ahead of 30th-place Anaheim — meaning they’ll once again be watching closely when the league holds its draft lottery next month.
The NHL has the lottery tentatively scheduled for early May, likely between May 5 and May 7, depending on how the first-round of the Stanley Cup playoffs schedule falls.
Last season, the Blue Jackets started anticipating the lottery in November, shortly after they returned from the NHL Global Series losses in Finland. The lottery, never a friend to the Blue Jackets, once again moved them down a spot in the pecking order, but they still managed to land center Adam Fantilli.
There’s been far less talk about the lottery this season, but the Blue Jackets will have a prime seat at the table once again. In that No. 4 spot, they go into the lottery with a 9.5 percent chance to land the No. 1 overall pick, trailing only San Jose (25.5 percent), Chicago (13.5) and Anaheim (11.5).
Due to the lottery rules, the Blue Jackets are guaranteed to land one of the following picks: first (9.5 percent), second (9.8), fourth (15.4), fifth (44.9) or sixth (20.5).
The Jackets have had six first-round picks over the last three drafts, with five of those picks landing in the top 12 in their respective drafts. Their prospect pool is very well stocked, earning a third-best ranking in the NHL by The Athletic’s prospects guru, Scott Wheeler.
The Blue Jackets’ offseasons have been better than their seasons recently. There are big changes coming this summer, including another top talent joining the organization. With this top pick, they don’t really need to favor one position over another — well, goaltender is a big need, but most agree there aren’t any goalies worth of a top pick this year — so who are the top potential targets?
Advertisement
We’ll get more into that soon, but the list is likely to include:
Forwards
1. Macklin Celebrini, C, Boston Univ., 6-feet, 190 pounds
2. Ivan Demidov, RW, St. Petersburg SKA, 5-11, 181 pounds
3. Cole Eiserman, LW, 6-0, 195 pounds
Others: Berkly Catton, Konsta Helenius and Cayden Lindstrom, all centers.
Defensemen
1. Artyom Levshunov, RD, Michigan State, 6-2, 208 pounds
2. Sam Dickinson, LD, London (OHL), 6-2, 199 pounds
3. Zeev Buium, LD, Denver Univ, 6-feet, 180 pounds
Others: RD Zayne Parekh, LD Anton Silayev, RD Carter Yakemchuk.
Item No. 2: Contracts on hold
Blue Jackets president Mike Priest and president of hockey operations John Davidson have whittled through the list of GM candidates and begun to focus on the group that intrigues them enough to schedule interviews. Those will start soon after the regular season ends on Tuesday.
“We’re going to find out who’s available and who’s not, and then get going,” Davidson told The Athletic. “The sooner the better, but there’s no rush.”
The process could take a while, especially if a candidate the Blue Jackets want to interview is employed by an NHL club that plays deep into the playoffs.
The last time the Blue Jackets held an offseason GM search — that was in 2007, after the firing of inaugural GM Doug MacLean — it took until mid-June before they hired Scott Howson. (The Jackets were turned down by Bob Murray and Colin Campbell before they arrived at Howson.)
There are major decisions on hold pending the new hire, including a bevy of contract negotiations. Blue Jackets forwards Yegor Chinakhov, Kent Johnson, Kirill Marchenko, Alex Nylander, Cole Sillinger and Alexandre Texier are all restricted free agents, as are defensemen Jake Bean, Nick Blankenburg and Jake Christiansen and goaltender Jet Greaves.
“We’ve had discussions with them and their agents, for sure, to get things in place,” Davidson said. “The agents have been told that we’re in a situation where we’re not going to move on anything until a GM is in place. They all understand that.”
Advertisement
The RFAs would all be free to negotiate with other NHL clubs if they aren’t signed by July 1, but the Blue Jackets would have the right to match any offer a player receives. If any player signs an offer sheet with another club — those are exceedingly rare, by the way — the Blue Jackets would have the right to match the offer.
Where it could get sticky is that several of those players are eligible for arbitration, which can be a long, tedious process. The Blue Jackets have come close through the years, but they’ve never gone through arbitration with a player.
Item No. 3: Snacks
• Nothing definitive, but it’s likely that Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner won’t play again this season. Jenner and his wife, Maggie, in a statement issued through the club in early April, revealed that the couple’s first child, Dawson, was stillborn on March 31. “I would say I want him to go heal as a family,” Davidson said. “I want him and his family to heal in the best way possible. That’s a tough one. He and his wife … you can’t even really comprehend that. There’s nothing anybody can say, but we’re all pulling together for them. If you’re a religious person, say a lot of prayers. If you’re not, keep them in your thoughts. We have given them as much support as we can, and we’ve also given them space to do this as they need to.”
• Blue Jackets assistant equipment manager Jason Stypinski, who has worked at the behest of pro hockey players in Columbus all the way back to the ECHL’s Columbus Chill, is moving on after the season, he has told the club. Stypinski has worked more than 1,600 pro games during a nearly 30-year career. He should get a nice send-off on Tuesday.
Meet one of the unsung heroes of the Columbus Blue Jackets!
Tonight's game is the last road game for assistant equipment manager Jason "Ski" Stypinski, and this team is going to miss him. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/ESDDiLK4lj
— Bally Sports Columbus (@BallySportsCBUS) April 14, 2024
• The Blue Jackets determined early last week that Fantilli, out since Jan. 28 with a lacerated calf, will not return this season. No further procedures were needed, Davidson said, but the club didn’t want to take any chances with their prize prospect. “It’s going to be fine, and he’s very close now to being ready,” Davidson said. “But sometimes healing, when you have a cut like that, takes time. We just weren’t going to rush anything or take any chances.” If Fantilli is chosen to play for Team Canada in the IIHF World Championships next month in Czechia, the Blue Jackets will clear him to play, Davidson said.
• For all their struggles on the ice, it’s been a great season for the Blue Jackets at the box office. They’ve drawn 680,378 fans through 40 home games, with the finale set for Tuesday vs. Carolina. Once Tuesday’s crowd is counted, it will be the most fans the Jackets have drawn since the 2003-04 season, when 712,145 fans attended games in Nationwide Arena.
• Here’s your Sunday Gathering trivia question: Johnny Gaudreau, with 11-48-59, is the Blue Jackets’ leading point-producer, but he’s tied for 88th in the league in points. Who is the only Blue Jackets player to finish top-10 in the league in scoring during a single season?
Advertisement
• The Blue Jackets are giving Gavin Brindley, his family and his representatives space to make a decision regarding the dawn of his pro career, but they’ve made it clear where they stand on their second-round pick (No. 34 overall) from last summer. “We feel like he’s ready to turn pro,” Davidson said. “He’s got a lot going for him. This kid has a really intense … the motor doesn’t stop, from the start of a shift to the end of the shift. He’s got an intense inner drive. He’s going to get there. He’s going to be a good player for us.”
Brindley’s representative, Pat Brisson, told The Athletic on Saturday that the family was going to take their time with the decision. It’s possible that the Blue Jackets’ front-office uncertainty is making the decision more difficult. If he decides to turn pro, Brindley would likely sign an entry-level deal starting with the 2024-25 season, and sign a player-tryout agreement with AHL Cleveland that would allow him to play for the Monsters for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs.
• Brindley and the University of Michigan were knocked out of the NCAA’s Frozen Four in the semifinals on Thursday, ending a great sophomore season for the 5-foot-9, 165-pound sophomore. He had 25-28-53 in 40 games for the Wolverines, earning Big Ten player of the year and All-America honors.
Did someone turn up the heat in here?
Denton Mateychuk nets his third goal of the playoffs less than a minute after Yager extended the Warriors lead!#CBJ | #WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingtheFuture pic.twitter.com/hdHslTMp8C
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 14, 2024
• Mateychuk seems to play his way into a mention here every week, but his performance on Saturday was one for the ages. The Blue Jackets’ No. 12 overall pick in 2022 had a goal and five assists in Moose Jaw’s 7-2 win over Swift Current in Game 2 of their second-round Western Hockey League series. The six-point game was one short of a WHL record held by former Kamloops defenders Darryl Sydor and Olen Zelwegger. Mateychuk has 3-11-14 in six playoff games, leading all WHL skaters so far in the playoffs.
• Trivia answer: Not Rick Nash. Not Artemi Panarin, and not Ray Whitney. The only Blue Jackets player to finish in the league’s top 10 in scoring is Nick Foligno, who had 31-42-73 in 2014-15.
• Since he was recalled by Columbus to make his NHL debut on March 26, winger James Malatesta leads the Blue Jackets and is tied for sixth in the NHL with 40 hits, despite playing only 9:56 per game in 10 games.
• AHL Cleveland clinched a playoff spot this week, even though they’ve struggled to get to the finish line after having their roster raided following the injuries at the NHL level. The Monsters are currently third in the North Division, trailing first-place Syracuse by two points and second-place Rochester by one. All three teams have three games remaining. Cleveland plays at Rochester on Friday, then finishes the regular-season with back-to-back day games on Saturday and Sunday in Toronto.
Advertisement
• By Wednesday, the day after the Blue Jackets’ season ends, expect Nick Blankenburg, Trey Fix-Wolansky, David Jiricek, Malatesta and Mikael Pyyhtia to be sent to AHL Cleveland to boost the lineup before the end-of-season rush and the playoffs. The Monsters also just got center Hunter McKown back in the lineup after an extended absence. But Brendan Gaunce’s injury has been described as “week to week,” so he won’t be ready, it seems, for the start of the playoffs.
You can buy tickets to every NHL game here.
(Photo of Denver’s Shai Buium and Boston College’s Macklin Celebrini: Matt Krohn / USA Today)
