While the expansion draft is set to headline a busy NHL offseason, there are still several other storylines for each team in the months ahead. Here is a closer look at what lies ahead for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
What a difference a year can make. After Columbus missed the playoffs in 2015-16, they were one of the top teams in the league in the regular season. Unfortunately for them, they fell victim to the NHL’s playoff seeding that keeps the first two rounds inside the divisions so their reward for a top four finish league-wide was a date with Pittsburgh (the second overall team) in the first round. They went down quickly to the Penguins which ended their year on a sour note. GM Jarmo Kekalainen isn’t likely to make sweeping changes but here are some keys that he’s likely going to look to accomplish this summer.
Free Up Cap Room
The Blue Jackets have a little more than $70MM committed in payroll for next season per CapFriendly which doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room, especially with the salary cap not expected to rise by a significant amount. It’s worth noting that David Clarkson will be eligible for LTIR once again which will allow them to exceed the cap by up to his $5.25MM cap hit but that alone probably won’t be enough to re-sign their free agents and add some pieces. It was reported on Friday that Columbus is talking with Vegas in the hopes of getting them to pick the remaining three years of his contract.
Scott Hartnell’s $4.75MM deal is also cumbersome, especially with him primarily playing in a bottom six role. However, he has a no-move clause and indicated back in training camp that he wasn’t willing to waive it; not only would that end hopes of a trade, it could also play a role in their expansion draft strategy. Accordingly, he’s a candidate for a buyout which could give them a bit more room to work with; the cost against the cap for doing so would be $1.5MM next season, $3MM in 2018-19, and $1.25MM in the following two seasons.
The emergence of Zach Werenski plus having intriguing youngsters in Markus Nutivaara and Gabriel Carlsson might allow Kekalainen to move a blueliner. The first one that would spring to mind is Jack Johnson who finds himself a year away from unrestricted free agency. He’s capable of logging top four minutes and carries a cap hit of just over $4.35MM which should attract some interest around the league and unlike Hartnell, there isn’t any trade protection. If one of those two players were to come off the books, the Jackets would find themselves in a lot more comfortable of a situation.
New Deal For Wennberg
After a strong sophomore season, Alexander Wennberg followed that up with an even better year in 2016-17, posting career highs across the board. The timing couldn’t have been much better as his entry-level deal is expiring, setting him up for restricted free agency in July.
Unlike some teams, Columbus hasn’t hesitated to go the bridge route in recent years, doing so with players like Boone Jenner and Ryan Murray (although they were able to hand Seth Jones a six year deal off his rookie contract last summer too). Part of the rationale for that was likely cap-motivated and their current situation could certainly play a factor in the decision here as well as a long-term deal would likely cost a minimum of $5MM per season.
Regardless of what route they take, Wennberg is set to get a significant raise from the $925K he earned this season (before performances bonuses). He finished second on the team in scoring and is their top line center which is going to make this contract a top priority for Kekalainen.
Atkinson Extension
Cam Atkinson has been a fairly consistent scorer in recent years but he took his game to another level this past season, tallying a career best 35 goals. As a result, he led the team in scoring and was one of the better bargains league-wide with a deal that pays him $3.5MM per season. He is only a year away from unrestricted free agency though and is eligible to sign an extension at the beginning of July.
In a market where very few top scorers even make it to free agency, it’s likely that Kekalainen and Atkinson’s agent, George Bazos, will discuss a new deal at some point this summer. With goal scoring at a premium at the moment, a long-term contract could hover around the $6-7MM per season range which would make the 27 year old the highest paid skater on the team. (Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky carries the highest cap hit at $7.425MM.)
Given the fact that there’s another year left on his deal, this may not be at the top of the to-do list for the Blue Jackets but it wouldn’t be surprising to see them try to ink their top goal scorer before training camp gets underway.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.