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2018 Midseason UFA Power Rankings: 11-20

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With the halfway point of the season now behind us and the trade deadline fast approaching, it’s time to take a preliminary look at the UFA Class of 2018.  Here is the first half of our top-20 rankings, based on votes from writers Gavin Lee, Brian La Rose, Nate Brown, Zach Leach and Holger Stolzenberg. We’ll run numbers 1-10 tomorrow, and release an honorable mention group on Friday.

11. David Perron, F, Vegas Golden Knights — When Perron was scoring 20 goals as a 21-year old in St. Louis, he likely wouldn’t have believed that he’d be joining his sixth NHL team just a few days after his 30th birthday. That’s what could happen this summer if Perron isn’t re-signed by the Vegas Golden Knights, and he hits the open market as one of the most consistent forwards available. The winger has 34 points in 37 games and could realistically set a new career-high should he stay healthy down the stretch. For teams looking for secondary scoring from a do-it-all forward, Perron is the easy answer.

12. Joe Thornton, C, San Jose Sharks — Thornton ranked #3 on our midseason list last season, and ended up taking a one-year, $8MM deal to stay in San Jose. This summer could be much of the same, after he proves his seven-goal 2016-17 was just a fluke. Thornton is still one of the great setup men in the league, and has 32 points in 43 games on the year. After playing through torn knee ligaments in the playoffs, he’s shown off inexplicable health once again by suiting up for all 43 games. At 39 next year there is still time for him to bring home that elusive Stanley Cup.

13. Patric Hornqvist, F, Pittsburgh Penguins — We’ve seen the Penguins lose key players to free agency in the past, and if they can’t find the salary room to fit Hornqvist in there won’t be a shortage of teams calling his agent on July 1st. The 31-year old has never scored fewer than 21 goals in a season in which he played at least 64 games, and it doesn’t look like that streak will end this year. A weapon in front of the net on the powerplay and still capable at both ends of the rink, Hornqvist comes with the added bonus of some recent Stanley Cup experience.

14. Tyler Bozak, C, Toronto Maple Leafs — There’s a lot to like in Bozak’s profile, as an elite faceoff man with solid offensive upside, but he does come with some risk. No one would ever claim he’s a defensive specialist, and his game has slowed considerably over the past few seasons. He also will hit the open market at 32, and has seen his minutes diminished this season. Still, a 40-50 point center with plenty of powerplay experience will be an exciting prospect for a team looking to upgrade their depth down the middle.

15. Rick Nash, F, New York Rangers — Nash has certainly not lived up to his $7.8MM cap hit this season (or the last few), but there will surely be some teams convinced they can bring out some of the greatness that was once so apparent. The 427-goal man has just 11 this season, but can still skate well and kill penalties. Like fellow 33-year old Eric Staal, who has found a career renaissance after a stint in New York (albeit a much shorter one), Nash could be a sneaky bargain on the open market for a team willing to take a chance.

16. Thomas Vanek, F, Vancouver Canucks — Vanek was actually #8 on this list last season, but had to settle for a one-year deal with Vancouver after waiting until September to sign. This year, he’s done what he’s always done and continued to find a way to put up points despite obvious red flags in his game. With 32 points in 45 games and nice chemistry building with Brock Boeser, the Canucks could decide to keep him on for another few seasons as they continue their rebuild. If not, his market is about as easy to predict as the lottery numbers.

17. Patrick Maroon, F, Edmonton Oilers — After last year’s breakout playing mostly with Connor McDavid, Maroon looked like a key piece to the Oilers success going forward. Just a few months into the 2017-18 season though, and he looks like a sure-fire deadline rental with an unclear future. Save for the 27-goal output Maroon had last season, he has scored just 45 goals in 264 career games. If those point totals can creep back up in the second half, maybe someone believes he can be a real top-six option on a multi-year deal.

18. Zdeno Chara, D, Boston Bruins — He’ll be 41. He’s lost much of his mobility. He’s on pace for one of the worst offensive seasons of his career. But he’s still 6’9″ and logging more than 23 minutes a night for the Bruins. Chara isn’t the perennial Norris candidate of a decade ago, but there’s no reason why he can’t be an effective option going forward. He’s still a capable defenseman at even strength and one of the top penalty killing options in the league. With a reduced role he could be even more effective. It would be shocking to see him make it to the open market, but stranger things have happened.

19. Jack Johnson, D, Columbus Blue Jackets — The fact that Johnson wasn’t even in the top-20 of two ballots shows just how far he’s fallen in recent years. Once seen as an integral part of the Blue Jackets blueline, with the ability to quarterback a powerplay and log huge minutes, he’s now asked for a trade out of Columbus to get a bigger role somewhere else. At 31, there’s a real chance that his game may have taken a drastic negative turn and teams could stay away from giving him a long-term contract.

20. Daniel Sedin, F, Vancouver Canucks — Interestingly it’s Daniel, not Henrik Sedin that finds himself in the final spot on our rankings despite the latter having more points this season. Though his twin only missed the cut by a few spots, it’s likely Daniel’s better goal total (ten, to Henrik’s two) that makes up the difference. They won’t be going anywhere separately, but it would be a real shame to see them as part of a franchise other than Vancouver at this point in their careers. At 38 to start the 2018-19 season, it might be Canucks or bust.

Morning Notes: Crawford, Trade Bait, Green

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The Chicago Blackhawks are sitting at 50 points in the standings, but somehow find themselves in last place in the Central Division. Their 22-17-6 record would be good enough for fourth in the Atlantic and fifth in the Pacific, but unfortunately they find themselves playing in a division where all seven teams have positive goal differentials. Now, even as they struggle to climb the Central ladder, they could lose one of their most important players for the rest of the year.

Corey Crawford is currently on injured reserve, and Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the goaltender is suffering from vertigo-like symptoms. It’s not the first time symptoms like this have surfaced for Crawford, who dealt with them in 2016 as well. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet wrote yesterday that coach Joel Quenneville believed last week that Crawford would return, but Lazerus claims things have complicated since then. The Blackhawks resume their schedule on Saturday, when they will take on the New York Islanders.

  • TSN’s Frank Seravalli has updated his Trade Bait board, with Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Michael Grabner, Jack Johnson, Nick Holden and Aaron Dell all joining the list. The emphasis on New York Rangers’ players is clear, with Seravalli writing that they’re a “team to watch” heading into the trade deadline. The Rangers are in a playoff spot currently, but are stuck in the middle of a super-competitive Metropolitan Division and could fall out of the race with a bad week or two. If the team doesn’t believe they can really make an impact in the playoffs, the distinct lack of sellers on the market could make them consider moving some of their expiring pieces.
  • Mike Green has not been asked to waive his trade protection yet by GM Ken Holland, but Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports on TSN’s Insider Trading that when he’s eventually asked, the Detroit Red Wings will be willing to eat some of his salary to get a deal done. LeBrun notes Tampa Bay as a possible fit for the powerplay specialist, though is quick to note that no discussions have been had just yet.

Jack Johnson Asks To Be Traded

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Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson has requested a trade, reports Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription required).  Portzline adds that the ask was made several weeks ago with the hopes that a deal could be worked out before the trade deadline next month.  Johnson and his agent Pat Brisson declined to comment while GM Jarmo Kekalainen had a brief comment to George Richards of the Columbus Dispatch (Twitter link).

“It’s the same with him as anyone else on our team: We’ll make a trade if and when we have something that makes sense for the Blue Jackets.”

Jan 2, 2018; Dallas, TX, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson (7) skates against the Dallas Stars during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Blue Jackets defeat the Stars 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY SportsThis season hasn’t gone as well Johnson was hoping for.  After failing to agree on a long-term extension over the summer (talks cooled down back in August), he has seen his role reduced and now finds himself on the third pairing.  He’s averaging a career-low 19:24 per game while he’s on pace for his lowest full-season point total since his rookie campaign back in 2007-08 with the Kings; he has just two goals and five assists in 46 games so far.

Portzline notes that Johnson isn’t unhappy with the team and that if he was still under contract beyond this season, the request wouldn’t have been made.  However, with this being his walk year into unrestricted free agency, he wants to be in the best position to cash in on the open market.

As things stand, it would appear that Johnson will be in tough to match the $5MM salary ($4.357MM cap hit) that he’s currently making.  However, a bigger role on another team could give him the chance to show that he can still be a quality top-four defender.

If Columbus was to consider granting Johnson his request, it’s likely that they would be seeking another defenseman in return.  They’re carrying just six healthy blueliners at the moment with Ryan Murray on injured reserve and while the team has high hopes for youngster Gabriel Carlsson, he isn’t ready for full-time NHL duty just yet.

Columbus Blue Jackets “Ready To Move” One Of Their Defensemen

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The Columbus Blue Jackets were interested in Matt Duchene. They were interested for a long time, and were even quite close to acquiring him at one point. That dream died on the weekend though, when Duchene was traded to the Ottawa Senators and in the process another top-six forward went off the board. There’s no telling if Columbus had interest in Kyle Turris, but as Pierre LeBrun explained in the latest edition of Insider Trading for TSN, they still believe they need help up front.

The bottom line is this. They have [defensemen], they’re ready to move one, and they want to get better up front.

Ryan MurrayLeBrun details that the Blue Jackets’ preferred add would be a top-six center, but that they would settle for just a forward of that variety. As he notes, the team is incredibly deep on defense at the moment, thanks to the emerging play of Markus Nutivaara and Gabriel Carlsson. The most obvious candidate to be moved would be Ryan Murray, who was included in the Colorado talks and seems to be the odd man out in Columbus. The second-overall pick in 2012 (behind Nail Yakupov) has developed into a good-but-not-great option on the left side, and has been passed over by Zach Werenski in the pecking order. Murray is also a restricted free agent this summer, one that it’s not clear the Blue Jackets will have the room to pay long-term.

The other interesting option though would be Jack Johnson. Though Blue Jackets fans would hate to lose their long-time leader on the blue line, the fact remains that he’s an unrestricted free agent this summer. Johnson is still an important part of the team, and losing him would force Murray and others to step into bigger roles, but he’s another that the team probably can’t afford to keep long-term. 30-years old now, Johnson has done more than enough to deserve a multi-year contract on the open market this summer and with Seth Jones and David Savard already inked long-term, he may price himself out of their market.

The question then becomes how the Blue Jackets want to attack this season. Johnson has a bigger role than Murray currently, but would likely net them a smaller package on the open market. The team sacrificed their 2017 first-round pick to get David Clarkson’s contract off the books and protect Josh Anderson from expansion, but would they be willing to include their 2018 pick to acquire the top forward? A rental like Johnson, or an underperforming Murray may not be enough on their own depending on who it is. For a team expected to compete for the Stanley Cup, tough decisions await.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Metropolitan Notes: Johnson, Rust, Beauvillier

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The Blue Jackets have held extension talks with pending UFA blueliner Jack Johnson, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported during an interview with 630 CHED in Edmonton (audio link).  He was quick to add that his sense is that the two sides aren’t particularly close to a deal but that there is interest in keeping the 30-year-old in the fold.  Johnson is making $5MM in salary this season with a cap hit slightly over $4.35MM and with his production tapering off a bit in recent years, a new contract for him should come in somewhat close to his current deal.  It’s known that Columbus is looking to add another impact forward and perhaps locking up Johnson may give them the freedom to deal another defender for that desired help up front at some point.

More from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Penguins winger Bryan Rust is setting himself up for a nice payday in the offseason. In a reader chat, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette speculates that the 25-year-old who currently has eight points in as many games this season could find himself in line for a contract similar to the one Conor Sheary received (three years, $9MM) if not more, depending on how long he can hold this level of production.  The Penguins have just shy of $61MM committed to 14 players for next season and will likely want to try to bring back pending UFA Patric Hornqvist as well so even though the team has a decent amount of wiggle room this year, that’s not likely to be the case in 2018-19.
  • Although Islanders winger Anthony Beauvillier has been a healthy scratch for three straight games and has waiver exemption, the team isn’t planning on sending him down to AHL Bridgeport at this time, head coach Doug Weight told Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post. The 20-year-old had a good rookie season after surprising many by making the team out of training camp but has just one goal in four games in the early going this year.  He’s expected to get another chance in the lineup today against San Jose.

Metropolitan Notes: Smith-Pelly, Johnson, Wennberg, Manning

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Capitals winger Devante Smith-Pelly told Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post that he played through a knee injury last year in New Jersey, something that the team was aware of at the time.  With 15 games left in the season, he opted for surgery which put him on injured reserve the rest of the way.  The Devils bought out the final year of his contract back in June (something Smith-Pelly opted not to grieve) and Smith-Pelly was only able to land a two-way contract that only pays the league minimum at the NHL level.  The 25-year-old says his knee has fully recovered and with Washington needing some cheap contracts to round out their roster, he should have a good chance to make the team despite posting just nine points in 53 games in 2016-17.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson is entering the final year of his contract and told Tom Reed of The Athletic (subscription required) that his priority is to stay with Columbus. Johnson is set to earn $5MM in salary this coming season but may be hard-pressed to match that amount on the open market unless his point production gets back into the 30-40 point range after tallying just 37 combined over the last two years.
  • Still with the Blue Jackets, center Alexander Wennberg has finally received his new work visa and has rejoined the team, notes Adam Jardy of the Columbus Dispatch. Although Wennberg didn’t change teams this offseason, his new six-year, $29.4MM deal required him to go through the formal process once again.
  • Flyers defenseman Brandon Manning resumed skating last month as he recovers from back surgery from April and is hopeful to be 100% for the regular season opener, notes Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer. With Philadelphia expected to carry a couple of rookies to start the season, Manning may be in line to start as their seventh blueliner.  He has been in that role at times over the past few seasons but saw action in a career-high 65 games last year.

A Quiet 2017 Off-Season

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By the time August rolls around each year, it seems like the off-season is dragging on. The July 1st free agent frenzy is long behind us and it’s been weeks since the last major signing. Fans are struggling to get their hockey fill and counting the days until the puck drops on preseason hockey. In 2017, fans have all the more reason to be sick of the off-season. When compared with the summer of 2016, this off-season has simply been boring. It was expected to be as such, but no one could have predicted just how quiet this summer could be.

As of today, August 6th, 2017, there have only been two unrestricted free agents signed to contracts worth more than $6MM per year: Kevin Shattenkirk to the New York Rangers (as predicted) and Alexander Radulov to the Dallas Stars. In contrast, there were four such deals signed on July 1st, 2016 alone. Drop that mark down to contracts worth more than $4MM annually, and you get uninspiring names this year like Evgeni Dadonov, Dmitry Kulikov, Nick Bonino, Karl Alzner, Martin Hanzal, and Steve Mason added to the list; hardly a superstar among them. 2016 saw high-profile players like Milan Lucic, David Backes, Loui Eriksson, Kyle Okposo, and Andrew Ladd all find new homes. Those signings came on the heels of the P.K. Subban – Shea Weber and Taylor Hall – Adam Larsson trades as well. The best swaps 2017 has to offer so far are Travis Hamonic or Marcus Johansson being dealt for draft picks. There have simply been a lack of franchise-altering moves made this summer.

Then you have the timeline of when deals got done. By August last year, the best unsigned free agents were Antoine Vermette, Jiri Hudler, and Jhonas Enroth. The year before, Cody Franson and David Schlemko highlighted the August market. In both cases, NHL teams got their deals done in July, filling the month with exciting signing news. This year? Not so much. Legendary players like Jaromir Jagr, Jarome Iginla, and Shane Doan remain available, alongside other able-bodied contributors like Thomas Vanek, Drew Stafford, and Daniel Winnik. That’s in addition to Franson and Hudler as well. Teams are simply waiting around on this market for reasons unknown. Could it end up as an exciting run of signing in August? Maybe, but don’t count on it.

The weak 2017 free agent market coupled with the challenge of preparing for June’s Expansion Draft has simply resulted in one of quietest off-seasons in recent memory. Several teams still have needs and spots to fill and signings and trades remain possible, but at this point the summer is a lost cause. Time to look forward to next season and even next summer when we *hope* to see the likes of John Tavares, Rick Nash, Evander Kane, James Neal, James van Riemsdyk, Paul Stastny, Mikko Koivu, Cam Atkinson, Jonathan Marchessault, Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Mike Green, Jack Johnson, Calvin de Haan, and Antti Raanta all hit the open market. Hopefully that list is enough excitement to get you through the rest of this one.

Snapshots: Methot, Karlsson, Marchessault

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The Ottawa Senators were put in a rough predicament when Dion Phaneuf turned down the team’s request to waive his no-trade clause. The organization is very high on Cody Ceci, and considering the depth of forwards they needed to protect, they were forced to expose Marc Methot. Many mock drafts have the veteran defender headed to Vegas, including our own. Some have even contemplated whether Methot could find himself in a captaincy position in Nevada. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun explains how difficult a decision that was for Pierre Dorion and his staff, and how they tried to trade Phaneuf up until the last minute. Ottawa could theoretically try to bribe Vegas with the #28 pick, but considering that the team only has 4 picks overall, that seems unlikely. The more probable scenario is that Ottawa merely takes the blow and moves on.

  • The Blue Jackets truly want to hang onto their youngest talents, according to Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. They are supposedly surrendering their 1st round selection to Vegas in order to keep Josh Anderson and Joonas Korpisalo. What makes nearly no sense is the apparent fact that this deal also warns the Knights off of veteran defenseman Jack Johnson. Johnson is an average defender, and with the rise of Zach Werenski and others he doesn’t seem to be a pivotal piece any longer. Vegas will probably choose William Karlsson or Ryan Murray as low-risk claims and run away happy from this deal. The valuation of a first-rounder is probably the lowest in ages, and the anxiety surrounding the protection lists has seemingly reduced their value even further.
  • Harvey Fialkov of the Sun Sentinel has Jonathan Marchessault headed to Vegas, based on the reports he’s been hearing. Defenders Jason Demers and young forward Reilly Smith are also available as high-value options for the Knights. According to Marchessault himself in an interview on TVA Sports, Tallon wasn’t able to negotiate a protection deal with Vegas. He was certainly being shopped in the lead up to Sunday. The entire Florida protection list was confusing, but Marchessault’s exposure was a truly unforced error by GM Dale Tallon. The 30-goal scorer will almost certainly find a home in Vegas’ top six, and the loss of this quality of player for absolutely nothing is perplexing the entire league. It’s certainly possible Marchessault has a down year after a career one, but asset management was completely blown in this case, and Vegas looks to reap that reward.

Metropolitan Division Offers Vegas Multiple Goalies, Project Players

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The Metropolitan Division was undoubtedly the most competitive last season, with 3 of the league’s top 5 points finishers within it, including the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Penguins. Some teams in the Metro have prepared poorly, while others look to take a minor hit and move on from expansion relatively unscathed. No major surprises exist outside of Brooklyn, where the Islanders took the crown for the most unorthodox and confounding strategy.

The Penguins seem to have known for quite some time that Marc-Andre Fleury was Vegas bound. GM Jim Rutherford balked at trade offers last off-season despite the goalie’s no-movement clause potentially complicating matters further down the line. The organization finally asked him to waive his clause in February, and both parties seem willing to move on. Rutherford did seem to be leaning toward the 7-3-1 model originally, but eventually opted to go with the 4-4 route to protect both Olli Maatta and Justin Schultz. If for whatever reason Fleury is not chosen, playoff performer Bryan Rust is almost certainly the claim. Columbus’ list is about what we expected, but it still seems strange to see Josh Anderson and Jack Johnson are left exposed. If there is a deal in place for a 1st round pick, as reported earlier by the Columbus Dispatch, Johnson is the likely selection. He’s still got a lot of talent, and with all his international experience, he could be a great leader for younger players in Vegas.

The Philadelphia Flyers made one of the smarter (if unexpected) decisions of the day and opted to protect Scott Laughton over assistant captain Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and the streaky Michael Raffl. Jordan Weal is still left exposed, and theoretically any of the three could be headed to Vegas. The Washington Capitals are absolutely going to lose a solid player, and it’s destined to be either the very promising defenseman Nate Schmidt or standout goalie Philipp Grubauer. The Capitals knew this was coming for a long time, but it can’t hurt any less to lose assets in this fashion. A possible scenario to watch out for is whether Vegas will pursue T.J. Oshie as a free agent in the short-term. They have first dibs on negotiations if they want to open that conversation, and he’s considered by many to be the top available UFA. The team doesn’t really need another goaltender, and their defense would survive without Schmidt, even with his incredible talent.

The New Jersey Devils arguably have the weakest roster on paper at the moment, and it shows with the potential selections Vegas need to consider. Mike Cammalleri is unproductive and overpaid, Beau Bennett has all but busted when he isn’t injured, Jacob Josefson scored one goal last season, and Devante Smith-Pelly is with his third club in as many years. The New York Rangers couldn’t move Antti Raanta and now it seems probable that Vegas will take advantage. Other options would include Jesper Fast and the very productive (27 goals) Michael Grabner, neither of whom is good enough to justify passing on the solid Raanta. No surprises here, but management certainly waited until the final hour to buyout Dan Girardi – which allowed them to utilize that 7-3-1 strategy effectively. Carolina will offer up one of the worst prizes to the Golden Knights, and Lee Stempniak is the only name that truly jumps out. Long-time goalie Cam Ward finds himself on the outs, as does Eddie Lack, but when the team moved for Scott Darling this fate was very foreseeable. Perhaps management will try to entice Vegas to claim one of the keepers and help their logjam along.

The New York Islanders seem to have botched their efforts today, but there may be machinations behind the scenes which could justify such a bizarre strategy. GM Garth Snow opted to protect only 3 forwards and 5 defensemen – the only team to do so. Even worse, one of the defenseman left unprotected was Calvin de Haan. Assuming there is no deal to take a blueliner in the works, Vegas could choose de Haan or their favorite from a large selection of intriguing forwards. Josh Bailey, Brock Nelson, and Ryan Strome are all available, and each provides a different skillset. McPhee could even take one of the league’s toughest bottom sixers in Casey Cizikas or a crafty, veteran Nikolai Kulemin. He has loads of options, and none of them are any good for an Islanders team who survive off their depth. Why Adam Pelech, with his 12 career points and 46.6% Corsi For in 2016-17, was worth protection over any of those names will surely be one of the draft’s greatest quandaries.

Vegas will get an opportunity to draft their starting two goaltenders from the Metro, and will have a wide assortment of options elsewhere. The Washington situation should be fun to speculate on, and trying to find a worthwhile pick in New Jersey could be an adventure for the Knights. Snow’s Islanders are just an incredible anomaly, and that list may draw some serious criticism.

Blue Jackets Notes: Team Building Goals, Gavrikov, Ruopp, Soberg

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Refreshingly straightforward Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen was open and honest with Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman recently when asked about his teams short-term and long-term objectives. The Blue Jackets surprised many this past season with their stellar play, reaching 108 points on the year – a franchise record by a significant margin. Yet, Columbus was easily dispatched by the Eastern Conference champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the playoffs. Kekalainen understands that his team must get better if they ever want to reach their first Stanley Cup, but he is not worried. Kekalainen told Friedman that they “are not thinking short-term. Our window is not just open now. We are only cracking the window.” Kekalainen clearly believes that his young, talented team can compete for a long time – even with a difficult Expansion Draft situation looming – without having to worry entirely about just the next couple of seasons.

When discussing what exactly he want to do to improve the team, Kekalainen named a number one center and a “sniper in the key moments” as the biggest needs. He expands on the desire for a “sniper” by stating that the team will look internally and externally for players with greater finish around the net. In 2016-17, Cam Atkinson had a breakout year with a career-best 35 goals, courtesy of a 14.6% shooting percentage. Captain Nick Foligno and rookie Josh Anderson also broke the 14% shooting mark, while others like Alexander Wennberg, Brandon Saad, and Brandon Dubinsky topped the NHL average, generally somewhere around 9%. Yet, other key contributors including every starting defenseman, Boone Jenner, and William Karlsson were not as lucky with their accuracy. Kekalainen hopes to add players who can make up for some of those missed opportunities with a better eye for putting the puck in the back of the net.

One player who has been known as a “sniper” and may also fit the bill as a top center one day is Oliver Bjorkstrand. The 2013 third-round pick was nearly unstoppable as a junior player with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, but has cooled down since turning pro in 2015-16 with just pedestrian AHL numbers. He also has largely moved completely to right wing in that time as well. Yet, last season Bjorkstrand played in 26 games with the Blue Jackets, recording 55 shots and scoring six goals for a 10.9% shooting percentage. He also scored four goals in 12 NHL games in his rookie season. Some more ice time, possibly even some back at center, in 2017-18 could be an internal solution for Columbus’ need for finish. However, in speaking with Friedman, Kekalainen made no mention of Bjorkstrand as the answer to either problem. He also left Wennberg out of the mix for an internal number one center, even though the 22-year-old had an outstanding campaign in exactly that role, recording 13 goals and 46 assists. Wennberg is by no means a “sniper”, but if Kekalainen can separate the two biggest needs of his team, Wennberg certainly has the appearance of a potential top-31 center in the NHL down the road.

The two players tabbed by Kekalainen, the former as possible top center option and the latter as a potential elite NHL finisher, were unsurprisingly 2016 third-overall selection Pierre-Luc Dubois and 2015 third-rounder Keegan Kolesar. Dubois nearly made the Blue Jackets out of camp in 2016-17, but was sent back to junior before he could make his NHL debut. After a somewhat disappointing junior season production-wise, aside from a strong QMJHL postseason run, Dubois appears to have outgrown juniors and should be in Columbus next season. He possesses high-end two-way ability and hockey IQ and has unique strength, both with and without the puck, for his age. While it remains to be seen if Dubois can stick at center in the NHL rather than move to left wing, where many scouts projected him even before he was drafted, Dubois is very likely to make an impact for the Jackets next season and surely could be an option at number one center. Meanwhile, Kolesar may not be ready for the big-time next season, but when he does arrive, the 6’2″, 223-lb. right wing will also bring with him a developed two-way game. However, where Kolesar catches your eye is his finish: he can capitalize around the net and he can strike from afar with a great shot. Kolesar could be that “sniper” that Kekalainen is looking for, but not for a few more years.

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