Columbus Blue Jackets: Five questions about a big week ahead
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The Blue Jackets’ offseason is in full swing.
After adding seven new prospects in last week’s 2022 NHL draft, the front office is preparing for the start of free agency at noon on Wednesday while also monitoring the team's first development camp in two years.
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Here are five questions about the week ahead:
Will the Blue Jackets sign Patrik Laine this week?
Each side has stated an interest in getting Laine’s signature on a multiyear contract extension, but it hasn’t happened. Should Laine reach free agency, he’ll become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights who’s eligible to sign a contract offer sheet with other teams.
Offer sheets are uncommon, and a couple of factors make it unlikely Laine would sign one — including the fact the Jackets have the right to match any offer and a $16.9 million nest egg in projected salary-cap space. The compensation Columbus would receive in draft picks is another deterrent, most likely being two first-round picks, a second-round pick and a third-round pick for a contract with an average annual value between $8,402,976 and $10,503,720.
Anything over the high end of that window would cost four first-round picks. Laine has other options too.
He could request arbitration, a route the Blue Jackets have never gone in general manager Jarmo Kekalainen’s 10-year tenure, or accept a one-year $7.5 million qualifying offer the Blue Jackets are required to tender by 5 p.m. Monday to retain Laine’s signing rights. Each of those options would result in a one-year extension to play for the Blue Jackets, who’d then have a year to sign or trade him before he hits the UFA market next summer.
That’s exactly what Laine did last year, when he accepted a one year $7.5 million qualifying offer based on his 2020-21 salary. Should Laine accept another qualifying offer, it would signal that he and the Jackets are far enough apart — in term, money or both — that it made more sense to just get something done and continue talking.
Columbus would retain the right to sign the high-scoring winger to an extension up to eight years in length, but the UFA clock would officially start and that’s a slippery slope the Blue Jackets hope to avoid. If it gets to the point where Laine is playing on another qualifying deal, don’t be surprised if trade rumors begin to bubble.
Will the Blue Jackets be active in trades?
Kekalainen said last week that multiple offers were sent to him for the picks Columbus held at sixth and 12th overall. He used those picks to select defensemen David Jiricek and Denton Mateychuk, but that doesn’t mean the Jackets’ trade market is now cold.
They have a backlog of NHL forwards and may need to relieve it through the trade market, which could be lively less than a week after GMs held their first in-person draft in two years. Should the Jackets complete one-or-more deals, it will be interesting to see who’s traded, where they go and what return Kekalainen receives.
Columbus has 15 NHL forwards under contract for next season, which doesn’t include Laine or Emil Bemstrom (RFA). Brendan Gaunce and Carson Meyer could play with the Cleveland Monsters in the American Hockey League, but that would still leave the Jackets in an “ice time” bind.
Yegor Chinakhov, Kent Johnson and Kirill Marchenko are young, skilled forwards looking to earn NHL roles on a crowded roster.
Will the Blue Jackets be active in free agency?
Signing a veteran defenseman with a right shot to play next to Zach Werenski on the top pairing would be ideal, but those type of players typically cost a lot.
That’s the most glaring need, however, along with a depth goalie to round out the roster with Daniil Tarasov and Jet Greaves in Cleveland.
Why didn't the Blue Jackets extend qualifying offers to Gabriel Carlsson, Kevin Stenlund?
Six Columbus players or prospects were pending RFAs starting the day Monday.
Only four had their rights retained, as the Jackets made defenseman Gabriel Carlsson and forward Kevin Stenlund free agents by opting not to extend either a qualifying offer by the 5 p.m. deadline Monday.
Laine, rookie defenseman Nick Blankenburg, Bemstrom and forward Trey Fix-Wolansky were the only four tendered one-year offers, which keeps their rights under the Blue Jackets' control. The decision to let Carlsson and Stenlund walk is more indicative of how deep the Jackets developmental system has grown than it is about their abilities, as each has logged NHL minutes the past few seasons.
That said, both became expendable and weren't seen as part of the Jackets' future plans. According to agent Jarrett Bousquet, Stenlund hopes to keep playing in North America to chase his NHL goals with another team. Carlsson's agent, J.P. Barry, could not be reached.
Carlsson, 25, was selected by Columbus 29th overall in 2015 as the second of Kekalainen's two first-round picks that year. Werenski was the first, selected eighth overall. The Blue Jackets had nine picks that year and took defensemen with six of them, including four who made the NHL: Werenski, Carlsson, Vladislav Gavrikov and Markus Nutivaara.
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Carlsson finally spent a full year in the NHL last season, but played in just 38 of 82 games. In all, he posted 3-13-16 in 75 games for the Jackets spread over six seasons.
Stenlund, 25, was selected in the second round (No. 58) of the same draft as Carlsson, becoming the only one of three forwards taken by Kekalainen that year to play NHL games. Stenlund finished his Blue Jackets career with 11-9-20 in 71 games over four seasons, playing all but three games last season with the Monsters.
Qualifying offers for Bemstrom and Fix-Wolansky were uncertain prior to the team's release Monday. Fix-Wolansky had a major knee injury that set him back prior to making his NHL debut last season. Bemstrom has struggled with injuries and inconsistency that have prevented him from delivering on the hype he'd gained by becoming the youngest player to lead the Swedish Hockey League in goals.
How important is this week’s development camp?
All development camps carry importance, but this one has added meaning because it’s the first official prospects camp since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prospects were invited to a short “camp” prior to last year’s trip to Traverse City, Michigan for the annual preseason tournament there, but it wasn’t an official development camp. This one lasts three days and has prospects, coaches and management all looking forward to it.
The team’s NHL coaching staff will be watching closely from the stands at Chiller North, where the camp is being hosted this year due to ongoing renovations at Nationwide Arena. Atop their list of players to observe are Marchenko and Johnson, who will each bid for NHL roles in training camp.
Three first-round defensemen will also draw interest, as Corson Ceulemans (No. 25, 2021), Jiricek (No. 6, 2022) and Mateychuk (No. 12, 2022) all don the Blue Jackets’ logo for the first time. Other notables include defenseman Marcus Bjork, defenseman Aidan Hreschuk, forward Owen Sillinger — Cole’s older brother — and three of four forwards the Blue Jackets selected in this year’s draft.
Blankenburg, who's unsigned for next year and had a knee sprain at the world championships in May, will not participate in on-ice activities.
Development camp is free and open to the public. Sessions will run Monday and Tuesday from 9:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., followed by a Wednesday agenda that runs 8:40 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., including a scrimmage that will consist of 5-on-5 play for 20 minutes, 4-on-4 for 12 minutes and 3-on-3 for 10 minutes.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Five questions about a big week for the Columbus Blue Jackets
