If I have it my way, Jenner would retire a blue jacket. Moving him hurts the team way more than it helps anything down the line
sentimentally speaking, yes. and i was in the same boat with atkinson and foligno, too. but you have to separate boone jenner the person from boone jenner the asset.
good:
1. heart and soul of this team
2. good player – legit top six guy, albeit not flashy – on a team that needs good players
bad:
1. hasn't played a full season in six years
2. has played through a back injury for the last two years
3. has had his last two seasons ended prematurely due to that back injury
4. turns 30 in two months
5. plays 20+ minutes a night, and a style of game that is hard on his body
6. is a highly coveted/valuable asset for contending teams
boone is a good player
right now but everything we know about the human body indicates that he probably doesn't have much shelf life left. the blue jackets aren't a contending team
right now.
imo the assets they would've gotten at the deadline for boone would be more likely to deliver significant long-term value for this team than boone himself, given the injury stuff.
again, i love the dude. i'd love to believe that at age 30 his back will magically get better and he'll play a full 82 for the first time since he was 23. but let's be realistic here, that type of thinking has no place in an NHL front office.