Speculation: Offseason Thread II: ideas, proposals, general roster discussion

[Monk]

I can only hope Foudy performs for me like he has in NHL21 after I called him up from Cleveland. Texier has been strong too but Bemstrom really struggles in the game.

Does he feel too slow?

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

saw a tweet the other day with jarmo saying he’d be signed by camp

Once the official start date is confirmed I suspect a bunch of moves and signings across the league to get rosters set. There wasn't really any incentive to finalize or make many deals when nobody knew when or if the season was going to start. I'm not concerned right now.

With that being said, we are hypothetically about 3 weeks from the start of a short training camp. I did get an email recently that my NHL.TV subscription was going to renew on Jan. 10 so they must be close to getting the season finalized.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Does he feel too slow?

Hard to say. I do a decent amount of simulating in franchise mode. Generally he's not good enough to break into the top 6 and seems to have a chemistry fit problem on the 4th line. Defense seems suspect since he was a minus player on a decent Monsters roster but I had a couple of injuries so I called him back up and paired him with Foudy. Maybe he'll start putting up some numbers there.

I haven't looked at his ratings closely but I suspect he has a highly rated shot and not a lot of anything else. I think he is a 78 overall rating and Foudy is a 77 in the game.

 

[Monk]

Hard to say. I do a decent amount of simulating in franchise mode. Generally he's not good enough to break into the top 6 and seems to have a chemistry fit problem on the 4th line. Defense seems suspect since he was a minus player on a decent Monsters roster but I had a couple of injuries so I called him back up and paired him with Foudy. Maybe he'll start putting up some numbers there.

I haven't looked at his ratings closely but I suspect he has a highly rated shot and not a lot of anything else. I think he is a 78 overall rating and Foudy is a 77 in the game.

This is the reason I would buy a console - exclusively to play NHL games and do this stuff. Sigh. It sounds so fun.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

This is the reason I would buy a console - exclusively to play NHL games and do this stuff. Sigh. It sounds so fun.

I don't play video games a ton anymore but a black friday sale at Best Buy and the strong likelihood I'm not going anywhere during the winter got me to spin up my PS4 again.

 

[majormajor]

If there is one thing the CBJ are consistent with, it is the fact they almost always have trouble scoring goals, they almost always start the season poorly and they almost always need a big winning streak late in the season to sneak into the playoffs.

Had the season not been paused when it did, they were tracking to not make the playoffs by winning only 3 of their last 15 games when Jones went down. The big winning streak they had prior to that was when they were basically icing the Cleveland Monsters while Elvis proved his worth.

It is hard to say if they are actually a good team or not. Torts teams are built to play "playoff hockey" but they always seem to struggle playing "regular season hockey". You never know what you are going to get.

Take that Buffalo, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Arizona, Florida, etc... (most of the league)

All you need is a big winning streak late each year to get in four years in a row! Why haven't those teams done that, if even a [not good] team like Columbus can do it so regularly?

 

[thebus88]

Not enough “top 6 forwards”?

Zero “proven Vezina quality goalies”?

Zero games in hand?

What year is it?

 

[JacketsDavid]

If the Vegas odds ever get anything right with the Jackets maybe I'll start paying attention to them.

Yeah I'm sure Domi will have his share of dry spells. He does that, that's why he's not an 80 pt forward. But half a great year from him would still be a big upgrade on Wennberg/whatever we had at 2C before.

I don't fault you for posing questions, there are a dozen or so big unknowns, we should discuss those. I don't like it when the answers to every question are presumed to be negative. I don't see "hopes and ifs" as necessarily a bad thing, that's what each season is for most teams, especially for young teams like the Jackets.

Vegas has said every year that the CBJ are not the favorites to win the cup (or even the conference). They are 100% so far I kid, I kid...

Again the Vegas odds are the perception from the outside. I think way too often those on this board are way too optimistic about our projections. That's all I'm saying.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Vegas has said every year that the CBJ are not the favorites to win the cup (or even the conference). They are 100% so far I kid, I kid...

Again the Vegas odds are the perception from the outside. I think way too often those on this board are way too optimistic about our projections. That's all I'm saying.

And some people will say that some of us are way too pessimistic.

I personally like to see proof. Potential is great but means nothing until you can live up to it. So far we've only been a team that squeaks into the playoffs by the slimmest of margins. I'm waiting for something to make me optimistic about taking the next step.

 

[majormajor]

Vegas has said every year that the CBJ are not the favorites to win the cup (or even the conference). They are 100% so far I kid, I kid...

Again the Vegas odds are the perception from the outside. I think way too often those on this board are way too optimistic about our projections. That's all I'm saying.

I think we err in both directions, certainly in the pessimistic direction.

FYI I had the team at 95 pts last year and by chance it happened to be the exact point pace the team finished with.

Most outsiders had the Jackets around 81-83 pts.
This Jackets board had them around 88-90 pts.
Strangely, Porty, Alison, and Tom all had them in the high 90s.

It wasn't the pessimists who were vindicated.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Let's not forget from a timing perspective right now we are probably going to play most, if not all of the regular season without Nyquist. He will end up being our "big trade deadline acquisition" after his injury heals. Unless we make another move before the season starts our forward group is going to be weaker. It sounds like the door isn't completely closed on Granlund. Maybe there is still a chance to pounce on an over the cap team too.

 

[majormajor]

Let's not forget from a timing perspective right now we are probably going to play most, if not all of the regular season without Nyquist. He will end up being our "big trade deadline acquisition" after his injury heals.

If the team struggles maybe they don't acquire anyone. If they're competitive I think Jarmo is going to be looking for a big fish via mid-season trade.

Unless we make another move before the season starts our forward group is going to be weaker. It sounds like the door isn't completely closed on Granlund. Maybe there is still a chance to pounce on an over the cap team too.

Weaker than what? Last year? With no Domi, half the forwards injured, and inconsistent/immature versions of Dubois, Texier, Bemstrom, etc..?

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

If the team struggles maybe they don't acquire anyone. If they're competitive I think Jarmo is going to be looking for a big fish via mid-season trade.



Weaker than what? Last year? With no Domi, half the forwards injured, and inconsistent/immature versions of Dubois, Texier, Bemstrom, etc..?

How do you know those players will be more consistent than last season when healthy?

 

[thebus88]

Give me Jones-Dubois-Korpisalo-Tortorella over ANY other combo in the league.

I’m serious and not a “homer”.

How many teams that make the playoffs, make it by a few points and do so by winning the majority of their games down the final stretch?

 

[EspenK]

Give me Jones-Dubois-Korpisalo-Tortorella over ANY other combo in the league.

I’m serious and not a “homer”.

How many teams that make the playoffs, make it by a few points and do so by winning the majority of their games down the final stretch?

Hedman-Point-Vasilevsky-Cooper say hello.

 

[Xoggz22]

Let's not forget from a timing perspective right now we are probably going to play most, if not all of the regular season without Nyquist. He will end up being our "big trade deadline acquisition" after his injury heals. Unless we make another move before the season starts our forward group is going to be weaker. It sounds like the door isn't completely closed on Granlund. Maybe there is still a chance to pounce on an over the cap team too.

Also keep in mind there is a chance that Nyquist doesn't play at all and is on LTIR all year. This opens up options to add salary and potentially a player (or two) to protect in the expansion draft. If Gus is on LTIR I believe CBJ can file an exemption on his behalf to not need to include him on the protection list (they aren't required to regardless, however, this could be another positive to come from a negative.)

 

[JacketsDavid]

Also keep in mind there is a chance that Nyquist doesn't play at all and is on LTIR all year. This opens up options to add salary and potentially a player (or two) to protect in the expansion draft. If Gus is on LTIR I believe CBJ can file an exemption on his behalf to not need to include him on the protection list (they aren't required to regardless, however, this could be another positive to come from a negative.)

I just don't think the expansion team would be interested in Nyquist or Cam. Both guys over 30, $5.5M contracts. Maybe they would take one to try to flip them for a 3rd round pick or something?
I guess part of that will depend how Cam does this season (is it 12 goals in 44 games like last season or 41 goals like season before).

I'm just guessing most teams will leave a lot of guys available who are 30+ getting paid that kind of money (again neither is a terrible contract but at same time in today's COVID world I don't think either could get $5.5M per year.

 

[DarkandStormy]

I think we err in both directions, certainly in the pessimistic direction.

FYI I had the team at 95 pts last year and by chance it happened to be the exact point pace the team finished with.

Most outsiders had the Jackets around 81-83 pts.
This Jackets board had them around 88-90 pts.
Strangely, Porty, Alison, and Tom all had them in the high 90s.

It wasn't the pessimists who were vindicated.

Last year's team was finishing well below 90 points if covid never happened. They were going nowhere fast without Jones and Bjorkstrand.

 

[DarkandStormy]

Give me Jones-Dubois-Korpisalo-Tortorella over ANY other combo in the league.

I’m serious and not a “homer”.

How many teams that make the playoffs, make it by a few points and do so by winning the majority of their games down the final stretch?

"I'm not a homer, I just think Korpisalo is a top 5 goalie in the league and a future HOFer."

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

I just don't think the expansion team would be interested in Nyquist or Cam. Both guys over 30, $5.5M contracts. Maybe they would take one to try to flip them for a 3rd round pick or something?
I guess part of that will depend how Cam does this season (is it 12 goals in 44 games like last season or 41 goals like season before).

I'm just guessing most teams will leave a lot of guys available who are 30+ getting paid that kind of money (again neither is a terrible contract but at same time in today's COVID world I don't think either could get $5.5M per year.

Seattle is going to have to hit the cap floor somehow. They won't get there taking a bunch of guys making less than 2 million.

I just don't think they'll want to take on long term salaries for an over 30 guy like Atkinson. Maybe Nyquist since there is only 2 years left on his deal by that time would be appealing to them. That would be a bridge for them while they establish the team.

 

[Viqsi]

Give me Jones-Dubois-Korpisalo-Tortorella over ANY other combo in the league.

I’m serious and not a “homer”.

How many teams that make the playoffs, make it by a few points and do so by winning the majority of their games down the final stretch?

I'm not sure about any combo, but I do agree that's a very good core to work with. But you can't just focus on a few stars - otherwise you get Edmonton disease. Thankfully, I think we're fairly solid there too.

* * *​

Hedman-Point-Vasilevsky-Cooper say hello.

I'd give the edges to Point and Tortorella in their respective categories, would call Hedman/Jones a wash, and Vasilevsky/Korpisalo is who the f*** knows. I can understand folks picking Vasi just because of so much Korpi-skepticism here, but we'll see. We've also got a vastly better alternate option in net if/when Korpi falters - no disrespect to McBackup who's great and all, but he's no Elvis.

Tampa Bay's been deadlier because the rest of their players - guys like Cirelli and Stamkos and Kucherov - have been ultimately higher overall skill than our equivalents in Jenner, Atkinson, and Bjorkstrand (all they lacked was proper motivation and mindset, which we had to teach 'em - and which is a large part of why I give Torts the edge in coaching). But as a direct result of that they're having a hellish time keeping said skill under contract. We're most of the way there - having upgraded considerably at #2C with Domi, Bjorkstrand having an additional development year and looking like he could be on fire, and Atkinson hopefully having enough time to figure out that no, really, Panarin legit isn't coming back and so he has to move on - and have pretty much no cap worries. Whether or not that "most of the way" is enough to win a Cup has yet to be seen, but I'm not prepared to rule it out quite yet. A lot depends on how well Domi integrates into the team and how consistent the kids are.

 

[Monstershockey]

Last year's team was finishing well below 90 points if covid never happened. They were going nowhere fast without Jones and Bjorkstrand.

I don't know if they would have been well under 90 as they only needed 9 more points. Their last 10 games, before it was shut down, they were 3-4-3 for 9 points. All 10 games were without Jones, and 8 of the 10 were without Bjorkstrand. They got 1 point in the 2 games he played, both losses. They got 8 points in the last 8 games without both of them, and 9 of the 10 games were against playoff teams. I still think they had a decent shot at 90 points.

 

[Monk]

I don't know if they would have been well under 90 as they only needed 9 more points. Their last 10 games, before it was shut down, they were 3-4-3 for 9 points. All 10 games were without Jones, and 8 of the 10 were without Bjorkstrand. They got 1 point in the 2 games he played, both losses. They got 8 points in the last 8 games without both of them, and 9 of the 10 games were against playoff teams. I still think they had a decent shot at 90 points.

 

[The Jones Zone]

I haven't been following much at all since Tampa knocked CBJ around in the playoffs

can someone post where the Jackets Cap stands prior to signing Dubois (and note if Dubinsky is included or on LTIR)

Thanks

Everyone stay safe!

 

[Viqsi]

I haven't been following much at all since Tampa knocked CBJ around in the playoffs

can someone post where the Jackets Cap stands prior to signing Dubois (and note if Dubinsky is included or on LTIR)

Thanks

Everyone stay safe!

CapFriendly's really good: Columbus Blue Jackets - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps
But to sum up, we've got about $9.2m in projected space before Dubinksky LTIR or Dubois' next contract is considered.