you can say boone's not the problem all you want, but he's definitely a big part of it:
- they're blowing leads in the third, when he and kuraly are the only two centers out there
- this also means less meaningful ice time for the young guys
- the veterans aren't showing up. jenner is the captain and runs the room
- gaudreau is scoring at half his normal rate. jenner is his center.
- they often lose in overtime before touching the puck – he's the guy out there for the face-off
- the power play is unwatchable, and PP2 has outperformed PP1. boone is a staple on PP1
boone is the type of player that a contending team would love to have, because a contending team could use him as a high-effort complimentary piece and good veteran in the room. the blue jackets are leaning on him to be a 20+ minutes, all-situations 1C, star player, and captain.
that's been his role for the last two-plus seasons. they're 70-100-20 over that span, and getting worse. i like him as a player and a person, but it is abundantly clear that the role is too big for him.
as far as the poll is concerned, i don't think firing jarmo/JD will have any impact in the room, and i think stripping jenner's C is unfair to the player. but trading jenner is absolutely the correct course of action if they want to shake things up, and there are some clear silver linings to doing so. tons of assets, more ice time (special teams, late-game, overtime) for their young centers, etc.
plus it would give him a few real swings at a cup before his back gives out.