The Columbus Blue Jackets will clearly not make the playoffs this season. But what’s less clear is what they’re doing with one of their top prospects.
Defenseman David Jiricek finds himself in a rather tough spot these days. Assuming things go according to Wednesday’s practice in Calgary, he will find himself a healthy scratch once again.
In a season where the Blue Jackets have to maximize any and all development opportunities for players, the way Jiricek has been handled is certainly curious. It shows the lack of a clear plan. But how did we get here?
Jiricek’s Season to Date
Although Jiricek didn’t quite make the cut for the Blue Jackets’ opening-night roster, it didn’t take him long to make his case to be up with the big club. After just one game, his services were needed.
Zach Werenski suffered a quad contusion in the season opener against the Flyers. Jiricek immediately entered the lineup in Game 2 against the New York Rangers and proceeded to score his first NHL goal. It seemed he was ready to show everyone he was ready for the NHL.
Even when Werenski was ready to return, Jiricek played well enough to continue getting games, even over veterans Adam Boqvist and Andrew Peeke. It was a strong statement about how his game was trending at the time.
As of late though, Jiricek has seen some healthy scratches in order to allow Peeke to play. In all, Jiricek has 1-8-9 in his 36 games in 2023-24. If he doesn’t play Thursday night against the Flames, that will mark his third consecutive healthy scratch. He squeezed in a pair of AHL appearances in between those healthy scratches.
Why Is This Happening?
The Blue Jackets agree Jiricek needs to be playing games. Unless there’s a sudden pivot going into Thursday’s game, he’s not going to play again. But why? There are a couple of possible reasons for this.
First, with the trade deadline approaching, there is a thought that certain players need to play in order to show other teams what they have. Given how Boqvist’s and Peeke’s seasons have gone, one must wonder if there’s some showcasing going on.
At Wednesday’s practice according to Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch, Werenski was skating on the top pair with Boqvist. Meanwhile both Peeke and Jiricek were skating together on a fourth pair signaling healthy scratches to come.
Absent a roster move, the Blue Jackets will have eight defensemen on the roster once Werenski is officially activated from injured reserve. It’s very possible that Jiricek could see himself back in Cleveland again as he wouldn’t need waivers while all of the other defensemen would.
Second, the roster logjam has created issues for the Blue Jackets. At some point, guys have to play. They can only dress six or seven at a time. With everyone available, tough decisions have to be made.
But wasn’t Jiricek told to get a place in Columbus? Unless there’s an injury or illness that we don’t know about, him heading back to the Monsters is a strong possibility. That’s actually ok, but only if there’s a clear commitment to a development plan.
Jiricek Needs to Play Somewhere
Sitting on press row eating popcorn and other snacks won’t do Jiricek any good. He needs to be playing either big minutes or in important situations.
The Monsters would offer top everything (minutes, special teams) to Jiricek. The Blue Jackets would offer much-needed NHL-game experience for him. Being healthy scratched simply cannot happen especially when other, more viable options are available.
When the Blue Jackets told Jiricek to get a place, the thought was he’d be in Columbus for most of if not the whole season. To play him over two veterans showed what they thought at the time. There seemed to be a plan. However that plan has seemed to change now with the possibility that Jiricek could be back in the AHL again.
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The season is already gone from a postseason perspective. The optics of him not playing when the playoffs are out of reach just looks bad on leadership.
The good news is that there’s still 36 games left in the season to play. That should give Jiricek plenty of opportunity to get into meaningful games for his development.
The Monsters are well on their way to the playoffs. So long as Jiricek is papered to Cleveland by the Trade Deadline, he would be eligible to play in the AHL playoffs. That experience would do wonders for him.
What happens next here? That’s for Blue Jackets’ management to decide. Whatever they decide, it can’t include Jiricek being a healthy scratch anywhere.
If the Blue Jackets want Boqvist and Peeke playing, send Jiricek to the Monsters. If they want Jiricek playing for the Blue Jackets, make moves to allow that to happen. Either option is fine. But riding the fence never leads to good results.
Pick a plan and stick with the plan. That’s what the Blue Jackets must prioritize now when it comes to Jiricek’s development.