The Columbus Blue Jackets have already played more than half of their schedule in the 2023-24 season. With 42 games down, the team has just nine regulation wins and an overall record of 13-20-9.
Even though the Blue Jackets are not mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, it’s basically a foregone conclusion that this team will miss the playoffs again. With 40 games left to play, the team is playing out the string and will begin the process of evaluations for the rest of the season.
With that backdrop, we now look at 10 things we learned about the Blue Jackets in the first half of the season. There’s a lot of bad. There’s some downright ugly. But within the muck, there’s been some good too. We start though with perhaps the biggest disappointment of this season.
Defense, Anyone?
This was the area of the ice the Blue Jackets were supposed to see a marked improvement. The bar was set quite low here. Although the numbers are better than last year, that’s not saying much.
The Blue Jackets spent a lot of money and used a first-round pick to help fortify their blue line. The result so far is a defense that gives up a lot of shots and has one of the worst goals per game rates in the NHL.
There are some reasons for this. It is the first time these guys have played together. Having Zach Werenski and Damon Severson among others injured hurt their chance to play more consistently together. Couple that with learning a new system and you have a situation with a team trying to find its way while not always knowing where to go.
The issue now is that the Blue Jackets’ best prospects are their youngest players. David Jiricek is getting more playing time. Denton Mateychuk is playing in juniors after his run at the World Junior Championships. While their futures are bright, the immediate future of this blue line remains a huge question.
What did we learn here? We learned that the Blue Jackets’ performance to date is far from what’s needed to be a consistent winner. This area of the ice came into the season as their most experienced by years in the NHL. They had a chance to stabilize things while the young players got acclimated to the league. Their instability arguably has led to instability all over the roster. How good would that 2024 first rounder look now had they kept it?
The defense by far has been the most disappointing part of the season.
Goaltending is Wide Open
The Blue Jackets came into the season thinking they had their number-one goalie in order. Elvis Merzlikins has been better. However he now finds himself not playing in the midst of a three-goalie rotation.
It’s been Daniil Tarasov getting the bulk of starts in recent games. Head coach Pascal Vincent said this has to do with evaluating Tarasov’s ability to be a number-one goalie. It seems Merzlikins isn’t taking that very well.
Add Spencer Martin to the mix and you have a situation where the Blue Jackets are carrying three goalies that all need waivers and not one of them has shown the ability to be the number one as of yet. This is a wide-open competition.
Who starts Game 1 in 2024-25? There’s no way anyone knows the answer to that question. It depends how this season plays out. It also depends what deals are had along the way. Could Merzlikins be dealt? It’s possible? Could he also eventually be the number-one? That’s possible too, assuming he gets a chance.
Tarasov is still highly thought of by the team. Exposing him to waivers could mean losing him for nothing. Teams looking for young goalies could easily take a swing if he ever landed on the waiver wire.
We learned that the Blue Jackets still have an opening for a number-one goaltender. How they choose to address this will be fascinating to watch unfold.
Playoffs?
You heard what the team said at the beginning of the season. “We always expect to make the playoffs.” Clearly these Blue Jackets aren’t even close to sniffing the playoffs.
Ownership chose not to make any other changes after Mike Babcock citing that they can still reach their goals this season. It’s safe to say those goals if they included playoffs will fall woefully short.
What did we learn here? It’s actually a bit of a catch-22. On one hand, there is pressure to finally enjoy success in Columbus. Their track record is well documented. On the other hand, the Blue Jackets are so far away there has to be a real conversation about how to fix it. In other words, there needs to be a clear plan.
This season has shown that whatever plan they had has failed and that could come with repercussions. It’s possible the plan has changed mid stream given the record. Let’s hope so. The team has 40 games to figure things out so they can try to chart what’s next. But let’s not talk about the playoffs again until several things are addressed first.
Close Only Counts In…
You know the old saying. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. If you ask me, it counts in Goldeneye with proximity mines and in nuclear warfare too.
For the Blue Jackets, they’ve claimed they’re close all season. Being in 15th place out of 16 teams in the East doesn’t scream close.
What the team has said about being close is all of their blown leads. They’ve been good enough to get leads. They haven’t been good enough to hold said leads. That takes us back to the defense and goaltending again.
What we learned is that the team is not close at all to where they want to be. The standings are all that matters. They’re not close. They might be in games. But until they learn how to win those games, they can’t be considered close.
Adam Fantilli
So far, we’ve touched on the ugly. Let’s spin some positivity here. Perhaps one of the biggest positives of the first half are the flashes Adam Fantilli has shown.
Fantilli led all rookies in goals in December. With each passing game, he is getting more comfortable with his surroundings. He’s even shown an ability to take over a game when given the opportunity.
If you’re worried about how he might react to all of this, don’t. The season has been rough on everyone. But to his credit, Fantilli has found a way to embrace the city while having fun during his rookie year. These last 40 games could be a glimpse of what we can truly expect from him. He’s getting top-six minutes and playing against the NHL’s best. That experience will go a long way for him.
If you need something to smile about, just remember Fantilli is a Blue Jacket.
Boone Jenner
Boone Jenner’s injury came at an awful time. The team has missed his presence. But in a great moment for him, we was voted to be the Blue Jackets’ representative at the All-Star Game in Toronto. For Jenner, it will be a homecoming.
At the time of injury, Jenner was the Blue Jackets’ best and most consistent player. Johnny Gaudreau struggled out of the gate. Patrik Laine was inconsistent. But Jenner did everything he could to keep things together. His trip to Toronto is based on merit and a great story.
It’s clear the Blue Jackets have been a different team without Jenner in the lineup. He has started skating in recent days. He should be back in time for the All-Star Game. By the way, he’s still tied for the team lead in goals.
The Russian Line
They were recently broken up by coach Vincent but for a time, they were the best thing going on the Blue Jackets. Each of Kirill Marchenko, Yegor Chinakhov and Dmitri Voronkov have enjoyed flashes of success.
Marchenko scored a hat trick in Buffalo while showing off his finishing ability. Chinakhov has used this season to rebound and show he has a lot to give. Voronkov is still learning the NHL game but has shown what he could eventually be in the NHL.
Each have also shown that they are potentially important pieces in the future for the Blue Jackets. Each will be due new contracts soon. They’ve been a pleasant story in an otherwise down year for the team as a whole.
Coach Vincent
Coach Vincent walked into a crazy situation when the Blue Jackets had to move on from Babcock. It’s clear he is still learning as a first-time head coach. It’s also clear he’s been given less than an ideal hand to play with.
We mentioned the defense. We mentioned the goaltending. Vincent is on record as saying that he’s had to build up his defensive systems in waves so not to give everyone too much. In his words, master one thing, move on to the next.
Vincent has had to be a teacher this season to a team still trying to find their identity. He keeps saying the team will eventually get there. That’s what he’ll ultimately be judged on. But for now, it’s a little too early to make judgment on him personally. How he handles these last 40 games will go a long way to determining that though.
The room respects him. The team plays hard for him. Those are good gauges into what the players think. If any of that starts to go downhill, then the conversation changes. At the same time, the record is a reflection of him too. The second half will show us how much improvement the team experiences under his watch.
Massive Injuries Again
The 2022-23 season was awful for injuries. The 2023-24 season is heading in the same direction. Jenner, Werenski, Laine, Sean Kuraly and Nick Blankenburg are currently on injured reserve. Severson and Adam Boqvist were recently there. Merzlikins spent time there while Tarasov started the season there.
Injuries are not an excuse. They’re a reality these Blue Jackets continue to face. How some of these injuries have happened are very unlucky, there is still an element of availability that top players need to have.
Unlike last season though, the Blue Jackets struggled before the major injuries took place. We learned that injuries should not be a factor when determining changes. It’s clear what’s happening now is not working and change is required. Injuries cannot be the reason for status quo if that’s what they decide.
There is Hope
We’ve called out a lot of bad things. But there is still hope. The deep prospect pool provides that hope. It’s now on the Blue Jackets to develop them in such a way where they maximize the development time.
The Blue Jackets are headed for yet another lottery pick at the 2024 NHL Draft. Add them to who’s already on board and it’s easy to see why there can be a path forward. Whether the team reaches that hope is yet to be determined.
The Monsters are playing lights out in the AHL while sending three to the All-Star Game. This also provides some hope for those looking for it.
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No team ever wants to play out the string with 40 games left in the season. But that’s where the Blue Jackets find themselves. Players will be evaluated to see how they perform as well as how they handle everything knowing the playoffs are out of reach.
There will still be plenty to talk about with these Blue Jackets. Stay tuned for Part 2 when we switch to looking ahead at the last 40 games and specific things we’ll be watching for in the final 40 games.