It’s safe to assume that, if he signs back this summer, new Columbus Blue Jackets blue liner, Seth Jones, is well on his way to a very nice looking contract. And, with the way he has been performing since arriving in Columbus as part of the trade for Ryan Johansen, he has proven every game that he is well worth the investment that the Blue Jackets will make.
Jones will be a restricted free agent this summer, meaning that the Blue Jackets will have the ability to tender a qualifying offer, but that most surely won’t be good enough to hold down the 21-year old defensive phenom, as he deserves much more than that. He is currently finishing up the final season of a 3-year entry level contract with $2.775 million in base salary and $6.9 million in potential bonuses given to him by the Nashville Predators after he was drafted. (source: general fanager)
The Blue Jackets currently sit with $3.5 million in cap space, but with their other young first line defenseman, Ryan Murray, becoming a restricted free agent this summer as well, they are going to have to free up more space than that to ensure that they lock up what looks to be the first pairing defense for years to come. So, what should they do?
Amongst Murray and Jones, there are other names that could be signed for cheaper than their current contracts, or even allowed to test free agency and let go. The two first names that pop up would be that of Rene Bourque, who currently holds a $3.3 million cap hit, and Dalton Prout, who holds a cap hit of $1.075 million. If Columbus is to let them go, and they surely are both very dispensable in a situation like this, it would open up another $4.34 million in cap space, bringing their total to roughly $7.84 million, which is more than enough to give both of the young defenders the salary boosts they deserve and keep them happily on the Blue Jackets blue line come next season.
All of that $4.34 million cleared up by not re-signing Prout and Bourque would not go directly towards Jones and Murrays’ new contracts, as there would need to be some new additions to fill their roster spots. What better way to fill roster spots on the cheap than to bring up players from the AHL-affiliate, Lake Erie Monsters, that are well-deserving of being in the NHL. To fill their positions directly, the Blue Jackets could call up Kerby Rychel (2016-17 cap hit: $863,000) and Josh Anderson (RFA in the summer), who have both been very impressive in their respective call-ups this season, and that would lead to still having roughly $2.4 million maximum in cap space in letting go of Rene Bourque. Josh Anderson, who has limited NHL experience, would come with a very affordable contract and could easily match, or even exceed, the productivity levels of Bourque.
As to filling the spot left open by letting go of both Dalton Prout and Justin Falk, there are two very feasible options that the Jackets would have. The first one would be the obvious, and most realistic, as to the eventuality of re-activating David Savard off of the injured reserve and keeping another young defenseman, Cody Goloubef, on the roster rather than Falk. Another option would be to use one of the earlier draft picks to take a promising youngster, send him to Cleveland to play with the Monsters, and have Goloubef full-time, bringing in the likes of Dillon Heatherington as a replacement for the rotation option.
However, one must not forget the other former draft picks that could easily slot in to the NHL team sheet next season of Sonny Milano, Markus Hannikainen, and 2015 first round pick, Zach Werenski. All three of these players would carry a similar, or smaller, cap hit than any of the players named to be let go. And, alongside being better players for the books, would offer Columbus some fresh faces to shore up the franchise for years to come.
Another thing that the Blue Jackets organization could due to free up even more cap space would be to test the trade market with some of their more enticing players, forwards specifically. The first forward that the organization should look to move off of their payroll would be that of David Clarkson. the 31-year old right wing has only played in 18 games this season, missing most of them due to injury problems. And, even when he is able to suit up for the Jackets, he has only registered a very poor two points (1-1-2) on the season. These kinds of numbers for a player that brings a $5.25 million cap hit is, for lack of a better word, a burden, and should be moved to anywhere willing to take the forward.
The other forward that is definitely more of a moveable piece would be that of 33-year old left wing, Scott Hartnell. From a purely business standpoint, this would be the best option to free up cap space and get something useful in return as well. He is amongst the top scorers for Columbus this season, with 18 goals and 18 assists, and is also leading the team in power play goals, with eight on the season. If you take his numbers, and the obvious fact that he is a great team mate and great for a locker room, you would have teams lining up to take him off of your hands for a good return. And, to be able to get the $4.75 million cap hit he is currently carrying off of the pages, that would be invaluable in terms of freeing up the funds to keep the young talent that Columbus currently has. This move, however, is much less likely to happen due to the fact that head coach John Tortorella finds him as a very important piece in the rebuilding of the franchise and, if traded away, would cause a backlash from many pockets of the organization.
The best course of action, that would cause the least amount of backlash amongst the organization, and would still free up cap space is the first option, let some of the 2016 free agents leave the club. If the Blue Jackets are to let Rene Bourque, Dalton Prout, and Justin Falk leave this summer, this would result in clearing up $3.75 million in cap space and would be well enough to re-sign the players that are needed for the future. If they are also to do the hardest, yet best move, and send Clarkson somewhere it would free up enough room to re-sign all the pieces, and even go shopping in the free agent market. The reality of it all is this: Columbus is going to do whatever it can to keep its’ two young blue-liners in the system, and this should be enough to see some of the less valuable players putting on a different sweater come the 2016-17 NHL Season.
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