Subscribe
Follow Us
The Columbus Blue Jackets finished in the basement of the Eastern Conference last season, and were just one point away from being dead-last in the National Hockey League. Yes, this was a bad team last year, but not as bad as their record showed. The team suffered a brutal, campaign-ending injury to star defenseman Zach Werenski early on, and were oft without sniper Patrik Laine who dealt with a plethora of ailments of his own throughout the season.
It's difficult to give the Blue Jackets a free agency grade if we're starting at July 1 — the team has done legitimately nothing since the free agency period opened just under three weeks ago. But that doesn't mean that general manager Jarmo Kekalainen hasn't been busy since the squad's season ended.
The Finnish GM completely revamped the team's blue line this summer, adding Damon Severson in a sign-and trade from the New Jersey Devils and acquiring Ivan Provorov from the Philadelphia Flyers. If Werenski can stay healthy next year, Columbus probably had the best year-over-year defensive improvement in the entire league. And we can't forget about the team drafting a potential difference-making 1C in reigning Hobey Baker Award winner Adam Fantilli with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
The postseason is a stretch for this team next year, but they will absolutely be much better than their abysmal 25-win, 59-point showing in 2022-23. Let's discuss the moves.
Acquired Ivan Provorov
The first big trade of the NHL offseason happened before the season was even over; the Jackets received Ivan Provorov from the Flyers while the Stanley Cup Final was still being contested between the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights. The smooth-skating Russian didn't come cheap, costing Kekalainen a couple of early draft selections, but he immediately becomes one of the best players on the team's blue line.
Provorov played every game for the Flyers last season, scoring six goals and 27 points. Although he struggled offensively compared to a few of his earlier campaigns, it was very clear that he needed a change of scenery. He is also a very durable player, suiting up for all 82 contests in four of his seven NHL seasons.
Although the 26-year-old will be a significant upgrade in Ohio, he came at a very steep price, and the hope that he will improve his game with a change of scenery is quite the gamble. It's certainly a major improvement and a good player to have on the second pairing, but it cost them a haul.
Sign-and-trade splash for Damon Severson
Just days after the Jackets added Provorov, Kekalainen was at it again, acquiring Damon Severson from the New Jersey Devils and immediately signing him to an eight-year deal worth $6.25 million per year. It's one of the only sign-and-trades recorded in NHL history, and made Columbus the talk of the offseason, at least for a few days.
This was a much better deal for the Blue Jackets, who only gave up a third-round pick and will now have an excellent anchor on the back-end for the foreseeable future. Severson was the longest serving member of the Devils after being selected No. 60 overall in 2012, and the Canadian should immediately slot in on the top pairing with Werenski in 2023-24.
Drafted, signed Adam Fantilli to entry-level deal
Of course, we can't forget about Adam Fantilli, who exploded onto the scene with an excellent IIHF World Championship performance with Team Canada. The 18-year-old will almost certainly make the team's opening night roster, and should slot in at 2C right away. He'll potentially play with two other young guns in Kirill Marchenko and either Kent Johnson or Jack Roslovic, and it'll be intriguing to see how his rookie season goes behind the top line of Johnny Gaudreau, Boone Jenner and Patrik Laine.
He also figures to play on the top powerplay unit along with the team's top line and Werenski, giving him some fantasy value. Fantilli signed a three-year, $12.4 million pact with the team on July 1, and will call Columbus home for at least three seasons.
Final Grade: B
The Columbus Blue Jackets were terrible last year, but they should immediately be much more competitive with Ivan Provorov, Damon Severson and Adam Fantilli on the team next season. They didn't do much when the free agency period opened, but they made some shrewd moves before that and didn't sign any silly contracts as the rebuild continues in Ohio.
The Jackets get a solid ‘B' grade for getting some heavy lifting done before July 1, and it will be very interesting to see how much of an improvement the 2023-24 Blue Jackets are after an immediately forgettable last season.
