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The Columbus Blue Jackets are entering a new season with a lot of buzz surrounding their up-and-coming team, and the praise is merited.
The acquisition of Brandon Saad from the Chicago Blackhawks was a total shock. Saad, only 22 years old, brings with him a talented resume that has culminated in two Stanley Cup rings. His goals, assists and points have only increased upon his arrival into the NHL in 2012. Last season, he set career highs of 23 G, 29 A and 52 Pts in all 82 games.
It was during last year’s playoffs that Saad really established himself as an up-and-coming elite forward, tallying 11 points in 23 games en route to the Hawks’ second Stanley Cup in three seasons.
The Blue Jackets boast enough offense around Saad that his numbers should only continue to increase. Ryan Johansen is evolving among the elite forwards in the NHL, and he and Saad will continue to compliment the other. Add Nick Foligno coming off a career-year offensively (31 G, 42 A, 73 Pts), and suddenly that is a very talented trio. Overall, Columbus had seven players put up double-digit goals last season, and four hit the 20-goal plateau.
So yes, the offense will be fine, if not solid.
The addition of Saad to play on the Jackets’ first line will only add to an offense that finished tied for 12th in goals per game in the league last year.
As for the injury problem from last season, that was well documented — over 500-man games lost; but the true Achilles’ heel going into the season is on defense.
Potential line combinations revolve around Jack Johnson and David Savard; Fedor Tyutin and Ryan Murray; and Kevin Connauton and Dalton Prout. Cody Goloubef will be in the mix as well. Training camp will allow for potential breakout performances to emerge, but the aforementioned unit should see the bulk of time.
Murray was limited to 12 games last season after a flurry of injuries. His impressive rookie campaign in 2013-14 saw him play 66 games while netting 21 points. Columbus is banking on a healthy Murray this go-around and will certainly benefit if Murray can resemble anything close to his inaugural season.
Johnson has long been criticized for his defensive play, such as playing out of position and reacting too slowly to the play around him. He led the team in average ice-time with over 24 minutes a game and will see similar minutes.
A breakout season from Savard helped net him a new five-year contract extension. Savard was No. 2 to Johnson in average ice-time, played all 82 games and put up career-highs offensively: 11 goals, 25 assists, 36 points. He more than doubled those offensive numbers from the previous 2013-14 season, the first season in which he played at least 70 regular season games.
While Savard looks to be coming into his own, the defense overall will have its share of question marks. Most notably:
Maybe Murray can regain his productivity and stay healthy; maybe Johnson won’t regress anymore; and maybe Tyutin can reclaim some of his youth.
GM Jarmo Kekäläinen hoped to bolster the future on defense during the 2015 NHL Entry Draft last June, and looks to have done so. With the eighth overall pick comes highly-touted Zach Werenski, who is looking to represent the next great crop of young prospects to star at the NHL level.
The 18-year-old comes off of a freshman season where he put up big numbers at the University of Michigan with nine goals and 16 assists in 35 games. As just a 17-year-old, he led the Big 10 among defenseman with nine goals, and was second among the conference with 25 points.
As giddy as the Jackets are about Werenski — they offered him the decision of signing an entry-level contract or returning to Michigan for his sophomore season — the Jackets seem fine with taking a patient approach. Indications are, as Michigan assistant coach Mike Komisarek has indicated, he is mature for his age.
While Werenski expects to officially sign with Columbus next season, his goals in the meantime are to help return the University of Michigan to glory, getting them back to where they haven’t been for three seasons: the NCAA tournament.
It will take time for Werenski to fully develop, but it looks like Columbus has their potential anchor on defense in the organization.
William Chase is a New York Yankees and Columbus Blue Jackets writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @William_Chase88 “Like” him on Facebook and add him to your network on LinkedIn and Google.
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