5 key things for the Columbus Blue Jackets' next GM to do this offseason
Another Blue Jackets season is tucked away for a few months, but the team hasn’t named a new general manager yet.
It’s been two months since Jarmo Kekalainen’s 11-year tenure ended, and a timeline to name his replacement hasn't been released. The situation has created some uncertainty for players, coaches and staffers, but there’s at least one certainty awaiting the Jackets’ next GM.
Whenever the GM is hired, a vital checklist of things to do this summer will be on the desk at Nationwide Arena. Here are five things that will be on it:
Columbus Blue Jackets’ next GM has important staff decisions to make
The coaching staff gets the most publicity in a new GM hire, but the Jackets’ next manager will also have decision to make with the team's scouting, development, training and equipment staffs.
All are probably curious or even concerned about their futures, so the next GM needs to sort it out quickly. That includes coach Pascal Vincent, who has one year left on a contract he signed after former coach Mike Babcock resigned days before training camp. Vincent expressed his hope to remain in his role for at least next season, which would give the new GM one less thing to worry about plus a full year to assess Vincent's fit with the Blue Jackets.
Hiring a new coach and staff would give the Blue Jackets their fourth head coaching voice in roughly one year, which isn’t ideal for establishing continuity. New GMs are usually given the right to make coaching switches, though, so it’s a possibility.
Columbus Blue Jackets’ next GM has to figure out what to do with Patrik Laine and Elvis Merzlikins
The Blue Jackets’ next GM will inherit two tricky situations that must be addressed this summer.
One involves Patrik Laine, a talented winger who entered the NHL/NHLPA’s Player Assistance Program after logging just 18 games amid another injury-plagued season.
The other is goalie Elvis Merzlikins, who has three years left on a contract with a $5.4 million cap hit and requested a “new scenario," in January, after becoming the Jackets’ third option for a stretch. Both carry the potential to lift or hinder the Blue Jackets, which is an ongoing risk-reward scenario that partly led to Kekalainen’s firing.
There isn’t an easy solution to either situation, but finding answers to both is among the most important things for the Jackets’ next GM to do.
Columbus Blue Jackets’ next GM has another key draft ahead
The Blue Jackets finished 29th this season, which means they’ll get the fourth-best odds to win the NHL draft lottery. Their luck in previous draws suggests they have better odds to win the Stanley Cup next season, but the Jackets will still get another high first-round pick and pick near the top in each round.
What they do with those picks is something the next GM must figure out before the draft. Keep the pick to add another highly touted prospect into a system brimming with them? Or use it to see what kind of trade interest it might generate?
Kekalainen was a dealer, but he valued high first-round picks immensely. Most GMs do, since that’s become the easiest way to get elite players. High picks, however, can generate interesting trade discussions.
Columbus Blue Jackets’ next GM has numerous contracts to sort out
The Blue Jackets have a lot of bills coming due this summer, including 14 restricted free agents and four unrestricted free agents.
The UFAs are veterans who spent the bulk of this season in AHL Cleveland, so there won’t be drama with them. They’ll either be retained or not. The RFAs are a different story, especially those with NHL roles and arbitration rights as bargaining leverage. That group includes defenseman Jake Bean and forwards Alexandre Texier, Kirill Marchenko, Yegor Chinakhov and Alex Nylander.
Other RFAs with arbitration rights include rookie goalie Jet Greaves and defensemen Nick Blankenburg and Jake Christiansen. Cole Sillinger and Kent Johnson don’t have enough service time for arbitration rights, but both are pending RFAs for the first time. It’s a lot of negotiating work that remains unresolved and could give the new GM some headaches.
Columbus Blue Jackets’ next GM must weigh prospect development against patching holes in free agency
Depending on the number of extensions completed prior to the opening of free agency July 1, the Blue Jackets could be in great shape when the market opens. The list of potential UFAs is impressive, headed by Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos.
He tops the list, but the pending free agent class includes quality depth that could immediately help the Blue Jackets round out their NHL roster. The issue is adding veterans for immediate help who also create roadblocks for the Jackets’ growing contingent of prospects making their way up the pipeline. Win more next season or keep developing through growing pains?
Get more Columbus Blue Jackets talk on the Cannon Fodder podcast
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets: 5 things for the next GM to do this offseason
