I am bored. The offseason stinks and I want Blue Jackets hockey ASAP. This mailbag should take the edge off and make for a better five or so months, right?
Let’s do it.
https://twitter.com/lfoxcbus/status/735211936074334208
Plainly, I think trading the 3rd overall pick would be idiotic. Rumors have been going around that they may package a player with a bad contract with this pick. Using this high pick to rid themselves of a bad player is mind numbing. Sure, it could give them flexibility with their cap space but are any of you really that hopeful of what they will do with it? They should take Jesse Puljujarvi with the third pick.
If a trade were to happen (even though I don’t think it will or should happen), they would need a guaranteed first line player in the exchange. Someone who is still young enough to be impactful and could possibly fill a hole in the lineup. The Colorado Avalanche have the #10 pick and have some young forwards they could part with if necessary. Names like Matt Duchene and Nathan Mackinnon immediately come to mind, yet parting with either of them would be tough for the Avalanche front office. Making the cap hits work out would also be quite difficult.
Don’t expect a trade to happen. If it does, be highly cognizant of teams with large amounts of cap space and a bunch of young players.
Because guessing is fun, who do you think has the best chance to wow at training camp? Who might be biggest surprise?
— Nate Beougher (@NateBooger) May 24, 2016
I always seem to give Michael Chaput as an answer to these type of questions. He is a solid player, has a really strong two-way game and would seem to slot in on the Jackets fourth line with ease. I have been bringing him up as the training camp surprise for two or so years, but what do you know, Gregory Campbell gets brought in and that position of need is filled.
If no trades take place (and there should be a lot of them), I would expect a high end prospect/player to make the team and impress. Oliver Bjorkstrand and Zach Werenski are a couple of players that can play at a high level already, the learning curve is going to be much, much smaller for them. I could see them jumping ahead of some veteran players if they impress enough.
Biggest surprise? Kerby Rychel. I think they try to find a spot for him. He is a typical Blue Jackets player and could play anywhere in the bottom six. He wouldn’t have to displace someone in the lineup if he made the team. The surprise portion includes the Jackets not trading him before next season.
https://twitter.com/AOMurphy10/status/735288987632467968
If you look back on past Calder Cup winning teams, you will see an awful lot of players who went on to become impactful NHLer’s. This should give you hope for the future, the Blue Jackets this past year were bad, no way getting around it. The Monsters give fans hope after seeing years and years of Blue Jackets hockey that never lived up to the hype. These players are not only performing up to the hype, they are exceeding it. I am sure I will touch on this in another article later on but you have every right in the world to be excited about this team, they are doing something not many Blue Jackets affiliated teams have done in the past. Win in the playoffs.
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