Written by yours truly,
Today's outlook will focus on the Columbus Blue Jackets.
We spoke to the GM of the Blue Jackets earlier today, Mr. Steph (Esteban) Villevenure. I had asked him to describe his team into 5 words. His response were the following. Veteran, battle tested, underachievers, deep and balanced.
Lets start off with veteran. I mean when you trade Mackinnon and Rantanen in a deal including Marchand and Bergeron, veteran makes sense. The only young players on the team are Point and Aho while the rest of the team is comprised of grizzled veterans.
Next is battle tested. Battle tested sounds correct, but not with Columbus. Meaning, players like Gordon, Eaves, Bergeron, Marchand, Edmunson, Cogliano, Letang all have won before whether it be in the NHL or CCHL. But since my tenure in the league, Columbus has not made the playoffs - and this season they are fighting to make the playoffs as well.
Underachievers is the perfect word for the team. You would think a team with the average DF rating over 74 and an elite goaltender in Vasielevsky would near the top of the standings.
Deep and balanced are also spot on words for the team. One of the deepest top sixes in the league folloed by one of the most defensive sound bottom sixes in the league. Even the top four of Columbus is close to the top of the league with players like Letang, Trouba, Edmunson and Skjei.
The hard truth? Discipline. Columbus has 6 players below 70 DI rating. Meaning, theyre undisciplined. The worst part is the lowest discplined guys consist of some of their stars.... Marchand, Wheeler, Letang and Skei. If Columbus misses the playoffs this season, I expect a full scale rebuild to occur, especially those that have low DI ratings.
Pro Roster Grade: B+ = Hands down one of the deepest rosters in the league that just needs to figure its SHIT out.
Prospect Rank: D- = To be honest im suprised Steph is still holding 2025 picks, especially his 1st. Maybe he is anticipating the rebuild.
Organizational Strength: C+
Sumit Rating: 88/100 = Upper Echelon, The GM shows capability of Sumit potential and is a few moves away from Sumit status.