With the draft finished and the opening rush of free agency largely behind us, the obvious thought now is to wonder what the roster will look like come opening night. While the Jackets did make some big moves, bringing in Severson + Provorov and drafting likely future number 1 center Adam Fantilli, the outlook of the roster is now even murkier as the Jackets have yet to make a move to clear up some space. But it is never too early to take a stab at how the roster will look like on opening night so let’s dive into another opening night roster prediction.
Forward Line 1: Gaudreau – Jenner – Marchenko
Although the Jackets drafted Fantilli to be the one to fill the 1C for the foreseeable future, it is more than fair to say that he won’t open the season centering the top line. Look instead for Babcock to roll with one of the Jackets more offensively effective lines from last season to begin this season. The 3 of Gaudreau/Jenner/Marchenko showed decent chemistry towards the end of the season and put up respectable numbers despite playing on one of the worst teams in the league. Gaudreau and Marchenko are natural linemates in any scenario with Gaudreau’s effectiveness on the puck and playmaking leading to plenty of high danger chances for Marchenko and his lethal finishing ability to capitalize on. But the key on this line is Jenner, until Fantilli is ready, Jenner’s ability to win faceoffs, retrieve the puck and play responsibly in his own end allows for the other 2 to make plays without fear of being beat back up the ice. Realistically at this point he is nothing more than a placeholder and he would likely be better served as playing further down the lineup especially given his injury history but for now, while Fantilli develops and acclimates to the pro game, Jenner works just fine in that spot.
Forward Line 2: Johnson – Fantilli – Laine
In theory, this would by far the best second line the Jackets have ever rolled out. Johnson improved rapidly as a rookie and Laine still produced at around a point per game pace when he was healthy. This line has potential to be explosive but there are two things this hinges on. One, although Laine is known as a sniper, he has increasingly moved to being a play driver on his line and as such likes having the puck on his stick so chemistry with Johnson and Fantilli will be crucial to this line’s success. Secondly and really, this will determine if this line has any success at all, is the question of the line defense. Johnson is not really known for his defensive plays and even more so is Laine. Fantilli has the potential to be an all-around complete player but he will only be 19 when the season starts and as mentioned, will likely need some time away from first line matchups to fully acclimate. To sum it up, this line has a real chance to be offensively explosive and give pause to opposing teams looking for favorable matchups, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Babcock break up this line relatively quickly given the real likelihood that it gets caved in on a nightly basis in its own end.
Forward Line 3: Texier – Voronkov – Danforth
Texier is almost assuredly locked into this 3rd line left wing role but outside of that, the rest of the line is really anyone’s guess. I’m betting on Voronkov beating out Sillinger and Roslovic (if he is even still around) for the center role on this line given his experience playing against men in Russia but I could easily see him being beat out. Danforth is written in here for now as I don’t believe the Jackets would want to expose him to waivers just yet as he showed well in limited ice time last season and even flashed a little bit of offensive production. Chinakhov should strongly compete for this spot as well especially given he was looking like he was on the path to securing his spot in the lineup last season before getting hurt and then finishing the season in Cleveland. Overall the makeup of this line looks to be generally based around a tough in your face identity that will make opposing teams uncomfortable to play against especially after defending the projected high-power top 2 lines.
Forward Line 4: Robinson – Kuraly - Olivier
Stick with what works right? Aside from mainstay Kuraly up the middle, everyone from Foudy to Bemstrom to Fix-Wolansky will be looking to grab a spot, but Robinson has the experience by now and Olivier had a pretty solid first season. Eventually, the identity of this line which seemingly has been the same forever will evolve but to start the season, there’s a lot to like with rolling with what is known to work best. However, Babcock will come into camp with his own ideas and it’s entirely possible that he will be looking for something a bit different than what has been the norm for the last several seasons. As such, some of the faces that fans have become accustomed to may soon find themselves on the wrong side of the roster bubble.
Defense Pair 1: Werenski – Severson
This one is pretty clear cut and dry. Before the acquisition of Severson, it was a bit of a mystery as to who would pair up with Werenski. Having gone out and acquired Severson gives the Jackets a legitimate top 4 right shot defenseman who can, at worst, hold down the fort until Jiricek is ready or at best, be a multiple season solution next to Werenski and set the Jackets up extremely well on the first pair. Either way, the Jackets are primed to have a much better defense come opening night and that starts with the new and improved top pair.
Defense Pair 2: Provorov – Boqvist
One of the biggest questions to close out the season was who would be the replacement for Gavrikov on the second pair as there was no obvious answer. The Jackets went out and answered that question by landing Provorov. He slots in nicely behind Werenski and given his experience playing top pair minutes, may even be able to ease the load. The question, however, is on the right side. While the acquisition of Severson answered one question, a few more came up as a result, mainly how the right side of the defense will shake out. Boqvist looks to have the inside track from an outsider’s perspective given his age, skillset, and overall potential to be a high-end top 4 offensive defenseman. However, his lengthy health history and questionable defending ability will make holding down this highly sought after roster spot extremely difficult and it would not be surprising in the slightest to see Boqvist bounced out of the lineup entirely.
Defense Pair 3: Bean – Gudbranson
The bottom pair, without question will be the most in flux especially, like on the previously mentioned 2nd pair, on the right side. Bean is probably the one who ends up on the left side given his one-way deal and optimism surrounding his ability to bounce back from injury. The right side will be the true metaphorical blood bath as there are no less than 3 defensemen projected to be in competition for the spot. Ultimately, Gudbranson brings to the table a certain element of heaviness, toughness, and veteran leadership (not to mention a hefty contract) that Babcock will likely covet to start the season. This pair will hardly be set in stone and look for Babcock to rotate different options in as needed due to performance or matchup purposes.
Goalies: Merzlikins – Tarasov
Without a doubt the biggest question ark on the team, the Jackets are primed to give this tandem one more shot. Tarasov needs to prove he is capable of being, at minimum, an above average NHL backup but he still has time given he is only now entering his first full season. Merzlikins is the bigger question mark. He is on a massive contract, and it cannot be understated how badly he is underperforming relative to it and honestly just in general. Given that his trade value is practically nil at this point, management really has no choice but to believe that the version of Merzlikins who earned the contract he is currently on, a version of him that was a borderline top 15 goalie in the league for long stretches at a time, can be found again. The success of the team depends on it and the Jackets likely won’t hesitate to pivot to another direction if he cannot put it all back together.
Extras: Blankenburg – Foudy – Roslovic
- Blankenburg is the perfect 7th defenseman and he’ll be expected to rotate in as needed and bring the sparkplug energy that he has shown.
- The Jackets were reluctant to expose Foudy on waivers last season and given how he came on at the end of the season, one would expect the same come this season and maybe even for him to push for a more permanent role in the lineup.
- Given his consistency issues, Roslovic is going to have a hard time finding a spot on a roster that wants to be competing for a playoff spot. The only reason why he will even be on the roster is because of his nonexistent trade value. Look for him to be a deadline move at the very latest.
Outside Looking In: Chinakhov – Sillinger – Bemstrom – Jiricek - Peeke
- It may be surprising to see Chinakhov projected to go down to Cleveland, but the simple fact remains that his waiver exempt status works against him and sending him down without risk of losing him is the easiest move for the Jackets to make. There is reason to believe that he’ll force his way onto the roster, especially given the way he was playing before getting hurt which could make things very interesting come camp.
- Sending Sillinger to Cleveland also makes a ton of sense given he is waiver exempt as well except in his case it may be incredibly beneficial. After one of the roughest sophomore slumps the league has seen in a while, rediscovering his form and confidence against lesser competition would be the best move for him. Obviously, he can make things very interesting by showing up well in camp but for now, he seems most likely destined to start the season in the AHL.
- In what is likely to be his last season with the Jackets, Bemstrom faces yet another near impossible task of making the roster. He had plenty of opportunities amidst the injuries last season yet could not find a way to solidify a spot which has been a common theme for him during his time in Columbus. The Jackets were willing to expose him to waivers and the safe bet is that they will be inclined to do so this upcoming season yet again. He will likely clear and spend much of the year in Cleveland.
- The ultimate wild card on defense, Jiricek has little left to prove in the AHL and is clearly ready for the big leagues. The issue is that the Jackets added to his position over the offseason and have yet to make any moves to clear up the logjam. Depending on how the Jackets approach training camp, they may have no choice but to send Jiricek down to start the season since he is still waiver exempt unless he blows the coaching staff away and forces the team to make a deal elsewhere.
- If you do the math, it is really difficult to find a spot for Peeke on the roster. Yes, he’s a relatively solid and young-ish player but he doesn’t do anything that stands out especially on a roster that is suddenly flush with both NHL caliber defensemen and high end prospects that look like they can make a push sooner than later. Expect Peeke to be a roster casualty and traded out before the season starts.
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