Honestly dont hate it

Chychrun is worth more than Puljujarvi. He's a dumpster fire.

I don’t hate it either, but I have the same concerns I’ve expressed in prior Coyotes/Oilers/Jackets trades where EDM inevitably underpays. Brevity has never been my strength (ask my tortured teachers), but I’ll try to bullet point this:

•Puljujärvi has already been linked to waivers. Unless I’m missing something, CBJ could then pluck him off the wire for free and still make EDM happy providing cap space. Like him, but not going to overvalue him in a trade. Yamamoto is the one that carries more value than primarily cap dump.

•To that point, ARZ wants the equivalent of two firsts and a marquee prospect. Rumored discussing with LAK Byfield (#2 in 2020) or Clarke (#8 2021). Mateychuk’s pedigree falls *just* below (#12 2022) but passes for the sake of this argument. So does the Oilers 1st round pick (which MUST be unprotected—they could miss the playoffs or win the whole darn thing…ARZ needs the reward that comes with that risk). But as established above, Puljujärvi doesn’t cut the mustard. Less than 24 months after he was drafted? Certainly. But his value is in the tank. Keep in mind, even if he somehow develops into Draisaitl, he’s already nearing the end of his sixth contract year.

•Jackets want a first, third, and fourth for Gavrikov. High? Maybe. But probably not. They got a first and third for an older David Savard and the market breaks toward CBJ. (Chychrun has a high asking price, as does Karlsson who also comes with a whale (or a shark) of a contract. After that, Gavi arguably could be the top option, at least in terms of defensive-minded D-men. Oh, and his agent is already out there with permission to negotiate extensions with interested teams.) So in effect, Columbus gives up two firsts (one lottery), a third, and a fourth for Chychrun. You know, they (or at least I) would have gone for that…two years ago when they first wanted Chychrun, with 4 1/2 years left on his contract. Now, CBJ’s window doesn’t open until the last year of his contract at the very earliest. He asks for more than Gavi wanted in an extension and walks, while Mateychuk is still on his ELC.

Yep, bullet points didn’t curb my issues. Sorry. Never believed in that TL;DR nonsense 😝 Kudos, though on the foundation for the start of a good deal. I think Puljujärvi actually ends up in Ohio, even though Jarmo passed on him in the draft. But Chychrun will not head that way unless the Desert Dogs drastically lower their expected return OR get really creative and offer to absorb Elvis Merzlikins’ salary or give the Jackets a 2023 first round pick swap option, allowing them to further increase their odds for Bedard. Now that’s a gamble.

Profound. Pretty sure we don’t need a poll to confirm that.

Arizona says no.

Great trade for whom?

Mateychuk is more valuable than Chychrun imo

just from a oil point of view.gavrikov is the guy they need.and yes its a 1st and jp,but theres a couple b level prospects missing,like niemelainen and lavoie.

I really don't like the idea of moving Mateychuk and I've read that Columbus is going to have a hard sell on re-signing chychrun. He wants to be elsewhere and on a contender.

Teams—from GMs down through fans—will typically overvalue their own assets, or support them through confirmation bias, until given ample reason to believe otherwise. Yet for Mateychuk, drafted less than a year ago at #12, not considered a reach then, and with no disaster befalling in between, CBJ has no reason NOT to remain high on him. That draft range might not fall into the range of a stone cold lock, but it slots higher than Chychrun did.

Columbus remains an awesome city and a very good hockey town. Kevin Weeks, John Buccigross, and other luminaries can rave about it time and again, rightly declaring it an underrated market. But that doesn’t mean it is for everyone. And it will NEVER change some people’s minds. Screw P-L Dubois and quadruple screw flipping Jeff Carter. But Panarin and Bobrovsky wanted things Ohio could not offer: a massive city with anything and everything and a city with waterfront in three cardinal directions, respectively. Now each of those markets comes with its drawbacks, but those men played like pros and earned their free agency rights.

(Now I could launch into my soapbox dissertation on Curt Flood, and how for all the rights, power, and money he brought to men and women that play sports for a living (and they do deserve a slice of the pie), the damage done and passed forward to the fan through exorbitant ticket prices, regional/national broadcast fees translating to cable/satellite/etc. bills, $240 Reverse Retro jerseys, and perhaps saddest of all, players that grow so rich and celebrated that they lose the normal, approachable, relatability that made these athletes so awe inspiring in the first place. A guy—just like you and I—can do these incredible things! Without the first half, the impression of the second half deflates.)

Believe it or not, that was me holding back to just a side note. My poor professors still have nightmares of me decades later.

Back on point, I have never met Chychrun; I have no privy insider information to his mindset. I could tell him that I was born and raised in the Columbus metro area and thoroughly enjoyed it. I could tell him that I’ve since lived across the South for a decade, lived across the pond in London, and lived across southern California for a decade (including the mean streets of Malibu). Yet after a preposterously acrimonious divorce, Columbus metro is where I decided to return to live. I have visited forty-nine states (Alaska is very non-contiguous) and very nearly as many foreign countries, so I do have some perspective. But I chose here, and wish to raise my daughter here, and hope my niecephews go to college here (if they can’t get into Princeton), and as CBJ alumni director Jody Shelley (yes, true story) will tell you, countless NHL vets, past and present—from ALL AROUND THE LEAGUE—make their home within minutes of the outer belt that once contained the now overflowing city.

Enough of my pitch; I am not under the employ of the Chamber of Commerce, nor would they want me. This patch of earth is not nirvana. It lacks the raw splendor of Reykjavik, the cornucopia of culture of South Kensington, the serenity and discovery of pure color of the Cook Islands. More relevantly, the tenants of Nationwide Arena cannot match the “menu” of activities and exposure the far larger cities can offer. Nor the waters the coastal teams can offer. Tough to beat the swagger, style, and party atmosphere of Nashville (East Vegas) and Vegas (West Nashville). And with due respect to the powerhouse universities in Boston, the USNTDP in Ann Arbor, and other long histories across North America, it is nigh impossible to beat hockey’s tradition stateside in Minnesota. As for further north, tradition, Canada, and hockey are all one in the same.

Speaking to tradition, the Jackets are not Original Six. Nor the Next Six. Conversely, they’re not one of the two fresh new expansion teams. Rather, they’re part of the prior, failed over-expansion. (Congrats, Atlanta. 0/2 converts to a 0% retention rate. At least your ugly contracts helped usher in the lockout…😐). So not old/historic, not new/fresh, zero championships or trophies or banners, two** playoff series victories (one in the bubble, in a “qualifying round” AND against the Leafs, hence the two asterisks). Still no beach, no February heat waves, but still state income taxes (but better than SJ or NYR have it).

Yes, I have avoided the current state of the roster relative to contention. Not that long ago, especially relative to storied juggernauts Detroit and Chicago, Columbus was in the playoffs and dangerous. But they were bad last year. Gaudreau signing raised expectations immediately, a dream based more on star-power, knee-jerk reaction than careful analysis. But it took a Zamboni full of injuries for them to be THIS bad again. Maybe they get Bedard, maybe not. But the last two years have afforded tons of experience to younger players. CBJ still should not be ready to compete next year and still will have youth developing. But as long as Jarmo can start delineating pieces of the future from players that should be gone by 2025 / must by 2026 and avoid signing too many Merzlikins/Gudbranson (simply can’t pay both too much and for too long), the Jackets will be back in contention. Around the time that Chychrun’s contract runs out.

Dang, that reminds me of my whole point, which could/should have been presented in two sentences—but for a decade my soul has been screaming to share the context with the hockey world. Or the four to six people that might read this post.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are a good team in a good city, and they need to do business with that mindset. Too often they have let a few players create a perception of Columbus as a team and a town, and through their actions or simple acquiesce have allowed the media, league, players, etc. to embrace, enhance, and entrench that narrative. Even given the opportunity to extend and retain players, they panic and fall over themselves. Just recently, Seth Jones was traded to Chicago and awarded a $9.5M AAV contract. CBJ reacts by extending Werenski—far earlier in the RFA process—to a deal with a higher AAV. Hours before Gaudreau signed, the Jackets brought in Gudbranson at $16M over 4 years, wage and term that belied his vintage and third-pairing niche. Ended up costing the team Oliver Bjorkstrand, jettisoned for peanuts to allegedly cap space for Gaudreau, though w/o Gudbranson, Bjorkstrand fit nicely. (Ironically, CBJ would have had over $20M in LTIR to use this season, had they so desired or it mattered). [Roslovic and Merzlikins were also granted generous contracts based on small sample sizes, unless jersey sales were the driving factor. Reflecting upon ownership’s pattern of behavior, that is actually probably spot on.]

But the key, the Rosetta Stone for the Jackets is mentioned just above. Gaudreau came to Columbus. Willingly. Gaudreau wanted to come to Columbus. Johnny Hockey CHOSE Columbus. And definitely inadvertently, the talking heads, influencers, and other opinionites that know and view Ohio only as a flyover state, repeatedly reported his decision with shock and awe (and disgust and condescending confusion).

Yet each time it was repeated: Johnny Hockey chose Columbus. Johnny Hockey chose Columbus. Johnny Hockey chose Columbus over Philadelphia. He chose Columbus over the New Jersey Devils. He chose them over the Islanders. (Not true—he never considered them—but the boo birds in the stands felt otherwise.) Chose the unheralded Jackets over returning to the Calgary Flames that made him a star. (Big assist to COVID travel restrictions crippling his resolve there.)

The whole hockey world broadcast that Columbus is a destination where at least some star players would want to play. Without being overpaid, or unwanted elsewhere. Now play up the fact that a who’s who, from coach Paul Maurice to Jack Johnson (not the cool surfer singer) live local. Sean Kuraly was born there but wants to be there. Gus Nyquist pleaded to stay at last year’s deadline. (This year is different as he has to prove he’s healthy again before re-entering free agency.)

Coming full circle (or multi, multi-loop) to Chychrun, Jarmo and Columbus must approach player acquisition with v2.0 approach. No begging, pleading, or overpaying. Or in the case of Chychrun, trading for a player primarily because they have term remaining and are “stuck.” Remember, CBJ was first linked to him two deadlines back…when he had 4 1/2 years left on his contract. Plenty of time to scout his abilities before the deadline, but not nearly enough to vet his long term intentions, nor for him to vet/scout the city and team. Spending resources on a question mark is simply unwise.

Bringing in free agents that want to be in Columbus should be the focus. Trades are definitely an option too, but investing in willing participants should be the common thread. And after being strung along in limbo for over two years, I don’t envision Chychrun committing or restricting himself in any capacity any time soon.

Wow, late afternoon and early evening just flat out disappeared. All to essentially say, “I agree.” 🤦🏼‍♂️