2024-2025 Season Start

Forums/Armchair-GM

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Created by: Civil_Eng_PE

Team: 2024-25 Columbus Blue Jackets

Initial Creation Date: Apr. 2, 2024

Published: Apr. 2, 2024

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Description

I'll discuss this ACGM in parts.

Part 1. The Signings

KJ: Injured and may not be ready for the start of the season next year. He will 100% sign a bridge deal and I think the value is good at 2.25mil

Marchenko: I do not think management will be convinced that Marchenko is a core piece yet so he signs a bridge deal. 2 year at 3.5mil may be a little rich but I was trying to be conservative.

Cole Sillinger: I think Cole WILL be a part of the core for this team going forward and I think we sign him to a longer term contract at the value similar to what Jesperi Kotkaniemi signed at with Carolina. 6 years gets him to 28 and in his prime to sign another way higher priced contract for 8 years when he solidifies himself as one of the best 2Cs in the league.

Tex: I love Tex and I think he signs a bridge deal with us. We were patient why he went back to Europe to play and he sticks it out here for 2 more years.

Nylander: This is a hard contract to judge. Since he was a cap dumb piece of a trade to us I think he signs a 1 year prove it deal like Chinny signed this year with us. If he competes again and plays well he can sign a longer term contract next off season with us.

Chinny: I think Chinny has also solidified himself as a part of the core but on the cheaper side which is why we sign him for only 4 years.

Hanifin: Our only UFA signing. I do not know if Vegas can keep him now that they traded for Hertl. I think we bid for him in Free Agency to again help our defense figure their **** out.

Misc.: I think we shop Provorov around but the offers aren't great so he stays for his contract year and we ship him at the deadline. Once he leaves then Mateychuk takes his place.

2. The Prospects

This is a hard thing to predict. I think Jiricek is not progressing like we had hoped... He starts the year in Cleveland as does Mateychuk and Dumais. These top prospects fill in as needed if injuries arise.

Brindley stays at Michigan for another year and runs it back after he wins the championship this season. IF he were to go pro and sign with us he would play most of the season in Cleveland and probs only get called up at the end of the season once we are eliminated from the playoffs and have injuries.

3. The Draft

Didn't want to sign any 2024 drafted players since I don't think any would make the opening day roster minus MAYBE Celebrini.

4. Misc.

Elvis is shopped around but there are no takers and we are forced to make a decision on buying him out or sticking with him as the backup next season behind Tarasov. I think we keep him for one more season then buy him out in 2025.

Young prospects fill in as depth throughout the season and hopefully continue to develop up in Cleveland with another very successful AHL campaign in 2024-2025.

This is a very basic ACGM and doesn't really make any crazy moves... I definitely think the new GM that comes in does a lot more than what is done here. a complete rethink of the team like Trotz did in Nashville may happen this offseason, I just didn't any idea of how to predict that so I kept it simple.

The end.

Let me know your thoughts. I was bored today at work since half the office left early to try and dodge the storms. Stay safe if you are in Ohio!

Free Agent Signings

RFA	YEARS	CAP HIT
Johnson, Kent	2	$2,250,000
Marchenko, Kirill	2	$3,500,000
Sillinger, Cole	6	$4,500,000
Texier, Alexandre	2	$2,750,000
Nylander, Alexander	1	$1,500,000
Chinakhov, Yegor	4	$3,000,000

UFA		YEARS	CAP HIT
Hanifin, Noah		7	$7,000,000

Buyouts

Alexander Wennberg: $891,667

Draft	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7
2024
2025
2026

ROSTER

LONG-TERM OUTLOOK

EMBED

TEXT-EMBED

ROSTER SIZE	SALARY CAP	CAP HIT	OVERAGES	BONUSES	CAP SPACE
22	$87,700,000	$87,775,000	$0	$3,200,000	-$75,000

Left Wing	Centre	Right Wing
Gaudreau, Johnny $9,750,000$9,750,000 LW NMC UFA - 5	Fantilli, Adam $950,000$950,000 ($3,200,000$3M) C RFA - 2	Laine, Patrik $8,700,000$8,700,000 C, RW, LW M-NTC UFA - 2
Chinakhov, Yegor $3,000,000$3,000,000 RW, LW RFA	Sillinger, Cole $4,500,000$4,500,000 C RFA	Nylander, Alexander $1,500,000$1,500,000 RW, LW RFA
Johnson, Kent $2,250,000$2,250,000 LW, C RFA	Jenner, Boone $3,750,000$3,750,000 C, LW M-NTC UFA - 2	Marchenko, Kirill $3,500,000$3,500,000 RW RFA
Voronkov, Dmitri $925,000$925,000 LW, C, RW RFA - 1	Kuraly, Sean $2,500,000$2,500,000 C, LW M-NTC UFA - 1	Texier, Alexandre $2,750,000$2,750,000 LW, C, RW RFA

Left Defense	Right Defense	Goaltender
Werenski, Zachary $9,583,333$9,583,333 LD NMC UFA - 4	Boqvist, Adam $2,600,000$2,600,000 RD RFA - 1	Tarasov, Daniil $1,050,000$1,050,000 G RFA - 1
Hanifin, Noah $7,000,000$7,000,000 LD UFA - 8	Severson, Damon $6,250,000$6,250,000 RD NTC UFA - 7	Merzlikins, Elvis $5,400,000$5,400,000 G M-NTC UFA - 3
Provorov, Ivan $4,725,000$4,725,000 LD UFA - 1	Gudbranson, Erik $4,000,000$4,000,000 RD M-NTC UFA - 2

Scratches	Injured Reserve (IR)	Long Term IR (LTIR)
Olivier, Mathieu $1,100,000$1,100,000 RW UFA - 1
Danforth, Justin $1,100,000$1,100,000 RW, C UFA - 1

Apr. 2 at 3:36 p.m.

SlickWilly

Joined: Nov. 2017

Posts: 3,247

Likes: 2,198

If michigan wins the natty, I think Brindley signs and plays in the AHL. Dude skated circles around the NCAA this year, nothing left to prove in that league. Don't want to stagnate, and itll teach him to play against a different level of competition

Civil_Eng_PE, CaseyFlyman and CertifiedAverage liked this.

Apr. 2 at 3:41 p.m.

squashmaple

not a he )

Joined: Apr. 2022

Posts: 3,256

Likes: 4,452

I don't know how much sense spending that much money on Hanifin for that long makes to a team that already has Werenski (and Provorov for at least another season). I'd rather throw money at one of Carolina's UFA defensemen instead, especially Skjei.

Civil_Eng_PE and CaseyFlyman liked this.

Apr. 2 at 4:22 p.m.

Civil_Eng_PE

Thread Starter

Yegor bomb

Joined: Apr. 2022

Posts: 782

Likes: 948

Quoting: squashmaple

Yeah I guess Hanifin was more of a "place holder" cause I think we do make a splash FA defensive signing this off season since the ones we made last year fell flat. And we have so much young offensive talent that we don't really need to sign any forwards IMO.

CaseyFlyman liked this.

Apr. 2 at 7:27 p.m.

Viqsi

mostly harmless

Joined: Feb. 2016

Posts: 6,783

Likes: 3,283

Quoting: squashmaple

As long as we're daydreaming about UFA pickups from Carolina, I want Pesce.

I could see us going after Hanifin, but only if Provorov is traded at the draft.

Apr. 2 at 9:09 p.m.

CaseyFlyman

Joined: Sep. 2018

Posts: 2,112

Likes: 1,794

Some quickfire thoughts:

1. Too much for KJ, too little for Marchenko, too much for Tex, and just right for Chinakhov and Sillinger; but, we're talking random guesses, I'd be stoked about the Sillinger and Chinakhov extensions and all of those extensions are plausible.

2. I can't see ownership being stoked about shelling out on another UFA defenseman given how Severson has looked, I think Provorov is the placeholder for Mateychuk, and we just need to sign a veteran depth LD that can play 2nd or 3rd pair until Mateychuk is ready.

3. Start all the new kids in Cleveland, and I'd throw Jiricek down there to round out his game some more, too. Let him play there until he's ready to step into at least the 2nd pair at the NHL level forever. I'd let KJ play down there too to start the year; call it a rehab stint and make sure he's good to go, no sense in playing him in the bottom-6 when he could be getting top-6 minutes with Dumais/Brindley.

4. I think we should be looking at a 1-year deal for a UFA goalie, give Tarasov the net, and buyout Elvis ASAP. He's a good backup, but if he's convinced he's going to be a starter somewhere, that's an untenable relationship with the team. Let someone else pick him up for next year, best for all parties involved.

Overall, I agree, I don't think this team is going to see a major shakeup. Remove the pieces that haven't worked (Elvis, Provorov), sign some veteran help for cheap, let the kids develop, take another year to figure out who the core is going to be and form an identity around a solid leadership core, commit, and work toward a wildcard spot in 2026.

Trevor31lv and Civil_Eng_PE liked this.

Apr. 3 at 1:24 a.m.

CertifiedAverage

Joined: Feb. 2024

Posts: 153

Likes: 118

Edited Apr. 3 at 9:09 a.m.

I agree with many things here. I don't think the GM makes his big moves until 2025.

I'l discuss the Hanifin signing a little bit. I've thought about it too. I don't think it makes sense with Severson there to lock up around 7 million long term, even if Provorov is traded at the draft. It's going to make it really difficult when the young players look to get paid, I think. I also am a big believer in Mateychuk. So it's might well lead to a situation where you have to choose between Werenski, Hanifin and Mateychuk. Of those three, I'd rather have Werenski and Mateychuk than any other combination long-term.

If I could change one thing about the entirety of the Columbus roster, it'd be removing the NTC from Severson's contract. In that hypothetical, I'd move him out and try to sign Pesce. Now maybe you could trade Gudbranson (to Toronto or whoever needs a physical defensive D) and still get Pesce, but that seems unlikely.

The way Merzlikins is talking/acting, I think a buyout needs to happen this off-season. If Detroit are willing to trade Husso for him as some have suggested, that's great, but I don't think they are. Personally, I'd be looking to sign a guy like David Rittich on a short-term deal to let Greaves get another season to grow.

Regarding the young players, I think Mateychuk will be ready next year and I do think Jiricek needs ice time in the NHL. Next year should be all about making a small step towards the playoffs while letting the youth grow, in my opinion.

Civil_Eng_PE liked this.

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