🔴Will Columbus Make The Playoffs? Blue Jackets Offseason 2025 Review 🏒 Fanatics View Hockey Show
What’s up everyone? My name is James Lynch and this is the Fanatics View hockey show. Thank you so much for tuning in. If you guys have any questions, post them in the chat. I’ll get to every single one of them today on the program. We’re going to talk a little Columbus Blue Jackets off season right now. We got our one of our favorites here on the show. And he’s actually uh on here right now. I’ll give him a second or two to get ready and get all set up. But we’re going to be joined by Troy Troy Noak momentarily. He’s been on the show a bunch of times. Nobody better to talk Columbus Blue Jackets and everything around the league. And uh he’s getting his camera all set up. He’s all good there because I can see the little preview window. That’s the great thing. Why don’t we bring him on now? Our man sleeper man City, Troy Noak. Troy, how’s it going, man? Fantastic. James, how’s it going? Can’t wait for the NHL season rolling up upon us. And thank you for having me on yet again. Yeah, I’m going through withdrawals. I’ve said this before, this is the worst time of the year for sports for me. It’s all baseball. Don’t care about baseball. Like just, you know, it’s all like everyone here is talking about the Blue Jays because that’s the only team in Canada. Uh, I’m watching Ivan Helinka under 18 hockey yesterday. That was what I was doing. Uh, as far as sports go. I will watch any hockey any day of the week over any other sport. Uh, maybe not MMA, but yeah, hockey is uh, there’s still some hockey going on right now, so enjoying that. But before we get into everything, man, how’s your summer been? I think the last time we spoke was during free agency, so uh, how’s everything going been going for you? Everything’s been fantastic. The Premier League starts on Friday. I’ve been making a ton of content with that recently. just got back from England and although the Blue Jackets didn’t get many new players, I think the players that they brought back statistically were fantastic because there was a stat that I saw that the Blue Jackets were averaging slightly under three goals against per game when Fabro, Warren, Prov, and Matechuck were all on the ice at the same time. So, with that being said, those players weren’t always on the ice at the same time. So, if we can get a healthy spell with this team, I think that we could get into the playoffs for sure. Yeah. And yeah, to answer our question on the on the title there, I I’m with you. They were so close last year. Um, you know, it seemed like things were really clicking towards the end. I know there was a few uh, you know, slumps here and there, but I think this year, um, you know, you got the goalending figured out. I don’t know if, you know, again, it’s not really on Mickens. It’s more on, um, Greavves, I think, is the guy that they’re sort of, you know, turning to. Like, I think Columbus this year, because, you know, some teams are going to fall off. We can actually talk about that maybe a little bit later. I’ve been doing this with all the guests, like what are some teams you think will, you know, make the playoffs, what won’t. We’ll obviously do a full like preview, uh, closer to the season about our projections for next year. Um, I need to go find our show from last year, by the way, and see how far off we were, how good we were. Um, but, uh, let’s go to the Blue Jackets. Uh, you know, I got the article up here from The Athletic, uh, talking about some of the moves. Uh, let’s go through some of them. Uh, so you get Charlie Coyle, Miles Woods, and, uh, Lundersstrom. Uh, you lose James Man Remdike, uh, Danforth, Harris, and, uh, Terasovv. Um, what did you think of the moves here? Obviously with getting Miles Woods, you’re getting that contract as well, but Charlie Coyle, a good pickup, and then they obviously resigned Provo, which we’ll get to in a second. But just overall thoughts on the offseason. Overall thoughts, I think this is exactly what we needed. Although our third and fourth lines were pretty solid last year, they really did lack size and speed. Hence, that’s why we acquired Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood, who’s fast as anything. And Isaac Lundstrom, for what it’s worth, is a pretty underrated center. And Don Wedell has said many times on account that he doesn’t care if you’re a center that plays on the wing. He just needs people to be able to take face offs because not everyone’s healthy all the time. And we had a real lack of right-handed center options last year. Yeah. Um going the other way in that trade obviously was a second round and a third round pick. I think a pretty modest uh you know trade here for for both sides and you know you see some of the acquisition costs that we’ve seen during the offseason. I think this is very good for Columbus. Change things up a little bit. not trying to reinvent the wheel. Every team obviously looking for that impact player, but it’s been extremely difficult this off seasonason with teams having cap space and pretty much we said this before, every team’s trying to improve except for Pittsburgh, right? They’re pretty truly the only team I think that is sort of trying to go through a quote unquote rebuild. Um, so it’s pretty tough to deal in those circumstances. The other thing is, and this is something I talked with Mike Straw last week, is you know, I think you’re going to see some inseason trades if teams are falling off uh, you know, their their path of where they’re supposed to be going. you could see some teams making uh some adjustments as they’re trying to get the season back on track. So, I think Columbus will be one of those teams because they do have cap space and I think there could be some possible moves there. Um, we talked about this in our DMs. I want to bring this up because I don’t agree with it and you and I obviously don’t agree with this either. So, the Athletic had their 10 worst contracts uh article that came out and we’ll we’ll talk about the best ones too because I want to get your thoughts on this because I don’t agree with them either. Dom Lision, I know he’s very, you know, obviously you know what Dom’s all about. He’s got his whole model with the athletic, but Ivan Prov coming in as the second worst contract. They have his market value at 3.8. The thing that I don’t like about this, and I want to get your thoughts on it, is it’s not factoring in the landscape of the NHL right now. We know the defenseman uh go for a higher price these days. They’re not readily available. It’s hard to make trades. It’s hard to make signings. There just wasn’t a lot of names that were out there as well. So, you know, to even say that he’s worth 3.8, like I I I agree that he’s not worth maybe 8.5, but 3.8 8 considering the climate we’re in right now. How nuts is that? Like again, I know it’s basing it off the model here, but I think this is being pretty unfair to to the jackets and I prov that that assessment of 3.8 is absolutely insane. Eric Branson’s making more money than that as our third pair right shot D. And you know what? It’s no secret that the Columbus Blue Jackets were in and around right-hand shot defenseman that they couldn’t reel in. one, Don Wedell was hopeful that Aaron Eblad would become made available with all the cap stuff in Florida. That didn’t happen. He took a pay cut to stay. Moving on to the Noah Dobson thing. I’m happy we didn’t acquire him because stylistically it would have been just too much offense and I don’t like it. But we were in and around that name as well. And since the options were so limited once those two marquee names came off the board, we were basically forced to pay Prov an extra million dollars than what he was worth. So we didn’t lose him. I think the fair number was somewhere around seven or seven and a half million. But you had this guy waiting around anxious as anything, not knowing if his future was certain here. And this is a player that wanted to stay. On top of that, which I’ve told you privately and I will say publicly, this man is versatile and that is very overlooked in the value of his contract. He played on his offside almost the entirety of last season. Paired up with Denton Matechuk, our upand cominging stud. He reminds me of someone similar of Devon Taves. He just makes everything look so easy and so simple and he’s just very consistent. And you know what? Prov doesn’t get hurt either. Two seasons in a row he hasn’t missed a game. We’ve had massive issues staying healthy. And honestly, in my opinion, the main reason why we didn’t make the playoffs last year is when Shawn Monahan broke his wrist and he missed about like a quarter to a third of the season. And as our first line center carrying a huge workload, that’s when we lost the majority of our games and went on a massive skid. So yeah, did we overpay a little bit? Yes. But it’s not egregious. And the cap’s going up massively over the next few years. So we have to retrain how we’re viewing these contracts over time, for sure. Yeah. And what you don’t want to be is in a situation like Anaheim or some of these other teams. Although Anaheim did make a few acquisitions this offseason is where you have this cap space but you have nowhere to spend it because these teams are realizing that sometimes it’s better to hold on to what you have as opposed to trying to find something better. I don’t know what type of you just mentioned it there like EClad and some of these other names. Noah Dobson would those have been upgrades over Prov when you know you bring up a great point. You look at the consistency every year. 82 games the last three seasons. Um 79 the season before. This is a guy that is very consistent and you know, you look at that trade with the Flyers. I I think that you know, the the Jackets were the one that ended up winning that in terms of what they ended up getting back. You always need that stability on the back of the blue line. I like the move. Yeah, they overpaid, but a lot of teams overpaid this off seasonason if you look at it here. Um, so don’t really have an issue with I just like it’s crazy to me that the 3.8 is is his projected like that’s because he’s a defenseman. Like if we’re talking about maybe like a I don’t know like a third line like forward or something that you’re getting paid 8.5, I can understand maybe the value being lower, but like defenseman are a premium. Like especially ones that play as many minutes or have as many games as prov. So uh you and I are on the same page with this one. Um since we’re on the the topic, uh these are some of the contracts that they’ve also mentioned. I understand the Hubo one. Um I don’t know if he’s worth 5.1, but his production has certainly gone down a little bit. Uh some of the other ones they had on here, uh Chandler Stevenson, not going to disagree on that. I don’t know. 1.5. That seems a little low. Right from the rip. We said that wasn’t a good contract. No, no, no. We We knew that. Yeah. I mean, yeah, we talked about that last year actually when they when they made Seattle. Yeah, they I’m curious to see what they can do now with Jason Bottle as the GM as opposed to Ron. I don’t think Ron Francis did a very good job if we’re being honest. Um I think he was too passive in the expansion and then I think he was too aggressive with the wrong pieces last summer and I don’t think a lot of that’s really worked out. And I yeah, again I don’t I don’t know about 1.5, but 6.3 for Chandler like Chandler Stevens is getting 6.3 and Proverb’s getting well granted different positions, but you understand where I’m going with uh you know, again, like there’s some teams that have really kind of gone ahead here. Uh Brady Sha’s on this list. Uh Nick Hey, uh Sean Couturier, Pulock, Sam Bennett. Sam Bennett they have, but again, you’re not factoring in Yes, Bennett was overpaid, but you’re also getting the Bennett that performed very well in the playoffs, right? And that’s not really $8 million for a second line center in two seasons isn’t even going to be that like people are going to be saying that’s looking good in two seasons. Yeah. And every team needs a second line center. Winnipeg never got one, right? I don’t think Jonathan Taves is going to be the guy that they’re hoping to to fill that role. Like every team’s sort of missing that. So again, it’s a addition by uh it’s addition by addition by just keeping the same players here. I’m not going to disagree with the Cody Cece one. That was a bad move. Ken Holland continuing to waste cap space and Tanner Jano. I’m not a fan of that contract either. I don’t know about 0.8, but I don’t think he’s worth 3.4 a season. Um, I’m sure you saw that contract four years and uh 3.4 per season. That’s a little too much for me. I don’t know. Yeah, it’s a little too much for me as well. And with the trade weight that he carried when he left Nashville originally, I feel like these teams feel like they’re obligated to pay him and that’s why he’s getting it. Not so much based off his performance, but we know he’s a really good enforcer in that aspect. He’s just not putting pucks in the back of the net like Matthew Olivier. Yeah. And I don’t know what um what Boston’s sort of doing right now. I think they’re trying to do this rebuild on the fly, I would assume, because they are making signings. They’re not. They did trade obviously some of the names. Although, did you hear the other day um I heard this yesterday on Twitter that apparently Casey Middlestat’s now in play. They just acquired him at the deadline and sort of their thinking was that wasn’t really the guy they wanted and now he may be available. So, I I mean, we’ll see if he ends up getting dealt, but I I don’t I don’t think the Bruins are going to do a whole lot this year. That’s a team I think as well that will not make the playoffs this year. I think they’re still on the outside looking in. What do you think of that? Yeah, they’re a mess right now and I think if they don’t sort it out quickly, they have to be thinking in the back of their mind David Poserno can just complain his way out of town. Yeah, like Marine because at his age, he’s not going to play forever and he’s probably thinking there’s not a realistic window for him to win a cup if he stays on the Boston Bruins, even if he stays until he’s 33 or 35. Yeah. No, I agree with that. Uh, okay. Let’s get to the we’ll quickly get to the best contracts and we can kind of go over some other stuff with Columbus as well. Um, so they had the best contracts. Now, this one, I understand it. Um, actually, hold on. These are the Yeah, here are the best contracts. Okay, this is what came in at number one. And there’s a big asterisk next to this in my opinion, and I think you know where I’m going with this. So, Jack Hughes is their number one best contract. Eight 8 million a season worth 15.6. I think this projection is way too high. Now, I get Jack Hughes was the top pick, but my big thing, and I’ve said this before, and it’s not because obviously his brother plays for Vancouver. I’m not saying it from that lens at all, but he hasn’t been healthy. So, I don’t know how you can project a contract like this when you not even getting the full value out of him. Did this surprise you as the best contract? Again, I think eight is kind of low, but I don’t think he’s worth 15.6. We’re talking that’s like McDavid money. Yeah. I think a lot that they’re taking into consideration is the term here. Yeah. Yeah. I guess don’t get me wrong, he exceeds his value of 8 million for sure, but 15.6 is absolutely insane. I think if the number was closer to like 12 because he doesn’t really take faceoffs. I I wouldn’t even argue that he’s a center. Like he’ll take faceoffs once in a while and when he does his faceoff percentage isn’t even good. So he’s more or less just a high-end winger which is like Miko Ranton and David Posternok money. Those guys are getting paid like 12 and change. So, I think that’s a fair assessment of him. Um, and then we’ve got obviously we were just talking about Provo playing 82 games a season. Jack Hughes 62 62 78 49. Um, yeah, the the big thing is him being healthy. Can that is is that can I mean we’ll find out this season yet? I think his So, the shoulder injury, if I’m not mistaken, that he had this year was the different shoulder. So, that’s obviously not good. I mean, if it was the same shoulder, it would be, you know, okay, maybe we really got to take some time off. But, I don’t know. I think the problem with Jack Hughes is New Jersey success really does depend on him and you know cuz he’s such a big piece for them. I remember when they went in the playoffs last year we all said um you know they’re they’re not going to do a whole lot because they don’t have a difference maker and that they’re difference makers on the sidelines. So I think really the devil’s success for the most part does ride on Hugh’s success. Uh do you sort of feel that way? I guess we could kind of look at some of the acquisitions they made but nothing like needle moving wise for New Jersey as far as our offseason moves. Yeah, one of my friends is a Devils fan and I just believe that Teemo Meer when they acquired him wasn’t as advertised when they had brought him over. He was an absolute unit carrying his own line in San Jose. And when he came over to New Jersey, yeah, he’s physical. Yeah, he’s tough to play against, but he just isn’t producing at the same level. Jack Hughes, Jes Brat, Nicoir, those are fantastic players, but aside from that, I really think they have little to no winger depth at all. And honestly, the defense is just inconsistent. And there’s so many times you watch them because over here you get MSG network, it’s the Islanders, the Rangers, and the Devils. That’s right. Yeah. The amount of chances that the Devils give up on oddman rushes is mind-blowing. For as good a skaters as they have all over the ice, I mean, they just leak high danger chances. It’s unbelievable. And yeah, look, that’s the winger depth that I was alluding to. Like, that’s atrocious. They don’t even have a second line winger to pair with team Omire that’s skilled enough to help him get some offensive production boost. Yeah. And then we’re hearing Douggee Hamilton maybe on the block because, you know, again, he’s got a pretty hefty contract. They still haven’t paid Luke Hughes yet. I’m curious to see what that comes in at. Um they have the cap. Well, actually, I shouldn’t even say that because I think they’re I think they might have to make a trade here. Let me look at the cap space here for New Jersey. Um this is one there’s a few um RFAS. Maybe we can get into that a little bit as well. I know I’m kind of throwing a bunch of different stuff, but I just uh stuff sort of coming to mind here, but they got they got six million in cap space. I think Luke Hughes is going to get paid more than that, right? Like I I would think he’s probably in the seven or eight just for his, you know, where he was drafted and sort of the potential there. So, who moves out? I mean, they’re going to have to move something out right here. It’s not going to get it done with 6.1, right? And there’s been rumors that Simone Neich is going to get traded and I’m pretty sure he’s close to being due for a contract, if not definitely due for one. And uh yeah, that’s a name that they got to sign him. Yeah, he is. I know it’s not going to get a lot of money off the books, but considering the year after when you’d actually have to pay him, it would take money off the books. And you want to get rid of a guy like that who has decent perceived trade value because he’s never going to take the leap over Luke Hughes in this organization. This is like a Bowen Byum type situation over here with this guy. I’m not saying he’s as skilled as Bow and Byum, but similarly, there’s no path for him to overtake the power play one role. Yeah, I agree. And then also remember Kovville had some issues last year with Sheldon Keefe. Is he a guy that maybe they’re considering? Although right shot defenseman like that you don’t really want to get rid of those. But I do wonder like you know is he in play maybe because again him and Kee kind of buted heads. You got Hamilton who you know got a pretty hefty contract. They you know is there any teams like is you know are there we’ve heard some teams that are obviously looking for some defensive help but uh yeah curious to see how this all kind of unfolds with New Jersey. Just kind of parlaying that though. um couple two notable RFAS other than Luke Hughes that that should be mentioned uh that aren’t signed yet. Uh what do you think of this um Mason McTavish news out of Anaheim um that uh you know they’re they’re trying to figure out like is he going to stay? We’re hearing now maybe maybe a bridge deal. Um the fact that there’s even rumblings about him possibly being in play I think is very intriguing. He’s 22 years old and he does dirty work and I’m a big fan of his game. He works hard, man. Like, dare I say, if he leaves, this has Sam Bennett 2.0 written all over him. Yeah. I I’m telling you right now, if he does not get retained by the Ducks, and he leaves, he’s going to hit it out of the park, go to a completely different team, get a way better usage rate, and just throw up insane numbers because that boy, he’s farm strong. Everyone talks about it when you interview when they interview his teammates that they said they’ve never even been near a guy that’s this strong and he’s barely even six feet tall. He’s a literal machine this guy. So that’s bad news for the Ducks if they’re going to lose him. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. I don’t know. And I mean obviously the asking price is going to be high. We’re talking about a high draft pick and someone you know again uh center uh young center. I mean that’s about as good as gold. You’d have to have just a crazy package to go acquire him. I know in Kucks land everyone’s trying to figure out packages of how that would work. Do you trade Vlander? Do you trade, you know, your 2026 F, you know, first round pick. There’s so many because that that’s the Canucks need it obviously, but a lot of teams need a second line center as well. So, uh, there’s certainly some teams with some prospects, some cap space that could certainly accommodate that. So, that’s one thing to monitor as well. And then just quickly just uh rounding out the RFAS and we’ll get back to Columbus. Uh, Marco Rossi uh who you know the Wild have basically determined is more of a third line center for them as opposed to a second line center. Um, the last I heard was they haven’t talked since June. So, and the thing is his name’s been out there for a while. So, I think teams know that Minnesota’s a bit desperate in this spot because they have to sign him. Is it going to be a bridge deal? Is it going to be a long-term deal? Um, it seems like he wants more than what the Wild think, you know, deem is possible. The knock on him though, unfortunately, he’s a smaller center, so that’s not going to be too appealing to teams that are looking to add size to their lineup. Yeah, this is another player that’s caught between a rock and a hard place. And I could I’m not saying I want this deal to happen. There’s been rumblings that Jagor Chinoikov is probably going to leave the Columbus Blue Jackets because in the beginning of the season when Boon Jenner wasn’t healthy, he was playing in the top six. He was playing well yet again, just like every season, he hurts his shoulder and misses a significant amount of time. He’s the fastest skater on the team. He’s got the hardest shot on the team. He’s incredibly talented, but he can’t stay healthy. I mean, just give a Marco Rossy Eigor Chinoikov switch straight up just because the situation for each of these guys genuinely just isn’t working out. And apparently Igor Chinov and Dean Evson didn’t see eye to eye because when Yorchinov came back from injury, he felt like he was entitled to get his top six roll back. But by the time he came back from injury, Boon Jenner was back and scoring at basically a point per game rate. So it’s just not and he’s the captain. So good luck taking that off him. And Jay Chinoikov absolutely is not suited for a third line winger role because he’s not that physical. He’s he’s a sniper. He would be a good second line winger fit for the New Jersey Devils, I believe. But something else I want to bring up about the Wild upcoming free agent Carill Capriov. It is not outlandish to think that if this team is on a path to not make the playoffs that this man will either force a trade out. You think so? really for him free agency. He is before he got hurt points per game ratewise. He was on the path. If he played 82 games, he was going to win the heart trophy. I agree. So, this is one of the most talented players in the game who is playing in a city that’s very popular where it is. Obviously, they go nuts for hockey in Minnesota, but in terms of mainstream coverage, I’m not seeing Carrill Caprio highlights over here in New York, and I doubt you see him too much where you are. We obviously know where he is. You see stuff on social media. I drafted him in fantasy last year, but this is a guy if he hits the open market, if Mo Rantin is getting 12 mil and David Posnock’s getting 12 mil a few years past the cap’s going up, tell me he can’t get 15 million on the open market. Oh, of course. Yeah. I man listen I will give you full marks if that’s even a thing we’re talking about you know partway through the season but everything I’ve heard is there they’ll find a way to do it you know one of the things with Minnesota let me go look at their cap space um they got the Sudter and Zach Pereiz um contracts off the book that was sort of hindering them the last couple seasons um they got $9 million in cap space I think they’d still have to obviously move some stuff around to uh get his contract going up actually what I mean that’s this season but beyond that um yeah so you’re right he’s a UFA he’s a UFA next year I forgot about that why did I think he was younger That’s It’s because he came to the league and is like late. You’re right. Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. Holy Um I’m telling I didn’t realize that. I’m telling you, I have a good feeling he’s going to hit the open market. He’s a superstar. And no, no, I don’t disagree. Yeah. And these Russian agents, they they know how to play it. They really get the Who is his uh I wonder who his agent is, actually. Let me look at that. Um sometimes it says on here Where am I looking? Used to doesn’t it usually does say it on here? Oh, agent uh Paul Theo Fanis. I don’t know who that is, but yeah. Okay. Well, yeah, that’s that’s something to keep in mind. Of course, McDavid as well. His contract’s going to be up this year. Like, there could be some moving pieces here. We’ll we’ll have to keep tabs on that. You know, I love Joel Eric. Like, if there was any world where the Canucks could acquire him, I’d be over the moon. I don’t even care who they trade. Like, I I I think he’s he is one of the most underrated players in this league. Um I agree with you. And also, he’s a first line center for the Minnesota Wild, but look how much he’s getting paid. Throw him on any team as the second line center, and you can basically demand a ransom in return for that. Yeah. Because if you’re paying him with that security over the next few years as your second line center, and this guy throws the body around, he blocks shots, he’s a netfront presence, he does all the dirty work. He should be having a contract nearly the equivalent of Sam Bennett if it was signed right now, you know? Yeah. Yeah, completely agree. Oh, we got some questions. By the way, shout out to John. Thanks for joining us, John. Would love to see Mason and Winnipeg, that 2C role, move Lowry to 3C. Who could Winnipeg offer would be my question if they could make a trade? Because, you know, here’s the thing, too, that we got to like that trade you just mentioned with Jagger for Marco Rossi. Um, I think we’re going to see more of those types of trades because all these teams want to get better. They don’t want picks unless they’re in a cap crunch, right? Usually, you want to get players that can help you. Now, that’s been one of the reasons there hasn’t been a lot of movement, which by the way, how many how often in the in the offseason have we heard from all the experts that oh, July, it’s going to pick up in July and then it never did. Oh, early August. I’m telling you, first week August is going to pick up. It’s August 13th. There’s been no trades other than um one one that well the trade that happened at the end of last month, which I was a bit surprised, which was the Canucks trading Dakota Joshua. Don’t know about that one, but just no like big moves here. But getting back to John’s question here. Um, who could they give up for uh to acquire a Mason McTavish? I mean, do they have anyone in the pipeline? I’m just John, you probably know better than me, but is there anyone like is there any prospects or any guys that they could, you know, even like a roster player here that would be intriguing? I don’t know. Is there anyone on here that you think like they’re not trading Kyle Connor or anyone like that? You know what I mean? But you never know. Well, they could trade Kyle Connor if they know things are going to go south and he has no intentions of resigning. Obviously, there’s no indication of that happening, but this is a guy that’s probably going to hit about 10 million. Yeah. I don’t think there I don’t Yeah, Petti was kind of the one I was thinking of too, maybe. Um, but it’s got to be more than that. Like, it would have to be Petty a pick and probably another roster player or something they would have to figure out. Um, yeah, that’s a tough one. Yeah, but again, you’re right. Winnipeg certainly does need it. The other issue too is I hate to say it, no offense, John, but you know, we’ve heard this leaguewide. Do you want to play in Winnipeg? That’s been an issue for them getting players to go play there. Um, you know, as far as NHL cities go, maybe not the most glamorous compared to like a Florida or somewhere else. But, uh, that’s one thing to keep in mind, but I I certainly think think it would be, you know, very interesting. And Winnipeg’s got to start thinking like this, too, because, you know, you’ve got Hlebuck, you’ve got, you know, some of these guys signed. They did lose Eers in the offseason, which I don’t think is being talked about enough that that’s a hole that they’re going to have to fill. Um, you know, no offense, but like Tanner Pearson’s not really going to do it for to fill that. So, I think Winnipeg’s got to make a bold move here soon just to make up for the group that they have because it’s they got a bit of a young team, but I think also you you want to um well, I shouldn’t say that. You know, Shley’s 32, Connor’s 28. They got to make some big decisions there. Getting back to Columbus, though, uh before Columbus dumps, Jagger and Ev need to have face to face sit down and see if they can resolve their issues. But like Troy said, if you can get a Marco Rossi, would you not take advantage of that? You know, Troy, what do you think? Yeah, I would. And this is the tough thing for me. But when it gets to this consistency level of injury, I am kind of just forced to write him off. I’ve been a believer of this guy’s talent and skill the entire time he’s been on the Columbus Blue Jackets, even when he was drafted and they didn’t have a graphics package ready for him because it was such an offthe-board pick. But if you can’t even get 60 games out of him consistently every year, it’s like you’re basically worthless. And he’s already on a bridge deal. And he’s going to be asked to get paid. So, and like I said, this is a question I have for you, Irwin, if you could reply to this. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. If everything ideally was resolved, would you feel comfortable having Jeenech Chinikov as a second line winger on a line with Adam Fantelli and Ken Johnson and have Boone Jenner down to the third line? Do you think that would be a better setup for the middle six? Yes or no? Yeah, it’s an interesting point. He also mentions here, we should add this as well. And John, we’ll get to your questions, too. By the way, love the questions, guys. Especially I love that we got a Blue Jackets fan here, which is great. That’s always why we’re kind of doing the the teams every week. Uh Rossi will command much more than Chinikov. Will Columbus want to make that move within Fantelli, Johnson, Cylinger, and Marchenko could be due for hefty raises? I don’t know about you, but I think Cylinger is probably going to get moved at some point. Do you get that sense? Because his name’s been out there for a bit. So, Don Wedell likes him a lot, even though he’s a little bit undersized. I think there’s a price where he’s going to stay and where he’s going to go because at this point in his career, I feel like he’s he’s pretty well suited for a third line center role because he’s a little bit gritty. He’ll fight when he has to. He’s not dropping the gloves every game, but he’s an honest player and he plays both sides of the puck. I wouldn’t be shocked if we kept him. But the Marchenko thing, Irwin, you know, Carl Marenko is capable of scoring 50 goals in the NHL. The Columbus Blue Jackets power play was so dysfunctional last season and he popped 30 plus mostly from even strength. I mean, he’s a player that I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s getting 10 mil a season. And the same thing with Van Tilly. Luckily, Don Wedell has a really good relationship with his agent, which I’ve seen in many interviews. So, hopefully whether they decide to go the bridge deal so he can put up better numbers, which I think is more likely than a long-term deal because we have to remember in Fantell’s first season, his calf was sliced in half and he missed almost twothirds of the season. So, although he completed his second season in the NHL last year, he’s loosely at a year and a half’s worth of games. and to go into a contract negotiation as a restricted free agent where you don’t have too much leverage in the first place. I think the best path for him is probably to go for a short bridge deal which Don Wedell has been giving to basically everyone. He gave one to Ver not Veronov Chinov. He gave one to Marenko all these guys. So I think that’s what’s going to happen. Yeah. Yeah. It’s something to definitely uh to keep in mind there. A couple more questions here from John. Maybe he should back up the truck for Creole. Generational talent, but it depends if he can stay healthy. Yeah. I mean, but they’re they’re going to have to move caps. Here’s the other thing, too, though, is like, and this is I mentioned the Dakota Joshua trade for the Canucks. I think part of the reason they kind of had to make that move. Well, one, they’re still paying Oliver Eman Larson, which is obviously hindering their cap space, but they you don’t want to be in a situation where teams know you’re cash strapped and you have to make a pan like you have to make a trade to dump cap space. And so, this is where I think in the Minnesota situation, like you might want to get ahead of that. So, they should look at clearing some cap space. They’ve got 6 million, but I mentioned it there. Uh, you’re going to need a hefty raise here for Krill and uh make it work. So, that’s something to maybe monitor. Are there going to be trades and this Rossy thing, you don’t want this leading into training camp and it being an issue, whether he’s sitting out or they have to, you know, do a bridge deal or whatever. Like, you got to get this resolved. I can’t remember the last time, maybe you remember. Has there been an RFA recently where it’s like bled into the season and it’s it’s become a distraction? I can’t think of one recently. I know there’s been a ton of examples over over the over the NHL history. I don’t know if it bled into the season too much or it was very close. I remember I remember when Jason Robertson signed it was close and so was Oh yeah, that’s right. And so was William Knander. Yeah. Oh, Knlander. Yeah, that’s probably a better example. Actually, now that I think about it, the bridge deals that um well, not Bridge, but they when the Hughes and Person, this was seasons ago, they were signing their second contracts. There was a bit of a delay there and it actually like they both kind of started the season a little bit later because they weren’t part of camp. So yeah, that that’s another thing like if you’re an RFA and you don’t have a contract and you’re not part of camp because you’re not really supposed to be, that can impact team chemistry. That can impact a lot of different things. So I think for everyone, you got you if you’re Bill Garren, you got to make this a priority and get this resolved. Um I think it’s 43. Yesterday I looked at it 43 days until training camp, I think. So we’re getting we’re getting closer, Troy. It’s uh it’s good. Get know we’re almost past the hump here. Um True Winnipeg as a destination locking up Helluck Shley Verardi uh soon. Uh Connor should help. The only way Jets can compete in central is shaping down the middle. They have to make a big move. And you know, I we didn’t talk about this, but we might as well do it since we’re sticking on here. U Jonathan Taves, like what are we expecting here? I I don’t like, you know, again, he’s been off for what, four seasons around there. It’s been a while. Um I wouldn’t set the expectations too high because obviously there could be potential injury issues. And by all accounts, people are saying he’s in fantastic shape, but there’s a difference between being in fantastic shape and being NHL ready and putting your body on the line. And even if he’s suited for a third or fourth line role, that’s more taxing on your body than playing higher line minutes because you’re not getting cross-checked in the ribs every 3 seconds and grinding. But I hate to be that guy, John B, but I don’t think it’s a guarantee that Kyle Connor comes back. I’m sorry, but like the Winnipeg Jets, if you could name me three players in their prospect pool that are so scintillating that they could either bring back a star player or promise the future that there’s going to be growth to have a guy like Kyle Connor at his age to stay around who is going to want to win. He’s 28 years old. You know what I’m saying? Like I hate to be that guy, but it’s like he’s also American, too. So, you have to take that into consideration. Like, he’s from Michigan. He’s he could end up in Detroit. His two best friends are Dylan Larkin and Zacharinsky. He could end up in Columbus. There’s teams with a lot of cap space that will throw money at a guy that’s a perennial 40 goal scorer. Yeah. Yeah. It’ll be interesting. Uh we did have a few Americans like, you know, Brock Bernard ended up staying with the Canucks. That was one where I think for some players, you’re right though, like Tach and we’ve seen other Gudro um you know those are players that were very vocal about I want to play in an American market. I want to uh you know go play closer to home. So I think it just depends on the player and their situation and what they enjoy. But there’s some that do like playing in specific markets if it’s a good fit for them. But uh definitely something to monitor as Connor is in the last year of his contract. Um I’m okay with that. Uh getting back to Columbus, uh Jagger’s injuries have been legit if healthy. I like what he brings to the table as Jenner ages. Columbus, you must be careful not to be too emotionally attached to him and I don’t think Domell will be. Um, he’s a GM that’s been in the, you know, he’s been in the league forever. I remember him back with Atlanta back in the day. Um, I I think with him it’s a lot of business and he’s a little bit old school that way where it’s like, you know what, we got to do what’s best for business. So, I I think, you know, they’ll they’ll they’ll make the moves when they need to. And I agree and I think his point where he says CBJ must be careful to not be emotionally attached. That’s where I trust Don Wedell because with the trade that we had with Colorado to acquire Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood, we got rid of Gavin Brinley who at the time of the draft was perceived to be most likely going in the first round. We stole him in the early second round. Many people that are respected in the prospect space like Byron Bader rave about this guy as a slightly undized talented middle six winger. and Don Wedell had no emotional attachment to him because he did not draft him and got the return that he wanted to get more size and speed in the bottom six. Yep. Well said. Um, speaking of the Jackets, uh, may have been mentioned, no, we didn’t mention this, that Provo’s brother signed in Ohio State. I didn’t know that. Yep. I think that was another main reason why he wanted to stay. Yes, there’s a lot of Russians on the team. The Columbus Blue Jackets have the most Russians on one team in the entire NHL right now. and one game last season, all of them scored. So, or two seasons ago. So, it’s a special group over there. And like I said, Ohio State University is in Columbus, Columbus, Ohio. His brother is going to be playing there. So, just having the family around and potentially being around pros more at the college level will benefit both of them. Yep. I didn’t know that. That’s learn something every day. I doubt McDavid or Capri off hit the open market. Now, sign and trade on the other hand. Well, yeah, that um I mean, we saw that with Mitch Marner, the the sign and trade. But um I think McDavid, if I had to predict right now, get your take on this. I think McDavid’s going to stay in Edmonton. Again, we talk about the way the organization has been run the last couple years with Jeff Jackson becoming the president, who’s McDavid’s former agent. They get uh Chris Knobblock, who’s McDavid’s junior coach. Like, they’ve done what they can to make him happy. I know McDavid did have that kind of line at the end of the season being like, but you know, with I think goalending and other things they’ve got to kind of figure out, but um I could see him signing a shorter term deal and then as the cap goes up, he can really cash in later on. Um and then Capriov, I love your theory though. I think it would really, you know, add some chaos to the league if Capriov does uh you know, become available or they decide to trade him. I think Capriov ultimately will stay too. What do you think of these two big free agents? I think this, especially with where he’s referring to hit the open market verse a sign and trade. If it’s very clear the Minnesota Wild are nowhere near the playoffs, he would potentially be involved in a sign and trade. If the Minnesota Wild are firmly asserted in the playoff race and exit in the first round, he’s an unrestricted free agent. There’s no unless he signs that contract in the middle of the season, there’s no guarantee that he comes back. And the Utah Mammoth, formerly the Utah Hockey Club, they’ve got some really talented players and I think they could potentially sneak into one of those Western playoff spots. So, Oh, I agree. Yeah. And the return that you could get for Capriov would be off the charts. We’re talking about multiple first round picks, star player, prospect, everything. I mean, this guy, if if Matthew Kachchuck got back, Mackenzie Wager and Jonathan Hubo, we’re talking Yeah, like I said, we’re talking about players of that caliber plus draft picks for Capri off. Yeah, I think they’ll try and get something done before the season, I would think, if you’re Minnesota. If you’re not, then you’re really, like I said, they’ve got these two big headaches now with Capriovv and now Marco Rossi as well. Like, if you’re going into the season with that, that has to be a distraction. Like there’s no I’ll tell you why it’s not going to get done before the season starts or even early. Okay, he was injured and he missed a lot of last year. So in his best interest, why on earth would he be negotiating when his numbers are not representative of how good he actually is? I wouldn’t be surprised if he puts up a full 82 and maybe he stays, maybe he goes. He plays all 82. We see 135 points from this guy and he leads the league in points and then he gets a $15 million a year contract for seven years. Yeah. Yeah. Could be uh something to certainly keep an eye on. Uh Prov likes Columbus already talked about that. If Coil and Wood don’t pan out, this season could be rough. I don’t think it really hint I I mean, yeah, I I I do think it is important that those acquisitions that they had, but um it’s not like Columbus lost like I don’t think Columbus is going to be. Look at that cap space. My god. 16 million. Um like I think this was a team that was very close to making the playoffs last year. I mean we talked about this like throughout the season that I thought they were going to make the playoffs and I think that um I I think another season with this group even with these two I think I think you could have them both play bad and they could still make the playoffs. I think this is a team that’s capable of it. I because there’s going to be regression like you know one of the teams I think unfortunately that I could see some regression with is Washington. I think if you kind of look at the deeper numbers as far as their PDO and other things I think that’s a team that could fall off a little bit. Um, you know, I don’t know about uh, you know, the Leafs. I mean, the Leafs will make the playoffs, but you know, them losing MNER, that’s a big hole to fill. Like, there’s certain things like that that we got to look at when it comes to projections for next season where some teams have got to fall off and some teams have got to improve. I even think Montreal can regress this year to be honest. Like, I don’t think there’s a guarantee. Like another thing, like if you look at the closer numbers, I I they were kind of shooting above what they were supposed to be doing last season. So, I think Columbus will make it regardless of what happens here. And I think Columbus won’t even be in a wild card spot. I think the Metropolitan Division is genuinely horrible. We’re talking about a division with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Philadelphia Flyers, the New York Islanders, the New Jersey Devils, who I just made fun of for their horrible wing depth and injury-prone players that can easily miss the playoffs. You’re And like you just said before, would you be shocked if the Washington Capitals had a huge drop off? Absolutely not. No. And it’s not Most people can say, “Yeah, the Metropolitan Division so bad. Carolina comes in first every year.” Yeah, that’s true. But would that stop Columbus from coming in second or third place in the Metropolitan this year? And Irwin, I have one more thing for you. Yeah. Columbus was the best cumulative goalcoring team at five on five in the NHL last year. And you know very well as a Columbus Blue Jackets fan, the progression of this team hinges on players like Carell Marenko, Kent Johnson, and Adam Fantelli, Denton Mate to take a jump. The parts of the season that we struggled with last year were when we were trying to manage games in when we were absorbing pressure and in penalty kill situations. And players like Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood are going to help with that because Miles Wood’s one of the fastest players in the league. Charlie Coyle brings the muchneeded right-handed center depth and grit and toughness to play against to bring that balance because as good as Justin Danforce Danforth was, he’s a small guy. He’s 5’9 on a good day. I’m not even sure if he’s 5 foot n in ice skates, but we need these bigger guys to be tougher to get play against in the playoffs because we see time and time again size and skill wins. And we’re still trying to make the playoffs, let alone even win in the playoffs. Yeah. And not to mention, there could be other moves to be made this season. You have to look at teams that have cap space that, you know, again, the expectation for Columbus, I think, in in a in a good season is they make the playoffs, but if they don’t, it’s still a fairly young team. the expectations aren’t as high. You got to look at other teams that like they have to make the playoffs. If they don’t, there could be significant changes. That’s something I think to monitor early in the season. Remember, last year was Nashville and it basically panned out the rest of the season that way. They were terrible last year. And then it’s funny like there’s a there’s a team that should be rebuilding and they’re not. Um, so I I think you could see like kind of what I’m getting at is that even if these players don’t work out, there’s still cap space where you can make adjustments to maybe fill holes or if there’s injuries or other things. And I think Columbus is certainly one of those teams that could be making some moves mid-season. I can name three work out. It’s not horrible because they’re role players. Yeah, exactly. They’re not like Yeah. It’s not like um you know like Eers and Carolina like they need him to be good a first-line guy uh because they Yeah. Or like the Devils with Team Omire. They’re paying him $ 8.8 million a year as a premium winger and he can’t even put up 60 plus points consistently anymore. Yeah. Um I can name three Jets prospects but nothing earthshattering. Ilasson and Brandon Oh yeah, Brandon Jagger. I’ve heard of Brandon Jagger. they acquired from Pittsburgh and that’s a fantastic acquisition because Kyle Dubis obviously has no idea what he’s doing but that was from the Rucker McGory trade. So I think you guys were kind of put in a tough place and that was the best return that you both could get. Uh who’s everyone’s dark horse potential drop offs this year? Oh, so um well we kind of worded that interesting. We could just say potential drop offs this year. When you say darkh horse I think like that’s a team that usually would do well but uh Utah, Winnipeg for the west, Montreal and Washington for the East. Yeah, I could see W. No, the the big one for me is LA. I I mean, and I said this last year, but this year they’re I think they’re even worse with CeCe and Dumlan and they lose um Gabricov who goes to New York. Like why didn’t you just pay him what he wanted and not sign Cody Cece and um uh whatchamacallit? Um Dlan, like you got two older, bigger defenseman who have been very inconsistent. Like I think LA is an easy candidate to be out of the playoffs this year. So I go LA and I don’t think Utah will drop off. I I think it’s the opposite. I think Utah could make the playoffs. I could see Winnipeg dropping a bit, but I I still kind of I think with Hella Buck, you’re still a playoff team, right? So, LA and maybe I don’t know. I’ll have to think about that more. What about you for the West? Okay, for the West. Oops, phone just fell. No problem. That was a dramatic uh thing. Yeah, for the West, like I said, Vegas, their winger depth, that’s something that I criticize a lot last year, and that was reflective in their lack of success in the playoffs. I think that’s a team that we could see a serious drop off with. And then I think it’s fair to say Winnipeg, honestly. Yeah, that’s fair. You think Vegas is going to You think Vegas is going to drop off this year even with Mariner? Not enormously. Like they’re still going to make the playoffs, but be the best team in their division. I don’t think that’s likely. Yeah, I think so. I’m with you, but for a different reason. I think that I think Marner is going to play great in Vegas cuz I think it’s like the perfect situation for him. No media pressure. He can just go do his thing. Eichel doesn’t have as much pressure now either because they got this new guy. Like I think it’s going to click well. The area there’s two areas I’m concerned with Vegas. Uh their defense is is not looking so hot. Um I I’ll bring up the lineup here quickly. By the way, we’re going to wrap things up here pretty soon. Um but uh yeah, where are we here? Why is the Oh, Vegas Gold. That’s why. put it as okay look at this defense without Petra Angelo outside of that first pairing like you’ve got Sha Theodore and McNab I guess you got Hannifin as well but like White Cloud Lozan and Corsack like I don’t know man that’s not looking so hot and then you’ve still got issues in goal with Aiden Hill and Schmeid and Shay Theodore is injuryprone let’s not kid ourselves here no exactly he’s injury prone every season he’s hurt that’s where I’m concerned with Vegas but I do think like it’s I I don’t know I think Vegas will be better If Theodore goes down, are you going to really rely on Noah Hannneathan to carry power play one? No, I think they’ll get a defense. I think they’re going to probably try and figure out a way to get Rasmus Anderson from Calgary somehow. I don’t know. I just he seems like such a perfect candidate for that team and they’ve dealt with Calgary before in the Hannifan trade. I could see that being an option. Just the question is who’s going to go? I could see some crazy stuff where like maybe Mark Stone, they figure out a way to get rid of his contract and because that’s one thing with Vegas that I will give them credit for quickly and I’ll get your thoughts on that in a sec. They are ruthless. Like Mark Andre Flurry, see you. We need the cap space. um you know they’re they’re willing to make bold moves like that. I think it’s possible that they make a play for Douggee Hamilton because New Jersey that’s another one. Yeah, sort of an older Yeah. stabilizing guy that eats up a lot of minutes. That’s a good point actually. And then right-handed shot power play one. I think that’s intriguing for them. Yeah, I think they’ll make a move um as far as that goes. Um and then yeah, you mentioned so LA. Yeah, we’re on the same page with LA. Again, we’ll do a full um kind of preview uh closer to the season time. Uh just let’s get the last last of these questions and we’ll get out of here. I think next season Columbus can make the playoffs. They have a young pretty good goalie that almost got them to the playoffs. I think goalending is something to keep an eye on with Columbus. Remember I was at that game last year when the Conucks played like Columbus played well. They were off to a hot start in that game and it was Mickens who kind of just the bed for them. So um I think having Yeah, Elvis Mleakens is done. We know he’s not the man. He’s not the solution to the future of this team to put it nicely and respectfully. Jet Greavves down the stretch of last season when we needed to win games and we couldn’t lose and we missed the playoffs by one game. He put up multiple shutouts and by multiple accounts he has the best glove in the entire NHL, anyone in this chat or anyone watching right now if you’re playing fantasy hockey, this is the guy you take in the last pick of your draft and he ends up a top eight goalie and you do massive damage in your league and thank me later. Yeah. Yeah. Good. Good pick. That’s Yeah, that’s something I’m going to be keeping tabs on for our pool especially is uh who’s going to start this year because there has been some goalie movement as well. Like John Gibson, someone I’m interested in in Detroit. Is that is that going to work out? I don’t know. We’ll have to see. Uh can almost snuck up on a lot of teams last year. They saw a lot of backup goalies. They won’t this year. Not trying to be negative, but trying to be realistic. Did they see a lot of backup goalies last year? They did. I can totally admit that. But I also will say this. I’m expecting a big leap from Fanty, Marchenko, and Kent Johnson. Marchenko and Fanty each put up 30 plus last year. And Fanty only played power play one when Shawn Monahan was injured for about 20 games. So, him putting up 40 and moving up to the top power play unit in a new configuration isn’t out of the realm of possibility. By the way, I think Johnson’s still out here for the summer. Um because you know I don’t know if you’ve seen all the videos it’s been everywhere but like Mlin Celbrini and Conor Baddard have been training together this offseason and there was a video with Alex Burroughs and so like all the Conucks fans were like hey it’s like uh future Canucks Cabrini and Baddard talking to their future coach cuz like there has been talk about like in the future maybe them like going for Alex Burroughs who’s like a hero here and uh I you know the Cabbrini Baddard thing in a couple years is going to be is going to be interesting. I mean obviously neither of those teams want to lose those guys but you never know man. Like that’s that’s where like this Quinn Hughes thing like yeah I’m worried about it like obviously they got to keep him happy and we got to see I I think them I think the Canucks sorry to go off on like a Canucks tangent here towards the end of the show but like I think that um them keeping Besser and Garland and Demco and all these guys I think that helps Hughes because they’re all buddies. They’re all Americans. They’re they golf together all that stuff. I think that will help Hughes maybe wanting to stay. But I think if Hughes leaves there’s still that possibility of Bard and Cabbrini coming to Vancouver. Like they’re from here. They’re proud to be here. Like I said, but Celibbrini was at the Conucks playoffs game before he got drafted last year. Like there’s, you know, there could be some interesting things happening in the few years. So, we’ll see. Um, okay, let’s zoom through the rest of these and we’ll get out of here. Columbus goalie is good. I agree. Yes. Uh, absolutely. Rest in peace, Johnny Goodro. I think the Oilers are going to fall off this year. Also, the Canes, I don’t think the Canes will fall. Canes still though, man. And it’s so funny. I’ll mention this quickly because you and I share the same sentiment. I’m on I’m listening on the radio this morning and they’re talking about, you know, the athletics going to have their article about like best front offices and I’m like, they’re going to say Carolina. I guarantee it. Like, oh, they’re geniuses. Sure enough, first one they mention is Carolina. And I’m like, I get that they have some like very intriguing like long-term like, you know, contracts and they’ve made some interesting moves with like Miller, but like they’re still the same team that’s lost in the Eastern Conference Finals. Like until they win a cup or even make the finals, like how are they any different than Toronto? You know what I mean? Like I think this is a team that gets way too much praise and very little push back. And I talked last year at length about the Miko Rantinon trade. Like how do you butcher that and them not get any, you know, criticism? And even Keandre Miller, there’s a chance that he doesn’t work out there. Like me, he might like I think it’s a good, you know, risk uh sort of not risk, but like I think it’s a good project for them to build on. But you ask most Rangers fans, they couldn’t wait to get rid of him. He was not good in New York towards the end of last year. So, um, yeah, I think I don’t know if the Canes will fall off, but I think they’re definitely a team that doesn’t get nearly enough crit criticism from the media as I think and respectfully about the Carolina Hurricanes. And I’ll say this because my favorite teams in this division, the Metropolitan Division’s the worst in the NHL. So, yeah, they will continue to finish in first place in the Metropolitan year-over-year and fail in the playoffs. It is no accomplishment for them to finish in the first place of the Metropolitan Division. Uh, Vegas is going to have an upset. Well, I wouldn’t think Vegas is sort of favored this year. people are I don’t know how it is in the US but in Canada everyone’s like talking about Vegas being like a cup contender again because of Mner like they because Marner is like a huge thing like they like you watch this year his first game it’s going to get so much coverage like this was probably the biggest story of the summer was Mitch Marner going to Vegas and like here it’s like the equivalent of I don’t know being like like LeBron James going to a different team or something that that’s basically what it is here uh Jackets 411 in one stretch killed them last March fans blamed Elvis but in six of those losses they were shut out wouldn’t matter how many goals El Elvis gave up Elvis wasn’t bad Yeah, that bad he gets a bad rap. What do you say to that? And a lot of those games were without Shawn Monahan when he had that bad wrist injury. So yeah, Monahan, you know how important he is on the team. He’s the one of the guys that can slow the play down and consistently win faceoffs and he brings a lot of balance to the lineup. Here’s a couple interesting takes. Uh Columbus didn’t have good defense. Ah, I don’t know about that. I They have better defense than I think a lot of teams, but I I don’t know. I wouldn’t really blame the defense. You just mentioned it there. Not enough scoring. I think this year’s Predators will be better. Maybe they just didn’t have that good chemistry. Uh I think that’s a big risk honestly assuming that last year was just like a one-off. Like as far as I know, Stamp Coast, Marcho, Shay, I don’t think they had any major injuries or anything. I don’t like I just don’t think this is a good makeup of a team. I listen, this is what I think’s happened in Nashville. I think it’s a classic case of a team falling in love with someone that is beloved in the organization and Barry Trotz and I just don’t think he’s a good GM. And I think we’re seeing that already. Like I think they made the wrong signings, the wrong moves, and I think he’s going to get more of a leash because if this was any other team with what happened last year, there’s probably major changes going on, including the coach and other things, but they’re just standing put and hoping that things will go better. I don’t know, man. Like, they did not look good last year. So, I I I think I think Predators are going to be right back where they were last year. I don’t think they’re going to be Yeah, those are the type of signings you make when you’re close to winning a cup and sprinkle in a veteran or two to bring some consistency to your lineup. Those aren’t the signings that you make when you’re years away from even getting into playoff contention. Okay, last one here from John. Sorry, I know there’s two other questions. We’ll get to these. Marchenko is so good. Worinsky’s top five easy. Can’t wait to watch the Jackets this season. Me either. And I’ll make a bold claim. We’ll talk about this more on the uh on the preview show closer to the season. I think Warensky possibly could win the Norris this year. I cuz here here’s here’s the scenario where I see this potentially happening. I think Columbus, like you said, is not just going to be a playoff team. They’ll be like kind of like like not just like sneaking into the playoffs. I think they can actually get in. And I think Warensky is really going to be a big part of that and they’re going to be like, well, if they don’t have Winsky, how are they going to look? Cuz here’s the thing with Kale Mar and I love Kale Mar. He’s Canadian. He’s certainly helped Canada in the four nations. You do have to look at the fact that he has more help than a lot of these other guys do. Like he’s got Devon Taves. He’s got, you know, Nathan McKinnon as forward. Like, you know, you look at Rowinsky, he doesn’t have as many weapons. Same thing with Quinn Hughes, too. Like Quinn Hughes has got to get more respect as well. you’re not looking at the supporting cast and sometimes you’re, you know, you can’t help who’s on your team, but that should be factored in here. Rorinsky was clearly one of the MVPs for Columbus last year. So, yeah, he’s a oneman breakout machine. He makes everything look so easy. And like I said, when he came right into the league, he was putting up 45 50 points. So, this guy showed promise right off the rip. And yeah, he had some health problems here and there, but heading into this season, he played in the world champ the IHF World Championships and took his fitness super seriously. barely missed any games and he had the best season of his career. Troy, you’re the best. This was awesome. Uh we’ll definitely link up uh in a few weeks because yeah, like I said, training camp starting in what, 43 day, maybe 42 days now if my math’s correct here. So, definitely keep some tabs on that. Um anything you got to plug? I know you’re a soccer guy. You mentioned the Premier League starting up against here soon. Oh, I got to ask you this quick quickly as like a quick soccer thing before I forget. Um so, I don’t follow soccer very much. I don’t know if you follow MLS at all. Thomas Mueller going to the White Caps. Apparently that’s like a huge deal um with with him signing there. Do you have any thoughts on that? I don’t know if you follow MLS at all. Yeah. So Thomas Müller Müller, sorry. Yeah. One of the greatest players to ever play for Bayern Munich and one of the greatest players to play for Germany. And on top of that, he is an electric personality. He is a content creation machine. This guy plays pranks on his teammates. He’s everything that you want. And like I said, respected all around the world. and bringing a player like that over to the MLS, which is significantly lower level competition than the German Bundesliga, which is arguably the third best league in the world. He’s going to absolutely kill it over there. So, enjoy him. He’s an awesome player. And like I said, you’re going to see a lot of Thomas Mhler jerseys walking around that city soon. Yeah, it’s going to be great. Sorry, we got one more here. So, you think Matthews is going to score 60 goals and maybe win the Art Ro? It depends on his health. That was the big thing last year. He was not healthy and it didn’t help that he played the Four Nations. If Matthews is healthy, we’ll see. I don’t know. There could also be the argument like maybe he will never get back to what he is. I don’t know. I think there’s a big question mark on Matthews. I’m not going to say no, but didn’t look good last year. And you got to hope he’s healthy this year, right? I’m not willing to bet on that while he does not have Mitch Mner. Great point. Uh, what do you got coming up, Troy? Let us know. Yeah, the actual Premier League starts on Friday. So, I have a bunch of fantasy Premier League draft content out now on my page, Sleeperman City. You can definitely find that on Tik Tok. And thank you so much for having me on the show again. Looking forward to coming back and chopping up some fantasy hockey and predictions.
Host @LynchOnSports is joined again by Troy Noak to discusses the Columbus Blue Jackets’ offseason.
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