As the Calder Cup and Stanley Cup begin to wind down, it is time to look forward to next season and see what is in store for the Columbus Blue Jackets. It feels like an exciting time to be a Jackets fan, should expectations be tempered? Let’s answer that in this week’s mailbag.

https://twitter.com/BiggestCBJFan/status/739921464078544896

Outright, to begin the year, I only see a couple of players making the team right out of camp. They can be broken down into a couple of categories though. You have your difference makers like Oliver Bjorkstrand, Zach Werenski and Sonny Milano. You have your grinders like Michael Chaput, Josh Anderson and Lukas Sedlak. It all just depends on what the Jackets end up doing. If they trade some high end players that will leave huge gaps, I think they fill them in with a difference maker I listed above. If they end up trading a third or fourth line player, that is where you will see a Chaput or an Anderson make the team out of camp. I don’t think they will want to relegate some of the difference makers to the bench or the press box. This upcoming training camp should have a new look squad, just how exactly it will shape up is Jarmo’s decision.

https://twitter.com/averykreemer/status/739922899985960960

I have had this discussion with many people and after doing some quick research it really just depends on what you can bring to the table. If you are a veteran led team, it doesn’t mean an awful lot. If you are a young prospect filled team, it bodes well for the future of your NHL club. A couple of recent examples include the Grand Rapids Griffins with Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist, that team was damn near unstoppable at times. Similarly, the Syracuse Crunch had an amazing team that had names like Cory Conacher, Tyler Johnson and Alex Killorn on it and that was  one of the best AHL teams in recent memory. Middle of the road prospects won’t be making a huge splash in the years to come but the top end players have a real chance of becoming something special.

who do the Jackets bring in as an assistant coach?

— Daneel (@0hioan) June 6, 2016

I really like this question. It has been tough to pin down from all reports. Aaron Portzline has pointed to Darryl Sydor, a few times now. Citing the relationship he and Tortorella have had in the past. The firing of Luke Richardson seemed to be perfectly timed. He was most recently the head coach of the Binghamton Senators and was supposed to be the successor to Dave Cameron; however, new management nixed that idea. Richardson has Blue Jackets connections and has a moderately successful track record. Richardson is probably my dark horse candidate at the moment. Not a lot of info out right now as multiple other teams have already pulled the trigger on hiring their assistant coaches.

Update:

#CBJ have said they'll wait until at least after Calder Cup to fill vacancy left by Craig Hartsburg coaching retirement.

— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) June 7, 2016

That answers part of that question. I wonder if they are considering promoting Jared Bednar to the staff?

who is first to go if the cbj have yet another poor start to the season

— Brett Sidoryk (@iamTwigggy) June 6, 2016

Wow. This is a tough question to answer. John Tortorella has not had a full season yet so I doubt he is the person to get the door. John Davidson is the figure head of the organization and could catch some flack, but I don’t believe he would get the axe. The team could attempt to make a panic trade if things don’t go well as they have some players with some value. Unfortunately, those are players that you don’t want to trade in those kind of situations. The person likely shown the door if the Jackets have a similar start would be Jarmo Kekalainen. With multiple seasons at the helm and the opportunity to have a few drafts under his belt, his clock is beginning to tick if success doesn’t come knocking. Would the Jackets want to make such sweeping changes once again? Very unlikely.

What an interesting question. I am not sure what the answer could be.

(featured image courtesy of the Examiner)