#CBJPositives

Courtesy of @googlit. #CBJ injuries by position and salary cap. pic.twitter.com/2wTvwiStaR

— slammed down big style (@derdrache) October 29, 2014

This is rather unprecedented. Almost 50% of the team’s salary is on an injured list. That’s nearly $30 million of talent on the sidelines.

Yes, that includes the starting goaltender, and the best defenceman on the team, and two-thirds of the top three lines.

However, there really are plenty of positive aspects to this team.

First, at least it’s not Buffalo or Carolina we’re talking about. Seriously, every team other than those two are in the race for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. Of course, their prize is nothing to bat an eyelash at.

Second, Head Coach Todd Richards has done a fine job of ingraining his system into the DNA of this team. A system that still makes the Blue Jackets a very tough team to play against, no matter who they put on the ice. It’s rather impressive that this team, without several of its top-end players, still has a chance to win each and every game they play.

Scott Hartnell

On top of a competent coach, the team has a very competent front office.

If you still haven’t grasped the steal that Scott Hartnell was for this team, in exchange for RJ Umberger, then let’s take a quick look.

*- FF% = Fenwick For percentage, which is the percentage of unblocked shot attempts that are taken by the team while a player is on the ice. (Disclaimer: Fenwick and shot-based stats do not include the most recent game)

Hartnell is more than a point per game player who deserves to be on the first line with Ryan Johansen, while Umberger is, well…

Please put Akeson back with Couts and Read and put Umberger on the 4th line. Akeson doesn't deserve being stuck on that 4th line forever.

— Alex Donnelly (@AlexDonnelly41) October 29, 2014

Out of 591 players on puckalytics.com, RJ Umberger is ranked 577th (!) in 5v5 FF%.

Props to fellow Buckeye State blogger, Avery, for pointing this out.

https://twitter.com/averykreemer/status/527292032797409280

If Hartnell meets his career average shooting percentage, and continues putting that many shots on net throughout the season, he could walk away with 35 goals this season. The most goals Umberger had in a single season was 25. Hartnell’s career single-season high is 37!

Ryan Johansen

Joey has picked up where he left off last season. Except, he looks even better. Scoring a point in each of the first nine games currently leaves him second, behind Nash and Umberger (lol), in longest point streaks for a Blue Jackets player. Their marks are set at 10 games. (If he doesn’t reach that plateau, I didn’t jinx it, Porty said it first.)

There isn’t much to add to how fun it is to watch Johansen. He’s just so dominant. A possible comparable is Anze Kopitar. Johansen has some work to do to get to that level, but what you see in Los Angeles is what you could see in Columbus in the near future.

In fact, let’s run with that for a second. Over the past two seasons, drawing a comparison for the Blue Jackets was difficult. However, these days the team could be considered the poor-man’s LA Kings. Throughout the last several seasons management has loaded this lineup with dependable, defensively-sound, two-way forwards. With an analytically-minded person like Josh Flynn in the front office, it’s apparent that he has possibly played a large role in several of the trades and free agent signings over the past several seasons.

So You’re Saying There’s a Chance?

With the roster currently stretched so thin, there are several players who are getting a chance to prove they can stick with the club, when they might not otherwise get this opportunity.

Except Brian Gibbons. He was good enough to play with Sidney Crosby for stretches last season. What am I not seeing?

Anyway, players like Adam Cracknell and Corey Tropp can only ask for an opportunity to prove themselves. And this is it.

Meanwhile the rookies, Alexander Wennberg and Marko Dano, are getting some valuable experience at the most elite level. I don’t expect either to spend the entire season in the NHL, but the experience is invaluable.

We’ve Been Here Before

Last season, the Jackets got off to a slow start. It wasn’t injury-related, but it did take two whole months before the team went from basement-dweller, to elite possession team. The roots of which are still ingrained, as I mentioned above. This team is only a Brandon Dubinsky away from stomping all over the Eastern Conference.

This team is built to be a contender. It might not happen this season, but it’s only a matter of time.