As we get farther and farther into the hockey season, we all begin to have questions. Fortunately (or unfortunately for some) I am here to answer any and all questions about hockey and about life.
Let’s do this.
@BuckeyeStHockey So ASG voting will begin today, so I hear. Which #CBJ have best chance of making it? Jenner or Saad perhaps?
— Kev Young (@bullpunky) December 1, 2015
Jenner has been on an absolute tear scoring goals but I have a player in mind that many people may be looking over: Ryan Johansen. The leading point scorer the past two seasons. Yes, him. He currently leads the Blue Jackets in points with 19 and has the highest p/60 on the team who has played more than ten games. Names next to him on the p/60 list? Names like Alex Ovechkin, Johnny Gaudreau, Patrick Sharp and Gabriel Landeskog.
That isn’t bad company to keep. This doesn’t even take into account that he is shooting five percentage points lower than his career norm. Ryan Johansen is really good, no matter what anyone else tells you.
Reddit user Russbuss31 asks:
“Why don’t the Blue Jackets waive more people and bury them in the minors? Mainly Bourque, Boll, and Clarkson. I know a baseline reason or two, but is there anything I wouldn’t know about this process? I am aware we can’t bury ALL their salary down there, but some money freed up and roster spots for some of our young guns seems like enough of a reason to waive a spot or two.”
A:
I will answer the question in the form of a song.
This is a franchise who traded away Nathan Horton for David Clarkson so they could at least have a player on the ice. Allocation of money is of the utmost importance to them. Boll, Clarkson and Bourque will be in the NHL as long as the CBJ are still paying for their contracts. Boll has two years left on his contract at 1.7 million dollars AAV. Bourque has an AAV of 3.3 million right now. Clarkson has a contract until 2020 and will be making an AAV of 5.25 million. That is why the answer to this problem is very simple. Trade Clarkson to the Penguins for Evgeni Malkin.
Just kidding, that would never happen.
The sad reality for many fans is that they will have to watch these players play out their contracts. So get used to these names in the short term.
Pop quiz time: According to General Fanager how much cap space do the Blue Jackets have right now?
$17,027. Yikes.
Reddit user Noler61 asks:
“Even with his tenacity, speed and occasional playmaking, why do you think Rychel is getting such low minutes, and few opportunities with special teams? I’ve seen him battle hard, finish checks, make smart plays and turn on the jets almost every game he’s played up here, yet very little minutes to show for it.. like ~8 minutes a game. Do we need to show video of his amazing pass to Campbell?
I just looked up his P/60, 2.94. Obviously the competition isn’t super great, but neither is Columbus’ 4th line, and the sample size is pretty limited, but they are some pretty positive numbers. (Josh Anderson is 1st – with 4.7 but thats quite the small sample size, or he’s the next Gretzky you can decide.)”
A:
First off, I want to anoint Anderson as the next Crosby. He is first in the NHL in p/60, who is number two you may ask? Leading point scorer in the NHL this year, Patrick Kane. Talk about fun with small sample sizes.
You ask an interesting question. Rychel has done what has been asked of him thus far on the fourth line so why can’t he crack the top six or heck even the third line?
It is mostly an issue of locked in players. Rychel is currently playing on his off wing recently which isn’t a move they want to make but need to with the personnel they have. Rychel hasn’t played RW at all during his career. So the question you then need to ask yourself is who will Rychel knock out of their current spot? Foligno, Jenner, Hartnell, Atkinson, and Saad have all cemented themselves near the top of the rotation the only player I could see them moving down is Matt Calvert but the likelihood is very low, given Tortorella’s usage of him thus far. So as of right now Rychel is stuck in this spot. When names like Bourque and Clarkson return though don’t be surprised if he gets sent back down to the AHL, so he gets more playing time.
Reddit user C_Babyhitz_J asks:
“What’s your honest opinion of Saad thus far? Obviously it’s still early, but do you believe the Blue Jackets are getting from him what they expected when they traded for him this summer. As a transplant currently living in Chicago, it always brings a smile to my face when Blackhawks fans whine about losing him and say he was purely “chasing money”, but wanted to get someone else’s thoughts. In my opinion, I’m a huge Saad fan.”
A:
Saad has done everything that has been asked of him thus far and that is all you can really ask of the 22 year old winger. He is currently tied for second on the team in goals with 9 and is also tied for second on the team in points with 16. He has identical numbers to Scott Hartnell across the board. Not only in the box score but in a lot of the underlying numbers as well.
For reference another player involved in the trade this off season, Anisimov, has 16 points on the season but has been playing with Patrick Kane (who is having an MVP-caliber season) and Artemi Panarin (who is having a Calder caliber season), these are some unprecedented numbers for his teammates and he is still on the low end of the totem pole. The Blue Jackets weren’t going to keep Anisimov this next offseason and were able to throw him into a trade for a young already proven talent. As far as Dano is concerned, he only has two points on the year in twelve games played. While it’s still too early to make any final judgments about the trade, it isn’t necessarily the home run many in Chicago believe it to be.
To give you some context of where Saad stands in the advanced stat world in regards to his underlying numbers, he is currently out performing players like Phil Kessel, Zach Parise, Ryan O’Reilly and James Van Riemsdyk in p/60, a very telling rate stat. Everyone listed save for JVR make more money than Saad as far as I am concerned it is money well spent, the best part of it all may be that he is playing at a sustainable level as well. Kneel before Saad.
UNTIL NEXT WEEK.
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