Dobber’s offseason fantasy hockey grades – Columbus Blue Jackets

For the last 18 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 19th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the summer. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are what I take into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

Enjoy!

Gone – Cam Atkinson, Seth Jones,Michael Del Zotto,

Incoming – Adam Boqvist, Jake Bean, Zac Rinaldo, Sean Kuraly, Jakub Voracek

Impact of Changes – It sure seemed as if the Jackets would be taking a huge step back this year with all their depratures. But, to be honest, how much better is the trio of Atkinson/Jones/Del Zotto than Voracek/Boqvist/Bean?

Regardless, this is a team that has a long way to climb. Even in their heyday a few years ago, this wasn't quite a Cup contender. If the incoming players keep the impact basically status quo, well, that's probably a win when considering the draft picks they got as well.  

The big question is who takes Seth Jones's minutes. It seems almost certain that Zach Werenski takes the top power play minutes while both Bean and Boqvist have cases for running the second unit. Maybe both of them do? We have seen a lot of 3-2 PP setups from the Jackets in recent seasons and the current coaching staff is a by-product of the former coaching staff. Both Boqvist and Bean are good playmakers so using the two of them on the second PP as it is going to expire seems the likely move here. Beyond the power play, these two should help the Jackets' offence a lot. They needed good puck movers, and they got two young ones to boot. Their passing ability will help the forwards.

Voracek makes his return at an inauspicious time both in his career and in the franchise's timeline. They are currently re-tooling, looking to become a true Cup contender in a few years. Voracek is 32 years old and has three years left on his current contract. He still has good playmaking numbers in everything from primary shot assists to zone entries with control. He is a guy that can help his line mates score, and that is great news for everyone from Bjorkstrand to Laine. That includes both even strength and the power play. Losing Atkinson means losing some goal scoring, but if Voracek and help Laine rebound his own goal scoring, then it's a win for the team. Even if it's just to temporarily pump Laine's trade value, that's still a win for the team. We have a ways to go before that happens, but Voracek is absolutely a guy who can help Laine turn things around.

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Ready for Full Time – With the team in a kind of flux, now would be the time to see exactly what they have in a handful of prospects. The first name is like Liam Foudy, who got into 24 games last season but produced just four points. He had 16 points in 12 AHL games as well so it's clear he doesn't really have a lot to prove at lower levels. The question is where he plays. He has played centre but was stuffed on the wing for his NHL call-up. With Max Domi missing the early parts of the season, maybe they want to give Foudy a shot down the middle. If not, there's stiff competition on the wings, so he might not get a prominent role, even if he's in the NHL most of the year.

Aside from Foudy, there just isn't much for NHL-ready prospects right now. Players like Texier and Stenlund have already graduated, the cupboard wasn't stocked to begin with, and guys like Sillinger are still a ways off. Guys will get games here and there, but there shouldn't be any in the way of 70+ games in the NHL this year.

Fantasy Outlook – Even as we try to paint a pretty picture, this team still has a steep uphill climb to be attractive fantasy-wise. Their top offensive centre is Jack Roslovic, who has 101 points in 228 career games. Their next-best offensive centre (Domi) might be a better winger and he's hurt for the beginning of the season anyway. They were a bottom-5 team by scoring last year and even if they improve by 10 percent – which is optimistic – they will likely be a bottom-10 team by scoring. It isn't to say there won't be valuable pieces like Werenski, Bjorkstrand, and a hopefully-rebounded Laine. It is just a situation where we aren't running to the waiver wire just because someone was moved to the second line, or top PP unit, unless the league we're in is very deep.  

Fantasy Grade: C- (last year was C)