1 Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips September 4-8, 2020 Columbus Blue Jackets Cleveland Monsters/Prospects
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Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips September 4-8, 2020 Columbus Blue Jackets PAGE 02: Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets won’t retain power-play guru Paul MacLean PAGE 04: Columbus Dispatch: Playoffs showed Blue Jackets’ need for upgrade at center PAGE 06: The Athletic: Columbus grassroots hockey legend John Haferman is still changing kids’ lives Cleveland Monsters/Prospects NHL/Websites PAGE 13: The Athletic: When might fans be allowed back into NHL arenas? Experts weigh in PAGE 16: The Athletic: Duhatschek Notebook: How teams should plan for 2021, the goalie conundrum PAGE 20: The Athletic: Families in the U.S. not yet approved to join NHL players in the bubble PAGE 24: Sportsnet.ca: Quick Shifts: Would trading Frederik Andersen be a mistake? PAGE 30: New York Times: N.H.L. Conference Finals Begin After Hectic Second Round PAGE 33: The Athletic: Young defensemen using playoff stage to show how they are changing the position PAGE 37: The Athletic: The Athletic’s 2020 NHL playoff predictions for the conference finals and MVP PAGE 38: Sportsnet.ca: Five teams facing tough off-season decisions with flat NHL salary cap PAGE 40: Sportsnet.ca: Analyzing and predicting Round 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs PAGE 44: The Athletic: Opening games of the conference finals weren’t as different as you might think PAGE 47: The Athletic: ‘Like a long, long road trip’: How NHL teams are coping with bubble fatigue 1 Columbus Dispatch / Columbus Blue Jackets won’t retain power-play guru Paul MacLean By Brian Hedger – September 4, 2020 The quest to solve the Blue Jackets’ ongoing power-play struggle will likely head back in a familiar direction. Assistant coach Paul MacLean’s one-year contract will not be renewed for the 2020-21 season, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen confirmed Thursday, so the responsibility of coordinating the Jackets’ power play will presumably return to assistant coach Brad Larsen’s purview. Kekalainen did not offer a reason, but the cost of paying for three bench assistants instead of the usual two could have played a role — the COVID-19 pandemic has cost NHL teams a lot of money and also threatens to hold future revenue down. The Jackets also didn’t show improvement on the man-advantage under MacLean’s direction. Prior to MacLean’s arrival Nov. 21, the power play was successful 15.6% of the time in 20 games and ranked 24th among NHL teams. The percentage increased only a tick with MacLean, bumping to 16.8% in the Jackets’ remaining 50 games, and still ranked 24th during that span. Overall, the Blue Jackets finished 27th on the power play at 16.4% (31 of 189), and it only got worse in the playoffs. They went just 3 of 34 (8.8%) in 10 games, which ranked 22nd out of 24 postseason teams going into Thursday’s second-round games. MacLean, a longtime NHL assistant and also the winner of the Jack Adams Award in 2013 for his work as Ottawa Senators head coach, was the second assistant in as many years brought in at midseason to focus on the power play. The Blue Jackets had more success under the direction of hall of famer Martin St. Louis, who was hired Jan. 21 of the 2018-19 campaign, but he opted to focus on coaching his sons’ teams rather than returning for another season. Now, barring a third unforeseen addition to the coaching staff, Larsen will get another crack at solving the Jackets’ lingering power-play issues, which have vexed them since the second half of 2016-17. Impressive compliments A day after former Blue Jackets executive Bill Zito was hired as the Florida Panthers’ general manager, coach Joel Quenneville had some nice things to say about the team his new GM helped construct. The three-time winner of the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks doesn’t know Zito like he does Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella or assistant Brad Shaw, but he knows a strong team identity when he sees it. "You look at Columbus, the way they play … the competitiveness of their team is something that you appreciate — whether that’s a trait from the day (players) were drafted to how they evaluate players," said Quenneville, who spoke on a video conference. 2 "You’re watching a game early in the playoffs and they’re going into (five overtimes), Tampa and Columbus, and Columbus is very comfortable playing a Tampa team that over that kind of time is going to be dangerous. I think that’s something that we want to make sure that we’re looking to get to." 3 Columbus Dispatch / Playoffs showed Blue Jackets’ need for upgrade at center By Brian Hedger – September 7, 2020 The Blue Jackets have plenty of reasons to feel good about what the pieces they have in place for the 2021 season and beyond. But there is one noticeable, important hole that they know must be addressed. "Our center ice position has always been talked about," coach John Tortorella said last month, when asked during a season-ending conference call what areas he would like to upgrade this offseason. "You just don’t find center-ice men in the league (via free agency). Everybody’s looking for those guys." He’s not wrong. NHL teams usually retain their top centers with long-term contract extensions, and those who do make it to free agency are typically signed quickly to massive deals that don’t always make a lot of financial sense. That doesn’t change the fact the Jackets need an upgrade in the middle of their second line, which became painfully obvious in postseason series against two center-rich opponents, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning. The good news for Columbus is that it has developing No. 1 center in Pierre-Luc Dubois and an ideal third-line option in grinder Boone Jenner — but there is a glaring void between them. Here are three ways that general manager Jarmo Kekalainen can explore to fill the gap: Free agency This might be the least likely way, as Tortorella pointed out, but this offseason will be different because of coronavirus pandemic that limited the season to 70 regular-season games. The NHL’s revenue took a major hit, future revenue is in jeopardy with no clear date on when fans can return to arenas and the league’s salary-cap will remain at $81.5 million for the 2020-21 season. Cap- strapped teams may be looking to shed salary in trades, and free agents might have to settle for shorter- term deals for less money than in recent seasons. As for this year’s pending free-agent pool, it’s a bleak field for those needing a top-six pivot. Nashville’s Mikael Granlund tops the list at just 30 points this season (17 goals, 13 assists) and there really isn’t a fallback option. Free agency might be an option to add scoring depth, but the available talent is probably not enough to bring a second-line center to Columbus. Trade market Kekalainen will explore the market, but that doesn’t mean a deal should be expected. In fact, "Growing from within," is a term that fans should get comfortable hearing. "We have some really good young players that have taken a big step into the right direction and they’ll take another one or two in the near future," Kekalainen said, referring to talented rookie forwards Alexandre Texier, Liam Foudy and Emil Bemstrom. 4 Should the Jackets go the trade route, however, they have a wealth of chips to use — including a stable of NHL defensemen, talented young forwards and a pair of goaltenders in their mid-20s who performed at elite levels this season. The Edmonton Oilers come to mind as a possible trade partner, needing help in net and on defense, and they have a skilled 27-year-old center, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who could fill the Jackets’ need. He only has one year left on a contract with a manageable cap hit of $6 million, though, so it would be a risk without Nugent-Hopkins agreeing to entertain the idea of staying in Columbus long term. Look within again? The way Alexander Wennberg ended the season was akin to sinking a birdie putt from 50 feet away to end a terrible round of golf. The 25-year-old center was one of best players on the ice, for either team, in the Jackets’ season-ending overtime loss in Game 5 against Tampa Bay — and his highlight-reel goal in Game 2 dropped jaws around the league. Wennberg clearly has the skills and size to be the center the Blue Jackets need, but he hasn’t performed consistently for three consecutive years now — after putting up a tantalizing 59 points in 2016-17 as the Jackets’ top center. Tortorella was asked if Wennberg’s play against the Lightning was more encouraging or frustrating, and his answer summed it up perfectly. "Both," he said. "It (ticks) me off and it excites you at the same time. Not even just the last game. Wenny wants to try and get better. He wants to see how he can improve … but it (ticks) me off. Why isn’t it there all the time?" Another option might be Texier, whom Kekalainen believes can play center, though he has skated mostly at left wing thus far. Shouldering the responsibilities of centering the second line might be a little much at this stage for the 20-year-old. Stay tuned, because the Jackets’ hunt for another skilled center should make for an interesting offseason.