Should the Columbus Blue Jackets sign another veteran defenseman?
On Saturday, THN Boston's Michael DeRosa wrote about the Columbus Blue Jackets being a potential landing spot for free-agent defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk.
Shattenkirk is still unsigned after two full weeks of NHL free agency starting. Honestly, it's kind of a shocker he hasn't been signed yet.
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DeRosa says about Shattenkirk:
The Columbus Blue Jackets are another potential club to watch when it comes to Shattenkirk. Their blue line has seen some major changes over the last few months, as Andrew Peeke, Adam Boqvist, and Jake Bean have all found new homes. They have only added Jack Johnson to their blueline since then, so perhaps they could take a shot on Shattenkirk.
If the Blue Jackets signed Shattenkirk, he would give them another veteran option for their bottom pairing and power play. He also can play both sides, which would help his chances of securing a spot in Columbus' lineup.
Shattenkirk's Stats: 952 games played; 103g-381a-484 points. 91 career playoff games; 8g-40a-48 points. He has 254 career power-play points in the regular season.
As DeRosa said, he can play both sides, which greatly increases his chances of making the lineup. He'd also be pretty cheap. Last season for Boston he made $1.05m, but one can assume he'd ask for more to play for Columbus. Columbus typically has to overpay for free agents after all. Shattenkirk did have 24 points in 61 games last season, which is 0.39 ppg, so not bad actually.
There are two reasons why this scenario might not work for the CBJ. Those reasons are named David Ji?í?ek and Denton Mateychuk. It's widely assumed that Ji?í?ek and Mateychuk both will be rotating in and out of the 6th spot on the blue line, but many think differently about how these two should be played.
Some think that one, if not both will start in the AHL, and then await their call-ups to Columbus. Ji?í?ek played 29 games for Cleveland last season scoring 19 points. He also had 11 points in 14 Calder Cup Playoff games. Mateychuk, after finishing his junior career, was brought in to play some playoff games for Cleveland, and in four games, had three points, all assists.
Could, or should the CBJ pursue another veteran defenseman to help fix a blue line that has been very bad the last few years? If Don Waddell truly wants David Ji?í?ek and Denton Mateychuk to develop properly, a scenario of signing Shattenkirk and bringing up Jake Christiansen to play with Werenski, Severson, Gudbranson, Provorov, and Jack Johnson could work.
Fans want to see David Ji?í?ek and Denton Mateychuk ASAP, but Waddell has said numerous times that he likes his prospects to get plenty of AHL games under their belt before being thrown to the NHL wolves. Is he hinting around at something?
Both players will only be 20 when the season starts, with Ji?í?ek turning 21 on November 28th. Why not let them both start in the AHL and force the Jackets to bring them up? The same thing happened to Kirill Marchenko a few seasons ago, and look how that turned out.
Don Waddell recently said that hiring a head coach is priority number one and that signing even his own RFAs has been put on the back burner. He also has a deal to make with forward Kirill Marchenko or face going to arbitration. So a deal like this would be down the road.
We don't quite yet know the plan for youngsters David Ji?í?ek and Denton Mateychuk, but signing someone like Kevin Shattenkirk could be helpful for both of them long term. Shattenkirk, if he signed a one-year deal for example, could also be used as trade bait later in the year. Ivan Provorov is also a UFA after this next season, so it's assumed that he will also be dealt sometime during this season, probably at the trade deadline.
Waddell has plenty of options and time to work with, and it's about having patience, something that people who follow the Columbus Blue Jackets are running out of.
What do you think? Please share your thoughts on our forum.
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