Projecting the Blue Jackets: An early look at the 2021-22 roster

When asked on the opening day of the annual NHL free agent frenzy, hours after he had signed Columbus native Sean Kuraly and inked extensions with mainstays Boone Jenner and Eric Robinson, Jarmo Kekalainen was asked if he was happy with what he had done to improve the CBJ roster to that point.
The Blue Jackets general manager's answer? Yes, but we're not done yet.

"We have a bright future ahead of us here, but we are going to keep building," he said. "We are far from finished. I have to get back to work upstairs after this press conference and keep going at it."
A few days later, more big news was on the horizon as the Blue Jackets signed franchise cornerstone Zach Werenski to a six-year extension, and then over the weekend, Kekalainen and his crew took a break.
There are still some notable free agents on the table and Columbus is always looking to bolster the squad, Kekalainen pointed out, but it's also fair to say the frenzy is over and a bit of a breather has been taken by much of the NHL.
So where do the Blue Jackets stand? It was a busy few weeks around the draft and the start of free agency, with Columbus trading longtime pieces Seth Jones and Cam Atkinson from the active roster. Added were young defensemen Adam Boqvist and Jake Bean, a veteran playmaker up front in Jakub Voracek, and three first-round draft picks in forwards Kent Johnson and Cole Sillinger as well as defenseman Corson Ceulemans.
What does it all mean right now, though? Here's a look at what the Blue Jackets lineup could look like come opening night in October.

Forward

Patrik Laine - Jack Roslovic - Jakub Voracek
Gus Nyquist - Alexander Texier - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Boone Jenner - Kevin Stenlund - Gregory Hofmann
Eric Robinson - Sean Kuraly - Liam Foudy
Also in the mix: Max Domi, Emil Bemstrom, Yegor Chinakhov, Nathan Gerbe, Joshua Dunne, Trey Fix-Wolansky, Brendan Gaunce, Justin Danforth
First off, we will talk a bit in this piece about line combinations, but don't let that be the major focus here. This exercise is just to give us a potential look at what might happen, not say these things will be written in pen anytime soon.
Having said that, let's talk about lines! The general sense is the acquisition of Voracek was to pair him with Laine, as Voracek is one of the best passers in the game (he's sixth in the NHL in assists the past seven years) and also brings some size, which should allow him to win puck battles as well as set up Laine for those textbook top cheese lasers he loves so much.
When asked about that possibility upon being acquired on day two of the draft, Voracek said the line combinations won't be up to him, but he wouldn't mind suiting up with someone of Laine's shooting skill.
"Obviously everybody knows about Laine," Voracek said. "He's one of the best pure shooters and scorers in our era, and if we are going to play together, I hope we are going to find a great chemistry and help the team as much as possible to win games."
It only makes sense to add a playmaking center in there, so we'll go with Roslovic for the sake of this exercise, with the Columbus native coming off the most productive season of his career with a 12-22-34 line in 48 games. His high skill level and pace with the puck seems like it would complement the other two quite well.
Nyquist missed last season with injury but will return, and the Jackets have one of the most underrated players in the game in Bjorkstrand, so that seems like it could be a good duo as well.
But here's where we start to come to one of the problems with how the roster is comprised, as the injury to Domi that could keep him out until December robs the team of depth down the middle. He'll certainly jump right back in when healthy, but in the meantime, we'll put the talented Texier at No. 2, as he's shown flashes of being able to handle that role in past seasons but is still looking for consistency in production at age 22.
That also hurts on the next line, as we could say the same about Stenlund -- he's shown the ability to score and also handle the center-ice responsibilities some nights, while others have been a struggle. But he has just 68 NHL games under his belt, and at some point the 25-year-old has to get a consistent shot, so we'll put him on a line with Jenner and Hofmann on his wings.
Jenner, of course, can play center and is the team's best faceoff man, but for the purposes of this exercise we'll keep him on the left wing where he was freed up to bring more offense a year ago. Having said that, one should expect him to get some minutes down the middle as the year goes on, which would allow the Jackets some flexibility in building the lineup.
Hofmann is slotted in here for us, but there are plenty of wings who could fill that spot. Our gut feeling, though, is at some point the Blue Jackets want to see the 28-year-old European import, who has shown the skating ability and wicked release to be able to score consistently overseas for years.
On our fourth line, we're putting together a trio with speed to burn in Robinson, Kuraly and Foudy. In fact, it might be the fastest line in the NHL, so just for fun, we'll throw it together. Robinson, of course, can move up the lineup as he did a year ago, while Kuraly seems destined to anchor a bottom-six trio and Foudy is a first-round pick itching to contribute.
That means we left out plenty of names that can contribute, and just as in past years, who the Jackets put in the lineup could be a night-by-night decision at the bottom of the lineup. Bemstrom and Chinakhov bring excellent shots to the table and will get plenty of chances to use them, but consistentcy thus far has been an issue for the former while the latter is just 20 and has no North American experience despite being a first-round pick and the KHL rookie of the year.
Danforth also has been inked after being a point-per-game player in the KHL, so he will get a long look as well and should contribute. Gaunce was signed as a depth option, Gerbe is always ready to bring energy at a moment's notice, and Dunne and Fix-Wolansky (not to mention Carson Meyer and Tyler Angle) are youngsters who could force the CBJ's hands but will likely get more seasoning to start in Cleveland.
As for Johnson and SIllinger -- not to mention Ceulemans -- it seems likely all will play either college or junior hockey again next year, but as first-round picks they could be knocking on the door sooner rather than later.

Defensemen

Zach Werenski - Adam Boqvist
Vladislav Gavrikov - Dean Kukan
Jake Bean - Andrew Peeke
Also in the mix: Scott Harrington, Gavin Bayreuther, Mikko Lehtonen, Gabriel Carlsson
Our biggest factor when putting together these lines was trying to pair a left-shot defenseman with a right-shot player, but the reality is with just two right-shot blueliners (Boqvist and Peeke), the Blue Jackets will have to put someone on their off hand at the back.
But for now, we constructed our lineup this way, and the Blue Jackets have the same situation on defense as at forward -- lots of depth options and thus plenty of spots that will be fought for not just in the preseason but as the year goes on.
One thing is for sure, though -- the trade of Jones and the acquisitions of Boqvist and Bean give the team a different look on the blue line. It does seem likely that Boqvist and Bean go right in the lineup, as both were full-time NHLers a year ago with Chicago and Carolina, respectively. The 20- and 23-year-olds, again respectively, are thought to be talented puck movers who also can play on the power play.
"The one thing I always say is the best defense is when you have the puck, and I think pucks will be coming out of our zone well next year with the additions which we have made this offseason, with Jake Bean and Adam Boqvist in particular," Kekalainen said. "They're good puck movers. They're mobile players that can come out of the zone skating or passing the puck, making a quick transition play, and that also leads to our offense.
"I think we still have some big bodies back there. Zach is an offensive guy but he's a big man, he can defend well, he's strong in battles. Vladdy Gavrikov is a big man. Andrew Peeke is growing into an NHL player. He's 6-foot-3, so we have a lot of different elements that can make our defense good and fast."
Since Boqvist is a right shot, we'll put him with Werenski on a unit that won't be lacking for skill. Both were chosen eighth overall in the NHL draft largely because of their elite offensive capabilities, and they could be a fun duo to watch if they end up together.
After that, Gavrikov is easy to pencil in along the left side in the second pair -- he'll be there for as long as the CBJ will have him, it seems like -- but then there are a lot of interchangeable parts. For now, we'll slot Kukan there, as he has skated with Gavrikov and plays a poised game that could mesh well with the defensively minded Russian.
This is a huge upcoming season for Peeke, who had a pretty darn good rookie season in 2019-20 then essentially a lost year in 2021. But the second-round pick has plenty of skill at both ends of the rink, and our bet is he has a bounceback upcoming season, so we'll put him in with Bean right now to start things off.
From there, everyone knows Harrington is a competitor who provides professionalism and depth given his tenure with the Jackets, while Columbus seemed intrigued enough with Bayreuther -- who looked good in a late-season debut -- to bring him back. The same could be said of Lehtonen, who has had a decorated career overseas, so he can't be counted out, while Carlsson was a first-round pick who has shown flashes over the past few years.

Goaltender

Elvis Merzlikins - Joonas Korpisalo
Daniil Tarasov
Cam Johnson
The general consensus going into the offseason was that the Blue Jackets would trade either Merzlikins or Korpisalo, considering both will be unrestricted free agents a year from now and the team had strong belief in Matiss Kivlenieks to become the full-time backup.
Then tragedy struck in July with Kivlenieks' stunning passing. It still seems hard to discuss on a human level, let alone a hockey perspective, but Kekalainen did say recently that the situation has likely changed the team's plans at the goaltender spot going forward.
"Obviously it changes everything on our depth chart, so we are going to have to reassess that," the general manager said. "We have two really good goaltenders still under contract for one more year. Unfortunately they both can become unrestricted free agents at the end of next year, but it's also a luxury to have two goaltenders that can play any given night and fill that role with No. 1 capabilities.
"So we'll see what the future brings. We love both Elvis and Korpi and they have been great for us and we'll make some decisions as we go here."
Add in a goalie market that has been more in favor of buyers than sellers and, as Kekalainen said, the Blue Jackets still have both Merzlikins and Korpisalo on the roster. Of course, things could change at any moment, but for now we'll operate under the assumption the two will be around when the season starts.
While neither seemed particularly excited about sharing the net again when talking at exit interviews -- and each could present a compelling case to be the starter -- having both would give Columbus two goalies it can trust, which is never a bad thing when constructing a team. There are umpteen factors that could come into play in determining who plays how many minutes each plays -- injuries and hot streaks start the list -- but for now the Blue Jackets have two strong goalies who have carried the load in the past.
Tarasov is the team's top -- and really, only -- goaltending prospect and was supposed to be in Cleveland last year before the pandemic hit, so he ended up shining in a backup role in the KHL. The plan is for him to start the year learning the North American game as the starter in Cleveland -- he did get a cameo there last year -- and the massive Russian netminder is just 22 so he can still use plenty of seasoning.
Johnson was on the taxi squad for much of last year and provides depth, but he seems ticketed for Cleveland as well. It wouldn't be a huge surprise to see Columbus sign a veteran somewhere along the line to add depth and injury protection, but for now, this is what we've got.