Jarmo Kekalainen is finally nearing the end of his summer checklist.
Since removing Brad Larsen and Manny Legace from the coaching staff, the Blue Jackets’ general manager has spearheaded searches to replace each, dealt with lottery disappointment, made two trades to bolster the defense and drafted Michigan center Adam Fantilli as a franchise pillar.
Now it’s time to name Larsen’s replacement, delve into trade options, scour free agency and then, finally, watch an impressive group of prospects participate in development camp Sunday through Wednesday at Chiller North.
Got all that?
More: Get to know new Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Adam Fantilli
It’s been quite an offseason already for the Blue Jackets, and there’s still important work left to do. Here are three key questions before the bell rings to open the NHL’s free-agent frenzy:
Will the Columbus Blue Jackets make another big splash?
Hours after telling reporters that building through the draft was the Blue Jackets’ main priority, Kekalainen reeled in the biggest fish on the market.
The Jackets signed former Calgary Flames star Johnny Gaudreau to a seven-year contract worth $68.25 million and stunned the NHL in the process. Less than two weeks later, they re-signed Patrik Laine to a four-year extension worth $34.8 million and traded Oliver Bjorkstrand to create salary-cap space.
So, who’s it going to be this year? Patrick Kane? Jonathan Toews? Vladimir Tarasenko?
Kane is this year’s Gaudreau, only he’s 34 and recovering from hip resurfacing surgery June 2 that could sideline him for 4-6 months. Also, he’s another playmaking wing and will be seeking a “win now” situation where he can chase another Stanley Cup. Kekalainen drafted Tarasenko while he and president of hockey operations John Davidson were with the St. Louis Blues, but the Blue Jackets already have a lot of NHL wingers.
They have a lot of NHL-caliber players, period, and only $4.7 million in cap space to spend before potential trades that could inflate that number to $13 million or more before the market opens. Possible trade candidates could include forwards Jack Roslovic and Emil Bemstrom plus defensemen Andrew Peeke and Jake Bean.
If all four were traded without retaining salary, the Blue Jackets could create enough cap space and roster spots to chase veteran free agents. They also need to create a roster spot for Fantilli, whom Kekalainen has already tabbed as NHL-ready.
“(Fantilli) could make our (free agent) decisions a little bit harder now that we feel that we’re going to get a roster player for next year and we’ve already got quite a big number of (NHL roster players),” he said. “You can only have 23 on your roster, so we’re probably going to have to do something if we want to get into the UFA market.”
Will the Columbus Blue Jackets sign a goalie?
Unless they acquire one via trade, the answer should be a resounding “yes.”
An even better question is what kind of goalie should be signed.
The goalie market will be interesting because there will be a sizable number of experienced netminders available and not many open NHL starting jobs. The Blue Jackets’ situation is also fascinating because of where they stand contractually with starter Elvis Merzlikins and potential backup Daniil Tarasov.
Merzlikins has four years left on a contract that carries a $5.4 million cap hit, which is a number that can fluctuate in terms of value based on his performance. Merzlikins has struggled the past two seasons playing behind inexperienced teams with shaky defensive play, so the first year of his current contract made the cap charge look like a giant weight on the Jackets. The flip side is that $5.4 million a year could look like a bargain if Merzlikins fully taps into his potential while getting more help defensively.
More: It’s now or never: Merzlikins needs turnaround season for Blue Jackets
Tarasov is more intriguing.
He’s required to be placed on waivers to play in the AHL for the Cleveland Monsters now and there’s no guarantee he’d make it through without being claimed. He hasn’t proven himself as a reliable NHL backup, so the odds might be low that another team is willing to make Tarasov their NHL backup without knowing much about him.
The only two goalies in the Blue Jackets’ system other than Merzlikins and Tarasov are Monsters goalie Jet Greaves and Nolan Lalonde, who struggled at the junior level last season.
An option is former Detroit Red Wings and Carolina Hurricanes goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, who is from Parma. Former Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo may also head to free agency.
Do the Columbus Blue Jackets have too many centers?
The answer here is a definite “maybe.”
Adding Fantilli and putting him right into the NHL adds quality depth, but it also creates a bit of a traffic jam down the middle. Fantilli joins a roster that includes Boone Jenner, Kent Johnson, Sean Kuraly, Cole Sillinger, rookie Dmitri Voronkov, Justin Danforth, Alexandre Texier and, potentially, Patrik Laine as center options.
That’s nine names vying for four lineup spots. Several can slide out to wing positions to give the Blue Jackets faceoff depth on multiple lines, but the positional logjam may have to be addressed with a trade.
bhedger@dispatch.com
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: three questions about the Columbus Blue Jackets and free agency
