5 takeaways from a memorable week in Columbus Blue Jackets history
It’s been quite a week for the Blue Jackets.
They’ve drafted a potential franchise pillar with Adam Fantilli, added eight more names to a loaded prospect pool and introduced a head coach who is 12th all-time at 700 career wins in the NHL and has won multiple championships — including the Stanley Cup.
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General manager Jarmo Kekalainen and his front office have also sat through the first two days of free agency quietly, content to let the dust settle before making another move, and John Davidson, president of hockey operations, spoke for many Jackets fans when he said this about new coach Mike Babcock:
“We’re going to be better, and for me, this is the most excited I’ve been in a very long time with the Blue Jackets.”
Here are five takeaways from a week that will be remembered for a long time in Columbus:
Columbus Blue Jackets get good luck, finally, with Adam Fantilli
Luck was a lady for the Blue Jackets, whose crossed stars finally aligned last week when the Anaheim Ducks took Swedish center Leo Carlsson second in the draft.
As soon as Ducks GM Pat Verbeek spoke the words, “From Orebro, SHL, Leo Carlsson,” a large crowd at the Blue Jackets’ official watch party roared, knowing Fantilli had unexpectedly dropped right into their team’s lap. Fantilli was ranked by nearly every draft analyst as the clear top choice for the Ducks after the Chicago Blackhawks took “generational talent” Connor Bedard first.
The reaction at the @BlueJacketsNHL draft watch party to Adam Fantilli. Columbus going crazy for a Michigan Wolverine. What a time to be alive… pic.twitter.com/vQCDxqnmCN
— Dave Holmes (@DaveHolmesTV) June 28, 2023
Carlsson, also projected a No. 1 center, was expected to go third to the Blue Jackets or even fourth to the San Jose Sharks if Kekalainen pulled a surprise by taking center Will Smith of the U.S. National Team Development Program. Scouts loved all three to varying degrees and any might’ve gone first had they not been lumped into the same class with Bedard and each other.
That’s how deep analysts saw this class at the top and the Blue Jackets landed the most coveted player — on paper, anyway — after Bedard. That kind of luck just doesn’t happen to the Blue Jackets, who may have finally landed the impact center they’ve long sought.
Time will determine whether it plays out that way, and a solid argument can be made that fans of the Ducks and Sharks should be doing cartwheels over Carlsson and Smith. In Columbus, the city is now “over the moon,” about a Michigan man who voiced those same three words the night he became a Blue Jacket.
Let the fun commence.
Adam Fantilli sparks hope for Columbus Blue Jackets fans
It’s only been three years without the playoffs in Columbus, but it feels a lot longer after four straight years of postseason hockey that preceded this dry spell.
Nearly finishing last in the NHL last season, even if due to injuries and partly by design in the Bedard sweepstakes, did nothing to boost the team’s reputation. It was a brutal 82 games and the lone reason for optimism remained a light at the end of the tunnel, which a number of skeptics assumed to be another high-speed train headed right toward Columbus.
Instead, it was a slow-moving train moving in reverse and piloted by Fantilli. Listen close enough and you can almost hear him shouting, “All aboard!”
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Judging by the turnout at the first day of Blue Jackets development camp Sunday at Chiller North, fans are now boarding the Fantilli/Gaudreau Express.
Next stop: Newfound Hope, Ohio.
Prospect pool for Columbus Blue Jackets overflowing
Analysts who rank NHL teams by their prospects already had the Blue Jackets among the top five in the league.
Kirill Marchenko has since graduated from prospect to NHL regular with an outstanding 21-goal rookie season, but there are waves of others on the way. Fantilli goes straight to the No. 1 spot and won’t reside there long after signing an entry-level contract Saturday, just three days after being drafted. The Blue Jackets could also have their top defensive prospect, David Jiricek (fifth overall, 2022), graduate into a full-time NHL contributor this season and there’s still a ton of talent left.
Rookie Dmitri Voronkov is the latest Russian forward coming over from the KHL and could step into the NHL lineup to bring a package of size, strength, snarl and skill.
Other promising forwards include Hunter McKown, Jordan Dumais, Luca Del Bel Belluz, James Malatesta, and the three added with Fantilli last week — Gavin Brindley (No. 34 pick, Michigan), William Whitelaw (No. 66, Youngstown USHL/Wisconsin) and Luca Pinelli (No. 114, Ottawa 67s OHL). Defensive prospects run even deeper, starting with Denton Mateychuk plus Stanislav Svozil, Corson Ceulemans, Samuel Knazko, Guillaume Richard, Nikolai Makarov and Andrew Strathmann (No. 98, Youngstown USHL/University of North Dakota).
Even with the Blackhawks touting Bedard atop their prospects pool, it’s hard not to see the Blue Jackets topping updated lists.
Columbus Blue Jackets coach Mike Babcock hits the right notes
He wasn’t entirely conciliatory, but Babcock wasn’t dismissive about bullying allegations made by former players on his Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs teams. Sitting out the past 3½ years while collecting paychecks from the Maple Leafs provided Babcock with extra family time and an opportunity to work with collegiate players at the University of Vermont and University of Saskatchewan.
It was only a press conference, so we’ll see what transpires once training camp arrives, but Babcock struck a new tone while carefully addressing his reputation as an unforgiving NHL ogre.
“Change in all of us takes time,” he said. “The first thing you have to do is embrace it and want to get better. I’ve been a lifelong learner, pursuing knowledge my whole life. What this has done has given me a chance to get outside my body, have a look and see what I’m doing, and understand that you needed to change … you needed to grow.”
That wasn’t the only answer in which the 60-year-old coach said he’d changed. He also said this when asked if he’d do anything differently from his stops in Detroit and Toronto:
“You know, those are great questions. I think the first thing is, is my daughter has this line she uses with me all the time. She says, ‘Dad, it's not what you say. It's your tone.’ You know, I'm a straightforward guy. Honest, hard-working, enthusiastic. But the message sent and the message received often isn't the same.”
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He cited an example without naming a specific player.
“So, you're talking to a young man, and you think you had a great meeting,” Babcock said. “And then you find out later, as he talks to one of the assistant coaches, ‘Oh, ‘Babs’ was all over me.’ See, I didn't think I was. The ability to communicate and send the right message that you want to send and do it in a way that's totally respectful, to me, is what the last 3½ years have been about.”
Words alone won’t change the mind of fans who’ve complained and worried about Babcock’s hiring with a team built around young players, but it did seem to work for some. Actions and winning will ultimately decide whether Babcock wins over Columbus, but he got off to a good start.
Columbus Blue Jackets playing the waiting game
A year ago, the Jackets aimed to get tougher by signing grisly defenseman Erik Gudbranson and then made headlines with the signing of Johnny Gaudreau.
This year, Kekalainen and his staff haven’t made a peep since the opening of free agency Saturday. Announcing Fantilli had signed his first NHL contract is the extent of what they’ve done, but there’s a reason behind the Jackets’ conservative approach.
First, they've already added veteran defensemen Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson in trades. The Blue Jackets have also stayed out of the free agent ‘frenzy’ while watching other teams throw money at their problems and available players who likely won’t fix them. The Blue Jackets are also overflowing with NHL players, which means a trade or trades are likely ahead to free up roster spots and salary-cap space.
It wouldn't be a surprise if the Blue Jackets land one of the last few big name free agents — Vladimir Tarasenko and Jonathan Toews are available — but those would merely be luxury signings. Neither would be cheap, which means trades to clear salary would be necessary.
Signing a depth goalie is also on the Jackets’ “to-do” list, which could be completed quickly after the carousel stops spinning for free agents.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 5 takeaways from a huge week for Columbus Blue Jackets
