How the Isles and Jackets can improve in the offseason in my eyes.

Here is another post from some of the eliminated teams and what I think the Blue Jackets and Islanders should do in the offseason to return to making regular playoff appearances.

 New York I

Notable UFA’s: Austin Czarnik, Andy Andreoff, Grant Hutton, Sebastian Aho, Andy Greene, Zdeno Chara, Cory Schneider 

Notable RFA’s: Kiefer Bellows, Micheal Dal Colle, Otto Koivula, Noah Dobson, Robin Salo

Draft Picks: NYI 1RD, COL 2RD, NYI 3RD, NYI 5RD, NYI 6RD

Why did they miss the playoffs.

The Islanders have been playing well as of late but aren’t making the playoffs this season as a result of some of their terrible play this season and here are three specific reasons why I believe they missed the playoffs this season. First was their awful start that would have made it difficult for any team to come back from. After they started with two losses to begin the season they then got a seven game point streak before the bottom fell out on their season as they dropped would wind up losing 11 straight games and lose 15 of their first 20 games and while they would play a lot better since then (especially in March) they had a uphill battle before them do to that start and while they did make it interesting down the stretch trying to catch Washington, that start was the early nail in the coffin in my opinion for them. Secondly is that this team became just to darn slow this season to cause to much noise. They moved away players like Ladd and Leddy in the offseason but instead of signing prominent players or at least younger players they brought players like Parise, Cizikas, Chara and Greene either back or into the organization and played all of their Vets way to much in my opinion while younger players like Sebastian Aho, Kiefer Bellows, Oliver Wahlstrom and to some extent Anthony Beauvillier didn’t get nearly enough playing time and with the older and slower players always playing other teams seemed to skate circles around New York I and led them to losing at least a few games in my opinion. And lastly their defence and goaltending were still real good this year even though they had troubles but the offense absolutely dried up this season. The Islanders are the 6th lowest team in goal scoring this season and it is obvious why, as Barzal has not been as productive as recent years and was injured, their fourth line which usually gives the team energy seems to always have at least 1 player injured or scratched, and until recently guys like Pageau, Lee, Palmeri and Parise were all quite and the fact they didn’t bring in a goal scorer in the offseason also hurt the team so the combination of the lack of offense, too many time veterans playing over younger players, and the fact that they lost 15 of their first 20 games I think all played a factor in the Islanders missing the playoffs. 

How can they improve in the offseason

Their were a lot of aspects as to why the Islanders season went of the rails but I look positionally to see if there is something that NYI can do in the offseason to improve. I am starting in net as the future looks good with Ilya Sorokin as the full time starter. Sorokin has proven this year with Varlamov injured and playing rocky that he can be the full time NHL Starter for the Islanders this year as he kept the Isles in games this year and has had a brilliant .926 SV% this year and is going to be starter for years. But the backup position could change in my opinion as Varlamov has not played well this year losing 19 of his 28 starts and will be entering the final year of his contract with a cap hit of $5 Million and while he can still be a serviceable 1B in the NHL and he was brought in to mentor Sorokin, I think they will move Varlamov based on the fact that he is too expensive, teams could look to him to solve their goalie situation, and with Sorokin playing starter minutes they could look for a cheap goalie who is a full backup rather then a 1B but I do see that backup goalie in NYI being different next year whether they acquire a goalie in free agency or VIA trade. As for their defence they definitely need at least some retooling for that position. Pulock and Pelech showed exactly why they are signed long term and the Islanders top pairing and I believe they will be the top pairing again next year and Dobson’s emergence has given the Islanders a great top 4 Defensemen who can score and should be a second pairing D-Men next year after he signs a new deal with NYI but their other three spots are up for grabs. They have young D-Men Sebastian Aho and vets Zdeno Chara and Andy Greene all pending UFA’s and they don’t have any depth defensemen to fill the holes so I expect them to go out and get a top 4 Defensemen who they can pair with Dobson sort of like Leddy did last year, and also a couple of depth Defensemen who can play 3rd pairing minutes but in my opinion will have to be younger then Chara and Greene cause they were two slow in their roles and then either bring back Aho and keep him from being a UFA or bring up Robin Salo to also contend for a spot but while their top 3 defensemen won’t change in my opinion, I think the bottom half of their roster is going to look vastly different next year. And finally a position that needs a lot of work in my opinion and that is their forward group. Their isn’t really much needed to sign with this group but I still see them making plenty of moves this offseason. Now I don’t see them doing much at Center because Nelson was their best goal scorer this year, Barzal is still a great first line Center and he just needs better line mates, Pageau is finishing this season strong and is still a good 3rd lone Center while no one is taking Cizikas with that contract length of 5 years but on the wing they could make moves. After signing Parise and Clutterbuck at the deadline I believe those two will partner with Cizikas on the fourth line next year, Lee’s contract and him being Captain will probably keep him in New York and the contract of Palmeri should keep him in New York also, while Wahlstrom who will enter the final year of his ELC still hasn’t reached his potential in my opinion so he will stay in New York as well, but I could see Beauvillier, Bailey, Bellows and Martin all leave. Martin, Beauvillier and Bailey all will have 2 years left on their current contracts in the offseason, Martin only has a $1.5 Million dollar cap hit and could be a good 4th liner on a different team, Beauvillier has a $4.15 Million dollar cap hit but is only 24 years old and I think just needs a fresh start after falling out of favour with the Isles, and for Bailey it just isn’t working now and while it might prove difficult to move his $5 Million dollar cap hit I think it would be the smart move for New York I. And for Bellows he is a Pending RFA who hasn’t got much of a opportunity with the Isles and I could definitely see him looking for a fresh start next season, but this probably leaves 2 top 6 and 3 top 9 holes that will need to be filled and I believe that at least one if not two of those holes could be found via trade especially if they are considering moving Bailey or Beauvillier, but I think they need to find a top 6 forward in free agency and maybe try to get a guy like Gaudreau or Forsberg who can play with Barzal and unlock his potential. So just to recap the Isles should role with Sorokin and a new backup, try to find one more top 4 defensemen as well as a couple 3rd pairing defensemen, and change up their top 9 wingers with some players being moved and some brought in and if they do this I think they have a good shot at making the playoffs again next season.

 Columbus 

Notable UFA’s: Brendan Gaunce, Dean Kukan, Scott Harrington, Joonas Korpisalo

Notable RFA’s: Patrik Laine, Jack Roslovic, Emil Bemstrom, Liam Foudy, Kevin Stenlund, Carson Meyer, Trey Fix Wolansky, Adam Boqvist, Gabriel Carlsson, Nick Blackenburg, Danill Tarasov

Draft Picks: COLU 1RD, CHI 1RD*, COLU 2RD, TB 3RD, COLU 4RD, TOR 4RD, ANA 7RD.

Why did they miss the playoffs.

The Blue Jackets started well and were at one point the closest team to Boston and Washington for a playoff spot bit will miss the playoffs again this year and hear are three reasons why I believe that they missed the playoffs. First would have to be their horrible stretch to close out 2021 because after they won their first 12 of 18 to start the season, from NOV 27th to JAN 6th they wound up dropping 11 of 14 games that put them at a losing record and even though it wasn’t to big of a hole to get back to .500, they couldn’t really get a good run after that and even though they at one point closed in on Washington they also lost 14 of 19 games from late February to early April so with these two bad losing streaks they really couldn’t come back to make the playoffs. Also their goaltending has not been to spectacular this season as they have used a couple different goalies this season. Merzlikins has played okay this season as he does have a winning record as starter and on top of that he has put up acceptable numbers as a starter this season so even though he could be better he had a okay season but in my opinion was overused given that they lacked a backup goalie this season. Korpisalo went into the season the backup goalie but he has played awfully this season and has been dealing with a ton of injuries. He has only played in a couple games and with his bad play it has hurt the Blue Jackets, and when he hasn’t played this year they did have Danill Tarasov who actually played reasonably well in a short amount of game action and while he lost both of his starts he played well and his numbers were great but he was also injured and hasn’t played since JAN 1st, so Jean Francis Berube has been backup for awhile and while he has put up okay numbers the injuries have led to backup trouble and that lead to too much playing time for Merzlikins. And finally another reason why the Blue Jackets are one of the top teams to have let in goals this year, is because of their young D-Corp. They had Wereinski who was their best defensemen but he has been injured a bit and seems to miss Jones as his partner, then they also had Peeke, Bayreuther, Carlsson, and Blackenburg most recently all basically played their first NHL season as regulars, and even Boqvist and Bean are very young defensemen who are prone to make mistakes and all of these young defensemen who played quite well this season also made some costly mistakes that not only didn’t help the goalies but maybe cost the games too. So to recap two bad losing streaks, the lack of a consistent backup leading to Merzlikins probably playing too much, and a very young D-Corp that got learning experience were all reasons that Columbus couldn’t make a return to the playoffs this season.

How can they improve in the offseason 

The Blue Jackets have a bright future and played a lot better then I thought a younger team like them would do, but here is how I think they can do in the offseason to improve even more to this team. First with the Blue Jackets goalies and their starter has to be Merzlikins for the foreseeable future. They signed him last offseason to a extension and while I believe that he has not reached his full potential as a NHL starter and had a bit of a rough year this year I think that the Blue Jackets  are still happy with him and he still should be a NHL starter so he will start next year in my opinion but the backup position needs work. Korpisalo who was backup for most of the season this year shouldn’t be back next year after this rough season he had and that he is a UFA, and Berube who also has been backup for some time this year is also a free agent in the offseason and won’t be back. So the way I see it the Blue Jackets have 2 options for the backup position next year and they could have Tarasov be their backup next year and I think that is a real possibility as he played okay at the NHL level, or if they want him to play another year in the AHL then they could sign or trade for a valuable backup who could help Merzlikins in net next year but the backup position has got to change before next season in my opinion. On the defence they have a lot of young players who they can build around for next year. Now I think that they will need to get a partner for Werenski in free agency or VIA trade. Werenski is still the Blue Jackets number one defender but with no Jones this year I think too much was asked of him so getting a top 4 right shot defensemen to pair with Werenski would be at the top of my list. As for their other spots on defence I could see Peeke, Blankenburg, Boqvist and Bean fill our their bottom 2 pairings next year and this year of learning really will help their defence but maybe acquiring 1 depth defensemen in free agency would help them especially with their younger players, and I could see Gavrikov possibly being moved in the offseason maybe to help another position but with him entering the final year of his deal I think the Jackets move on. But I think besides a partner for Wereinski and maybe a swap of 3rd pair defensemen the the Jackets will run with their young core next season. And their forward group is where they look to be the brightest at.  When I look at the Blue Jackets forward group I don’t see many holes. At Center I don’t think they move anything as they have captain Jenner who’s put up some nice numbers this year, Sillinger and Johnson who were both drafted in 2021 and have the potential to be a future 1-2 punch down the middle for Columbus, and recently signed Kuraly to be their centers next year. They should keep Robinson and Chinakov on the 3rd line and I don’t see Voracek or Bjorkstrand going anywhere given their contracts and how well they played this season, but I also see the Jackets finding some way to sign Laine. I think no matter how much it takes they need Laine’s production that has helped them so much this season so however much he wants they need to give to him. Now to make room for him I could see the Blue Jackets deal Nyquist, who will enter the final year of his contract at $5.5 Million and while he has been productive I could see him playing elsewhere next year, and I could also see the Blue Jackets move Roslovic and Texier in the offseason as I think Texier just needs a fresh start after his minutes went down this season, and with all of the Center men I don’t think Roslovic would be to valuable to the Jackets so moving those three could help. And then to round it out I think they would need 1 or 2 top 9 forwards most likely younger players to fit well with the team whether they get them via free agency or via trade I think getting a bit younger and a veteran 4th line player could also help this young team. And lastly just to recap the Jackets should have Merzlikins as starter next year with a new backup, on defence keep most of their young players but get a partner for Wereinski, and in the forward group move a few players out and bring in some younger players as well as resigning pending RFA Laine, do all of this and I believe they have a shot at the playoffs next year.