It has been a busy week for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Aftering acquiring Ivan Provorov on Tuesday, the Blue Jackets pulled off a rare sign and trade, acquiring defenseman, Damon Severson, from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a 2023 third-round pick. They then immediately inked Severson to an eight-year extension with an average annual value of $6.25 million.
Now Severson will be a big upgrade to the Blue Jackets’ defensive core, which was horrible last year. Severson is coming off a very strong season, scoring 7 goals and 22 assists giving him 33 points on the year. Sure those aren’t eye-popping numbers but points scoring has never been Severson’s MO. He’s a two-way defenseman, whose physical style of play makes the Blue Jackets a much tougher team. His style of play will also mesh well with Provorov, making the Blue Jackets’ second pairing drastically better than last year.
What These Trades Mean for the Next Season
However, the biggest surprise of these trades is the direction of the Blue Jackets. These trades make it seem that the Blue Jackets are going to try to compete next year. This is surprising considering they had the second-worst record in the league last season. It seemed like the Blue Jackets were more likely to sell this offseason. And they have some pieces that would be interesting for the rest of the league. Players like Johnny Gaudreau, Patrik Laine, and Adam Boqvist, all would’ve landed the Blue Jackets a nice return.
Instead, however, the Blue Jackets have surprised everyone in the hockey community, and have put themselves in a position to compete next year. They are instead targeting all the points of weakness on this roster. Defesenman was the biggest area of need for this team. They had interesting young prospects but they were unproven and not something they can rely on. However, Provorov and Severson provide veteran experience and take a lot of pressure off the young guys. They aren’t going to be asked to carry this defensive core, giving them the ability to develop at their own rate.
Now the Blue Jackets have to pivot towards improving other areas of this team. Most specifically the center spot and goaltender. The center position is now the biggest area of concern on this roster now that the defense is figured out. Outside of Boone Jenner, there is a lot to be desired out of the center spot. They also need to look into acquiring a new goaltender. The combination of Elvis Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov is not enough for a team that thinks they can compete. Regardless of their next move, it’s going to be a very interesting offseason for the Blue Jackets.
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