Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

The Columbus Blue Jackets Will Need Help At Center

04/23/2016 at 3:14pm EDT

from Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe,

Columbus has five assets any franchise would want: an ace goalie in Sergei Bobrovsky, three up-and-coming defensemen in Seth Jones, Ryan Murray, and Zach Werenski, and a go-to, ring-winning left wing in Brandon Saad. They are foundational pieces of a championship team.

The trouble that president John Davidson and GM Jarmo Kekalainen face is the inability to surround the young core with complementary players, especially at center. They have themselves to blame because of the liberal opening of their checkbooks.

Next year, the Blue Jackets will have $21.35 million invested in Nick Foligno, Brandon Dubinsky, Scott Hartnell, and David Clarkson. Fourth-liners Jared Boll and Gregory Campbell will carry a total cap hit of $3.2 million.

Collectively, it’s too much for a team that traded away No. 1 pivot Ryan Johansen for Jones — a good trade, for sure, but one that created an opening the Jackets might not be able to fill without shedding salary.

It’s possible that Alexander Wennberg, the team’s first-round pick in 2013, develops into a top-two center as a third-year pro in 2016-17. But the Jackets don’t have other young pivots ready to contribute next season.

a bit more on the Blue Jackets plus other hockey topics...

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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