CBJ - The Roster

Here is our uneducated, best guesses at attempting to predict what the Columbus Blue Jackets roster will look like once the regular season gets started.  DISCLAIMER - We may be wrong.

We will start from the back end and work our way forwards.  If you don't know hockey, that means goalies, followed by defensemen, followed by the forwards.  Ages will follow each name to highlight just how young this squad is.

Goalies

Spoiler - it's the Bob show.  The team will lean heavily on Sergei Bobrovsky (24), he of his new $11.25 million deal.  The 2013 Vezina Trophy winner will be counted to build off of last season's success.  It is very tough (read: virtually impossible) for goalies in the modern era to have back-to-back seasons with save percentages .930 or better.  Can Bob do it again? The team certainly hopes so.

Curtis McElhinney (30) was slated to be the backup, but an injury may force Mike McKenna (also 30) up to Columbus to hold down the fort, or should I say bench as Bob will be starting for quite a few games.  Jeremy Smith (24) is also on the mix, but probably on the outside looking in.

Defensemen

The blue line is very deep as the team feels very good about their first nine to ten guys on the back end.  But only six dress for each game with the option of scratching a seventh.

Locks:

The top line duo will almost certainly be Jack Johnson (26) and Fedor Tyutin (30).  Both guys bring a solid two way game and should excel on the power play.

Penciled in as the second pairing are two shutdown defensemen - Dalton Prout (23) and Nikita Nikitin (27).  Prout led the team in +/- last year as a rookie with a +15 rating through 28 games.  Nikitin struggled a bit last year after a breakout 2011-2012 season.

The last "lock" is James Wisniewski (29).  Wiz is somewhat injury-prone in his career, but provides much needed offense on the blue line as well as toughness on the back end.  He is a power play specialist for a unit that was dreadful last year.

On the Bubble:

The sixth and final spot could very well be 2012 No. 2 overall pick Ryan Murray (20).  Murray was injured before the NHL season began last year and has had a long road back from shoulder surgery.  He has been paired with Wiz in the preseason several times.

Tim Erixon (22) has some NHL experience and could very well be starting come Opening Night.  Erixon was acquired in the Rick Nash trade.

There are two other guys knocking on the door - Cody Goloubef (23) who scored his first NHL goal last season, and Ilari Melart (24).  Melart was a free-agent signing from Finland in the offseason, but he may need extra time to adjust to the NHL's smaller rinks.

Out:

We have David Savard (22) pegged as an odd man out.  He did not look ready when he was called up during last year's playoff push in April.  Will Weber (24) is another young player who is just on the outside of the top six.

-An interesting note is that even though both Goloubef and Savard were resigned this summer, they would have to clear waivers to get to Springfield under the new CBA rules.  This could complicate matters for the team as the regular season approaches.

Forwards

Here is something you're not used to saying in Columbus - the Jackets have a lot of depth among their forwards.  While the details of who will be playing at LW remains unanswered, there is a pretty clear picture of who will be starting against Calgary, barring any further injuries.

Locks:
 
Artem Anisimov (25), Cam Atkinson (24), Matt Calvert (23), Blake Comeau (27), Brandon Dubinsky (27), Nick Foligno (25), Marian Gaborik (31), Boone Jenner (20), Ryan Johansen (21), Mark Letestu (28), and R.J. Umberger (31) will likely be in the lineup on October 4th.

That is 11 of the 12 forwards spots.  Both Derek MacKenzie (32) and Jared Boll (27) are battling injuries but would likely start if healthy on Opening Night.  Do not forget Nathan Horton (28), who should be ready to go by December.

On the Bubble:

Jack Skille (26), Michael Chaput (21), Cody Bass (26), Ryan Craig (31 - Springfield's captain last season), Jonathan Marchessault (22), and Sean Collins (24) make up that group that is just on the outside looking in.  Many will likely see time if injuries occur.  Skille will have to clear waivers to get to Springfield - a similar situation to Savard and Goloubef.


That is where the roster sits right now.  This could change at any moment due to injuries of course.  The Jackets will likely have one of the youngest teams in the NHL this season as Adrian Aucoin and Vinny Prospal are not back this year - both were pushing 40.  The Jackets, by not resigning Prospal, are the only team in the NHL that does not have their leading point scorer back from last year.  They are counting on the young guys to pick up that slack and score "by committee."  It remains to be seen if all that youth and potential can translate into wins this season.