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Blue Jackets Roster Complete-How Will They Lineup? Part 1

July 7, 2011, 8:30 AM ET [ Comments]
Eric Smith
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Now that the Blue Jackets have added Radek Martinek to a one year, $2.2 million dollar contract and round out the blue line corp; most believe general manager Scott Howson is done at the market. With that, the paint is on the canvass but what will the picture look like when the Jackets take the ice this fall?

I will be doing a three part breakdown of how the Blue Jackets should look when they open up the 2011/2012 season. You did notice the word “should,” which means it may not be the exact way it does turn out but in my opinion it should be. The reason is I don't care about good guys or the contract situation. If all is even then that may sway my opinion but I want the best lineup on the ice, shift in and shift out.

We will start with the forwards as the addition of Jeff Carter got the train rolling in the transition of the Blue Jackets this summer. Without further delay.

1st Line:

Left Wing – Rick Nash --- Center – Jeff Carter --- Right Wing – Kristian Huselius

This actually isn't the best top line that can go out but it's the alignment that needs to be there to finish the lineup down the line. The line has been that Nash has always needed a top line center to take his game to the elite level. He has that now with Jeff Carter. To say it's a perfect fit would not be completely true either. Jeff Carter was third in the league with 335 shots on net and Rick Nash was sixth in the league with 305 shots. Last time I checked they still only play with one puck so there needs to be a guy out there to pass these guys the puck and get out of the way.

Is Huselius the best set up guy? Not exactly but will Huselius benefit most from the Jeff Carter trade? He just might as there will be plenty of space on the ice as teams will concentrate on Carter and Nash. The last time Huselius had similar talent around him was the last two years he was in Calgary where he put up 77 points and 66 points respectively. Can Huselius be a 30 goal and 40 assist guy like he did? Head coach Scott Arniel would be happy with 25 goals and 45 assist man if he can stay healthy this season.

Possible stats:

Rick Nash – 35 goals – 45 assists – 80 points
Jeff Carter – 35 goals – 35 assists – 70 points
Kristian Huselius – 20 goals – 40 assists – 60 points

2nd Line:

Left Wing – R.J. Umberger --- Center – Derick Brassard --- Right Wing – Ryan Johansen

This is where I probably go away from the normal logic that is out there at what the second line will be. Derick Brassard will center this line as he started to take the next step in his career last year. He did spend much of that on a line with Nash and the now former Blue Jacket Jakub Voracek so it will be interesting to see if he can continue to develop without the help of a super-star player on his flank. Brassard is a distributor and will be looking set the table for others. It will be important to surround him with guys with some size and finishing ability.

R.J. Umberger doesn't always look pretty doing his job on the ice but he just gets it done. 25 goals and 32 assists last year while being used all over the place and again he showed up for work every night 82 times like he has done now for all three seasons he has played for Columbus. What's always consistent is how many goals that he will put up for the union blue. In three years he has scored 26, 23 and 25 goals. One of the most valuable thing to a coach is consistency and Umberger is the model for it both in production, health, effort and leadership.

Ryan Johansen is a prized prospect that the organization doesn't want to rush yet they are in a tough spot with him. He's not going to gain anything going back to Portland and playing another year of juniors. He's also too young to play in the AHL based off their rules as he won't turn 19 until July 31st. That puts the most likely place for him in the NHL. You don't want to make him a bottom six forward and have him checking and banging all over the place. A way for Arniel to help ease him into the NHL is to start him off at wing so he won't have the same responsibilities as he will when he is center. Johansen piled up 40 goals and 52 assists last year on a loaded Winterhawks team. If he could put up half that amount in his rookie year, he may be in the running for the Calder Trophy.

Possible Stats:

R.J. Umberger – 25 goals – 30 assists – 55 points
Derick Brassard – 20 goals – 35 assists – 55 points
Ryan Johansen – 20 goals – 25 assists – 45 points

3rd Line:

Left Wing – Matt Calvert --- Center – Antoine Vermette --- Right Wing – Derek MacKenzie

Arniel has toyed with the idea of having three scoring lines but never had the horses to come anywhere close to being able to achieve it. He still doesn't but he's closer and it will help with having Antoine Vermette line up at center on that third line. It's a perfect spot for him as he is an elite face-off man and is very defensively reliable. Vermette still can be a 20 goal guy in this spot but he will take on a more defensive roll.

Matt Calvert came on like a ball of fire in February after entering the lineup at the beginning of January. He put up eight of his 11 goals in February including a hat trick but scored only one goal over the final 21 games. It's not due to a lack of effort as he plays a game similar to R.J. Umberger just in a smaller package. Calvert will never be a 40 goal guy but he won't be a slouch either and should be able to hit the 20 goal mark if he's lined up with Vermette. Both have good speed and will be able to work together to generate opportunities.

Derek MacKenzie may have been the most pleasant surprise of last season leading the team with a plus 14 rating. MacKenzie is a very reliable player that is also just as versitile. Putting him on the wing won't be that big of an adjustment and would add another good face off guy during the times when Vermette gets tossed out of the circle. MacKenzie didn't get that plus 14 rating by accident and Arniel can rely on him when he has to line him up against top lines.

Possible Stats:

Matt Calvert – 18 goals – 18 assists – 36 points
Antoine Vermette – 20 goals – 25 assists – 45 points
Derek MacKenzie – 12 goals – 18 assists = 30 points

4th Line:

Left Wing – Maksim Mayorov --- Center – Samuel Pahlsson --- Right Wing – Jared Boll

Samuel Pahlsson is entering his final year of his contract and none too soon. Pahlsson has never lived up to the third line shutdown centerman that Howson had invisioned. He still is a good penalty kill guy and is good at the face off dot but with his lack of skating speed and no threat at all of scoring he can no longer be on the ice for 15 minutes a game any longer. At this point in his career he is a penalty kill specialist that will be used in spot duty when a big face off in the defensive zone is needed.

There is a lot of things about Jared Boll's game that leave much to be desired but his willingness to go out and thump other teams, be a pest and allow his brains to get beat in when he drops the gloves is the type of player you need on an energy line. For the eight minutes of ice time that he will get, he will give you all that he has, aggitate the other side and an enforcer type player is still needed to help protect the ever increasing skill on the squad.

Maksim Mayorov is a prime example of taking your time. letting a player grow up and learn the professional game. Mayorov looks to be ready to take the next step and move into a more permanent role with the big club. He's a big boy at 6'2” and 215 pounds and can throw his body around when needed. He also has some skill and at least will threaten to score from time to time.

Possible Stats:

Samuel Pahlsson – 5 goals – 10 assists – 15 points
Jared Boll – 5 goals – 7 assists – 13 points
Maksim Mayorov – 7 goals – 10 assists – 17 points

I'm sure one of the first thing people will say is where is Derek Dorsett in that lineup? Personnally, I think Dorsett is great. Big effort and squeezes everything he can out of his talent. I also have some problems with the timing of his fights and some bad penalties that he will take. Put on top of that a minus 15 rating last year and I just can't afford to have him part of the normal lineup. The skill and ability of the home grown talent has caught up with Dorsett.

Cam Atkinson was the hit of the prospect camp and most know that I have a man crush with the sniper from Boston College. He is a guy that barely tipped his toe in the professional game last year in Springfield. Most feel that he is a fascinating possibiltity to join the big club and you can believe in camp he will do everything to make it a tough decision but my guess is that he will be a mid-season call up similar to Matt Calvert last year and once he gets here won't leave anytime soon.

Tomas Kubalik is another player that is a top six type player that will push for a spot on this club. Kubalik had a great year with the Falcons last season putting up 24 goals and 53 points and also scored on 4 out of 6 shoot-out attempts which is something the Blue Jackets could use. At 6'3”and 215 pounds, the Czech has started to fill out his body and might be ready to make the next step.

There are my attempt at being coach for the Blue Jackets, what would you do?
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