According to Bob McKenzie the Blue Jackets are closing in on a two year deal with NCAA free agent Sam Vigneault of Clarkson University.
The deal will be not be done until after the season however as Vigneault will sign an amateur try out contract and report to Cleveland.
This is the same thing that Zach Werenski did last year. What this does is allows players to play professionally without burning a year of an entry level contract. Usually players want to burn that year so they are closer to becoming free agents, but this is starting to become more of a trend.
The Blue Jackets officially announced the signing this morning.
The Blue Jackets have had lots of interest in Vigneault. He took part in their prospect camp in the summer and they even sent John Tortorella to a Clarkson game.
We didn’t put it together at the time but now it’s clear they had a lot of interest in this player. He fits that mould of what the Blue Jackets are trying to do. He’s a big 6’5 centre who has some skill. Looking through the numbers they are underwhelming for what you expect from a typical college free agent.
Vigneault put up 12 goals and 24 assists in 39 games. Those 36 points have him in a tie for 40th in NCAA scoring. For comparison, Zach Aston-Reese just signed by the Penguins, led the NCAA in scoring with 63 points in 38 games. As with most things there is more to it than meets the eye.
I am fortunate to be a apart of the Buckeye State Hockey Slack chat and in that chat is one Matt Souva (
@zekebud). Matt is a Clarkson Alum who remains a follower and fan of the team. I asked Matt for some of his thoughts on Vigneault, here what he had to say:
He's not an obvious NHLer (i.e., he was never at point per game in his college career), so I think there's work left. However, he's been on a roster with no other obvious offensive talent his entire career (save a slight bump this season)
In person, he's come across as super impressive creatively and as a skater, but with nobody to help him do anything (nobody to set up, nobody to set him up).
Well this makes things much more exciting. This provides some context as to why Vigneault didn’t put up gaudy offensive numbers. It is quite difficult at any level to do everything by yourself. When he gets to the AHL he will have some very good teammates and perhaps that will open up his offensive game.
With that in mind taking a deeper dive into the numbers, Vigneault starts to look better. Vigneault did a lot of his damage at even strength, including scoring 11 of his 12 goals. His 22 even strength points tied him for 34th in the NCAA with notable names Clayton Keller and Henrik Borgstrom, both first round picks this past draft. His EV points per game is 0.56, right around Colin White (0.58) and Tage Thompson (0.53). With all these comparison’s there is an experience and age factor at play. Vigneault is older and played more years in the NCAA. Vigneault was not a first round pick like those four and isn’t a top prospect.
What he is is a depth prospect and one you would expect to fill a depth role at the NHL level. The Jackets are very fond of this type of player; look at other players they have signed in Jordan Maletta, and Justin Scott, players they have drafted in Keegan Kolesar and Calvin Thurkauf, they are all the same, big with some skill. I use this comparison a lot but it works, these are all Josh Anderson type of players. If they work out they end up as players who can play lower in the line-up and chip in some goals and points here and there.
This is a no risk move. If he works out great, there’s a free prospect. If not he end up playing out his two year deal in the AHL or ECHL and then both parties move on. Looking at what Vigneault has done in the NCAA he has a long way to go still. Even if he taps into some of that offensive upside in the AHL, he is still at least a year away and probably more from seeing the NHL. Getting him in to AHL games this year will be good for him to help get him adjusted to his new team and new league.
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