Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

The Blue Jackets' defense is actually good

January 24, 2017, 12:15 PM ET [3 Comments]
Paul Berthelot
Columbus Blue Jackets Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Defense has been a sore spot for the Blue Jackets in recent seasons.

They have been desperate for a puck mover and have looked in all the wrong places – see Johnson, Jack. Ryan Murray who was selected 2nd overall in 2012, was supposed to come in and change the d-core with strong two-way play. While Murray’s been a fine player he hasn’t had the impact he was expected too. Everything changed though this past year when the Blue Jackets traded for Seth Jones. He was the stud defensemen the team had been looking for. They then supplemented him with rookie phenom and elite puck mover, Zach Werenski. Now the Jackets not only have a competent NHL defence they have one of the better ones in the NHL.

Carolyn Wilkie of FanRag Sports posted charts of every team’s defence unit this season and looking at the Blue Jackets you can see the success they have been having.




What this shows is players have performed relative to their role. For example Jones and Werenski are on the Blue Jackets top pair and play the most minutes. They are compared to other top pairs across the league. The chart shows how each defencemen is being used and the success they are having.

John Tortorella has continued to use Johnson and David Savard in a shutdown type of role giving them more defensive zone starts. This is nothing new for that pair but this is the first season in which they have found success in that role. They have been much more effective with less ice-time. Savard has been incredible this season, as Carolyn notes, he is the only player to be in the “buried thriving” quadrant. He’s a massive impact on the team and his loss should not be understated. Hopefully he doesn’t miss too many more games.

At the top you can see the three Jackets who are sheltered the most. Werenski and Markus Nutivaara are rookies so it would make sense to want to give them an easier time when possible. Jones could certainly handle tougher match-ups but by playing with Werenski he gets put into more of a sheltered role as well.

Murray’s spot on the graph is quite interesting. He’ pretty much right in the middle by himself. This shows how he's becoming a strong two-way defencemen. In the last month or so he's been used in both a sheltered role and a buried role. Early in games he's been on third pair alongside Nutivaara and played against weaker competition. Late in games if the Jackets are defending a lead, Murray has been bumped up to play alongside Jones on the top pair and played a shutdown role. Murray is a very versatile player and his usage is showing that.

From watching the Jackets it’s clear they are a much better defensive team than last season. They do a much better job at getting the puck out of the zone and don’t get hemmed nearly as often or as long as they did in past seasons. Players are in new roles and are having success. This isn’t ground-breaking information but it’s good to see the numbers and the eye-test line up and tell the same story.

You can follow me on Twitter @PaulBerthelot
Join the Discussion: » 3 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Paul Berthelot
» Blue Jackets extend John Tortorella
» Blue Jackets extend Hockey Operations Staff
» Thoughts on the Blue Jackets Traverse City roster
» How the Blue Jackets can get more national coverage
» Just how bad is the Blue Jackets prospect system?