Another trip to Pittsburgh. Another loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Columbus Blue Jackets at PPG Paints Arena. But yet that’s not the biggest story coming from this game in my sight.
The Blue Jackets played a better game overall but still fell short in the end. They lost 3-2 to the Penguins thanks to an early third period goal by Drew O’Connor on a quick give and go play. The Blue Jackets had some chances to tie but could never find the equalizer. It ruined a strong outing by goaltender Daniil Tarasov.
The story of this game was not the individual loss. The Blue Jackets have suffered more than their fair share of losses this season. Their loss on Thursday marked their 50th loss of the season combined regulation and overtime.
The story coming from this game was visibly seeing how frustrated everyone involved with the Blue Jackets was. To a man, the reality of the situation is wearing on the players and staff. While there might be nine games to go in the season, the uncertainty of what’s next puts a lot of things into question, even some of which we may not have thought of before.
Impact of GM Search
The Blue Jackets are playing out the string without a general manager. While the search is ongoing, John Davidson is running Hockey Operations. He knows that massive changes could be coming based on their decision on who to hire as GM.
The domino effect of this cannot be understated. Josh Flynn and Basil McRae are currently the assistant GM’s. However the Blue Jackets are looking externally for candidates. What do their futures hold? What about the rest of the hockey operations staff?
Any decision the new GM can make leaves the current staff in an uncertain place. Some may be retained. But if prior history suggests anything, the GM will bring a lot of their own people in who they think will help execute the plan.
Quite frankly, it may be what’s needed in order to get the Blue Jackets out of the gutter. What they’ve tried the last couple of seasons hasn’t worked.
Roster Not Safe
Let’s pretend for one second you are the new GM of the Blue Jackets. You’ve never been associated with them before but you come in and evaluate everything and everyone on the team. You likely will see things different than the current staff. As the head decision maker, it’s well within your right to make changes as you see fit.
This means literally every player, with the exception of a couple at most, is up for a decision. Is Johnny Gaudreau’s contract better off being moved despite his no-move clause? What about the veterans on the team? Do they want to be a part of a build where it might take a few years to get back on the right path?
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Then how does the new GM look at the current prospect pool? While it’s considered good by many in the industry, there could be some important differences in how the GM thinks. Perhaps one or more are movable to build a better team?
Those are the kind of questions that everyone should be asking. The impact of the new GM hiring will have lasting ramifications. Everyone knows it. It’s just a matter of time before that reality strikes.
In talking to Zach Werenski on Thursday and then talking to other players about things on the team, one thing is abundantly clear. They are sick and tired of losing. They are sick and tired of the status quo. The loss in Pittsburgh was simply more of the same of late. And it’s exhausting for them.
Changes Will Be Coming
Fans are always looking for emotions from the team especially when things are not going well. They want to see frustration. They want to see how much they care. The one thing I can assure you is that the team cares and everyone wants to win. It’s just the current makeup is not working.
Change is coming soon. The Blue Jackets will have a new GM running the show. It will be their path and their vision towards building a championship team. But until then, they have nine games left to play. To Vincent’s credit, the team hasn’t quit on their effort. The room is in a good place. While that’s good for him, it may not be enough to eventually save his job.
Reality has set in. The Blue Jackets are about to chart a new course for themselves. But we may be underestimating how much change is coming. The looks on the faces and the tones of their voices said it all.
Virtually nobody is safe on the Blue Jackets. With just a 31% win rate (48 wins in 155 games dating back to the start of the 2022-23 season), nobody deserves to be safe. Major change is needed on multiple fronts.