Game #1 Preview: One more start

Thursday, October 10, 2024 – 8:00 p.m. EDT
Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
TV: Bally Sports Ohio; Radio: 97.1 FM

Columbus Blue Jackets

at

Minnesota Wild

After a long and tumultuous offseason, it's finally time to start a new Blue Jackets season. Most forecasters expect the team to finish at the bottom of the table in the 24th season as well. Nevertheless, there is reason for hope for the future. The team enters the season with a new general manager and president of hockey operations, Don Waddell, and a new head coach, Dean Evason. Both had success in their previous assignments (Carolina and Minnesota, respectively) and were able to do more with less. What they inherited is a core of exciting young talent ready to take another step forward, led by players like Adam Fantilli, Kirill Marchenko, Kent Johnson and Cole Sillinger.

Player to keep an eye on

Kirill Kaprizov

Evason's Minnesota teams were known for their tenacity and physicality, but also featured an exciting and highly productive talent player. Kaprizov arrived from Russia at the age of 23 and scored 160 goals and 170 points in 278 games over his four seasons. Closing his line is the key to winning against the Wild.

There was some excitement in Kaprizov this week after team owner Craig Leipold quoted the following:

“Am I convinced that we can persuade him to stay?” No,” says Leipold. “Am I convinced that we will have a better offer than anyone else in the league? The answer is yes.”

Kaprizov has two years left on his contract ($9 million AAV) but is eligible for an extension after July 1 next summer.

Notes on jackets

This team didn't need any more setbacks, but it did suffer a few big setbacks last week: Dmitri Voronkov was injured in the second-to-last preseason game, and Boone Jenner suffered an injury of his own in practice the next day. It is the policy of the new management not to reveal details of injuries or their timeline, but it is reported that both players will be out for months rather than weeks. Jenner's could be even more serious… I understand why the team is pursuing this policy, but I think it's a mistake as it now serves to instill even more fear in an already emotionally damaged fan base. After two straight years of injury hell and the death of Johnny Gaudreau, the fifth line can't be blamed for expecting the worst until we hear something more concrete… Little time was wasted bringing in experienced reinforcements. Initially, Kevin Labanc received a one-year contract. He had played PTO with the New Jersey Devils in the preseason, but that meant he was still free to sign with another team. New Jersey would have had to waive him for cap reasons, but the Jackets were able to offer him not only an immediate spot on the NHL roster, but also a role in the top six… On Monday, the Blue Jackets acquired Zach Aston -Reese on waivers on waivers from the Vegas Golden Knights. Aston-Reese is a fourth-line player but an excellent defender. His arrival allows James Malatesta to return to Cleveland where he can get more minutes… One final note on the projected lineups: Don't panic about the potential Jack Johnson/Erik Gudbranson third pairing. Yes, it looks bad. Yes, it will probably be a bad pairing. But it's just a game. With 8 D on the roster, there's a good chance these two will rotate frequently with Jordan Harris and David Jiricek. If 3/44 are still playing as a pair by Thanksgiving, that either means they've unexpectedly gotten better or things have gone horribly wrong for the rest of the defense.

The other bank

This week, the Wild signed promising young goaltender Jesper Wallstedt to a two-year, $2.2 million AAV contract extension that begins next season. But for now he's promoted to third goalkeeper, behind Filip Gustavsson and the somehow still-playing Marc-Andre Fleury… A second player to keep an eye on is Brock Faber, the 22-year-old defender. He scored 47 points in his rookie season and finished ahead of Connor Bedard in Calder Trophy voting. Hopefully Evason can develop guys like Jiricek and Denton Mateychuk in a similar way… Evason was fired by the Wild after 19 games last season. It's probably best to leave the return journey early. The rematch is also just over a week away.

Season series

10/10/2024 CBJ @ MIN
10/19/2024 MIN @ CBJ

statistics

(Season 2023-24)

Projected lines

Columbus Blue Jackets

Minnesota Wild