Wait a minute General; I'm not saying that Tyler Johnson is going to lead the CBJ to the cup, but over the last several seasons he averaged about 20 goals and 25 assists. Wouldn't you be willing to take Johnson + a 1st or 2nd round pick in exchange for a 5th round pick back to TBL? Those are the kind of deals some teams will have to make to get back under the [fixed] cap.

I'm going to try not to over react to V2's disappointing stats after 12 games. I have no idea what kind of system JYP plays: If it is "run & gun" then GAA and SV% are less meaningful. (OK, it's an extreme example, but HOF Grant Fuhr has a life time SV% = .887 and a GAA = 3.38.)

We also don't know what kind of defensive talent V2 has in front of him. It could be a little like the shelling Bob took when he went to the Panthers.

As we learned last year, injuries are a fact of life in the NHL, so having a defenseman at the AHL level that can come up to be the 7th, or 6th D on short notice is a pretty important (depth) role. If not Carlsson, who do you have penciled in for that role? Who is better in Cleveland? 

Similarly, if GM Jarmo doesn't think Carlsson can fill that role, why would he eliminate organization depth at the position by trading two proven NHL defensemen for not much more than a bag of pucks? 

Finally, if Carlsson didn't think he could make it to the NHL, why wouldn't he just go back home and make a living in the SHL?

A couple of additional thoughts:

1. I can't believe how far Carlsson has fallen on this list, although fan lists can be a bit fickle (compared to scouting services). Hopefully a solid year as #7 or #8 D man will give him enough time in the NHL to better determine his ceiling.

2. It's never too early to think ahead to the expansion draft in about nine months. The Hockey Guy posted an interesting video yesterday that identified Kukan as our young player most vulnerable to potentially losing to Seattle. Surprisingly, he also suggested that Kivlenieks was a "sleeper" as a potential loss.

3. Doggy's top six is maybe a little too conservative IMO. I believe the top nine + Carlsson can make a contribution at the NHL level.

Due to the cross border travel restrictions for this Covid driven season, I thought the plan was for an all Canadian division, This would drive a one-time three to five division set up in the United States clustered around geography.

The youngsters will be fine. They all have the physical attributes, skill and the development to contribute to a strong top-to-bottom team defense.

This article seems a bit negative. The CBJ are probably not one of the top top five teams, but they are arguably a top ten NHL team. What separates the elite from the merely good is the luck to be at the top of the draft when a generational player is available. Then if the team is really lucky, they will continue to suck sufficiently so they can then draft a strong supporting cast. (I'm looking straight at you Pittsburgh and you too Toronto.) 

The Blue Jackets are good, perhaps even very good, so that is a long way from "mediocre." They are just not elite.  

Not yet. His contract expires at the end of this coming season. Cross the bridge after this season.

So, I'm a little surprised GM Jarmo hasn't been able to include at least a season of UFA for either of the last two important contracts. I wonder if in the "fixed cap era" player agents are pushing back more aggresively on that point. 

I wish Gus all the best for a full recovery!

The last CBJ game of the playoffs was eleven weeks before surgery however, so I am hoping the press or the club can shed a little light on the reason for the delay.

Yikes...An update on my post of a couple of hours ago, mentioning that injuries would give Bemstrom an opportunity. Well, I just saw an [unconfirmed] report that Nyquist had shoulder surgery and could be out five months. That takes us to the end of March, so Let's call it most of the regular season. 

All of sudden, just like that, we have a vacancy on the top six.

I also thought $1.79M was a little low for Gavrikov given his solid first season. I would think GM Jarmo would be willing to accept $2M or maybe even a little more, like $2.25M if that is what it took to get a deal done. I see him as better than Kukan, so I don't mind paying Gavvy a premium over Kuks contract. The two year term sounds about right for both sides.

PLD is more of a challenge and it would be interesting to understand where the two parties are and how far apart they are currently. As good as PLD is, going all the way to $7M sounds a little high at this point of his career. Somewhere between $6M and $6.5M would get PLD to about 8% of the cap. Both data points compare favorably to the information provided in the grid. if that meant he was only willing to sign for five or six years instead of seven, that would be a reasonable trade off (and still gives the CBJ a year or two of his UFA prime).

Not to worry...there will be plenty of injuries, so even if he starts in Cleveland, he will get chances to play on the top six here. 

Turnover is the nature of pro sports. The key in a static, salary cap world is whether the youngsters can step up or the GM can use the freed-up cap space to replace those that move on with quality players.

General, I think you are on to something. When you look at the fixed cap, important RFAs that have yet to sign and expensive veterans with NTC or NMC, Tampa is also in a real salary cap bind.

It will look like the Thursday night beer league. :-)

Bottom Line: It's nice (and probably overdue) for the CBJ to get recognition and respect from national and Canadian sources for the good work done here over the last four seasons.

All good points. Still, when I see Texier projected to be on the first line, even though he is full of potential, I still feel like the team is one goal scoring left winger away from really being one of the better NHL teams.

Just more evidence that it is a big jump from the AHL to NHL. Lots of guys get stuck in that bind. Nothing is guaranteed, which is why the CBJ need a robust pipeline.

No flack from this corner. You could be spot on. In that context, the Koivu signing makes more sense.

I started to get the same [uneasy] feeling when I posted a question on the forum a few days ago. (Whether or not, given the economic realities of the pandemic, if GM Jarmo was directed to put the best team on the ice that he could for about $72M)

No disagreement here either...that sounds about right and a reasonable way to proceed for both parties.

That is prudent, but it seems like the new and improved "Torts 2.0" learned from his past errors and has a longer shelf life than the Torts we knew a decade ago.

As the league tries to get in as many games as possible over a compressed season, every team may need to rely on two goaltenders much more than in a more normal season.

Since the Blue Jackets have a #1 and #1A goaltender as opposed to a clear #1 that is much better than the #2 goaltender, it is possible the CBJ are built perfectly for the reality of the 2020-2021 season (in goal at least).

I'm slightly more optimistic that Philly Buckeye; I'm thinking more likely somewhere between 5th and 7th seed in the East.

My guess (if the CBJ don't pick up another UFA scoring forward) Is that Bemmer stays as our 13th forward and Stens & Robby (waiver exempt I believe) are shuttled between Cleveland and Columbus as needed.