How To Fix: Columbus Blue Jackets

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Athletic Hockey Show – "How To Fix: Columbus Blue Jackets"

Date: July 22, 2026
Hosts: Sean McIndew, Sean Portzline ("Portsy")
Theme: Deep-dive autopsy of the Columbus Blue Jackets: dissecting their drama-filled offseason, roster decisions, and what it will take for the organization to turn the corner.

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Sean McIndew and Sean Portzline attempt to "fix" the Columbus Blue Jackets as part of their summer series diagnosing NHL teams most in need of change. The discussion opens with the blue line drama (especially the Zach Werenski saga) and moves through franchise leadership, forward depth, contract negotiations, and the goaltending conundrum, culminating in the perennial big question: Has Columbus actually improved, and can they finally break through as a playoff threat?

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1. Defensive Drama & Zach Werenski’s Uncertain Future

Timestamps: [01:36]–[08:31]

• Unusual Start: The Blue Jackets’ blue line shapes the conversation, with Werenski at the heart of a wild, rumor-filled offseason.
• Trade Saga: There was, in fact, a trade with Dallas that only fell apart due to Werenski invoking his no-move clause ([02:40] Portsy: “He was traded to Dallas, Sean, before he…put his no-move clause in and said, ‘No, no, I want to stay in Columbus.’ The fact that he did that, I think gives what I’m telling you some heft here.”).
• Misinformation & Fallout: The scenario escalated due to mixed signals both inside and outside the organization—a combination of agent talk, club messaging, and media amplification.
• Werenski’s Stance: He’s not angling for an immediate exit but makes clear that progress and winning are now prerequisites to him seeing out his contract.
  • Quote [07:49] McIndew: “‘I want to win and I want to do that in Columbus' is not the same as 'I want to be in Columbus...’ He’s gotta win.”
• Team Trajectory: Columbus must become competitive this year or risk losing their star. Summer moves so far haven’t reassured anyone that’s likely.

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2. Recalibrating Forward Depth, Leadership & Locker Room Identity

Timestamps: [08:31]–[15:17]

• Departures & Replacements: Key forwards Boone Jenner and Mason Marchment are out. Replacement value is debated, with Valeri Nichushkin expected to “kind of replace” Marchment and others stepping up internally.
• Culture Shock: Rick Bowness, the head coach, torched his own team over its accepting attitude toward losing in the season finale—foreshadowing big changes ([11:05] McIndew: “He was talking about the, the team culture and specifically guys being too okay with losing.”).
• Captaincy Conundrum: With Jenner out, who dons the "C"? Werenski, Coyle, Olivier—each has a case, but all options come with baggage.
  • Quote [13:38] Portsy: “Does Charlie Coyle…sign for 6 years…if he knew…Werenski wanted out? … Do you give it to Coyle? Is Coyle safe? Do you not give it to anybody? Do you give it to Matthew Olivier?”
• Changing the Room: Desire for a ‘louder’, more energized locker room; new additions like Ryan Lomberg are expected to stir things up.
  • Quote [15:10] Portsy: “They want to gas that room up a little bit where everyone’s taking their cues from the captain. Again, this isn’t right or wrong.”

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3. The Core: Adam Fantilli, RFA Politics & Marchenko’s Wild Card

Timestamps: [17:35]–[26:52]

Adam Fantilli

• Performance & Ceiling: Fantilli impresses in flashes, but questions remain about his consistency; data shows promise but not superstar numbers yet.
• Contract Situation: RFA negotiations are intentionally dragged out to create leverage, with July 1 and offer sheets looming larger in the modern NHL.
  • Quote [18:34] Portsy: “Hitting July 1st has become part of the strategy now for high end RFAs…The line between UFA and RFA has gotten smaller than I ever could have believed.”
• Expectations: Blue Jackets have cap room to match any offer, but both sides are playing a waiting game.

Kirill Marchenko

• Unexpected Drama: Marchenko’s contract issues were aired at the worst possible public and internal moment, causing panic among fans ([22:22] Portsy: “Not only was that announced at the worst time…literally the Blue Jackets are on the clock at the draft…So there goes that moment for the young lad and Blue Jackets fans…”).
• RFA Leverage: Like Fantilli, Marchenko is playing out the year before serious negotiation—expect no extension before season starts.
• Trade by Deadline?: Only if negotiations utterly collapse; more likely to play out the year and reassess before July 1.

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4. Goaltending: Jet Greaves, Elvis, and What Feels Like Déjà Vu

Timestamps: [28:46]–[36:08]

• Greaves’ Rise: Jet Greaves, an undrafted, low-hype prospect, has steadily climbed into the likely starting role, impressing at every stop.
  • Quote [31:12] Portsy: “He has played…in four separate seasons now in the NHL…he’s never looked out of place and he’s never gone through a drought.”
• Backup Headache: Elvis Merzlikins remains a weak spot (four straight years sub-.900 SV%). Despite this, management stood pat this summer—surprising many.
• Outlook: Greaves is expected to start 55-60 games if healthy; backup options are limited and Copley may compete for the No. 2 job.
  • Quote [34:57] Portsy: “I think 60 starts…that’s possible.”

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5. Big Picture: Have They Done Enough?

Timestamps: [36:08]–[41:49]

• Not Good Enough Yet: Both hosts agree the team hasn’t yet built a true playoff contender, let alone one that can retain Werenski long-term.
  • Quote [37:12] Portsy: “At this date, we’d have to say, no, they have not done enough.”
• More Hope Than Certainty: “Rebuild” optimism fades as the hard work begins. Internal improvement from young players is a must; relying solely on further development is a gamble.
  • “[38:32] Portsy: ‘The easiest part of a rebuild is to decide to do it. … Then it gets hard. It gets really hard.’”
• Playoff Odds: The Blue Jackets could sneak in if things break right and key players take steps forward, but the room for error is razor-thin.
  • “[41:27] Portsy: ‘…I wouldn’t throw any money on it because there’s just too much up in the air.’”
• Final Thought: The answer to “How to fix Columbus?” is still up for grabs—the hosts see plausible improvement, but the franchise remains a work in progress with a volatile, fascinating year ahead.

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Memorable Quotes

• [02:40] Portsy: “He was traded to Dallas, Sean, before he…put his no-move clause in and said, ‘No, no, I want to stay in Columbus.’”
• [07:49] McIndew: “‘I want to win and I want to do that in Columbus' is not the same as 'I want to be in Columbus…’ He’s gotta win.”
• [13:38] Portsy: “Does Charlie Coyle…sign for 6 years…if he knew…Werenski wanted out? … Do you give it to Coyle? Is Coyle safe? Do you not give it to anybody? Do you give it to Matthew Olivier?”
• [18:34] Portsy: “Hitting July 1st has become part of the strategy now for high end RFAs…The line between UFA and RFA has gotten smaller than I ever could have believed.”
• [31:12] Portsy: “He has played…in four separate seasons…he’s never looked out of place and he’s never gone through a drought…He is clearly the number one here.”
• [37:12] Portsy: “At this date, we’d have to say, no, they have not done enough.”
• [38:32] Portsy: “The easiest part of a rebuild is to decide to do it. … Then it gets hard. It gets really hard.”

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Key Segments & Timestamps

| Segment | Time | |------------------------------------------|-------------| | Blue Line Turmoil & Werenski | 01:36–08:31 | | Forwards, Locker Room, & Captaincy | 08:31–15:17 | | Adam Fantilli and RFA landscape | 17:35–22:22 | | Marchenko Drama | 22:22–26:52 | | Goaltending: Greaves/Elvis debate | 28:46–36:08 | | Big Picture: Playoffs? Rebuild Questions | 36:08–41:49 |

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Conclusion

The Bottom Line:
Columbus is stuck between eras: seasoned stars with a foot out the door and young talent begrudgingly waiting for their moment. The identity and direction of the team—on the ice and in the room—are still being written. For Blue Jackets fans, 2026-27 will be a pivotal year: progress is demanded, and much rides on the growth from within as the club decides which version of itself it really wants to be.

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Next Episode Tease: Sean Gentili and Max Bultman will try to fix the Detroit Red Wings.

Transcript

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[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

This is the athletic hockey show.

[Sean McIndew]

Hello, folks. Welcome back to the Athletic Hockey Show. I'm Sean McIndew, and we are rolling through our summer series here at the Athletic Hockey show, where myself and Sean Gentile and some others, we are figuring out how to fix some of the NHL teams out there. We've already fixed the Toronto Maple Leafs, so that's the good news. We got the tough one out of the way, but we're. We're not moving the degree of difficulty too far down because today we're going to tackle the Columbus Blue Jackets. And joining me is Ohio's. Ohio's finest airports line. How you doing, Portsy?

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Good, Sean. How you doing, man?

[Sean McIndew]

I'm doing good. I'm doing good. I would normally ask if you're keeping busy, but I know you have been. And here's. Here's what we're going to do. Normally, when you're talking about teams and their transactions and the pluses and minuses, there's. There's two ways you can do it. Normally you either build from the net out and you go goalie, defense, forwards. Or very often we start with the forwards and we work our way down. Forwards, defense, goalie. But the. The defense is always in the middle. Not today. We're breaking the rule. And we are going to start with the blue line because, Aaron, I don't know if you heard about this, but there's this. This guy, Zach Warrenski, right, plays for the Columbus Blue Jackets. And the big news with him is he still plays for the Columbus Blue Jackets. How long can we count on that? And how much of this kiss and makeup is. Is real and how much of it was maybe just hitting the pause button on a situation that seemed like it was spiraling out of control?

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Yeah. So, boy, there's a lot to get in here. In. Into here, which is probably good because the forwards and the. And the goalies are their own issues. He is a Blue Jacket. I think he will be a Blue Jacket well into this season. I, I think the next question mark pops up. If the Blue Jackets are out of the playoff race in at the trade deadline. Right. I think then it will be a fair time and you'll hear questions and of course it's possible. I think if they're as competitive as they want to be, I think he goes into next summer and then by July 1st of next summer, we'll have a real keen idea of how real this is. And I don't want to be naive here. I don't think I am. But I think a lot of that got out of control because of some miscommunication, either unintentional or intentional, either between Warrensky and his agent, between the agent and the Blue Jackets. The messages that some people received about what was going on were far different from what other people received. And the best I can tell, Orinsky's communication to the Blue Jackets was that he could not promise in two years that he was going to resign if he didn't start to see progress, more progress. They have made progress. They've gotten better in four straight years. But it's time to get like, really real. Not just try to get in, but pedal down, try to get in and do something. So this certainly wasn't a direct trade request again, as far as I can tell. And I, I don't ever think it was made clear directly to the Blue Jackets by the player that he would not resign or is planning to not resign. Which is why I think when it started to spiral and, and get out of control, the player was, was taken aback by how crazy and how quickly the Blue Jackets a fan base got agitated, how quickly the league had him traded. But to say that this was a, a media creation, if many have said, is absolutely ludicrous. I mean, the fact of the matter was he was traded to Dallas, Sean, before he right. Put his no move clause in and said I want to. No, no, I want to stay in Columbus. The fact that he did that, I think gives what I'm telling you some heft here. Again, he is not beholden to spending the rest of his career here. I'm not saying that. I'm not even saying he's going to spend the rest of his contract here. I just don't think he sees this right now as sirens blaring, red lights flashing. Got to get out of here like some others have. They have to start winning. They have to take a huge stride forward. And I think they need to start being more aggressive, and I think that's his feeling as well. So they didn't get much done this summer. That really blows you away, really. Their summer. How pleased you are, I think depends on how impressed you are with Valor Valerian as a player. So not huge strides this summer, I don't think, but the, there's still time between now and the trade deadline to do some things to maybe make this a. A team that is not just waiting to get in, but actually lifting off a bit.

[Sean McIndew]

Okay, so you've. You've teed up a bunch of fun stuff here.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Let's go.

[Sean McIndew]

Maybe fun's not the right word, depending on perspective. But so. So you're right. They. They had a deal with Dallas. So this is. I'm glad you mentioned that because, you know, this isn't even. Where there's smoke, there's fire. This is where there's fire.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

There's. Yeah, yeah.

[Sean McIndew]

There, there was a trade here and, you know, I'm, I'm, obviously, I spent a lot of my time in Toronto Maple Leaf Land, and it got to a point where it felt like there were. There, there was. I guess it was, I think, July 1, where it was like, okay, when are we going to hear that that not only had the Maple Leafs acquired Zach Rensky, but they've got him at some sort of discount because the Blue Jacket's hand is forced and they just had to move on. And, and then we got the, as I've said, sort of the kiss and make up statements. But I, I will just sort of highlight it because you, you talked about this. I'm looking at the statement from Zach Rensky and it talks about. Don and I have had an open and honest dialogue since the season ended. He expresses his frustration at how it's. It's come out. And then he says, I want to win and I want to do that in Columbus. Which is certainly reassuring when the alternative is get me out of here. I've played my last game. Right. But I will, I will point out, as you kind of already have, I want to win and I want to do it in Columbus is not the same as I want to be in Columbus or I want to spend the rest of my career in Columbus. I love it here. This and that. He's got to win. So given that, and given that this team didn't make the playoffs last year and given that there are some guys. And we'll talk about it, who have left. I mean, am I, am I crazy to say on paper this team is weaker right now than they were when the season ended.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

So I, I would rather have Nichin in my top six than Marchmont. But I, I think there's a debate there. I think there's also, I think there's also a necessary reliance on players that have been part of their rebuild here that it's a year early to give up on. Kent Johnson jumps off the page. Dimitri Baronkov, these guys kind of disappeared last year. Right. Do you trust that they're better on paper? I would say the idea that Boone Jenner is not here, Mason Marchman is not here, those are forward losses, big forward losses. I think the club is okay with those losses. Again, the shush can kind of replace his. Marchman, I think improves upon him. And I think Jenner, I think they were right to not go that length of term that Washington did. And I think they've got people that can fill in admirably for him. They saw him as a fourth line center and I think they also want to turn the room over. You may have heard Rick Bonus at the end of last season.

[Sean McIndew]

Yep.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

I think, and this is not putting it on Boone Jenner at all, but when you talk about a new culture, you can't just bring everything back. And they've done a lot of that. The one that really surprises me is that Elvis versus back.

[Sean McIndew]

I gotta say, first of all, as a Leafs fan, that's very confusing to me that you can't. Oh, you don't change the culture by bringing the exact same guys back here.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Yeah.

[Sean McIndew]

That's interesting. No, but I, I have to say like that is the other. Before all the Warrensky stuff happened, I used to, I do a column every year at the end of the off season called the Bizarro Meter where I go through and I say what team has had the weirdest off season.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Yeah.

[Sean McIndew]

Spoiler alert. Columbus is going to rank pretty high I think on that one by the time it's all said and done. But even before we. The fact that Rick Bonus at that. It was the season finale. Right. Last game of the year and he gets up there and he kind of goes scorched earth on his own team at the time, not even knowing if he would be back.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean McIndew]

And. And it wasn't, you know, it wasn't really the traditional way to, to audition for getting your job back is to lay way. But he, he was talking about the, the team culture and specifically guys being too okay with losing.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Yes.

[Sean McIndew]

When I then see the, the team captain go out the door, that does make me Kind of wonder if, okay, this is maybe less of about how does this impact on the ice, right. And a little bit more in the room. Have they done enough to, to, to fix the room, to change the room, to, to get, you know, is Rick Bonus going to be happy because he's got serious cranky old man energy. He's not. He's not going to sit around patiently and wait. He's not happy. He won't be happy. Is he going to be happy, you think?

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Yeah. And it gets weirder because. So who's your captain now? You give that to Warrenski, who was like traded to Dallas in the off season and maybe gone and at the trade deadline. There's all sorts of interesting elements here. Does Charlie Coyle, if he knew, I mean, let's go back to thinking that Warrenski wanted out. Does Charlie Coyle sign for six years and third, knowing that and, and would Zach Warinski even allow his beloved teammate to do that? Like, he would certainly inform him, hey, guy, listen, I don't want to, you know, tell you anything here how to do what you want to do, but I, I mean, he would not. He wouldn't. Right? So do you give it to Coyle? Is Coyle safe? Do you not give it to anybody? Do you give it to Matthew Olivier? I think they really, really, really wanted the room to change. And again I go to me that that's why it's still. And there's still time. But I'm still surprised that the, the goalie, the one, two punch and goal hasn't changed that Mers Leakins is still here. He's almost the longest tenured player in the room, which is insane. Orinsky now is. So it does. I'm sure there is a part of Boone Jenner that is, that is stung a little bit by this, that the place that he, I mean, sweat and bled and all of those great hockey cliches, but also truisms, played 800 plus games, is the guy that's on his way out of town, but they weren't going to give him that term. But I also do think, and it sure sounds as if when you say this, that they're throwing it on his lap. I think they want a louder room. I think they want more energy in the room. Listen, I think for more than a year now, maybe two years, it has been Warrensky who has spoken for the room. Boone is, is so many things that, that hockey fans admire. He is, he's almost finished in his stoicism and there are times where his words, frankly don't meet the moment as a spokesman for the club. And Warrensky is always the guy who does, who does meet, does read the room and read the, the fan base and read their place in the league and speak to that. So I could definitely see that. But and I do think they're I, I get the sense that Bonus is going to find something the first day of training camp that drives him effing crazy because he has to now, right?

[Sean McIndew]

Yep.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

They also brought Ryan Lomborg in, who is a fourth line guy, but he even said, oh man, guys get tired of me. Guys get tired of me because I talk a lot, I'm super loud. That just kind of comes with it. So I think they want more of they want to gas that room up a little bit where it's everyone's taking their cues from the captain. Again, this isn't right or wrong. It's just, it's been a quiet room, a very respectful room, know your place room. And I think they're trying to get Adam Fantilli louder, more engaged in being the leader of a leader of the group. Cole Cylinder part of that. And I think whenever you move a captain along or change the sea, it opens up, it takes away some trees and lets the sun hit the ground for more. For more things to grow a little bit.

[Sean McIndew]

It's an interesting way of putting it.

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[Sean McIndew]

let's talk about Fentilla a little bit. Yeah, he, he fascinates me because, you know, I, I'm, I'm not watching every Blue Jackets game like you are.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Yeah.

[Sean McIndew]

But I feel like whenever I do watch them, Adam Fantilli always pops to me. And, and I mean that he, he had one game in Toronto this year.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Yeah.

[Sean McIndew]

I mean, if you're gonna have a game, that's the place to do it. If you want people to notice where he looked like a certified first line stud.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Yeah.

[Sean McIndew]

Out there.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Yeah.

[Jingles and Bubbles (Pet Voices)]

And.

[Sean McIndew]

And then you kind of, at the end of the year, you look at the numbers and they're. They're good, but they're, you know, they're maybe not there yet. So it feels like there's, there's another level there, another gear.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Yeah.

[Sean McIndew]

What's the contract situation is how much there had been like some offer sheet talk. You think that was ever in play or something. They were worried about is how, how do they lock this guy in as a long term piece of what feels like an uncertain future.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Yeah. Well, I think he's a lot like Carlson and a lot like Bedard. His numbers are really similar to Carlson. Bedard's in his, in his own realm. I still, I think, still. But those guys didn't want to get to the table. Like for beaks. Taking some heat for not signing Carlson last summer or earlier this summer. What else? Taking some, some fray here for not getting fam. Tilly signed last summer to a long term deal. Not getting him signed earlier this summer. I don't think those guys, I know they didn't, they didn't want to be at the table now maybe a 5 year 18 just negates all of that talk before you even get to an offer sheet. But hitting July 1st has become part of the strategy now for high end RFAs because offer sheets are much more a reality now. And so I think Fantilly wanted to get to July 1st. Why not negotiate with 31 teams or 32 teams instead of just yours? I think when he saw the offer sheet to Carlson, signed with Carlson, I told, I told myself he's not going to sign until we find out what the Ducks are doing. Because there's certainly a consideration, like people say, well, Fantilli is nowhere near Carlson. I know numbers aren't everything, but their numbers are almost identical. They're almost identical. It's not out of the question that the Flyers or another team would have looked at Fantilly. So you want to expose yourself. You want to create a marketplace for you. I think the line between UFA and RFA has gotten smaller than I ever could have believed and it's so far removed now from the here's your best offer, take it or leave it or we'll see you in camp. Because you don't have arbitration rights. You're in that in between where you're out of your ELC and you're not yet in arbitration rights. And the Blue Jackets used to try to drop the hammer on players in that scenario. So I think Fantilly gets done. I, I think every day we move along here, there's probably less of a chance that he gets offer sheeted. The Blue Jackets have left cap room much like the Ducks, where they can match any offer. I think they'd rather do it on their own, obviously, rather than face that they have two other RFAs, Jet Greaves, Cole Cylinder, who have filed for arbitration. They'll try to get them done before arbitration, but Fantilli is, is the lead guy here. And last I heard that the Blue Jackets were waiting on a callback from Fantilli's agent. So talks are continuing and I, I would suspect once this becomes clear that there's no offer sheet coming, that's when you get the deal done.

[Sean McIndew]

Fair enough. A name that we haven't mentioned very much. And this would have in, in, in, in off seasons, it didn't register maybe quite as high on the Pizarro meter, you'd. We probably would have been talking this as the first story, but Karl Marchenko, the leading scorer on the team among forwards, also kind of at the same time as Zach Warrensky. Yeah, there, there was some question about his future now because no disrespect to to Marchenko, who's a very good player, but because Warrensky is a legit superstar in this league, that that kind of sucked all the energy right up and Marchenko just sort of got slapped onto it. Talk a little bit about what that situation actually is and isn't and where does it stand now because we didn't get a happy statement from Kirill Marchenko saying everything's fine and I'm gonna stick around.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Yeah. So work this into bizarro meter world because not only did they be. Not only was that announced at the worst time in terms of Blue Jackets fans were still many of them in denial about the truth of the Warrensky story, but others coming to terms with it, but literally the Blue Jackets are on the clock at the draft number 14 overall. And that's when the agent text Kevin Weeks and says hey, here's the situation with Marchenko and Weeks as he should do reporter NHL network slash. ESPN throws that out literally as the Blue Jackets are on the clock in seconds before they draft Oscar Hemming first round pick. So there goes that moment for the young lad and Blue Jackets fans who I don't think they were wise to not have a draft party this year because that night was an absolute debacle for them.

[Sean McIndew]

Yeah.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Anyways that sent them into an absolute tizzy. Where it stands with that. I, I think the Blue Jackets took that as the agent Dan Milstein doing his job frankly and driving up the the temperature on Marchenko even more. He has a contract for this coming year. He's an absolute bargain at 3.85. He's an RFA after this year. So basically and the Blue Jackets do not expect that he's going to be under contract before this season starts again. I think he wants to go to July 1st and see what's out there as well. I think RFAs now have the power to change the market more than UFAs do because offer sheets have to be so over the top as to get the player. I think that's a real interesting wrinkle that's coming into this league. And Marchenko is a guy. I think he's got 40 goal, absolutely 40 goal potential. That's a guy that some teams will break the bank for. So you get to July 1st, you see what's out there. They don't think he's going to be signed this year but to their knowledge he's going to show up his contract. He's going to show up, he's going to play and we Were some of us were joking that Marchenko was probably in Moscow the night of the draft when that report came out. And of all people, Marchenko was probably like, did I say that? That's a thing? Like, who's talking about that? Yeah, because I do it smacked of a negotiating ploy. But why not? When you've got all this fur flying, why not use that to your advantage?

[Sean McIndew]

So are the Blue Jackets, I'm sure they're not happy with the timing and the publicity, but are they okay with him walking to July 1 next year? Is, is there any thought that they may try to get ahead of this and say, look, if, if you're not willing to put pen to paper, maybe we explore trade options? Or is this. Is this C in September?

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

I think you. I don't think there would be making that move right now. I think they. Because again, he's RFA after this coming season. So to me, if they're out of it, that's a trade deadline consideration. If you've put a huge offer before him and he's not willing to sign it otherwise, I think they carry him through the year and deal with him as an RFA next year. And if, you know, before you get to July 1, if all of this is still in play and you've made a huge offer that he won't sign, I think you, I think GMs talk about these things more than we realize. Perhaps some of us teams that would legit put an offer sheet in front of them would contact the Blue Jackets and say it's either offer sheet and four of our next five firsts or is there something else you'd like to do? We'll get it done earlier because they may not want to give up four first either. So. Yeah, it's not ideal. And you, you'd like it to be a situation like Montreal where these guys are signing on in advance. And I think if, if Demidov had to do over again. I'm not sure he signs that because, boy, things have jumped here.

[Sean McIndew]

You know, things jumped. I mean, you talk about, oh, the marketplace changes week to week, month to month. It was two hours for, for Demidoff.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Right.

[Sean McIndew]

He's probably. I hope he, you know, finished his round of golf. I'll go hit up sportsnet and see what's on the front page.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Oh, I mean, he's gonna be okay.

[Sean McIndew]

He'll be all right. I mean, he's not. He won't be. He'll. He'll still be able to afford steamies in, in Montreal to Stay. But he won't be 18.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Okay, but he'll be good.

[Sean McIndew]

It is I I tell you the the secret sauce of which teams can get the players to buy into this salary structure idea and which ones which ones don't is fascinating.

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[Sean McIndew]

We've, we've sort of hinted at it, but let's, let's move to the last position. Goaltending.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Yep.

[Sean McIndew]

And this one boy, talk about your ups and downs. We got, I mean, I, I'll start complimentary. This is, I believe, and people can argue with me if they want, but I think this is the best goaltending duo I've ever seen, made up of a guy named Jet and a guy named Elvis. Does that, does that fit you think with your knowledge of hockey history or.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Let me, let me go back through the years and think of all the other options there.

[Sean McIndew]

Yeah, definitely. Top five on the Mount Rushmore.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Pretty good name. Pretty good name pairing too.

[Sean McIndew]

Excellent name pairing. And that, that might be sort of where the similarities end because you've got the young guy up and coming. Lots of optimism, I would assume. And then you've got the other guy who, as you pointed out, is still here.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Yeah.

[Sean McIndew]

What's, what's the plan going forward with this duo and how, how confident should Blue Jackets fans feel? Because I, I, you Know, I feel like we maybe bummed them out a little bit on, on the skaters, but there is some genuine room for positivity here.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Yeah, you know what? I think Jet Greaves probably deserves a lot more attention for the season he had last year than he has gotten. I think there is an outside chance that he is a Team Canada goalie here in the. I'm not talking for the world. He was that and he played very well. I'm talking for some bigger events.

[Sean McIndew]

Damning with faint praise here. I mean, come on now, that's, I mean, I'm, I'm number seven on the goaltending chart up here in Canada, I think.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

You know what.

[Sean McIndew]

But you know what, you're. You're absolutely right. I mean this, this kid looked great last year. And goaltending is weird and we've seen guys look great one year and not look great the next and, and that happens all the time. But it, it, it's different when you're talking about a 31 year old coming off a good year after six bad ones versus someone who is not technically a rookie, but you know, kind of coming in under that situation. Right. So, I mean, is, is this kid as good as he certainly looks to be as a long term answer here? If the Blue Jackets really got themselves a guy here.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Yeah, so I think they do. I think there's still some question with people if, if he's a number one or a number two. I think sometimes your second full year in the NHL is more difficult than your first because there is a familiarity now with your game, a real specific familiarity. He has played I think maybe in four separate seasons now in the NHL. And the strange thing, Sean, is he's never, he's never looked out of place and he's never gone through a drought. And I, I want to say yet with that, but last year he really didn't have a stretch. He had a game here. Game there, we thought, yeah, that was tough game there. But he never went through a two or three week period where he's fighting the puck. So there's something to be said for that. He is clearly the number one here. And it's a, it's a great story because he wasn't drafted. He wasn't a particularly noteworthy goaltender in the American in the, the Ontario Hockey League with Barry, came to Traverse City with them as an extra goalie in a rookie tournament and impressed them enough and has literally just taken every little bit that they've given him with still plenty of doubt at every stage surrounding him and just Absolutely passed the test in flying colors. And it's such a strange world in such a strange position. If he were a high draft pick, he would have never been given the opportunity to do, to develop as long as he did in the American Hockey League. But the fact that people continued to doubt him, continued to question whether he could really do it, they just parked him there. They just parked him there until he demanded the opportunity, frankly and it allowed him to develop the right way. He's beloved in the Cleveland organization. He's beloved in the room here. Clearly, the number one guy. The big issue here is the backup goalie has been way sub 900 save percentage for four straight years. In that span he's every year he's been statistically one of the worst goaltenders in the league. So you've got this huge gap between one and two. And to me if that is for Elvis's sake and for the Blue Jackets sake, I think something should have been done to change that this off season rather that's a buyout. Whether that is a trade where you take a bit of a hit, send a draft pick with them. It feels like the, the goaltending musical chairs have, have filled again this year. So I don't know where this is going. They signed Phoenix Copley who is a mostly an AHL guy. It is a one way contract. There will be competition in camp but I, I think unless there is a clear less something dramatic happens then Copley goes on waiverson plays in Cleveland. But they would love it if they could create some sort of competition for that number two job at Jet. Grieves clearly is the guy in Columbus

[Sean McIndew]

now and, and real quick on Greaves. I just turned 25 at the end of the season which I mean for a lot of guys, a lot of goaltenders are only kind of making their way to the NHL at this age. So he's, he's maybe ahead of the game there. Started 52 games last year. Is this a guy like what do you think they're looking at for him this year? Is he, is he going to be a 60 start guy? Is he going to be one of these 65 start guys?

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

I think he's probably a 55, 60 start guy. I don't think they'll start the season planning to give him 60, but I think if they're in it or making a push at the end they. Each of the last two years they've leaned hard on him. He would have been higher this year, but he started the year under Drew Dean Avison who wanted a competition and it was sort of a, a, a. What's the word? I'm looking for a timeshare for the first couple of months of the season when Jet was clearly the better goalie and Greaves finally won out the number one job and started to be used like that. Then they changed coaches, Bonus came in and sort of brought back the timeshare a bit to see which one of these guys was his guy. And it really wasn't until a few weeks into Bonus that he settled on Greaves again. So I think given stability in the coaching, a more regular number one role from the start. I think 60 starts, even though they won't start out that way, I think that. I think that's possible.

[Sean McIndew]

So as we move towards wrapping up here, we sort of pitch this as we're going to fix the Blue Jackets. Yeah. This is a team that missed the playoffs last year. They missed by six points, but they were a 92 point team last year.

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Yeah.

[Sean McIndew]

In a league where a 95 point team was in the Stanley Cup Final. So I, I think there's, there's a case to be made that they're not that far and there's a case to be made that they're miles away. But as I said, I'm, I'm, I'm not convinced that they're better than they were last year. Yeah. Based on the moves they've made. So, I mean, I guess, walk me through. Where does. Have they done enough to not just make the playoffs, but to, to basically convince Zach Warrensky to, to stick around? Have they done enough to set the stage for that already? Is there more to do? What do they need to do? What, what do you do? How do we deliver on the premise here and actually fix this team if they need fixing?

[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

Yeah. So I think at this date we'd have to say, no, they have not done enough. I think they are in a situation here where they started a rebuild four years ago. And I've always said the easiest part of a rebuild is to decide to do it. And that first year is kind of fun. First year's fun. Look at all these guys. Look at all these guys. Great. And then it gets hard. It gets really hard because you're, you're just expecting everybody on the straight upward trajectory and it never goes that way. They're in a position where they have to rely on some of those pieces, some of those rebuild pieces to be better than they were a year ago. And this isn't asking a player to be something he's never been before. This is asking Kent Johnson to be back to the player he was the year before last year, 24 goals. This is asking Dmitri Voronkov to maybe take another step with the off season conditioning. And there's a sign that that's happening. I'm not going to say it's been done. Who knows until the season starts and really you get into the season. But he has stayed in North America this off season to train with the guy in Connecticut to hopefully show up in camp, not just in better shape at the start of camp, but be able to be who he is as a player. Well into the season, he's supposed to be a physically imposing player and by the end of November, December, his hands are on his knees during stoppages because it's too much. He can't get to to hits because he's out of gas at the end of shifts. He's got 20, he's got 20 seconds in him. So the coaches say it's not. This is not my opinion. Those guys being better makes them dramatically better. Top six better. I've got Veronica on the fourth line right now, but certainly has the potential to move up. I do think the Shushkin helps. I think Sean Monahan, who had a really, really good season two years ago and was, was not very good last year in part because of injuries, he wouldn't make that excuse. But others around him will. There's some reason to believe that just them being an improved version of themselves makes them better. And who are the who. Who are the real Blue Jackets? Are they that team that muddled for three months under Evison? Are they that team that for two months looked unbeatable under Rick Bonus? Like they looked like they had depth, like they knew who they were. Jet Greaves was on, was the goalie and really had taken charge there. There's so much to like about that team. And then it's almost like they, they looked at the scoreboard with the minute left and thought, okay, we're good. Like we did it. And all the air came out of them and they looked completely lost. I don't know who Conor Garland is based upon last season because that fiery battle grindy guy that you undersized guy you root for just wasn't present the last three weeks of the season. Hell, Warinski wasn't very good the last three weeks of the season. Entire team just completely collapsed. Marchenko looked like it was too rich for him at times. So again, when you're talking guys two years, three years into their playoff or into their NHL careers, those stretch drives where you're in it. And teams are battling for playoff spots. That is such a rich experience. They did not handle it well. Is that who they are or is that a learning curve that they needed to pick up on? So I think they are mildly better because I think I, I believe in Ken Johnson as a player. I think he brings life to this team as a playmaker. But have they done enough to for sure catapult them into playoff realm? No, I can't, I can't say that. I mean, there's some teams that missed last year that I think most people think are going to be back this year. So who are they taking out? Are they taking out Philadelphia? Possible. They're taking out Pittsburgh. I think that's possible. I think you could certainly justify picking them as a playoff team. I'm not a betting person anyways, but I wouldn't throw any money on it because there's just too much up in the air. So I don't even know if that answers your question or if that just ducks it completely.

[Sean McIndew]

But I, I think I, I think ducking maybe does answer the question because there's just a lot up in the air on this team and they've, they've certainly got ground to cover, I think, to get where they want to go. Portsy. Thank you so much. We will of course keep an eye on you and all your Blue Jackets coverage this summer leading up to training camp, which is not all that far away yet. So, uh, I will, uh, thank you very much though, uh, appreciate the, the insight. Thanks also to producer Jeff and to you for watching, listening and to this episode of the Athletic Hockey Show. Sean Gentili and Max Boltman are gonna try to fix the Detroit Red Wings. Speaking of American superstars who want out this one without the, without the big, the big makeup yet. That'll be our next show. That's on Monday. And so we will see you next time at the Athletic Show Hockey Show. Thanks again for watching and listening. Talk to you next time.

[Jingles and Bubbles (Pet Voices)]

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[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

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[Lauren Dragan]

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[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

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[Lauren Dragan]

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[Portsy (Sean Portzline)]

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