As the Blue Jackets get ready to take on Chicago for the first time this year, there are plenty of ties between the two teams.
That, of course, is because of the blockbuster trade this past summer between the two teams that sent star defenseman Seth Jones to Chicago and netted the Blue Jackets former Blackhawks defenseman Adam Boqvist, a first-round pick that would become Cole Sillinger, a second-round pick that would go to Carolina for Jake Bean, and a 2022/23 first-round pick.
There are always a lot emotions at play when someone returns to their old stomping grounds, and that’s especially true for someone like Jones who spent six seasons in Columbus, made four All-Star teams with the Jackets and wore a letter as an alternate captain for three seasons.
“He was a great friend to me and still is,” said Zach Werenski, Jones’ longtime defensive partner. “Coming here as a young guy, having him as your D-partner and someone you could look up to was perfect for me. I’m excited to see him tomorrow and play against him. It’s gonna be different, but it should be exciting for us.”
Added head coach Brad Larsen: “He just grew and grew every year … and he’s a great young man. Seth Jones is as classy as they come, a great individual. He was a great teammate, a great guy to coach, and it seems like he’s having a good year there in Chicago now.”
While many of his former CBJ teammates will be happy to see him, it will be the same for Boqvist, who spent parts of two seasons with the Blackhawks after being chosen with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2018 draft by the team. Much like Werenski talked about how he still plays video games online with Jones, Boqvist has plenty of ties with his former Chicago teammates, spending the Christmas break this year with Blackhawks forward Alex DeBrincat.
“Obviously it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Boqvist said. “I know everyone pretty well, and it’s gonna be good to compete against them and it’s gonna be a lot of fun for sure.”
Time will tell how the trade will be graded for each team, with the Blue Jackets expecting much of the return from the deal to keep getting better over time, while the Blackhawks have signed Jones to an eight-year extension that kicks in next year and expect to have him anchoring the blue line for the foreseeable future.
But one thing that could tip the balance is the play of someone like Sillinger, who was one of the most coveted players in the draft and ended up in CBJ colors with the No. 12 overall pick the team got from Chicago in the deal.
That’s already paid dividends as the league’s youngest player is occupying a key role already for the Jackets at 18 years old. But perhaps it is fitting he’s a Blue Jacket considering his father, Mike, played for the Jackets, he was born in Columbus, and another sign it was meant to be in the days before the draft.
“A week before the draft, 10 days before the draft, the NHL sent me and all the other prospects I think that were projected in the top two rounds, they got all 32 hats,” Sillinger said. “Just as a joke, I put the Columbus one on. That would have been on like July 17, a week before the draft. My brother said, ‘Yep, you’re going to Columbus. I like that hat. Keep that hat on. Put that hat in the front so when Columbus picks you, it’ll be easy to grab.’ He always joked about it, and here I am.”
Know the Foe
As hard as it is to believe for a team that won three Stanley Cups from 2010-15, the Blackhawks haven’t won a playoff series — outside of the 2020 bubble qualifying series — since that last Cup victory.
And it seemed like with an aging core, Chicago had committed to a rebuild until a year ago, when an MVP-level season by Patrick Kane and solid goaltending from Kevin Lankinen kept the team in the race for a postseason spot until late in the year. Seeming to want to wring another run or two at glory out of the careers of Kane and Jonathan Toews, Chicago was aggressive this offseason, adding Jones and reigning Vezina Trophy winner Marc-Andre Fleury while trading longtime star d-man Duncan Keith.
But a 1-9-2 stretch to start the season led to the firing of head coach Jeremy Colliton, while off-the-ice issues also led to the end of general manager Stan Bowman’s career. While new coach Derek King has steadied the waters a bit with an 11-9-3 record, Chicago is 1-3-3 in its last seven and currently 10 points out of a playoff spot.
Defense was the major issue at the start of the season with the Blackhawks allowing four or more goals in nine of the first 12 games, and that’s reared its head again with Chicago ceding 29 goals in its last seven games (4.14 per game). In all, the team is 26th in the league in team defense (3.40 goals allowed per game) and a woeful 30th in scoring (2.29 per game). The power play was dominant a year ago but is just 19th in the league this time around (18.8 percent) and the PK checks in at 26th (74.8 percent).
At age 33, Kane is still a point-per-game player, posting a 7-24-31 line in 31 games, while DeBrincat’s 21 goals and nine power-play goals are tied for fifth and third in the NHL, respectively. Jones has been able to score in Chicago with a 3-22-25 line to place 10th among league defensemen in points, but he is minus-11 on the year. The scoring falls off from there, with Brandon Hagel (8-8-16), Toews (4-11-15) and young standout Kirby Dach (6-8-14) next on the list.
Fleury doesn’t look as though he will repeat his Vezina performance from a year ago but has been solid, going 10-11-2 in 23 games with a 2.92 goals-against average and .910 save percentage. Lankinen has started 10 games, going 2-5-3 with a 3.43 GAA and .884 save percentage.