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Roundtable: How does Boone Jenner fit in this lineup when he returns?

Mar 26, 2024; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona Coyotes goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) makes the save in front of Columbus Blue Jackets center Boone Jenner (38) in the first period at Mullett Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

After suffering a shoulder injury right before the start of the season, Columbus Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner has resumed practicing with the team and appears on track to return to the lineup in late February, after the 4 Nations Faceoff break and prior to the Jackets hosting the Stadium Series game at Ohio Stadium.

Despite Jenner’s absence from the lineup for the first 50 games (and counting), the Blue Jackets are in the thick of a crowded race for the Eastern Conference wild card spots. Several young forwards have taken steps forward in their progression as the Jackets are – to the surprise of many – one of the top offenses in the league. When Jenner returns, then, how does he fit into this offense? Is the 20-minute-a-night, top-line center that he has been the last three seasons? Or first line winger like he was in preseason? Or something else? Or somewhere else? The Cannon staff discusses:


Pale Dragon

I think there’s no question that Boone Jenner will make this lineup better when he returns from injury. Let’s not forget that this is a player who has been producing at a 30+ goal pace for the last three seasons. We don’t need him to be the leading forward in ice time anymore, but any team would be happy to add a player like this to their middle six for the stretch run to the playoffs. 

Given his well-documented injury issues, a lighter role is for the best for Jenner. It also means he can go harder in every shift if he’s only playing 16-17 minutes, rather than the 20 minutes he has averaged over the last three seasons. 

As for how he fits within Evason’s system, I would look for him to play a similar role to Dmitri Voronkov and James van Riemsdyk. Get down low in the offensive zone and wreak havoc around the crease and on the forecheck. Get goals from deflections and rebounds. Save the center spots for Adam Fantilli, Cole Sillinger, Sean Kuraly, and Luca Del Bel Belluz until Sean Monahan returns, but Jenner can step in for key faceoffs as needed in the meantime. 

Off the ice, the team will benefit from the leadership of its captain. An important policy change under Evason is that the injured players are included in team activities more than they were before. That means that both Jenner and Erik Gudbranson have been in meetings and such even while recuperating. Prior to the injury, Boone helped guide the team through their grief in the aftermath of Johnny Gaudreau’s passing. His return to the ice will give a morale boost. He has always led by example with how hard he works, and it sets a standard for the players going forward that he was able to work back into game shape before the end of the season.

NeilB

It makes sense, from a business and a hockey perspective, to trade Boone Jenner to a competitive team by the trade deadline this season.

With the uncertainty surrounding the NHL’s cap situation looming, a player like Jenner on a team-friendly contract with term into the following season will likely be a more attractive trade target than an unrestricted free agent, which runs against the grain of standard practices. His contract, which is good now, will be even more attractive when the cap goes up next offseason.

What is more, Jenner provides significant on-ice advantages to any team that wishes to acquire him. He’s best suited for the wing on a middle-6 unit, but he’s got the ability and experience to play in a 1C role if injuries make it  necessary.

He’s got great hands down low, he’s very strong on the boards, and he’s got a skillset that is well-suited to play a cycle game lower down in the lineup and physically punish the opposing defenders, which is a tremendous asset in a long series. He’s also shown himself to be capable of playing the netfront or the bumper role on a power play—another key versatility that has other teams interested in his services.

Hockey is a business, and we are just one franchise within a ruthless entertainment landscape. And it makes great business sense to strike when the iron is hot and get the best possible deal for Jenner. Except…

Except, this one season, in this one town, hockey is not a business. This season, in this town, it’s a family that is cosplaying as a business operation.

Jenner played with Johnny for hundreds of hours over the past two years. He’s family. They’re family. We’re all family.

Next year, we can get back to the same old routine of hockeying. In 2026, we can be cutthroat, we can go all Vegas at the trade deadline and do all of the things that hockey teams do at the deadline.

But @!*& that.

This year, we stay together. Boone goes nowhere, except maybe to Fantilli’s left wing. Provorov goes nowhere, except occasionally covering the right side when Severson is having a brain-fart game. No one leaves.

We could reinforce some positions, of course. But this year, we just use draft picks. We’ll get a full stack of picks again the next year. It’s fine. Even losing a first round pick or two, this year, is fine.

Everyone stays. We end this like we started it.

As a family.

Dalerrific

It’s hard to argue that Jenner should be traded this season unless this team manages to be out of the playoff race by the trade deadline on March 7th. With Monahan now being out until at least mid-March, there won’t be a healthy top-six in the most critical part of the season, even if both Jenner and Chinakhov are back after the February break.

Where does he fit in the lineup? Likely, Evason won’t mess with the top line, and he shouldn’t. Ideally, Jenner plays on the wing in the middle-six, but Aaron Portzline has already said that he will play center. In this writer’s opinion, the top two lines have been good enough to warrant putting Jenner on the third line, which has struggled to be anything more than an additional checking line. So, put me down for a Chinakhov-Jenner-Pyyhtia line. That line should be able to play defensive minutes while also providing another scoring threat.

What about after this season is over? That’s another thing entirely. With the emergence of LDBB, there will suddenly be five capable top-six centers on the roster. There’s nothing wrong with that, but centers have a lot of value, and there is one glaring hole elsewhere in the shape of a top-four right-handed defenseman. Severson hasn’t lived up to that role, and there’s no immediate help coming from the prospect pool. Why not see if a Jenner package would net you what you need? He’s injury-prone, is only signed through 2025-26, and may not be in Waddell’s long-term plans.

BurkusCircus

This team is unlike any Blue Jackets team ever. Brought together by unimaginable tragedy. Playing under their third (technically fourth) head coach in three seasons, and fourth (fifth) in five. Yet, they’re in a playoff spot. There’s young talent exploding throughout the roster. Dmitri Voronkov and Kirill Marchenko have some of the best chemistry in the NHL. Sean Monahan – sorry, Monahanov – was a revelation on the top line until his recent injury. Adam Fantilli has stepped up in his absence. Zach Werenski is playing the best hockey of his career. Denton Mateychuk has made an immediate impact. Cole Sillinger has emerged as a wonderful 2C. Kent Johnson’s on fire. Hell, Mattieu Olivier has become one of the best power forwards in the NHL, a combination of Jared Boll and Vinny Prospal. This team is clicking like never before, and has been more fun to watch than ever before.

And all of that leaves me wondering: “Where exactly does Boone Jenner fit in all of this?”

I’ve been thinking about this for a while. For the first time since the Sweep, the Blue Jackets have a legitimate top six. Voronkov-Fantilli-Marchenko, van Riemsdyk-Sillinger-Johnson. Adding Monahan and Yegor Chinakhov back to the roster, as well as Luca Del Bel Belluz, who’s impressed so far, gives us an incredible top nine, and still leaves Mattieu Olivier available! Pick two of Justin Danforth, Zach Aston-Reese, Sean Kuraly, and Mikael Pyyhtia, and that’s your twelve forwards.

For the first time ever, the Blue Jackets have an embarrassment of riches up front, and are consistently outscoring everyone in their way. Columbus has scored six or more goals ten times. That’s 20% of our games in which we scored six or more goals. One in five! That’s two more than all of last season, with 32 games to go!

Now, I’m not going to say that the uptick in scoring is because we don’t have Boone Jenner. But Boone was our leading scorer for most of last season, and only got surpassed due to missing the last few weeks. What does he provide that this team needs? Net front presence? Got Vronk, JVR, and ZAR for that. Center depth? We have five in our lineup (Fantilli, Voronkov, Danforth, Kuraly, LDBB) with our top two injured. Grit? Hello Mathieu Olivier, with a side of ZAR and Danforth. Leadership? Sure sounds like Werenski and Monahan got that covered, and Cole Sillinger underratedly seems to have stepped up, too.

Now, I’m not in the locker room, and I don’t know how vocal Boone’s been during his recovery. And I’m sure he was fundamental to helping this team grieve, a role that cannot be understated. But what was Coach Evason’s message, before the Gaudreau tragedy? “This is Earned; Not Given.” Everything should be earned, and there are no less than ten forwards on this roster who have earned playing time over Boone Jenner. Evason technically might put Jenner on a line with Danforth and Olivier and call it a day, but I doubt that’s what will happen. The two preseason games he played were with Monahan and Marchenko. All Boone Jenner presents, in this moment in Blue Jackets history, is the temptation to disrupt what’s been working because he’s “earned” it over those who’ve actually earned it.

I’m not saying he hasn’t earned the chance to come back. He has. And there’s a chance he thrives. But if I were to hedge my bets, I think we’ll find that the Columbus Blue Jackets have moved past the need for Boone Jenner.


How do you want to see Boone used in the short and long term?

Talking Points