By CJ Carlson
Blue Jackets on the bench
The Columbus Blue Jackets haven’t had the success that they were looking for to start the 2023 campaign. In light of that, they haven’t shied away from simply punishing players on their roster for not performing to their standards and expectations. For example, we’ve seen them bench both Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine in several matchups already. Well, the problem just keeps getting worse.
Head coach Pascal Vincent recently made the decision to place Laine as a healthy scratch against the Philadelphia Flyers over the weekend. Laine has played in only nine games this season while providing two goals and one assist. The downside is that his plus/minus is currently at a negative six for the time being. And while benching a player that just isn’t performing is understandable, the organization is spending a lot of money on both him and Gaudreau to keep them on the bench.
Laine and Gaudreau are being paid a combined $18.45 million which equates to roughly 22 percent of their total cap space. Spending this much money on two players that can barely crack the starting lineup now is worrisome. Combined, they have 10 points in 27 games, horribly under what they should be doing at their pay level.
The decision might be shocking and concerning, yet Vincent has been thinking about pulling the trigger on this move for a while. He said, “It was a hard conversation, but nobody is bigger than the Blue Jackets.” Laine has also since been reportedly unhappy with the choice to become a healthy scratch. After all, he feels like he deserves more after scoring 60 goals and 72 assists in 165 career games as a Blue Jacket.
Columbus’s bad start to the new season isn’t just on Gaudreau and Laine, though clearly something has to change. They want to show that they aren’t content with just going out with the same players and giving the same losing effort they’ve been making. A shake-up isn’t always pretty, but it could end up being the best move at the end of the day.
