Jake Bean is coming back healthy, and will push hard for a roster spot.
Jake Bean was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets on July 23rd, 2021. The Hurricanes sent Bean to the Blue Jackets in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2021 NHL draft. He was signed to a three-year $7 million contract extension a week later.
Bean played in 67 games in that first season with the Jackets. He scored 7 goals and had 25 points. Last season saw him injure his shoulder, requiring surgery that cost him the rest of the year. He played in 14 games and had 6 points.
Bean is an excellent skater and can move the puck up ice well. He is more of an offensive defenseman, but he’s not one-dimensional. He usually works hard every shift and has natural talent. He weighs in at 176 pounds and stands 6-foot-1, and his critics will say he needs to get stronger and that’s not necessarily wrong. With that lack of strength comes times when he’s not assertive, and he could improve on that some.
Jake Bean has been known to play LD and RD, which could help his cause for not being the odd man out. Currently, the Jackets have Ivan Provorov, Zach Werenski, and Nick Blankenburg on the active roster at LD. With guys like Denton Mateychuk, Stanislav Svozil, Ole Bjorgvik Holm, and Samuel Knazko waiting for their turn. Bean being able to play both sides could help when guys go down hurt. When healthy, Jake Bean should be playing ahead of Nick Blankenburg, who can also play both sides.
Bean has tremendous upside, being the kind of all-around defenseman teams want. He’s still young at 25 and has only played in 125 NHL games. And if not for his shoulder injury last season, he probably would’ve beat his best season for production.
Jake Bean has one year left on his deal and is then RFA. So, if GM Jarmo Kekalainen wanted to find a new home for Bean, it shouldn’t be too hard. Teams are always looking for young D-men like him. And with his contract status, a team would be able to trade for him and work out an extension easily, like he did when he was traded to Columbus.
It’s hard to tell what a return would be for Bean. Opposing GMs know that Kekalainen must do something about all the extra defensemen and would probably offer very little for him. Now’s the time when Jarmo must work his magic by finding a way to keep or ship him off.
Jake Bean has a lot of work to do if he wants to force Jarmo to keep him. Staying healthy will be his best friend.
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