The Jackets have been playing well behind solid goaltending and defense, but now it's time for the offense to step up.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are 7-5 with 14 points and sit tied with the New York Rangers and New York Islanders for last place in the Metro and the Eastern Conference. Even with all that, they're still only 3 points back of a Wild Card spot. Other teams like Florida, Washington, and Toronto, are all on the outside looking in too, so it's not a terrible situation to be in, I guess.
With all that being said, the Blue Jackets need to get going. Yes, they don't have a terrible record, and have played some good hockey this year, but it could be much better and could be higher in the standings. Every team, at least right now, could be considered a contender. The time to strike is now.
They need certain players to start scoring, and that's the bottom line. There are two changes that we'd like to see made.
1. Promote Adam Fantilli to the first line center role.
Fantilli hasn't started the season the way he wanted to, I'm sure. In 13 games played, he's scored just two goals and has totaled 6 points. He's also a minus-6 and has 28 shots on goal. Last season, through 13 games, Fantilli had 3 goals and 7 points. So, there's still time.
I've seen people wondering why Fantilli isn't shooting as much, but let's take a look at some quick shot stats for young Fantilli.
In his rookie season, he took 115 shots in 49 games. That averages out to 2.34 shots per game, and he had a shooting % of 10.4%. He had 12 goals in 49 games.
Last season, which was his breakout year, he took 191 shots in 82 games, which averaged out to 2.32 shots per game, and had a shooting % of 16.2%. He had 31 goals in 82 games.
This season, he's played in all 13 games and has 28 shots on goal. That averages out to 2.15 shots per game, and a shooting % of 7.1 %. He has 2 goals in 13 games.
His shot attempts this year are at 67, which equates to 5.15 shot attempts per game Last season, he had 394 shot attempts, which comes out to 4.80 shot attempts per game. He's also had 22 shots blocked this season and had 114 in 24-25.
According to MoneyPuck.com, his expected goals are just 4.4, down from 18.6 last year. His goals per 60 minutes played is .57, down from 1.3 last year, but his assists per 60 minutes played is up to 1.15. It was .96 last year.
He's just not hitting the back of the net is all. He's had some bad luck.
Fantilli's on ice Corsi and Fenwick are actually better this year than last, with both over 56%.
His linemates for most of this season have been Boone Jenner and Kent Johnson. The last few games, he's seen Miles Wood on his wing, however. Jenner has 2 goals and 8 points while running at a minus-7 rating. Kent Johnson has 2 goals and 4 points and is a minus-6. That line hasn't been good if we're looking at numbers only.
Last season, when Sean Monahan went down with injury, Fantilli was promoted up to the top line to play with Dmitri Voronkov and Kirill Marchenko, and it was the best thing that could've happened for Fantilli.
After the Monahan injury, Fantilli rattled off 35 points to finish the season, 22 of those points were goals. He finished the season with a four-game goal streak that included six goals, and two multi-goal games.
It's time to get Adam Fantilli going, but more importantly, the entire team.
2. Just let Yegor Chinakhov play.
This is a subject that people are passionate about and I can see both sides of the argument.
On one hand, he doesn't want to be in Columbus. He requested a trade this summer and has made his feelings known. Typically, when players request a trade, it's done pretty quick. Usually. But, Chinakhov really doesn't have a leg to stand one when it comes to his demand. Why? Because he's never played a full season due to various injuries, and teams WILL NOT pay a premium for a guy who can't be relied on to actually be in the games. He's yet to play a full season in the NHL, so what is he really?
On the other hand, if he plays well, the team has a chance to win some games.
We won't get into a debate about who needs to be scratched for him to play, as that question has already been answered by Dean Evason. When Chinakhov has played, Zach Aston-Reese was the healthy scratch.
When he has played this year, he has 2 goals and 4 points and is a plus-2. He also played in all four of the games during the CBJ's four game winning streak, where he scored his two goals and had an assist.
Many people want him to play, and be in the top 6, but who do you demote? It certainly won't be Kent Johnson, despite his struggles this season. It won't be Adam Fantilli or Sean Monahan, should he get pushed down to 2C. So that leave's Boone Jenner.
Playing Chinakhov, a guy who wants out of Columbus, over a guy who is regarded as one of the franchise's greats in Jenner, is certainly a tough choice.
Something has to change if this team wants to compete this year.
Is Adam Fantilli being promoted the spark the team needs?
Will allowing Yegor Chinakhov a chance to play more games help the team? Will it help his trade value as well? If he plays bad, problem solved. If he plays well, problem solved.
In a year where the parity in the NHL is at all all-time high, the time to try something different is now.
Up Next: They visit the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, Nov. 8th, and then the Edmonton Oilers on Monday, Nov. 10th. They will wrap up their Western swing with a matchup against the Seattle Kraken.
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