Even before the Columbus Blue Jackets [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets] lost Dante Fabbro to an upper-body injury in preseason game #1, here at THN-Columbus, we believed Don Waddell should give Carson Soucy a contract. That was before Soucy even played a single preseason game for the CBJ. Why? You ask. The simple answer is that the Blue Jackets need to get better with their bottom defensive pairing. You might remember that a couple of weeks ago we ranked the CBJ defense from top to bottom; you can read it here [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets/latest-news/the-numbers-dont-lie-ranking-the-columbus-blue-jackets-defensemen-1-7]. The bottom three consisted of Jake Christiansen, Dante Fabbro, and Erik Gudbranson. They are noticeably worse than the top 4. My thought was: Put Jake Christiansen on waivers to send him to Cleveland and sign Carson Soucy. Soucy is a veteran of 441 NHL games and has been around for a while. Pairing him with other vets such as Gudbranson and Fabbro could solidify that bottom pairing. No, they won't score at all, but that's not what they need them to do. Defend, that's it. But now, with Fabbro out for however long he'll be out, it just seems obvious to sign Soucy. While it wasn't the original reason for signing Soucy, the injury to Fabbro makes it an easy decision in my opinion, and it would still mean pairing him with another vet in Gudbranson. My 7th man out was always going to be Jake Christiansen, so nothing really changes in this scenario. Of course, this means young guys like Corson Ceulemans won't get a chance right away, but that could change in a heartbeat. One has to wonder if the boom that Soucy brought last night, paired with him fighting, might have made Waddell's mind up. Unfortunately for Owen Zellweger, the hit below left him concussed, but the hit was clean and pure. What do you think? Should the CBJ sign Soucy? Stay updated with the most interesting Blue Jackets stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwm-DfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] and never miss a story. Let us know what you think below. For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive, and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. Share your thoughts by commenting on the article below on THN.com or by creating your own post in our community forum.
