The Weekly Dis
NHL draft day in Columbus was joyless. ... The Jackets pick a big forward at No. 14. ... It's MLS silly season, and things are stirring with the Crew.
Nationwide Arena was eerily empty Friday night, when the first round of the NHL draft was held. The most crowded area in the building was the locker room, which served as the "war room" for the sake of television. There, general manager Don Waddell and his hockey operations staff sat around a horseshoe-shaped table, executing their strategy, which is being warped from within.
A few doors down the hall, a few members of the local media were stationed in the press conference room, following the draft on TV. The live draft "show," hosted by league commissioner Gary Bettman, was staged in Buffalo, where prospective draftees and their families sat in couches set on the floor of KeyBank Arena.
From their desk overlooking the proceedings in Buffalo, ESPN host John Buccigross, a friend of the pod, and his panel of three experts broke things down for the viewers. If you are a Blue Jackets fan, you took note when the Jackets selected Oscar Hemming – a big, left winger from Boston College – with the No. 14 overall pick. But it was almost anticlimactic, given all the banter before and after the selection, banter about all the bad news that is hanging over Columbus like Jeff Carter.
ESPN host John Buccigross discussed the obvious – how all signs point to Blue Jackets star Zach Werenski, 28, the reigning Norris Trophy champion, asking for a trade so he can go win somewhere else. While that truly does suck, it wasn't fresh news, not after a week-plus of speculation about Werenski's thinking, and not after Waddell's low-wattage, pre-draft press conference on Thursday seemed to confirm the worst.
The newer wrinkle was delivered by ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes, who said – just before the Hemming selection was made – that the Jackets' young sniper, Kirill Marchenko, might be bailing on Columbus, as well. Marchenko's name has been out there for a few days, but Weekes saying it out loud on the live draftcast before an international audience ... man, that hit.
Good god. Make it stop. Please.
Marchenko, 25, is entering the final year of his contract. He is eligible to begin negotiating an extension with the Jackets on July 1. Given what Weekes said – that Marchenko and his camp are unlikely to talk extension with the Jackets, and by inference are seeking a trade – is not as big a blow as Werenski begging out of town. But it has a cumulative effect, like a right cross to the temple after a thunderous uppercut to the point of the chin.
Waddell said he got a call from Marchenko's agent earlier Friday and the agent (Dan Milstein) said he wanted to talk about Marchenko's "future."
At first, Waddell thought Marchenko wanted to talk about how the newest Blue Jacket, Valeri Nichushkin, is good buddies with both Marchenko and Ivan Provorov. But the context changed as things shifted to the ESPN desk in Buffalo.
"Well, that was news to me today, so I don't really have much to comment about (Marchenko)," Waddell said. "As we talked the other day about Werenski, I mean, we're gonna sit down here after the draft and speak with him and his representation and just see where it's going to go."
Waddell on Thursday swung a trade with Colorado for Nichushkin, 31, a power forward who could be a needle mover if he is right and healthy. Does the Nichushkin acquisition influence Werenski's thinking? It doesn't seem like it.
With the salary cap rising, trade activity picked up precipitously during this draft week. Waddell said he wanted to be in on the action. He is in acquisition mode. The Jackets have narrowly missed the playoffs in each of the two previous seasons, and Waddell was looking for the piece, or pieces, to push them over the threshold and closer toward being a contender.
If it comes to it, Waddell will get a haul back in any Werenski trade. If it comes to it, he will get a fine return in any Marchenko trade. But if he indeed has to move one of the league's best defenseman as well as the team's top goal scorer, it's almost assured that the best players in the deals will be outgoing rather than incoming.
By extension, it's unlikely that the roster that begins the next CBJ season will be an upgrade on the roster that finished the last CBJ season. Werenski led the Jackets with 59 assists and 81 points. There are two or three defensemen in the world who can fill that kind of hole. Marchenko led the team in goals in each of the past three seasons, and his career is just warming up.
If they go, it'd be like losing two cornerstones.
Deep breath
A part of me is "screw these players who treat Columbus this way." Like, Werenski is going to bail NOW? That's borderline gutless.
Another part of me is "Donny, do something about this." Don't let Columbus turn into a Triple-A feeder. Fight.
And yet another part of me is "take a breath."
There's a lot of smoke here, but we haven't seen any roaring flames yet. Werenski hasn't asked Waddell for a trade. Not explicitly. Not yet. Neither has Marchenko. I don't hold out hope that either of them is going to say, "Don, never mind all that noise, I want to win in Columbus, so show me the money." But it's important not to overreact, not quite yet.
Over the past four seasons, the Jackets have gone from 59 to 66 to 89 to 92 points. In Waddell's two seasons as GM, they've come within a hair of making the playoffs. He has laid out how he is implementing his ideas for continued progress – basically, with an improving young core mixed with veterans and a coach, Rick Bowness, who will go into the next season after a full summer to plan. The Jackets were 37-21-11 under Bowness over the last half-plus of the season, and that is the new bar.
If Werenski and Marchenko both want out, how much does that change the calculation? The impact will be huge. It also might be mitigated, to a degree. We just can't be sure, one way or another, at this point.
I'm not sanguine, but I'd be remiss if I didn't say something like, "This story is still developing."
For instance, when Waddell was asked whether it was conceivable that he'd tell Werenski, who has two years remaining on his contract, and Marchenko, who has one, that they'd have to play out their contracts, Waddell said:
"They signed the contract, so if we feel like that's in the best interest of the Columbus Blue Jackets, then (they play out the contracts)."
There are more twists ahead.
Oscar Hemming is a big dude
Waddell gave the obligatory remarks about Hemming. He seemed genuine.
"Yeah, we we had him higher on our list than anybody else," Waddell said. "And you know, we went through it extensively this week and then ... Even today we went through and we didn't think he would be there. So you know, big forward, and he's not even 18 yet. He turns 18 in August, so big body that we think is gonna continue to develop, and we're very, very excited about being able to draft him."
Monterrey of LigaMX has a strong interest in Diego Rossi
Felipe Galindo
Translation:
"Monterrey aims to strengthen its squad with an MLS star; here's how negotiations are progressing
"In recent days, talks between both parties have progressed and there is confidence that they can move forward this weekend."
It's silly season in MLS. Rumors are flying ahead of the summer transfer window, which opens July 13. Three days ago in this space, we ran an item on a potential target (?) for the Crew: "The Brazilian soccer website GZH earlier this week reported that the Columbus Crew and the Philadelphia Union are among the teams in pursuit of forward Rafael Borré, 30, who is no longer on the top of the depth chart with the Brazilian side Internacional."
Now, of early Friday afternoon, a Mexican website is saying that Monterrey is after Diego Rossi.
What I can say is that this thing with Rossi isn't so silly. The Rayados are definitely interested. What I don't know is where it will go.
Then, there's this:
"Babcock" has two syllables and one state-of-mind
Mike Babcock was hired to coach the Blue Jackets on July 1, 2023. He resigned 78 days later, on the eve of training camp, after an NHLPA investigation found that he pressured players (especially young players) into showing him their cell phone photo galleries.
Babcock has a well-chronicled past that includes mind games, bullying, and general knavery. My take on the man is that he is wholly self-absorbed, incapable of introspection, and largely devoid of empathy. But he talks a good game.
Earlier this week, after an NHL investigation and a basic declaration that the league had no legal means to stand in the way, Babcock was hired to coach the Edmonton Oilers. One can understand the allure, as the man has won at every level of the game and the Oilers are desperate to win while Connor McDavid is in his prime, and before he decides he wants out of Edmonton.
I wasn't going to write about this – we've been very busy here with the World Cup and the NHL draft – but then Babcock opened his bunghole. He was pressed by the Edmonton media to explain what happened in Columbus.
He said: “It was very evident before the year started. I hadn’t benched anybody, I hadn’t talked to anybody, I hadn’t sat anybody out, and it was evident that we weren’t together as a staff right from the get-go. My wife gave me a call and she said, ‘It’s time to get out of there.’ I’d been retired. I was pretty good at it. I got back to being retired.”
The Babcock affair was the beginning of the end of the previous Jackets' administration. Within a year, president of hockey operations John Davidson was a "senior advisor" and GM Jarmo Kekalainen was gone. Their "reset" or "rebuild" was set back by at least another year. The extent of the damage was extraordinary.
JD and Jarmo screwed up royally by hiring Babcock and paid for it.
Ultimately, Babcock took no responsibility whatsoever.
He blamed the Jackets' assistant coaches and said his wife made him quit.
Good god, man.
Mark this: Babcock can't stop Babcocking. He won't change because he can't change. Good luck with that, Edmonton.
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Michael Arace
