COLUMBUS, Ohio — Every season begins with some level of optimism; that no matter what is expected by others or what has transpired over the offseason, somehow, someway things will be different — better, of course — in the coming campaign.
The Columbus Blue Jackets had a turbulent and tragic summer, to be sure. But the addition of several esteemed veteran players — forwards Sean Monahan and James van Riemsdyk, and defenseman Jack Johnson — can help a lineup that’s waiting for its young forwards to bloom as NHL impact players.
There’s one aspect of the game, however, in which any hint of optimism among even the most loyal fans is hard to find. The Blue Jackets power play has been a running joke for seven seasons now, finishing no higher than 24th in the league’s rankings.
Last season, the Jackets hired Hall of Famer Mark Recchi, a power-play machine during his playing days, to coach the unit, and it only got worse, finishing 31st in a 32-team league. The last time the Blue Jackets power play was anything other than an energy drain was way back in the 2016-17 season.
Nobody would believe the Blue Jackets are going to suddenly improve with the man advantage in 2024-25, especially following the loss of their two most heavily relied-upon players on the power play. In August, Patrik Laine was traded to Montreal and Johnny Gaudreau was killed in a tragic crash while riding bicycles with his brother, Matthew.
We can say this about the Blue Jackets power play this coming season: It’s going to look radically different.
There’s a new head coach, Dean Evason. There’s a new power-play coach, Mike Haviland, who was promoted to Columbus from AHL Cleveland over the summer. Newcomers Monahan and van Riemsdyk, meanwhile, are expected to play major roles on the power play.
The Athletic had a lengthy chat with Haviland on Tuesday during the second session of training camp, which was run by the AHL coaching staff.
Haviland’s hiring by the Blue Jackets marks his return to the NHL. He was an assistant with the Chicago Blackhawks from 2008-12, running the power play in his final two seasons.
The Blackhawks, who boasted Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and others, finished fourth (2010-11) and 26th (2011-12) in the league those two seasons, showing just how fickle the power play can be.
Haviland acknowledged so much has changed over the last decade with NHL power plays, but when asked to present his overarching philosophy on how a successful unit performs, he didn’t hold back.
“I’m a big bumper guy,” Haviland said, referring to the forward who roams up and down between the faceoff circles. “I think the bumper has to be very active. He’s gotta move up and down, and what I call the flanks (players on the half-walls) have to move up and down with him. When the bumper is high, you’re low, and vice versa.
“And then there are the so-called little things that are actually significant. Retrievals — getting the puck back — has to be a focus. Faceoffs have to be a focus. I want to attack the net. I want three or four guys at the net with the puck. Those are things we’re going to emphasize.”
The Blue Jackets have practiced power play almost every day of training camp, but as of yet, it’s hard to discern what Haviland and others are thinking in terms of units. So far, every player has been involved, Haviland said, so that every player will know the concepts.
“We wanted everyone to get reps early in the camp,” he said.
But Haviland did shed some insight on what he’s thinking in terms of personnel. The three leading candidates to play the bumper, he said, are Monahan, van Riemsdyk and Cole Sillinger.
“I like movement, a lot of movement,” Haviland said. “That’s moving the puck along the blue line up top, but when your bumper has movement, it confuses that middle PK guy because he doesn’t know if he’s going to go high or stay in the middle. That confusion is what you want.”
Movement leads to confusion, and confusion leads to breakdowns. It’s those breakdowns that lead to power-play goals, much more often than a single shot from distance.
Zach Werenski is the overwhelming favorite to be the point man on the top unit, with Damon Severson, Ivan Provorov and young David Jiricek among the candidates to play on the second unit. Adam Boqvist, who had been the second-unit point man, had his contract bought out over the summer.
The net-front candidates are captain Boone Jenner, van Riemsdyk and towering young forward Dmitry Voronkov, who has surprisingly soft hands given his 6-foot-5 frame.
The candidates to play on the “flanks,” as Haviland says, are Yegor Chinakhov, Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson and Kirill Marchenko, or whoever doesn’t fill the role at bumper or net front.
One aspect the Blue Jackets have been lacking for several years is a big shot on the power play. Laine, in theory, had that in his arsenal, but he rarely got it off on the power play and was in and out of the lineup too often with injuries to build chemistry.
Werenski’s best weapon is a low and heavy wrister that he sneaks through traffic, but Haviland wants to see more snapshots this season. Not only can slap shots lead directly to goals — either by beating the goalie clean, leading to rebounds, or puck deflections on their way to the net — but they can help open up the entire unit, Haviland said.
“If you’re not a threat from up top, teams are just going to take away your passing lanes to the flanks,” he said. “That tendency would show up in pre-scouting pretty easily. We have to establish that ‘shot’ mentality from up top, absolutely.”
Here’s something else to consider: Jenner won 55.4 percent of his faceoffs on the power play last season, but the rest of the club was just 47.2 percent. That means that when the second unit was on the ice, more often than not they started without the puck.
Monahan’s arrival gives the Blue Jackets two strong players in the circle. He won 53.3 percent of his power-play draws last season with Montreal and Winnipeg.
“If you don’t start with the puck, you’re wasting probably 20 seconds,” Haviland said. “It makes a big difference.”
(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
