Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell

Yesterday I wrote that the if the Blue Jackets are keeping Jack Johnson around for the long haul, they need to find him a quality defense partner this summer.

The easier task, and perhaps the smarter one, would be to make Johnson available and trade him if any reasonable offers come along. That's what I would do, anyways.

Given that Jack Johnson's signed for the next four seasons at a little over $4 million and that management seems to be thrilled with his play, it's unlikely, but I think it's a topic worth discussing.

Johnson is an athlete-turned-defenseman, and it shows when he's regularly chasing play in his own zone. His offensive prowess is very overrated, and he allegedly brings leadership, grit and all those intangibles poorly run teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs (see Clarkson, David) seem to drool over. Knowing that, it might make sense to put him on the block and see what's out there.

Johnson averaged a hair over half-a-point for every 60 minutes of 5 vs 5 ice he saw, which was less than noted offensive dynamos Luke Schenn, Roman Polak, Mike Weaver and Brooks Orpik.

Not only was his offensive play - especially at 5 vs 5 - poor, but he served as an anchor that dragged every defenseman he was paired with down with him when it came to driving possession.



As you can see, he was only a 50%+ player when paired with James Wisniewski, and Wisniewski was better without him than with him. The same held true with Fedor Tyutin, Dalton Prout, and David Savard.

So while Johnson's numbers in terms of even strength production and driving play certainly aren't encouraging, there's a lot of teams out there who don't use analytics and are completely unaware of his faults at full strength.

Combine that with what looks to be a reasonable cap hit for a top-4 defenseman at a little over $4 million for the next four years, as well as a playoff series where he picked up seven points and six games, and there would probably be significant interest. That leads me to believe there'd be an offer on the table worth taking.

I think a Jack Johnson trade is unlikely, but it's something that Jarmo Kekalainen would be smart to explore.

**

Jackets posts

On finding a defense partner for Johnson

Blue Jackets prospect data: Rychel, Bjorkstrand dominant in 13-14

Robby Fabbri could make sense for the Jackets

Offer sheet for Ryan Johansen?

Sergei Bobrovsky deserves to be paid as one of the NHL's top goaltenders

R.J. Umberger requests trade out of Columbus

How should Columbus handle Ryan Johansen's next contract?

Devils posts

Devils prospect data: Damon Severson stellar in 13-14

Contract talks between Devils, Schneider are underway

Maple Leafs a potential landing spot for Martin Brodeur

David Conte on hockey analytics

It's time for Brodeur and the Devils to part ways

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Email: [email protected]