In December the injuries started piling up. That is also when the points started piling up. AHL players were called up and have delivered. Names like Gerbe, Lilja, MacInnis, Robinson, Stenlund, Carlsson, Harrington and Peeke have contributed to an impressive 18 game stretch that has seen the Jackets lose in regulation only 2 times (both to SJS).
Today Atkinson and Peeke were activated of IR. Peeke was assigned to the AHL Monsters followed by Gabe Carlsson and Ryan MacInnis. The CBJ also swapped AHL goalies sending Kivlenieks down and bringing up Vehvilainen.
With Cam's return from IR and subsequent insertion into the line up, it begs the question: Do those returning from injury have to earn their spot back into the line up?
Argument for earning your spot back:
If it ain't broke don't fix it. The CBJ are rolling right now. Boston came to town and Elvis put up his second straight shutout with a 3-0 victory. Wenn, Stenlund and Nash had a goal each. These guys are not exactly what you would call primary scorers. Against VGK the scorers were Wenn, PLD and Bemstrom. Of the CBJ's last 6 goals only one came from a player you have an expectation to put up points.
Momentum is something that is great while you have it and terrible when you don't. Keep things rolling just the way they are.
Cam wasn't playing that good while he was healthy. If you have a star out there sometimes teammates on the ice look to him for the scoring rather than driving the play themselves.
Argument for getting your spot back:
Cam is Cam. You cannot keep a talent like this off the ice. He was getting hot just before he got injured and was involved in the first six games of this current 18 game stretch. In those six games he had 4 goals and an assist.
Eventually other teams in the league will figure out the young players once there is enough film. No one replacement player has put up huge numbers, their is a reason that they started the season in Cleveland. Team play is great, confidence is great, but over time talent in this league will shine through.
Constant adjustment to stay one step ahead of the league is necessary in order to sustain prolonged winning.
My Take
Replacing MacInnis on the roster with Cam isn't a huge deal. Inserting Cam into the line up will have disruption. My guess is that Cam was not rushed back because of the current success of the team. He is likely to be 100% when he hits the ice. It is also likely that he has wanted to come back well before today's announcement...so he should be hungry to get out there and contribute. Hopefully he doesn't try to do too much and force bad plays.
Peeke being assigned to the AHL tells me that they want him to regain 'game speed' before throwing him back into an NHL game. I would like to see him ahead of Harrington and maybe even Kukan in the pecking order.
What happens when others become healthy? On forward the CBJ have Anderson, Texier and Bjorkstrand still mending from injury. They would likely replace Robinson, Gerbe, Lilja or Stenlund. The obvious assignment back to CLE would be Lilja. Nothing against his play, I certainly thought he had a chance to make the roster out of camp, but he has been the least impactful of the four. Robinson and Anderson play similar styles, so I think he would be off to the AHL when Anderson returns. Stenlund would be my next selection to be returned to the Monsters. Bjork or Tex could pick up his production. I would hate to do it to him because he picked up goals when they were desperately needed. That leaves Gerbe. He is the veteran among the group and plays a game that those coming of IR don't have. He is a scrappy heart-and-soul guy who we've seen have a scoring touch as well. Many refer to this type of player as a 'sand paper guy'. He rubs the opposition the wrong way on most nights. His skills of late have differentiated him as a bit more than that.
On D, Kukan and Murray are still on the mend. My guess is that Carlsson was sent down in anticipation of one of them returning soon. The other demotion would go to
Harrington. Interestingly, I believe that Gavrikov has elevated his play significantly over the last two months. That coupled with the emergence of Peeke and Kukan could make Murray and/or Nutivaara expendable. Trade deadline chess pieces...maybe. Careful consideration should be taken when trading away defensive depth as we saw what happened in the playoffs last season.
Regardless of what happens two things are true. One, Columbus has survived the rash of injuries. One might even say that they thrived while players have been out. And two, it is always a good problem to have when you are sending NHL-worthy players back to the AHL. They have shown that Columbus does have depth that most believe didn't exist in the system.
Next up, is CAR on Thursday. They are two points ahead of the Jackets in the Metro. They are coming off a shutout loss to WSH on Monday, but will have the recently signed Justin Williams with them.
Good Luck and Go Jackets!
Columbus Blue Jackets Blogger • 
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