Blue Jackets 2023-24 Season Expectations: Damon Severson

It’ll likely be a bit painful toward the end of the deal, however, the $6.25 million average annual value will likely be less impactful when the salary cap starts rising in the near future. Considering he’s another big name joining the roster, there will be some big expectations on him during his first season wearing blue. 

Spot in the Lineup

As the most skilled right-handed defenseman currently on the roster, it’s likely he starts the season on the top pairing alongside Zach Werenski, which will be an increase in responsibility from what he had with the New Jersey Devils last season. Under Lindy Ruff, he was averaging the fourth most ice time for defensemen behind Dougie Hamilton, John Marino and Jonas Seigenthaler. With that being said, when it came to 5-on-5, he often spent his time on the third pairing alongside either Kevin Bahl or Brendan Smith. However, a majority of his time came on special teams, helping both the power play and penalty kill. If the Blue Jackets decide to go with two defensemen on the first power play unit, one of them will likely be Severson. Otherwise, it’s likely going to be Werenski on the first unit with Severson adding some additional firepower to the second alongside four forwards. 

Production Expectations

Considering Severson is known primarily as an offensive defenseman, many will focus on his offensive contribution when considering what he can bring to the Blue Jackets. Although, it’s important to note that he’s more than capable in his own zone as well. He’s regularly throwing himself in front of shots or getting the puck away from the attackers successfully. It was rare for him to turn the puck over in the defensive zone last season as well, however, in the past, he has had some struggles in that regard. 

Offensively, he’s not going to get many high-danger opportunities, however, he is a strong playmaker from the point. More often than not he’s a starting point of scoring plays, as most of his points come as secondary assists followed closely by primary assists. Overall, he can regularly make a pass leading directly to an opportunity but also set up more detailed plays as well. Add in his defensive capabilities as well and he’ll be an impact player on both sides of the game for the Blue Jackets.

Severson showed how strong of an offensive threat he can be during the 2021-22 season when Dougie Hamilton was out of the Devils lineup at times, and when he had to fill in on the top pairing, Severson thrived. That season he had a career-high 46 points while playing the most minutes of his career. It seems that he plays at a higher offensive level when he’s playing more, and having another defenseman who can log heavy amounts of ice time alongside Werenski will be massively beneficial for the Blue Jackets. The only issue is that he tends to make mistakes in his own zone when he’s logging heavy minutes as well, so essentially if you want him to put up high offensive numbers, it’s best to have him out there as often as possible. However, the trade-off is that a tired Severson is much more likely to turn the puck over and create a scoring chance for the opposition. If he averages roughly 20 to 22 minutes a night, it should be a bit of a sweet spot.

Points-wise, I’d expect Severson to end up between 35 and 40 points on the season with roughly 10 of those being goals. Both numbers would be higher than his career average, as he’s averaged roughly 6.4 goals per season and 29.2 points per season; however, based on recent performances, he’d certainly be able to do it given the circumstances. He’ll be getting more ice time in all situations and he’ll be considered one of the top guys of the defensive corps, and if Mike Babcock leans on him how he should, then Severson can quickly become a top contributor.

Severson is going to be a strong addition to the Blue Jackets’ blue line. It’s likely that both the coaching staff and fan base alike will have moments where they question certain things in his game, specifically those aforementioned defensive zone turnovers, but more often than not, he’s going to contribute at a high level and help the team take a step forward. His arrival in Columbus may not receive the same amount of fanfare as Johnny Gaudreau’s last year, however, he’s a phenomenal player in his own right who will be a game-changer for the team.