East Notes: Jiricek, Dach, Czarnik, Mazur

While Blue Jackets defenseman David Jiricek is eligible to be sent to the minors which would allow the team more time to decide whether or not they should burn the first year of his entry-level deal, Chris Johnston of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that the blueliner is expected to remain with the big club through his tenth game.  Doing so means that he would officially burn the first season of his entry-level contract.  The 19-year-old has two points in eight games so far this year in Columbus while logging a little under 14 minutes a night.  His presence on the roster means that two rearguards (Andrew Peeke and Adam Boqvist) are on the outside looking in but it appears that will be the case for the foreseeable future.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

• The Canadiens announced that center Kirby Dach underwent successful knee surgery today. Dach sustained a season-ending torn ACL and MCL in Montreal’s second game of the season earlier this month while playing against Chicago, his former team.  Surgery was delayed until today to allow the swelling to go down.  Dach is expected to be fully recovered in time for training camp next fall.
• CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the Red Wings have assigned forward Austin Czarnik to AHL Grand Rapids. The 30-year-old has played in eight games this season, picking up a single assist while logging just under 10 minutes a game.  The move puts Detroit at just 18 healthy skaters which isn’t likely viable so a recall – likely Czarnik – will come in advance of Thursday’s game against Florida.  Once Czarnik plays in ten games or is on the roster for 30 days, he’ll need to clear waivers again so this transaction stops the clock on the latter counter for now.
• Still with Detroit, the Red Wings announced that they have activated forward Carter Mazur from season-opening injured reserve and assigned him to Grand Rapids. The 21-year-old suffered a lower-body injury in the opening game of Detroit’s prospect tournament back in September.  Mazur spent most of last season in college with Denver but managed to get in six games with the Griffins down the stretch where he had six points.  Because Mazur wasn’t on Detroit’s roster last season, there was no cap charge for his SOIR placement.