Blue Jackets Claim Christian Fischer From Red Wings

2:19 p.m.: Columbus announced they’ve reassigned Pyyhtia as the corresponding move. He has 4-3–7 in 47 games with the Jackets this year with a -11 rating.

1:08 p.m.: The Blue Jackets have claimed winger Christian Fischer off waivers from the Red Wings, per Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic.

Given that the Blue Jackets didn’t have any additional room on their roster for another player, the team will have to make a corresponding roster move to make Fischer’s claim official. The inevitable roster move will presumably see forward Joseph Labate or Mikael Pyyhtia reassigned to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.

Today’s claim ends a nearly two-year run for Fischer in Detroit. The former 32nd-overall pick of the 2015 NHL Draft signed with the Red Wings in the summer of 2023 after being non-tendered by the Arizona Coyotes.

Before signing with the second team of his nine-year career, Fischer had shown flashes of being an effective bottom-six scorer. The Chicago, IL native scored 56 goals and 111 points in 398 games in a Coyotes uniform, averaging 13:16 of ice time per game. That scoring output includes a career-year during his sophomore campaign in 2017-18, registering 15 goals and 33 points in 79 contests, finishing seventh on the team in scoring.

Similarly to the end of his tenure in Arizona, Fischer has been primarily utilized as a defensive winger in Detroit. He’ll finish his time with the Red Wings with six goals and 26 points in 124 games while also laying 227 body checks.

Fischer should be a better player than Columbus’s other options on the team’s fourth line, but they shouldn’t have any ideas about putting Fischer on the team’s penalty kill. The Blue Jackets could use help in that department, given their 26th-ranked success rate with a man disadvantage. However, Fischer had sometimes featured on Detroit’s league-worst penalty kill, with a ghastly on-ice goals against/60 while short handed of 15.4.