What Your Team Is Thankful For: Columbus Blue Jackets
As Thanksgiving and the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2023-24. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Who are the Blue Jackets thankful for?
Not only is the team captain first among the team in goal-scoring, but he is first in scoring among all Columbus forwards. If Jenner is set to continue his offensive pace for the rest of the season, he is set to clear his career record in both goals and points.
While high-priced players such as Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine continue to struggle early in the season, Jenner is picking up their offensive slack in a big way. Not only has Jenner been getting it done on the offensive end, but his defensive play has been solid this year as well.
Currently sitting at 56.1% faceoff percentage in nearly 500 draws, Jenner also carries at 51.0% Corsi For percentage, as well as a 91.0% On Ice SV%, both of which sit higher than his career averages. It has been a tough start to the year for the Blue Jackets in the standings, but their team captain is by far and away their most stable and consistent player each night.
What are the Blue Jackets thankful for?
An improved defensive core.
After finishing last season at 31st in the NHL in terms of GA/G, the General Manager of Columbus, Jarmo Kekäläinen, swung two big trades to dramatically improve the defensive depth for the Blue Jackets. In only three days, Columbus acquired Damon Severson from the New Jersey Devils in a sign-and-trade, while also acquiring Ivan Provorov from the Philadelphia Flyers in a three-team deal.
There is still a lot of time left in the season, but in the same GA/G statistic, the Blue Jackets have managed to jump up nine spots, allowing goaltender Elvis Merzlikins to play more comfortably between the pipes. Not only has their defense improved, but Provorov, along with defenseman Zach Werenski, sits third and first on the team in scoring, respectively.
Unfortunately, Severson will find himself on the team’s injured reserve for a total of six weeks due to an oblique injury, and rookie defenseman David Jiricek is experiencing some growing pains in his first full season with the team. Nevertheless, thanks to the big moves made to upgrade the blueline last offseason, the Blue Jackets defensive core is much improved from where it was just a season ago.
What would the Blue Jackets be even more thankful for?
More production from their star players.
This season, one of the most glaring issues in Columbus is the lack of production from both Gaudreau and Laine, who are making a combined $18.45MM until the 2026-27 season. As we are now in December, the two have only combined for eight goals and 20 points, much lower than what should be expected out of both of them.
Gaudreau, for his part, has managed five points in his last five games but only scored eight points in his first 20 games before that. Laine, who is one of the more natural goal-scorers in the NHL, has scored three points in his last five games, only managing a total of four points in his previous 10 games. The Head Coach of the Blue Jackets, Pascal Vincent, sent a serious message to Laine only a few weeks ago, making him a healthy scratch for the first time in his career. 
Now playing in their 22nd season as a franchise, the Blue Jackets only playoff series victory came back in the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs, where the team relied heavily on star talent such as Artemi Panarin and Pierre-Luc Dubois. If Columbus is hoping to return to contention, although it will likely not be this year, their star players must lead the way.
What should be on the Blue Jackets holiday wish list?
More draft picks.
On paper, if the Blue Jackets can get their star players clicking again, this team has the depth to compete in the Eastern Conference playoff race as soon as next year. Unfortunately, aside from Gaudreau, Columbus has historically had a difficult time recruiting free-agent talent, meaning they will have to improve this team via trades and the NHL Draft.
Last year, given the strength at the top of the draft, the Blue Jackets “settled” for Adam Fantilli with the third overall selection, who otherwise would have been the top player available in several other drafts. At this year’s draft, there is similar talent at the top of the class, and Columbus looks poised to once again have a top-10 pick.
Sitting at 27th place in the league and last place in the Metropolitan Division, the Blue Jackets should be one of the featured sellers at this year’s trade deadline, with plenty of teams looking to improve their lineup. Columbus will almost certainly look to move out at least one defenseman and could look to seriously thin out their surplus of bodies in the forward core as well.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Ottawa Senators Send Matthew Highmore To AHL
Earlier this morning, the Ottawa Senators announced they would be sending forward Matthew Highmore to their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators. Highmore had previously been recalled twice in November, tallying one assist in six games for Ottawa.
In his first season with the Senators organization, Highmore is following up on a very productive season spent with the St.Louis Blues organization last year. Playing in only two NHL games, Highmore was extremely productive for the Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, scoring 19 goals and 42 assists in 68 games, which would be good for second on the team in total scoring.
Aside from last season in the AHL, Highmore has been a milder scorer at the professional level, and purely a depth forward at the NHL level. Back in the 2021-22 season spent with the Vancouver Canucks, Highmore scored five goals and seven assists in 46 games played, which still holds up as his best career season to date.
Nevertheless, the demotion of Highmore is likely meant to clear cap space, as Ottawa will be expecting back forward Ridly Greig as soon as next week. Greig currently sits on the Senators’ long-term injured reserve after suffering a lower-body injury on November 2nd. Before the injury, Greig scored two goals and five assists in nine games, and still sits 10th on the team in scoring, despite missing a month of action.
Jordan Greenway Will Not Return To Game Due To Upper-Body Injury
Early in their game tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes, Buffalo Sabres’ forward, Jordan Greenway, left the bench with an apparent injury. After the first intermission, the Sabres announced that Greenway would not return to tonight’s game due to an upper-body injury.
Through 20 games this season, Greenway had gotten off to a solid pace compared to his previous production, scoring two goals and five assists while averaging just under 17 minutes a night. Primarily playing on Buffalo’s third line next to Peyton Krebs and Kyle Okposo, Greenway has mostly factored in as a gritty player on the Sabres roster, blocking 20 shots and throwing 29 hits to start the season.
Given the nature of the injury, it is unlikely that Greenway will be cleared to play in the team’s game tomorrow against the Nashville Predators, meaning the Sabres’ extra forward, Isak Rosen, will likely factor into tomorrow’s contest. Through three games in the NHL this season, Rosen has yet to score a point, but has scored eight goals and 11 assists through 16 games for Buffalo’s AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.
Nevertheless, it is a tough blow to a Buffalo forward group that has struggled immensely compared to last year’s team. The Sabres currently sit 23rd in the league in GF/G as opposed to last season, when the team finished third in the respective category.
Snapshots: Tanev, Barzal, Sillinger
In a longer review of the rumors circulating around the Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames defenseman, Chris Tanev, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman believes that if the Maple Leafs acquire Tanev, they may look to sign him rather quickly to an extension (Link). Being a native of Toronto, Tanev may take a discount to finish his career with his hometown team. Still, at his age, and with more important internal free agents on the horizon, it may be difficult for the Maple Leafs to make it work.
In the article, Friedman said, “He’s a Toronto guy, Treliving signed him, I bet he’ll have a good idea of what it will take to keep him. That’s the one guy I think Toronto goes hard to get, because even if he’s acquired as a rental, I think they’re going to be pretty confident they can keep him. But we’ll see.”
Although Tanev could significantly improve the Maple Leafs’ defense, with William Nylander, Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, and T.J. Brodie, among others, set to hit unrestricted free agency next summer, signing Tanev to an extension could become close to impossible. It is not a foregone conclusion that Toronto will sign all these players to extensions, or even that they are interested in resigning all of them, but the Maple Leafs should be trying to keep their cap situation as open as possible for next summer.
Other snapshots:
- The New York Islanders announced that forward Mathew Barzal will miss tonight’s game with an illness. Continuing with an organizational theme for the last several years, the Islanders once again have one of the lowest-scoring rosters in the league, with only five players scoring more than five goals through 20 or more games. Barzal, who is leading the team in points, has seven goals and 16 assists, once again showing off his elite playmaking abilities.
- One of the missing players from the Columbus Blue Jackets practice this morning was forward Cole Sillinger, who is out with an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day (X Link). Although Columbus has picked things up a tad since a rough start to the season, Sillinger is now in his second season of dramatically struggling with production. In 88 games played over the last two seasons, Sillinger has only scored four goals and 16 assists, after scoring 16 goals and 15 assists in 79 games in his rookie season.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Colorado Avalanche
As Thanksgiving and the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2023-24. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Colorado Avalanche.
Who are the Avalanche thankful for?
Although Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen are MVP-caliber players in their own right, it is difficult to imagine a successful Avalanche team without defenseman Cale Makar on the blue line. Not only is Makar one of the best offensive defensemen in the entire league, there is an argument to be made that he is the best all-around player in the league, given his ability to shut down other team’s best players.
Through 21 games so far this season, Makar has six goals and 26 assists, which would put him on pace for a 125-point season, which would be one of the best seasons put together since the days of Paul Coffey and even Bobby Orr. On the defensive side of the puck, Makar holds an impressive +20 rating, a 55.5% CF%, and a career-best 92.1% oiSV%, all while averaging over 24 minutes of ice time per night.
Even at $9MM per year for this season and the following three, the contract that Makar is under is beginning to look like one of the bigger steals in the league today. With a Calder Trophy, Norris Trophy, Conn Smythe Trophy, and a Stanley Cup ring all in his collection before the age of 26, Makar is on pace to be one of, if not the best defenseman who has ever played in the NHL.
What are the Avalanche thankful for?
Improved depth.
Last season, in an attempt to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, the Avalanche were severely knocked by injuries, using a total of 27 forwards, 11 defensemen, and five goaltenders. With a decent amount of cap space this past summer, Colorado used a majority of that to improve the depth of their team, bringing in Ryan Johansen, Ross Colton, Miles Wood, Tomas Tatar, Jonathan Drouin, Joel Kiviranta, Fredrik Olofsson, and Ivan Prosvetov.
From the forwards that were brought in, the Avalanche have gotten 25 goals, and 23 assists, allowing forwards such as MacKinnon and Rantanen to not carry such a burden on their shoulders. Although team captain Gabriel Landeskog still finds himself on LTIR, as well as the relatively recent placement of Artturi Lehkonen, Colorado has still maintained a 15-6-0 record, sitting in third place in the Western Conference.
As seen in the team’s playoff loss to the Seattle Kraken in the first round of last year’s playoffs, depth is an important part of any successful team, and up to this point, it has paid off well for the Avalanche. 
What would the Avalanche be even more thankful for?
More stability in the net.
Last season, his first with the team, Alexandar Georgiev started in 62 games, winning 40 of them, while posting a .918 SV% and a 2.53 GAA. Although the wins are largely a team statistic, Georgiev still placed in the top 10 for Vezina Trophy voting after spending much of his career as a backup for the New York Rangers.
Once again leading the league in wins for goaltenders with 13, Georgiev is not producing the same way he did last season. Through 18 starts, he holds a .898 SV% and a 44.4% quality start percentage according to Hockey Reference’s analysis, a 21.7% drop from last season.
Thankfully, the defense playing in front of him has shored up a lot of his shortcomings through the season so far, but as any Stanley Cup winning can attest to, once in the playoffs, a team will rely on their goaltender to steal a game or two. Georgiev has been solid in his last three starts, but Colorado will need him to play with more consistency between the pipes going forward if they are to compete for the Stanley Cup again this spring.
What should be on the Avalanche holiday wish list?
One more goal-scorer.
As of right now, Colorado sits second in the league in goals, but due to their improved depth, Rantanen and Valeri Nichushkin are the only two players on the team with double-digit goals. Especially on the powerplay, as the Avalanche are currently sitting in 18th place in the league with a 19.77% completion rate, another goal-scorer could turn this team into a monster come playoff time.
Although plenty could change leading up to the deadline, Colorado may look for buy-low short-term options to improve their goal-scoring capabilities, as Mike Hoffman of the San Jose Sharks could be a potential fit in the next several weeks. However, given the current state of the standings in the Eastern Conference, and a potential inability to keep him on a long-term deal next offseason, there may be a winger playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins that could be up for grabs.
Currently, on the last year of a five-year, $30MM contract, there is a possibility that the Penguins will make Jake Guentzel available at the deadline if they do not climb the standings in the next couple of weeks. Hitting 40 goals twice in his career up to this point, it would be a near-perfect addition to the Avalanche, who should be looking for a winger to complete their top-six heading into the playoff season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Snapshots: Ducks, Schwartz, Maple Leafs
Without a definitive commitment on their availability for the team’s game tonight, Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune reports that the Anaheim Ducks are nearing the return of defensemen Radko Gudas and Ilya Lyubushkin. Gudas had previously missed the entirety of the team’s last game against the Vancouver Canucks, while Lyubushkin left during the game and did not return to action.
Anaheim could certainly use the reinforcements on the blue line, as they are currently riding a seven-game losing streak, being outscored by a margin of 21 goals in that time. Providing mild offense in their own right, Gudas and Lyubushkin’s defensive capabilities would help the Ducks considerably in keeping the pucks out of their net.
In regards to Gudas specifically, even though he was an integral defensive cog in the Florida Panthers’ run to the Stanley Cup Final last summer, he has arguably become even more important to the Ducks organization. Over the last several seasons, Anaheim has had a difficult time in the defensive zone, but with Gudas’ arrival, he has aided the team with a 91.3% oiSV% through the first 21 games of the season, a higher mark than even his solid career averages in that department.
Other snapshots:
- Earlier today, it was reported that after leaving Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks with a lower-body injury, the Seattle Kraken would be placing forward Jaden Schwartz on injured reserve. In speaking about that directly with reporters today, the head coach of the Kraken, Dave Hakstol, stated that Schwartz’s placement on the IR would be longer than a ‘day-to-day’ injury, indicating that Schwartz could be out of Seattle’s lineup for at least the next handful of games (X Link).
- Although being acquired by the Vancouver Canucks a little while ago, there was another team extremely interested in adding Nikita Zadorov to their blue line. Kevin Weekes of ESPN reported that the Toronto Maple Leafs were interested in acquiring both Zadorov and Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames in one trade, giving the indication that the Maple Leafs will be adding a notable defenseman in some form or another by the trade deadline.
Snapshots: Kane, Perry, Near
Yesterday, in a rare high-profile signing in the month of November, the Patrick Kane free agency saga finally came to its conclusion as the former MVP decided to sign with the Detroit Red Wings on a one-year, $2.75MM prorated contract for the remainder of the season. After recovering from off-season hip surgery, Kane took to the ice for the first time today with his new team, in hopes of being ready for game action in the near future.
Commenting on exactly that, Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press reports that Kane will more than likely make his Red Wings debut next Tuesday, as the team takes on his hometown Buffalo Sabres. With three games in between, Detroit will conveniently match up against both of Kane’s former teams, playing the New York Rangers tonight, and the Chicago Blackhawks tomorrow.
Even when he does begin playing in regular action, it will likely take some time for Kane to get readjusted to the speed of the game, especially against a high-flying team such as the Sabres. After appearing in 74 games last season, Kane has not skated in an NHL game in over 200 days, as his last game came with the Rangers in the 2023-24 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Other snapshots:
- In a very mysterious and convoluted report from yesterday, the Chicago Blackhawks held a press conference regarding the team’s decision to terminate the contract of Corey Perry. After having been on unconditional waivers for the last 24 hours, Chris Johnston of TSN is reporting that Perry has officially cleared, and is now an unrestricted free agent. Although he is now free to sign with any team, it is incredibly unlikely that Perry will find a new destination given that his contract was terminated ‘with cause’.
- In June, long-time Commissioner of the Western Hockey League, Ron Robinson, announced he would be stepping down from his position at the conclusion of the 2023-24 WHL season. Seemingly having found their replacement as league Commissioner, Darren Dreger of TSN is reporting that Dan Near will be taking over the role, and the league will announce the decision tomorrow. Near, who has been serving as a Global Senior Director with Adidas since January of this year, has previously served in the NHL’s league offices from 2006-2016.
Vegas Golden Knights Sign Jordan Gustafson To Entry-Level Contract
The Vegas Golden Knights announce they have come to an agreement on a three-year, entry-level contract with forward Jordan Gustafson. Gustafson was originally drafted 79th overall by the Golden Knights in the 2022 NHL Draft and is currently playing for the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League.
Although he is still only 19 years old, Gustafson is now in his fourth season with the Thunderbirds, a major junior career that has been productive in more ways than one. In a total of 130 regular season games played for Seattle, Gustafson has scored 43 goals and 59 assists, while managing an extremely impressive +39 rating.
His best performance in the WHL playoffs came back in the 2021-22 season, as the fourth-seeded Thunderbirds went 12-7 en route to the WHL Finals, losing to the Edmonton Oil Kings in six games. During that run to the finals, Gustafson would score four goals, and assisted on 12, while carrying a +9 rating through the playoff stretch.
Not only has Gustafson shown that he can score at a respectable rate at the junior level, but he plays well in all three zones. Showcasing his skillset mostly in the neutral zone, Gustafson has shown the ability to be a very productive off-puck player throughout his career in the WHL.
Injury Notes: Zadina, Hischier, Martin
During tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, Max Miller of The Hockey News reported that San Jose Sharks’ forward, Filip Zadina, will not return to the game tonight. The injury sustained by Zadina is undisclosed at this time, but the forward did leave partway through the second period of the game after playing in just over four minutes.
Signing a one-year, $1.1MM contract with the Sharks over the summer, Zadina did not officially become a free agent until July 7th, after being placed on unconditional waivers by the Detroit Red Wings for the purpose of eliminating the final two years and $3.65MM left on his previous contract. After being drafted 6th overall by the Red Wings in the 2018 NHL Draft, Detroit had tried and failed for several years to unlock his offensive potential.
Now with access to much more playing time, Zadina is actually off to a better offensive start than he was last season, scoring three goals and two assists in the first 19 games of the season. With a limited amount of talent on San Jose’s roster, Zadina has also been used on a subpar Sharks powerplay as well.
Other injury notes:
- After being on the ice for practice yesterday, one of the notable missing pieces from the New Jersey Devils forward core tonight in the team’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets was captain Nico Hischier (X Link). The team does line up against the Buffalo Sabres tomorrow night, but it remains to be seen whether or not Hischier can return to the lineup. Since his last game on October 27th, New Jersey has fallen dramatically in the standings with a 4-6-0 record.
- Andrew Gross of Newsday reports that Matt Martin did not travel with the rest of the New York Islanders to Ottawa as he is still suffering from an upper-body injury. This will mark the fourth consecutive game that Martin has missed, but he could return Saturday as the team returns to New York. In 14 games so far this season, strictly playing on the fourth line, Martin has scored one goal and one assist.
Samuel Girard Enters NHLPA Player Assistance Program
After leaving the team for personal reasons on Wednesday, the NHL announced that Colorado Avalanche defenseman, Samuel Girard, has entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. Under the agreement between the two parties, Girard will be away from the team indefinitely and will continue to be paid for however long he is within the program.
The Player Assistance Program is available to all players in the NHL and is a resource to battle mental health, substance abuse, or any/all personal struggles a player may be going through. Given the serious nature of these issues, it would be entirely inappropriate to speculate the reasoning behind Girard’s entry into the program.
However, through his agency (CAA Hockey), Girard gave his own statement regarding his entry into the program:
“I have made a proactive decision to take care of my mental health, and will be entering treatment for severe anxiety and depression that has gone untreated for too long and led to alcohol abuse. Taking care of your mental health is of the upmost importance, and I encourage everyone to speak up and seek help should you feel like you need it. I want to express my gratitude to my wife, family, friends, the club, my teammates, and the fans for their patience, understanding, and continued support” (X Link).
In 15 games so far this season for Colorado, Girard has scored one goal and three assists, all while averaging over 20 and a half minutes of ice time per night. Over this last five seasons for the Avalanche, Girard has regularly averaged between 25 and 40 every year, including 22 points in 51 playoff games.
All of us at PHR extend our wishes to Girard that he receives the help he needs and a productive road to recovery.