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Joonas Korpisalo Placed On Injured Reserve

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Dec 3: Following Tarasov’s debut, the Blue Jackets have placed Korpisalo on injured reserve retroactive to December 1 with a non-COVID illness. He’ll have to miss seven days, meaning he’s out for a few more.

Dec 2: EBUG alerts all over the league today. The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Daniil Tarasov from the AHL and expect to have him starting tonight’s game against the Dallas Stars, after both Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins were ruled out with a non-COVID illness. The team has an emergency goalie–Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch identifies him as Casey Sherwood, a 36-year-old who was briefly under contract in the ECHL nearly ten years ago–on the ice at morning skate. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic tweets that if possible, Merzlikins will serve as the backup, but Tarasov is expected to arrive in Dallas around 2 pm and start tonight.

The 22-year-old Tarasov has just 15 starts at the AHL level under his belt, after being selected by the Blue Jackets in 2017. The Russian netminder split last season between Salavat Yulaev Ufa in the KHL and the Cleveland Monsters, though his time in the minors was not very impressive. This year hasn’t been much different, with an .897 save percentage in nine appearances, but there are still high hopes for the 6’5″ goaltender.

In fact, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff mentioned Tarasov in his latest trade targets column, which lists Korpisalo at the very top. With Merzlikins taking over the starting role completely and Tarasov “eventually waiting in the wings,” teams have called the Blue Jackets about Korpisalo’s availability. According to Seravalli, Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen is aware that the netminder would be “open to an opportunity to play elsewhere,” though there has been no formal trade request to this point.

While decisions shouldn’t be made on one performance, Tarasov will at least get a chance to show where his development has taken him to this point by suiting up for his NHL debut.

Department Of Player Safety Announces Several Fines

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The Department of Player Safety is working this holiday, as they’ve issued a pair of fines for actions in last night’s Winnipeg Jets-Columbus Blue Jackets game. Max Domi has been fined $5,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct, while Josh Morrissey has earned a $5,000 fine for slashing. Both are the maximum allowable under the CBA.

That’s not all, however, as Ottawa Senators defenseman Nikita Zaitsev has earned a $5,000 fine in his first game back from the COVID protocol for cross-checking Timo Meier of the San Jose Sharks.

Morrissey especially seems lucky to have escaped without a suspension, given the violent slash he gave to Alexandre Texier as an empty-net goal went in. He was given a two-minute minor penalty for the play, but the game was out of reach at that point late in the third period.

Domi meanwhile already received six minutes in penalties during the game, but the league did not reveal what exactly the fine was for. The Blue Jackets forward did cause a scrum to happen after shooting a puck into the net well after the whistle, and attempted to fight an unwilling Evgeny Svechnikov while the linesmen were trying to split them up.

Zaitsev meanwhile cross-checked Meier in the face, though not with the force of some previous incidents that have merited suspensions. He didn’t receive a penalty on the play and Meier did not suffer a serious injury.

Blue Jackets Activate Max Domi From COVID Protocol

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This has been a trying season so far for Blue Jackets forward Max Domi.  However, things will be looking up for him now as the team announced that they have activated him from COVID protocol.  Domi was initially placed there on November 1st which means he missed nearly double the minimum time of ten days while recovering.  Columbus had an open roster spot so no corresponding move needed to be made to add him back to the active roster.

Domi was initially expected to miss at least a month of the regular season while recovering from shoulder surgery but was able to get back ahead of schedule, suiting up in their preseason finale and was in the lineup on opening night where he had three points.  However, in just his second game, he suffered a fractured rib which caused him to miss four games.  Then he was back for two more before this bout with COVID.

It’s hardly the start to the season that Domi wanted, especially with the added importance of this being a contract year as he’ll be set to hit the open market for the first time in July.  Coming off a couple of disappointing seasons – one with Columbus and one with Montreal – the 26-year-old needs a bounceback season to rebuild some value.  Now with this behind him, he’ll hopefully have a chance to do just that.

AHL Shuffle: 11/14/21

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A busy weekend in the NHL continues today. After 26 teams took the ice on Saturday, 12 will suit up on Sunday, including eight teams playing back-to-back. As a result, a number of teams could be looking to make changes on the fly today. On the other hand, with only two games on the docket on Monday, other teams could be using the time off to tweak their roster (and manage their salary cap). Keep up with all of the action right here:

Atlantic Division

  • The Ottawa Senators had recalled unheralded defenseman Maxence Guenette from AHL Belleville on Saturday to assist with the injury crisis on their blue line, but with Artem Zub able to play Guenette was shortly re-assigned. Apparently, the team still has some concerns as Guenette is headed back to Ottawa today, the team announced. If Guenette plays on Sunday, it will be the NHL debut for the 2019 seventh-round pick.

Metropolitan Division

  • Frequent Flyer Nick Seeler is taking a departure flight down to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the team announced. Seeler has been back and forth all season, but has actually not seen any AHL action yet. The veteran defenseman has played in 11 games with Philadelphia, but has been held scoreless in a limited role.
  • As expected, the Pittsburgh Penguins have activated Sidney Crosby, Brian Dumoulin, Marcus Pettersson, and Chad Ruhwedel. In order to clear the space for these additions, Drew O’Connor, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Juuso Riikola, and Louis Domingue have all been reassigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, per the Pittsburgh Tribune’s Seth Rorabaugh. It’s a bittersweet swap for the Penguins, who undoubtedly get better but at the cost of exciting young pieces in O’Connor and Joseph.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets recalled Justin Danforth from the Cleveland Monsters Sunday afternoon, per a team release. Danforth, who was signed to a one-year, one-way contract this offseason, could make his NHL debut with Columbus after potting five points in eight AHL games to start the season. The 28-year-old Oshawa, Ontario, native has been one of the world’s best scoring forwards outside of the NHL in the past few seasons with a trio of strong performances in the Liiga and KHL.

Central Division

Pacific Division

  • Without a game until Wednesday, the Los Angeles Kings have sent some of their bottom of the lineup players down to the minors. The team has announced that forward T.J. Tynan and defensemen Kale Clague and Austin Strand have been reassigned to the AHL’s Ontario Reign. While Clague has played in eight games with L.A. so far this season, Strand and Tynan have just two games between them and could be in for a longer stay in the AHL.
  • After clearing waivers, Riley Sheahan has been assigned to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, the Seattle Kraken announced. Sheahan was one of the few expendable players left on a Seattle roster that still faces a roster crunch with a number of valuable players – though that value has not produced many wins thus far.
  • To make room for Tyler Motte who was activated off injured reserve, the Vancouver Canucks announced that they’ve sent defenseman Jack Rathbone to the Abbotsford Canucks of the AHL.  Rathbone has played in nine games for Vancouver this season, averaging just under 14 minutes per game.

Adam Boqvist Has Recovered From Lower-Body Injury

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It appears that Adam Boqvist has some work to do to get back into the lineup for the Blue Jackets.  Although he had been dealing with a lower-body injury, the defenseman has actually been a healthy scratch for the past two games, notes Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription link).  The 21-year-old was one of the key pieces coming back to Columbus as part of the Seth Jones trade over the summer but he has yet to take a step forward, logging just over 17 minutes a game in his first five contests while being held without a point.  Now, he’ll have to bide his time and for another opportunity to suit up.

Snapshots: Rask, Housley, Carrier

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TSN’s Chris Johnston notes on Thursday’s edition of Insider Trading that free agent goaltender Tuukka Rask is working his way back after offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum and could be ready to return to game action as soon as January. Johnston notes specifically that Rask could be an option for Team Finland at the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, potentially a huge boost to an already strong Finnish program. While Johnston reports that Rask’s main focus in his “mind and his heart” remains with the Boston Bruins, the door isn’t completely closed on other options, either. Regardless, it’s good to see one of the league’s best goalies of his generation working his way back to health for what could be his last chance at a championship.

More notes from around the league:

  • Arizona Coyotes assistant coach Phil Housley has entered the league’s COVID-19 protocol, per the team’s public relations department. He won’t travel with the team on their upcoming road trip. He’ll miss three games, including a back-to-back set against the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators this Friday and Saturday. Arizona’s next home game is a week from today against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and pending test results, Housley could be available to return then.
  • According to the team, Nashville Predators defenseman Alexandre Carrier is out for Thursday night’s game against the St. Louis Blues with an upper-body injury. The Predators note that he’ll be evaluated further when the team returns home. Carrier blocked a shot that hit him up high during Wednesday night’s game against the Dallas Stars and did not return.

League Notes: Nash, All-Star Events, DeAngelo

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The Columbus Blue Jackets will retire Rick Nash’s No. 61 on March 5, 2022, raising it to the rafters of Nationwide Arena. This will be the first number retired in Blue Jackets history, but certainly makes sense given Nash’s place on the club’s all-time leaderboards.

First in goals, assists, points, and games played, Nash was the original superstar for the club, winning the Rocket Richard Trophy in just his second season in the NHL. He would move on to New York and then Boston during a 15-year playing career, but returned to Columbus to work as a special advisor in 2019 and is now the team’s director of player development. Even if you weren’t a Blue Jackets fan, jaw-dropping moments like Nash’s goal against the Arizona Coyotes put the club on the national stage.

  • The league is considering two new All-Star events on the Las Vegas Strip, according to Greg Wyshynski of ESPN. The upcoming All-Star festivities will be held in Las Vegas on February 4-5, and undoubtedly have some new flare thanks to the city that’s putting them on. The traditional skills competitions, Wyshynski reports, would still be held inside T-Mobile Arena and these new events would have a “Vegas touch to them.”
  • Tony DeAngelo has been issued a $2,000 fine for diving/embellishment, which is the penalty for the player’s second incident of the season. He was first issued a warning following an incident on October 31, and then received this fine for one on November 6. While this kind of fine doesn’t seem like much when compared to an NHL salary, upon a team’s fifth incident in one season, the head coach is also given a fine. It’s never good to take money from the pocket of the person who controls your ice time.

Snapshots: World Juniors, Poehling, Domi

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The World Junior tournament is coming quickly, with the first game just over six weeks from now. As players are sent back to their respective junior teams after short NHL stints, the available options for the event are becoming more clear. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic projects the rosters for the U.S., Canada, Russia, Sweden, and Finland, the groups that are dominated by NHL-drafted prospects.

He also gives his predictions on how the tournament will play out, including medals for three of the usual powerhouses. The tournament is always a point of attention on the hockey calendar as fans around the world get a chance to see the next wave of NHL stars compete at a high level.

  • Ryan Poehling, who won silver and bronze medals at the World Juniors a few years ago, will make his season debut for the Montreal Canadiens tonight. The 22-year-old is off to a great start in the minor leagues with six points in seven games for the Laval Rocket and will get a chance to show he’s ready for the next level. After making quite a splash by scoring a hat trick in his NHL debut more than two years ago, Poehling has only managed two points in 27 games at the highest level.
  • Though he’s completed his mandatory quarantine, Max Domi remains in the protocol for the Columbus Blue Jackets as he goes through the other health screenings involved to make sure he’s strong enough to return. The 26-year-old forward hasn’t played since October 31 and has just four games under his belt this season.

Patrik Laine Out 4-6 Weeks With Oblique Strain

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There was a curious absence from the end of the third period and overtime on Wednesday evening, as the Columbus Blue Jackets took down the Colorado Avalanche on the back of a Jake Bean clincher. Patrik Laine was nowhere to be found, and now the team has revealed why. The star forward suffered an oblique strain and will miss four to six weeks. The team has immediately placed him on injured reserve.

Laine, 23, looked like he was ready to prove last year was a fluke in the early going, with three goals and ten points in nine games for the Blue Jackets so far. The Finnish sniper was playing with speed and assertiveness, averaging nearly 18 minutes a game. During Wednesday’s match, he was back with Cole Sillinger and Jakub Voracek on a line that had dominated in the preseason and managed to contribute two assists before leaving the game.

It appears as though Yegor Chinakhov will get the first chance to replace Laine in the lineup, as team reporter Jeff Svoboda tweets the young Russian was with Sillinger and Voracek at today’s practice. Chinakhov played just 9:15 in the team’s last game, but could get quite an opportunity with Laine out for at least a month.

Not only does it hurt Columbus’ chances on the ice, but this is also a brutal injury for a forward that is staring down restricted free agency. Laine signed his qualifying offer this summer and inked a one-year, $7.5MM deal that will once again take him to RFA status. He’ll be arbitration-eligible and likely looking for a longer-term deal, but now will have missed a good chunk of the season. His statistics from last season, in which he scored just 12 goals and 24 points, certainly don’t help his case, so a big year production-wise was important if he wanted to be put in the top tier of NHL contracts.

The Blue Jackets meanwhile are fighting for their lives in the Metropolitan Division, sitting in fifth place despite a 6-3 record. It looks like it will be a very difficult fight to try and secure a divisional playoff spot this season, meaning the loss of Laine is all the more noticeable. The team was carrying an extra forward already, but will likely make another recall today after moving Laine to IR.

Cole Sillinger To Stay With NHL Club This Season

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After a three-point night that resulted in a Blue Jackets win, Sillinger has burst onto the NHL scene just a few months after being the 12th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. The 18-year-old center has five points through nine games and was rewarded with more than 16 minutes of ice time last night. He was also out there with Voracek when Jake Bean recorded the game-winner in overtime, another sign of the trust that Sillinger has received from the coaching staff in the early going. With his contract starting this season, he’ll be scheduled for restricted free agency in the summer of 2024.

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