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Columbus Blue Jackets Promote Steve McCarthy

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have been forced to make another coaching change, this time promoting Steve McCarthy from the Cleveland Monsters to replace Sylvain Lefebvre. Lefebvre, who was set to join Brad Larsen’s staff this season, has decided not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and will not be able to coach under the current NHL protocols. Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen released a statement on the move:

While we are disappointed, we respect that this decision is a personal one for Sylvain and wish him well. We feel fortunate to have an outstanding coach join our club in Steve McCarthy, who has played in this league, won championships as a player and been an important member of our hockey operations department as an assistant coach in Cleveland.

McCarthy, 40, has been with the Monsters for five seasons and has plenty of professional experience as a player. During a 302-game NHL career that included stops with the Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks, and Atlanta Thrashers, he totaled 17 goals and 55 points. He would go on to win two league titles with the NLA’s ZSC Lions, and even joined the Lake Erie Monsters for their 2016 Calder Cup championship before retiring.

Lefebvre meanwhile was coming over from the San Diego Gulls, where he served as an assistant the last three seasons. The veteran of more than 1,000 NHL games has been a coach since 2007 when he was, coincidentally, hired by Lake Erie. He also had experience behind an NHL bench with the Colorado Avalanche, and had bounced around through a few other minor league stops.

He was only hired by the Blue Jackets in June, and Aaron Portzline of The Athletic tweets that the team has known this would be an issue since the league’s protocol was revealed in mid-August. In fact, Portzline has Kekalainen on record explaining that Lefevbre didn’t resign, but was fired after his decision because he couldn’t fulfil his duties. Mostly, this is a big blow for the Monsters, who will now have to search for McCarthy’s replacement, who was a huge part of the coaching staff and development team in the AHL.

Blue Jackets Unlikely To Trade For Top Center

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For years, the Blue Jackets have been searching for help down the middle with those moves largely not panning out.  Now, with the team entrenched in a rebuild, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic suggests (subscription link) that they may back off of that approach now.  With the selections of Kent Johnson and Cole Sillinger at the draft, the hope now is those two will represent their future at center, lessening the need to try to trade for a significant replacement.  Portzline also notes that GM Jarmo Kekalainen has spoken about the ability to take on a bad contract to add other pieces for a rebuild.  While such a move hasn’t happened yet, that could change depending on what happens in training camp as more players re-sign and injuries start to strike, potentially creating the need for some teams to move out money quickly.

Peter Reynolds To Attend Blue Jackets Prospect Camp

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  • Prospect camps are opening across the league, and Scott Wheeler of The Athletic notes that Peter Reynolds, his highest-ranked undrafted player, will be in attendance with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Wheeler had Reynolds ranked as his 71st best prospect in this year’s draft after a strong rookie season in the QMJHL, but he was passed over entirely. NHL Central Scouting had the undersized forward ranked 80th among North American skaters.

Snapshots: Senators, Merzlikins, Tarasenko

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Armed with a contract extension, Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion is looking to make this next stage of his time with the team much different than the most recent stretch. According to Dorion, the rebuild is over. In an appearance on TSN 1200 in Ottawa today, he stated the following:

We’ve had a plan since we started this rebuild. I feel that we’re in the next stage now, it’s time to start to win… Last year, we felt we were a team that was hard to play against, but now it’s time to challenge to get two points every night, be in every game. Games that maybe you got a point last year, you need two this year… A lot of our younger players have reached a maturity stage in their career where they should be leading us and not be considered young players anymore. As a group, It’s time to start winning.

The Senators did take a small step forward last season, finishing with a 23-28-5 record that was neither the last in their division nor a bottom-five mark in the NHL for the first time since 2016-17. The season ended on a strong note with a 16-13-4 run to end the year. However, there is more work to be done for the Senators to regain relevance. The team is still young and inexperienced and lacking in depth in many areas. In order to compete in the deadly Atlantic Division, at least this season, Ottawa likely needs more than what their current roster can offer even at their very best. Fortunately, the Senators also have a copious amount of cap space – still under the cap floor for now – and Dorion mentioned having “several irons in the fire”. Perhaps the Senators will add an impact player or two before the season begins if they are really committed to taking a step forward this season.

  • Another team that could be looking to surprise this season will be the new-look Columbus Blue Jackets. The x-factor could be goaltender Elvis Merzlikins, who has his sights set on more than just winning the starting job over Joonas Korpisalo. Merzlikins tells The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline that the tragic death of close friend, teammate, and countryman Matiss Kivlenieks has instilled in him a drive to become one of the best goaltenders in the NHL.  “I’m gonna win a f—— Vezina for him,” Merzlikins proclaimed. “This is my goal. I believe I’m going to reach it. I’m not going to have any limits. I’m just gonna go all-in.” The 27-year-old goaltender has certainly shown signs of elite ability through his first two NHL seasons, recording a .920 save percentage and 2.54 GAA in 61 games. While he may seem far from competing for a Vezina Trophy, especially sharing starts with Korpisalo and playing for a team that is not expected to be a playoff contender, never underestimate the inspiration that a life-changing event can create. Merzlikins credits Kivlenieks with saving his family and that should be more than enough motivation for him to honor his friend to the best of his abilities.
  • With considerable cap space and a desire to add top talent, both Ottawa and Columbus could be good landing spots for Vladimir Tarasenko, who requested a trade out of St. Louis earlier this off-season. However, Blues head coach Craig Berube does not expect the star sniper to be going anywhere. In an appearance on the “Cam and Strick” podcast, Berube stated that he believes that Tarasenko will remain in St. Louis this season. Berube says that he has no hard feelings toward Tarasenko, who has maintained that he would like to be traded, and will treat him like any other player in helping him to succeed with the Blues in the event that he stays with the team as Berube expects. Berube states that the team is focusing on what they can control (Tarasenko) and not on what they can’t (the market) which could mean that he really will not be traded despite all indications.

Gustav Nyquist Fully Recovered From Shoulder Injury

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One of the things that wasn’t discussed enough last season when the Columbus Blue Jackets struggled to keep pace in the Central Division was the absence of Gustav Nyquist. In early November, months before the season even began, Nyquist underwent surgery to repair a labral tear in his left shoulder. It was an issue that the Swedish forward had been dealing with for years and it finally got to a point where a procedure was necessary.

On November 4, the Blue Jackets announced that Nyquist would be out for five to six months. That gave him plenty of time to return for a playoff run should Columbus get back to the postseason, as they had in each of the previous four seasons. By April, when Nyquist was closing in on that recovery timeline, the Blue Jackets were already out of the race, mired in controversy, and a few months away from trading franchise icon Seth Jones after he was the latest to turn down any extension talks with the franchise.

Now, as the Blue Jackets prepare for a season without Jones, Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno, David Savard and others, Nyquist is at full health and ready to contribute, according to Jeff Svoboda of NHL.com. The shoulder injury is behind him and the 32-year-old forward will have a chance to show that he still can be a top-level forward in the NHL, even after a year on the shelf.

A consistent offensive performer, Nyquist finished second in scoring with the Blue Jackets in 2019-20. He has registered at least 20 goals in a season four times and has never recorded fewer than 40 points in any of his seven full seasons. He’ll join an attack that actually may be more dangerous than people are giving them credit for, with Patrik Laine, Jakub Voracek, and Oliver Bjorkstrand likely leading the way. Nyquist represents one of just two players on the roster (Voracek) that are in their thirties, and as Svoboda writes, will be asked to take on a leadership role after the departures of so many key players.

If things don’t go well in Columbus this season, Nyquist could well become a trade deadline chip given his age and contract. Signed through 2022-23, he carries an average annual value of $5.5MM but has no trade protection built in. The Blue Jackets have a massive extension for Zach Werenski kicking in for 2022-23 and some extremely important free agent negotiations to work through, meaning they could probably use the extra salary space moving forward.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Nathan Gerbe Out Four To Six Months After Hip Surgery

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The Blue Jackets will be without one of their depth forwards as they head into training camp later this month as the team announced (Twitter link) that winger Nathan Gerbe has undergone successful hip surgery and will miss the next four to six months.

The 34-year-old has spent the last four seasons with Columbus, seeing NHL action in three of those years.  Last season, Gerbe got into 13 games with Cleveland of the AHL, notching four goals and six assists.  He also suited up nine times with the Blue Jackets, picking up a goal and two assists while also spending some time on the taxi squad.  Over an 11-year career that also includes stints with Buffalo and Carolina, Gerbe has 151 career NHL points in 435 contests.

Gerbe was expected to battle for a spot at the end of the roster in training camp or serve as a veteran that could be recalled when injuries strike but that clearly isn’t in the cards now.  Instead, he’ll be focusing on a midseason return and at that point, it’s likely he would be waived and returned to the Monsters.  He will carry a partial salary cap charge while on season-opening injured reserve (a proration of his NHL time last season multiplied by his $750K NHL AAV) but with the Blue Jackets well under the Upper Limit, that won’t be a concern for them at all.

Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Stanislav Svozil

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Aug 24: Fans in North America won’t have to wait to see Svozil in action. The young defenseman has signed with the Regina Pats, who held his CHL rights after selecting him 15th overall in the 2020 Import Draft. The first year of his entry-level deal will not be burned by playing in the WHL.

Aug 13: The Columbus Blue Jackets have inked one of their 2021 draft picks, signing Stanislav Svozil to a three-year entry-level contract. The young defenseman was selected 69th overall last month.

Svozil, 18, already has two full seasons under his belt at the highest level in the Czech Republic, playing 71 games for HC Kometa Brno since 2019. At the same time that he was learning how to defend against professional players, he was suiting up for his country at U17, U18, and U20 international tournaments. He took home the Extraliga rookie of the year award in 2020 and is expected to return to his club team overseas in 2021-22.

The biggest question about Svozil is whether his size will limit him at the next level given how little he provides offensively. His game is all about defending, and at just 6’0″ that may be a difficult sell for the NHL. Still, playing pro at 16 is no small task, and Svozil has plenty of time to round out the offensive side of his game and develop into a two-way option for the Blue Jackets. Signing his entry-level deal was just the first step.

Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Cole Sillinger

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have finalized a deal with one of their recent first-round picks, forward Cole Sillinger. The team announced that Sillinger has signed his three-year entry-level contract. PuckPedia reports that the deal will carry an $832.5K base salary, a $925K cap hit, and an AAV of $1.63MM as a result of performance bonuses. The No. 12 overall pick last month, Sillinger was the second of three Blue Jackets’ first-rounders but is the first one to sign his ELC.

Sillinger, 18, was selected with the pick that Columbus acquired in the Seth Jones trade, which makes him a symbol of the Blue Jacket’s next steps as a retooling franchise. Most felt that the team used the pick wisely, as Sillinger was regarded as a consensus top-16 pick. A two-way center with a snipe of a shot, Sillinger is a dangerous offensive weapon who puts in the work defensively as well. Sillinger has excelled in each of the past two years, first with the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers and then with the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede. Though already a dangerous talent, Sillinger is still likely to return to Medicine Hat this season despite his ELC.

The Sillinger name should sound familiar, not only to Columbus fans but to 11 other fan bases and NHL spectators at large. Mike Sillinger, who was selected one spot ahead of his son at No. 11 overall in 1989, played for a dozen NHL teams over a 17-year career that included more than 1,000 games. It just so happens that Cole was born in Columbus is 2003 while Mike was playing in his second of back-to-back 43-point seasons with the young Blue Jackets franchise. This makes Sillinger’s selection and signing somewhat of a homecoming. Columbus will give him adequate time to develop, but they know that the younger Sillinger could have the makings of a fan favorite, much like his dad was in the franchise’s early days.

Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Ole Julian Bjorgvik-Holm

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed one of their 2020 draft picks, inking Ole Julian Bjorgvik-Holm to a three-year entry-level contract. Bjorgvik-Holm spent part of this season with the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL on an amateur tryout contract. PuckPedia reports the breakdown of the deal, which has a cap hit of $845,000, is as follows:

  • 2021-22: $750,000 NHL salary, $85,000 SB, $15,000 games played bonus, $80,000 minor league salary
  • 2022-23: $750,000 NHL salary, $87,500 SB, $37,500 games played bonus, $80,000 minor league salary
  • 2023-24: $775,000 NHL salary, $90,000 SB, $35,000 games played bonus, $80,000 minor league salary

Selected 145th overall in last year’s draft, Bjorgvik-Holm has had quite an interesting hockey career to this point. After playing in his native Norway through 2017-18, he came to North America to join the Colorado Thunderbirds, a AAA U16 team. He also played two games during the 2018-19 season with the Tri-City Storm and that’s where it seemed like his next step would be. But in the 2019 CHL Import Draft, the young defenseman was selected 32nd overall by the Mississauga Steelheads and less than two weeks later he was committed to the OHL club.

With 19 points in 57 games for the Steelheads, he earned that fifth-round selection and likely would have been back in the OHL this season. Unfortunately, the junior league didn’t have a season thanks to COVID restrictions, meaning Bjorgvik-Holm had to find somewhere else to play. Back to Norway he went, where this time he suited up at the professional level. He had an impressive 10 points in 22 games for Manglerud, before coming back to North America to play for the Monsters. At the end of the season, he was back on an airplane to Latvia to compete for Norway at the IIHF World Championship, lining up against NHL talent.

It’s not often that fifth-round picks make an impact, but there is real hope that Bjorgvik-Holm can quickly climb the ladder and be an NHL option for the Blue Jackets. He held his own in the minor leagues even at just 18 years old and is already physically mature. The interesting thing about him is that since he established himself in North America and was selected out of the OHL, the Blue Jackets actually only held his rights until June of next year. Another interesting situation will come in the next few months, as that draft status also should make him ineligible for the AHL. He may need to go back to the CHL (or play overseas again), though there have been exceptions made for European players in the past.

Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Zac Rinaldo

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed free agent forward Zac Rinaldo to a one-year, two-way contract. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that the deal will be worth $750K in the NHL, $275K in the AHL, and comes with a $300K minor league guarantee.

Rinaldo, 31, has carved out a 374-game NHL career despite never being anything more than a fourth-line presence. In a league that is almost completely devoid of enforcers, there’s still Rinaldo, playing NHL games every year and racking up penalty minutes. In 2020-21 he played four games with the Calgary Flames, averaged fewer than six minutes a night, and fought former teammate Austin Watson.

With 42 career points and 748 career penalty minutes, it’s clear what Rinaldo’s job will be with the Blue Jackets, whenever they put him in the lineup. The 31-year-old forward has never had more than five goals or nine points in a single season. With Columbus going through something of a transition period, trading away Cam Atkinson and Seth Jones, among others, the team will look very different this season. Perhaps Rinaldo will find his way into the lineup more often as they look to establish an identity under new head coach Brad Larsen.

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