Blue Jackets Recall Justin Danforth
- The Blue Jackets announced the recall of forward Justin Danforth from Cleveland. The 28-year-old signed with Columbus earlier this year following a strong season with Vityaz Podolsk of the KHL that saw him finish sixth in league scoring with 55 points in 58 games.
Jarmo Kekalainen Comments On Team Policy For Trade Protection
With the salary cap flattening out making it more difficult to up contract offers from a salary standpoint, trade protection is starting to become a little more important. However, some teams are pushing back on that front and one of those appears to be the Blue Jackets. GM Jarmo Kekalainen told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription link) that while he’s okay with limited protection, that’s as far as he’s willing to go in contracts now:
At the moment, the only Blue Jackets player with any form of trade protection is center Sean Kuraly who has a 10-team list. Defenseman Zach Werenski has a similar 10-team list in his extension which kicks in next season.
Emil Bemstrom To Miss 4-6 Weeks
The Columbus Blue Jackets start their season tonight, but they won’t have Emil Bemstrom on the ice for a while yet. The team announced that the young forward has been placed on injured reserve with a left oblique strain and is expected to miss four to six weeks. Bemstrom suffered the injury at practice on Tuesday.
The 22-year-old forward wasn’t expected to be a key player for the Blue Jackets early this season anyway, but his absence only weakens the depth of a team that already has a very uncertain offensive attack. There is without a doubt talent on the Columbus roster, but how it comes together for a full regular season remains to be seen.
Bemstrom, a fourth-round pick from 2017, saw his stock skyrocket in 2018-19 when he put up 23 goals and 35 points in 47 games as a rookie in the SHL, and when he arrived in North America things seemed right on track. In his first NHL season he scored ten goals and 20 points in 56 games, but managed just five points in 2020-21. With Cole Sillinger playing his way onto the team in training camp, there likely wasn’t room on the opening day lineup for Bemstrom anyway.
The question now becomes how he fights his way onto that lineup in the future. A six-week absence will certainly not help his case, though there will obviously be other injuries throughout the year. Interestingly, Bemstrom is still waiver-exempt, meaning that when he comes back he would not be limited to a minor league conditioning stint, but could get up to full speed with a longer stretch with the Cleveland Monsters.
Mikko Lehtonen Suspended; One Of Four Players On Waivers
Oct 13: MacEwen was claimed by the Philadelphia Flyers, but the other three have cleared.
Oct 12: The Columbus Blue Jackets have suspended Mikko Lehtonen for failing to report to the AHL after he was assigned to the Cleveland Monsters this week. The team has also placed him on unconditional waivers and will terminate his contract. Lehtonen isn’t alone though, as the Chicago Blackhawks have also placed Matej Chalupa on unconditional waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Zack MacEwen of the Vancouver Canucks and C.J. Suess of the Winnipeg Jets are also on regular waivers.
Lehtonen, 27, was expected to make a big impact at the NHL level after putting up strong numbers in the KHL, even winning that league’s Defenseman of the Year award in 2020. Instead, he struggled to crack the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup on a regular basis and then was sent to Columbus, where he signed a new one-year, $900K deal this offseason but still failed to make the team out of camp. Instead of going to the AHL, he’ll likely head back overseas where he can once again star as a top-four puck-mover. His NHL career could very well end with just 26 games and six points.
Chalupa meanwhile is just 23, but apparently isn’t going to spend another year in the minors trying to establish himself as a call-up option for Chicago. He played 27 games for the Rockford IceHogs last season and scored seven points, but he too is likely headed back overseas. Both contracts will come entirely off the books for the Blue Jackets and Blackhawks.
MacEwen, 25, will lose his spot to Alex Chiasson, who the Canucks signed today to a one-year deal. The depth forward has actually played in 55 games for the Canucks over the last three seasons, but isn’t much of an offensive contributor at the NHL level and is unlikely to be claimed.
The same can be said about Suess, who has just one NHL game under his belt and is likely headed to the Manitoba Moose. Suess has been dealing with an undisclosed injury throughout training camp and won’t even be the first call-up option for the Jets this season.
Columbus Blue Jackets Name Boone Jenner Captain
With Nick Foligno gone in free agency, the Columbus Blue Jackets needed a new captain. That decision has been made, and Boone Jenner will wear the “C” this season as the seventh captain in franchise history. He’ll be joined by Zach Werenski, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Gustav Nyquist, who will each serve as alternates. New head coach Brad Larsen explained why Jenner was the choice:
We had a lot of discussions as a coaching staff and with management and, while we were in no rush to make a decision regarding the next captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets, it became obvious to all of us that Boone was the right choice. He has tremendous character and a work ethic that has earned the respect of his teammates and he’s been an important part of our leadership group for several years. Zach, Gus and Oliver also have been part of that group and we are fortunate to have these guys lead our team.
Jenner, 28, has spent his entire career with the Blue Jackets to this point, suiting up 530 times in the regular season for the club. He reached a career-high of 30 goals in 2015-16 but has never really come close to matching that total, settling into more of a two-way role behind some of the team’s more offensive players. He had eight goals and 17 points in 41 games last season, but with some of the changes the team has made in recent months, could find himself more involved at that end of the rink this season.
At the very least, he will serve as a strong leader among a group that is going through a big transition. Foligno, Seth Jones and Cam Atkinson, huge parts of the franchise’s identity, are all playing for other teams this season. Werenski is now the face of the franchise, but he’ll be supported by Jenner now who takes on the responsibility of captain with an extension in pocket. The veteran forward is signed through 2025-26, meaning there doesn’t have to be any changes for several years.
The Blue Jackets, though considered something of a rebuilding group after trading away Jones, still have quite a few talented skaters on the roster and could surprise people this season. If it goes south, however, it’ll be up to Jenner and his alternates to keep the ship on course.
Max Domi To Play In Preseason Finale
While he was expected to be out until at least November, Blue Jackets forward Max Domi has progressed quicker than anticipated in his recovery from shoulder surgery back in June to the point where he could be ready for next week’s season-opener. To that end, the team announced today that he’ll be in their preseason finale tonight against Pittsburgh to assess his readiness to start the season. The injury plus his $5.3MM cap hit resulted in Columbus leaving him unprotected in expansion with Seattle shying away. While Domi’s long-term future with the team remains somewhat uncertain after a tough first year with them, it looks like he’ll have a full season or very close to it which should help his value on the open market next summer and in the trade market in the months to come.
Training Camp Cuts: 10/9/21
With the submission of season-opening rosters due on Monday, many teams should be making more cuts today. We’ll keep track of those moves here.
Columbus Blue Jackets (via team release)
F Tyler Angle (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Josh Dunne (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Brendan Gaunce (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Carson Meyer (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Tristan Mullin (released from PTO, to Cleveland, AHL)
F Justin Scott (released from PTO, to Cleveland, AHL)
F Tyler Sikura (to Cleveland, AHL)
Florida Panthers (via WPLG’s David Dwork)
F Zac Dalpe (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Noah Juulsen (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Matt Kiersted (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Serron Noel (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Chase Priskie (to Charlotte, AHL)
Minnesota Wild (via team release)
D Calen Addison (to Iowa, AHL)
F Adam Beckman (to Iowa, AHL)
F Marco Rossi (to Iowa, AHL)
Montreal Canadiens (via TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie)
F Jesse Ylonen (to Laval, AHL)
New Jersey Devils (via team Twitter)
F Joseph Gambardella (to Utica, AHL)
Ottawa Senators (via team Twitter)
F Parker Kelly (to Belleville, AHL)
G Mads Sogaard (to Belleville, AHL)
Philadelphia Flyers (via team Twitter)
G Felix Sandstrom (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
Pittsburgh Penguins (via team release)
F Michael Chaput (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Juuso Riikola (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
St. Louis Blues (via team release)
G Colten Ellis (to Springfield, AHL)
F Dakota Joshua (to Springfield, AHL)
D Scott Perunovich (to Springfield, AHL)
Vancouver Canucks (via team release)
F Carson Focht (to Abbotsford, AHL)
F William Lockwood (to Abbotsford, AHL)
Gustav Nyquist Cleared For Contact, Max Domi Takes Part In Practice Drills
While Blue Jackets winger Gustav Nyquist has yet to suit up in the exhibition season, don’t interpret that as a setback in his return from a shoulder injury. Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch notes that the veteran is cleared for contact and is on the second line in practice but clearly, they’re being cautious after the 32-year-old missed all of last season. Meanwhile, center Max Domi did some drills at practice on Friday as he works his way back from shoulder surgery of his own. He’s still expected to be out until November at the earliest but his participation in practice suggests his recovery could be on the shorter end of the five-to-six-month timeline.
Blue Jackets Will Not Assign Zac Rinaldo To An Affiliated Team
After clearing waivers earlier today, it was expected that Blue Jackets winger Zac Rinaldo would be assigned to Columbus’ AHL team in Cleveland. The veteran wasn’t invited to training camp after declining to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. However, GM Jarmo Kekalainen released the following statement, announcing that Rinaldo will not be going there after all:
Our position has been very clear that our organization is committed to doing everything we can to ensure the health and safety of our players, coaches, staff and fans. Given the impact COVID-19 continues to have in our communities, we believe the best course of action given Zac’s vaccination status is to not have him report to Cleveland at this time. While we respect an individual’s right to make a personal choice with regards to being vaccinated or not, we have a responsibility to do what we believe is best for our organization. We will honor Zac’s contract, but if he wants to pursue any other opportunities to play this season we will allow him to do so.
Rinaldo’s contract calls for an AHL salary of $275K and contains a guaranteed payment of $300K which the Blue Jackets will be on the hook for regardless of whether or not he plays anywhere this season. In the meantime, Rinaldo’s camp may be on the lookout to try to find the 31-year-old a place to play outside the Columbus organization. Now that he has cleared waivers, Columbus could loan him to an unaffiliated team overseas, for example. Rinaldo had spent the last two seasons in Calgary’s system, suiting up in 23 games for the Flames in that time.
Korpisalo Hopes To Re-Sign Despite Merzlikins Extension, Bayreuther Saw Better Chance For Roster Spot With Columbus Over Seattle
Although Columbus recently inked goaltender Elvis Merzlikins to a five-year extension, fellow netminder Joonas Korpisalo told reporters, including Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch, that he hopes to still be able to remain with the Blue Jackets beyond the expiration of his current contract next summer. The 27-year-old has spent his entire career with the organization after being drafted in the third round back in 2012 but has largely been in a backup role during that stretch. With the commitment they’ve made to Merzlikins, Korpisalo, who is hoping to be cleared to return from his lower-body injury soon, will have a hard time landing a lot more than his $2.8MM AAV as the high-end backup market is typically in the mid-to-high $3MM range.
- Still with Columbus, while defenseman Gavin Bayreuther’s time with Seattle was limited, it wasn’t due to a lack of interest from the Kraken. The blueliner told Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets’ team site that he did receive a two-way offer from Seattle but knew that he’d be viewed as a player that was likely ticketed for the minors. Instead, he went to free agency and returned to Columbus where he feels he’ll have a better chance of sticking with the big club. Bayreuther averaged just over 15 minutes in nine games with Columbus last season.