- Blue Jackets winger Yegor Chinakhov was scratched in today’s victory over Calgary due to an upper-body injury, notes team reporter Jeff Svoboda (Twitter link). After a breakout performance last season that saw him record 16 goals and 13 assists in 53 games, the 23-year-old is on pace to beat those numbers as he has seven goals and seven helpers in 21 appearances so far, good for fourth on Columbus in scoring. Cole Sillinger returned from his upper-body injury to take Chinakhov’s spot in the lineup.
Blue Jackets Rumors
Blue Jackets Sign, Waive Joseph LaBate
The Blue Jackets announced Friday that they’ve signed unrestricted free agent center Joseph LaBate to a two-way contract for the remainder of 2024-25. The team subsequently placed him on waivers for assignment to AHL Cleveland.
LaBate, 31, has 13 games of NHL experience to his name. However, they came quite some time ago – seven years, to be exact, suiting up in a fringe fourth-line role for the 2016-17 Canucks.
Since then, he’s spent most of his time in the minors. After his NHL contract with Vancouver ran out following the 2017-18 campaign, he spent the next five seasons on AHL contracts with Belleville, Milwaukee and Chicago.
The Minnesota native ventured overseas for the first time last season, inking a one-year pact with Kazakhstan’s Barys Astana in the Kontinental Hockey League. The 6’5″, 209-lb enforcer posted 18 points and 53 PIMs in 49 games before deciding to take his talents back stateside.
LaBate had technically already been in the Columbus organization before today. He landed a tryout with Cleveland last month, and after scoring once and adding three assists through five games, he’s earned a contract and the opportunity for his first NHL call-up since his age-23 season.
The Blue Jackets didn’t disclose LaBate’s NHL or AHL salary, but the contract is presumably worth the prorated league minimum of $775K at the NHL level. In any event, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent next summer. Columbus now has 46 of a maximum of 50 contracts on the books.
Blue Jackets Recall Jet Greaves
The Blue Jackets announced Friday that they’ve recalled goaltender Jet Greaves under emergency conditions. He’ll back up Elvis Merzļikins this afternoon against the Flames instead of Daniil Tarasov, who Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports is dealing with an illness.
It’s the second recall of the season for the 23-year-old Greaves. He was summoned to back up Tarasov for a pair of games in mid-October while Merzļikins was dealing with an upper-body injury, but he did not play.
Greaves, an Ontario native, is now in his fourth season of pro hockey, all of them coming in the Columbus organization. He’s been decent so far for Cleveland this season, posting a 3.23 GAA, .908 SV%, one shutout, and a 7-3-1 record in 11 games.
However, it’s not really the step forward in his development that the Jackets were hoping for. Columbus appeared to have found a diamond in the rough with Greaves, who they inked as an undrafted free agent out of the OHL’s Barrie Colts. He’s been solidly above average in his limited NHL action to date, posting a .912 SV% and 3.44 GAA in nine starts and one relief appearance for the Jackets over the past two seasons despite facing over 34 shots per game on average.
The 6’0″ Greaves may not have yet taken a demonstrable step forward in his play in Cleveland this season, but there’s still plenty of runway left in 2024-25 to do so. He remains waiver-exempt this season but will need them to head to the AHL starting with 2025-26.
Tarasov, meanwhile, hasn’t played since Nov. 16 and has backed up Merzļikins for four straight. The 25-year-old has had a tough year, logging a career-low .861 SV% and 4.04 GAA with a 3-4-1 record in eight starts.
Snapshots: Hronek, Friedman, Pickering, Sillinger, Chinakhov
Vancouver Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek is expected to miss a “while” with an upper-body injury per Irfaan Gaffar of Daily Faceoff. Hronek seemed to suffer a shoulder injury in Vancouver’s Wednesday loss to the Penguins, after getting hit awkwardly into the boards by Pittsburgh defenseman Jack St. Ivany.
Any extended absence from Hronek would be hard for Vancouver to bear. He’s continued to serve a top-line role this season, averaging over 23 minutes of ice time a game opposite of Canucks superstar Quinn Hughes. Hronek has managed one goal and nine points in 21 games in the role – on pace for 35 points, a dip from the 48 points he scored last season.
Hronek’s stat line may not jump off the page, but he’s seemed to be the key to unlocking a Norris Trophy-level Quinn Hughes. The two have outscored opponents 18-to-10 at even-strength this season, compared to Hughes’ tying opponent scoring five-to-five without Hronek. The two have recorded a 55.07 expected-goals-for percentage since being paired together last year.
The Canucks are expected to recall veteran defenseman Mark Friedman in response to Hronek’s injury, per Noah Strang of Daily Hive. Friedman has four points through eight AHL games this year but has yet to make his season debut with Vancouver. He recorded one assist in 23 games with the Canucks last year, marking his sixth season serving the role of seventh or eighth defenseman for an NHL club. Friedman has tallied 13 points in 88 career games in the minutes he’s earned. Friedman will likely step right into the lineup hole, though he’ll face pressure from Vincent Desharnais on the bench – and Jett Woo and Cole McWard from the minors. With a potential long-term vacancy opening up, all four defenders could find a way into the lineup.
Other Thanksgiving notes:
- Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Owen Pickering missed another practice due to illness shares Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports. Head coach Mike Sullivan added that the rookie is still being evaluated, and remains questionable for the team’s road game in Boston on Friday. Pickering sat out of Wednesday’s game against Vancouver. He has one point – an assist – through the first four career games. Pickering will return to competition with Ryan Shea when he’s back to full health.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets will have the services of Cole Sillinger on Friday, but Yegor Chinakhov is “banged up” and questionable, per Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers. Both players missed Columbus’ Thursday practice. The two have returned as core pieces of Columbus’ middle-six. They sit next to each other on the team’s scoring ranks, with Chinakhov posting 14 points in 21 games and Sillinger posting 12 in 20 games.
Cole Sillinger Out With Upper-Body Injury
Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov is out day-to-day (as per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet) . The 25-year-old will not play tomorrow night against the New York Rangers but could play this weekend depending on his status. Kochetkov suffered a concussion on Saturday night after he collided with teammate Sean Walker and entered concussion protocol yesterday. Hurricanes’ head coach Rod Brind’Amour didn’t have a timeline as of yesterday, noting that concussion recovery is hard to predict.
Kochetkov has been solid this season for Carolina, posting a 10-2-0 record with a 2.42 goals against average and a .904 save percentage. His underlying numbers have been terrific in 13 games, with a goals saved above expected of 3.9 (as per MoneyPuck).
In other Metropolitan Division notes:
- The Hurricanes have recalled defenseman Riley Stillman from the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (Twitter link). The 26-year-old hasn’t appeared in an NHL game since the 2022-23 season and will likely be Carolina’s seventh defenseman tomorrow night when they take on the Rangers. Stillman spent all of last season in the AHL with the Rochester Americans and has suited up in four games this year, tallying a single assist. Stillman has played parts of five seasons in the NHL, registering four goals and 22 assists in 158 games.
- Aaron Portzline of The Athletic is reporting that Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cole Sillinger will miss tomorrow night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens with an upper-body injury. Sillinger took a skate to the head halfway through Columbus’ victory over Carolina on Saturday night, but the Blue Jackets haven’t officially stated the reason for Sillinger’s absence. His loss will be a big one for the team as the 21-year-old is fifth in team scoring with three goals and nine assists in 20 games. He also plays on both the power play and the penalty kill, which will leave Columbus shorthanded on both sides of their specialty teams.
Blue Jackets On Pace For Franchise-Best Season Offensively
That will almost surely dissuade general manager Steve Yzerman from making any rental acquisitions, but as Max Bultman of The Athletic opines, longer-term additions, such as their failed pursuit of Jacob Trouba over the summer, could make sense. With Detroit’s team defense struggling heavily, especially at 5-on-5, he named young Blue Jackets right-shot defender David Jiříček as an option, likely the most attainable given Detroit’s deep pool of prospects at seemingly every position to deal from and Columbus’ growing willingness to move on.
- The Blue Jackets have held their own with a .500 record through 20 games, putting them on pace to smash the average 65.5-point over/under from their preseason odds. That’s due to a young offense that’s currently giving Columbus the most goal-scoring punch they’ve had in their 24-year history, as Aaron Portzline of The Athletic points out. The Jackets rank eighth in the league with 3.45 goals per game, giving them a solid cushion to clear the previous franchise record of 3.15 set in 2021-22. The team is only shooting 0.2% above the 10.5% league average, giving them a decent shot at keeping up that level of scoring. They’re also on pace to have three point-per-game players (Kirill Marchenko, Sean Monahan, Zach Werenski) for the first time in club history.
Blue Jackets Listening To Offers For David Jiříček
In today’s rendition of ’Blue Jackets Sunday Gathering’, reporter Aaron Portzline of The Athletic confirms that the Columbus Blue Jackets have received trade inquiries for defenseman David Jiříček. The Blue Jackets haven’t received any firm trade offers but a deal may be on the horizon by the end of the season.
Although it’s always difficult trading away a recent top-10 draft selection, there are recent frameworks Columbus can operate from. Portzline highlights the trade last season of then-Philadelphia Flyers prospect, Cutter Gauthier, being traded to the Anaheim Ducks for Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick in 2025. Portzline also shared the recent trade of Rutger McGroarty to the Pittsburgh Penguins this offseason for Brayden Yager.
For one reason or another, Jiříček’s time with the Blue Jackets organization hasn’t worked out as both sides would have hoped. He spent his first professional season with Columbus’ AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, scoring six goals and 38 points in 55 contests.
Jiříček hoped to have a consistent role with the Blue Jackets in his second professional season after a strong rookie campaign in the AHL. Instead, Columbus frequently moved Jiříček back and forth from the AHL, which caused some inconsistency in the young defenseman’s game.
He scored one goal and 10 points in 43 games for Columbus last season and seven goals and 19 points in 29 games for AHL Cleveland. His lack of scoring at the NHL level was unfortunate but he still proved capable on the defensive side with a 92.4% on-ice save percentage in all situations.
Jiříček became a healthy scratch through the first few weeks of the 2024-25 season collecting only six games with the Blue Jackets despite cracking the team’s roster out of training camp. The team sent down Jiříček to AHL once again a few days ago and he made his season debut with the AHL Monsters on Saturday.
One difference comparing Jiříček to Gauthier and McGroarty is that he hasn’t publicly requested a trade from Columbus. All signs indicate he’s happy staying with the Blue Jackets organization albeit with a more consistent role.
They’ll likely recoup a former top-10 selection on his entry-level contract should they trade Jiříček this season. There shouldn’t be any difficulties gauging other team’s interest in a 20-year-old right-handed shot defenseman.
Provorov Not Available Yet, Nash Not In A Rush To Become An NHL GM
Blue Jackets defenseman Ivan Provorov is one of the more intriguing pending UFA blueliners from the 2025 free agent class. With Columbus still in their rebuild, it’s expected that he’ll be on the move at some point. However, in his latest column for The Athletic (subscription link), Pierre LeBrun reports that the team is telling interested parties that they’re not willing to move the 27-year-old just yet. The Blue Jackets are off to a respectable 8-9-2 start and aren’t ready to start subtracting from what’s already a fairly young group this early in the season. That’s expected to change as we get closer to the March 7 trade deadline and when that time comes, LeBrun suggests to expect a first-round pick to serve as the asking price for Provorov’s services.
- Still with Columbus, when Don Waddell took over as President and GM for the Blue Jackets, one of the first moves he made was elevating Rick Nash to assistant GM. While that’s an important step for any aspiring manager, Nash told Daily Faceoff’s Anthony DiMarco that he’s “not in any rush” to ascend to a GM position just yet. He has worked in Columbus’ front office since 2019 and it wouldn’t be shocking if he were next in line for the top job with the Blue Jackets when Waddell either moves on or wants to have just the President title down the road.
Blue Jackets Activate Kent Johnson From Injured Reserve
The Blue Jackets announced Thursday that they’ve activated forward Kent Johnson from injured reserve. He’ll return to the lineup tonight against the Lightning as expected after missing 14 games with a shoulder injury.
Johnson, 22, was among many Columbus skaters limited by shoulder issues early in the season. Captain Boone Jenner sustained an injury after crashing into the boards in practice during training camp, while defenseman Erik Gudbranson hit IR after just three games.
He’s the only one of the three not to require surgery, though, meaning his return comes months ahead of when Gudbranson and Jenner are expected to be available. It’s excellent news for the 2021 fifth-overall pick, who had two goals and three assists in his first four outings before exiting the lineup.
It was an encouraging start for the winger, who’s coming off a disappointing sophomore campaign in 2023-24. After a 16-goal, 40-point rookie campaign, Johnson struggled with inconsistency early in the year before a labrum tear ended his season in February. He managed only six goals and 16 points in 42 appearances, totals he’s still set to crush in 2024-25 despite missing over a month with another shoulder issue.
Johnson will suit up as the team’s second-line right wing alongside Adam Fantilli and James van Riemsdyk in his return, Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers relayed yesterday. He’s also expected to take reps on their first power-play unit with Kirill Marchenko, Sean Monahan, Dmitri Voronkov, and Zach Werenski. Kevin Labanc, who has 10 points in 14 games for the Jackets after inking a league-minimum contract on Oct. 5, will be a healthy scratch.
The Blue Jackets have two open roster spots after sending David Jiříček and Mikael Pyyhtia to the minors yesterday, so no corresponding transaction is necessary. Johnson is in the first season of a three-year, $5.4MM pact he signed last summer after becoming a restricted free agent.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Cayden Lindstrom Underwent Minor Surgical Procedure
- This morning, the Columbus Blue Jackets surprised many by reassigning defenseman David Jiříček to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters. Shortly after, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic wrote a scathing article (Subscription Article) on Columbus’ handling of the sixth overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft. Jiříček has rarely had a consistent role with the Blue Jackets despite the team carrying a subpar defensive core and has little else to prove in the AHL after scoring 13 goals and 57 points in 84 career games.
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