Blue Jackets Recall Mikael Pyyhtia
11:30 AM: Chinakhov will indeed sit out on Sunday, with NHL.com’s Jeff Svoboda confirming the winger didn’t travel with the team to Chicago. The Blue Jackets will continue their road trip with a four-game trip into Western Canada, potentially hindering Chinkahov’s ability to return soon – though he could join the team partway through their trip.
10:30 AM: The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Mikael Pyyhtia. He was sent to the minor leagues on November 20th after making the Blue Jackets roster out of training camp. Pyyhtia’s call-up could suggest that Columbus winger Yegor Chinakhov won’t be healthy for the team’s Sunday game. Chinakhov is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and sat out of the team’s Friday win over Calgary.
Pyyhtia played in four games during his AHL stint. He scored in three of those outings for five points total – including a three-assist night in an overtime win over Milwaukee. That’s a welcome bout of scoring after Pyyhtia managed just one goal through 17 games to start his NHL season. Pyyhtia was similarly snakebit last season, recording just two assists in 17 games – after earning a midseason call-up from the AHL. The 2024-25 season marks Pyyhtia’s second full year in North America, having made the move to Ohio at the end of the Liiga’s 2022-23 campaign. He played in parts of four seasons with TPS prior to coming over, recording 63 points in 140 games.
Pyyhtia has never been known as a top-scorer, but this call-up gives him a chance to return to the NHL lineup with wind in his sails. Chinakhov was replaced on Friday by the return of top-six forward Cole Sillinger, though Columbus’ bottom-six could use a spark in scoring. Pyyhtia could step in for any of Zach Aston-Reese, James van Riemsdyk, or Kevin Labanc – with the latter the favorite to step out of the lineup recently.
Minnesota Wild Acquire David Jiříček From Columbus
According to a team announcement, the Minnesota Wild have acquired defensive prospect David Jiříček and a 2025 fifth-round pick from the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Wild organization is sending back defenseman Daemon Hunt, a conditional 2025 first-round pick, Colorado’s 2026 third-round pick, Toronto’s 2026 fourth-round pick, and a 2027 second-round pick to Columbus.
It’s been a long time coming for the former sixth-overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft. Jiříček will join the second organization of his very young career after several inconsistent years with the Blue Jackets. After scoring five goals and 11 points in 29 games for Czechia’s HC Plzeň, Jiříček was ranked as the fourth-best European skater and second-best defenseman by NHL Central Scouting before the 2022 NHL Draft.
Jiříček immediately came to the Blue Jackets organization upon being drafted, suiting up in 55 games for the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. He impressed with six goals and 38 points in his rookie campaign in the AHL but unfortunately missed out on the league’s All-Rookie Team. Arguably Jiříček’s most impressive performance of the season came in the middle of the year during the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship.
He scored three goals and seven points in seven games for Team Czechia while posting a +10 rating throughout the tournament. He was voted the best defenseman by the directorate and helped guide Czechia to the country’s first silver medal since 1985 when they shared a country with Slovakia.
Jiříček managed to debut in the NHL in the 2022-23 season but went scoreless over a brief four-game stretch. The following season allowed Jiříček his largest opportunity to make an impact with the Blue Jackets.
He scored one goal and 10 points over 43 games in Columbus last year. The organization kept him incredibly sheltered as the young defenseman only averaged 14:36 of ice time per game. Still, he showed flashes of being an elite two-way defenseman with a 92.4% on-ice save percentage in all situations which was especially good considering the Blue Jackets finished 31st in the NHL in goals-against per game. 
Still, infrequent demotions and recalls by Columbus throughout the regular season prohibited Jiříček from gaining any traction for the Blue Jackets or Monsters. He finished the 2023-24 AHL season with seven goals and 19 assists in 29 games for Cleveland with another three goals and 11 points in 14 postseason contests.
The beginning of the 2024-25 season likely put the nail in the coffin for Jiříček’s future in Columbus. He cracked the team’s roster out of training camp but was hardly used by new head coach Dean Evason. He only suited up in six of the Blue Jackets’ first 18 games before being reassigned to the AHL on November 20th. His average ice time slipped even further with Jiříček only averaging 11:12 of ice time.
Jiříček will now join a Minnesota defense that projects to be one of the best in the league in a few years. The organization already deploys defensemen Brock Faber and Jared Spurgeon on the right side of the defense. Things look equally as impressive on the left side of the blue line with Jonas Brodin and recent draft pick Zeev Buium also projected in long-term roles.
The Wild’s already solid defense has helped them to a 15-4-4 record to start the 2024-25 NHL season making this year’s first-round pick expendable. Minnesota announced that the conditions on the first-round pick include top-five protection. The inclusion of a first-round pick was likely a bare minimum for the Blue Jackets organization despite this one likely falling outside of the lottery. The other three draft draft selections heading to Columbus give the organization eight for the 2026 NHL Draft and eight for the 2027 NHL Draft.
Hunt, reportedly the final part of the deal, is in a similar situation, albeit a lower profile, to that of Jiříček. He’ll be familiar with Evason after having played a handful of games for him last season but didn’t have any legitimate pathway to the NHL in Minnesota. He had been enjoying a quietly productive season with the AHL’s Iowa Wild tallying four assists in nine games.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the Wild were finalizing a deal for Jiříček.
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun was the first to report Hunt’s inclusion in the deal.
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli was the first to report a majority of the trade package.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Blue Jackets Reassign Jet Greaves, Joseph LaBate To AHL
The Columbus Blue Jackets made a pair of expected roster moves before their contest tomorrow afternoon against the Chicago Blackhawks. The organization announced they’ve reassigned goaltender Jet Greaves and forward Joseph LaBate to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.
LaBate is back in the American Hockey League with the Monsters after a brief trip on the waiver wire. He’s already collected five games in Cleveland this season on a tryout agreement scoring one goal and four points with six PIMs. His AHL career has lasted a decade with LaBate scoring 64 goals and 137 points in 410 games since entering the AHL in 2014-15.
The 6’5″, 209-lbs centerman also has NHL experience despite not playing in a game since 2016-17. He suited up in 13 games for the Vancouver Canucks but failed to register any points. Still, he made his presence known by collecting three fighting majors in his brief stint.
Similarly, Greaves will return to a familiar environment in Cleveland. Due to Daniil Tarasov‘s illness, the Blue Jackets recalled Greaves yesterday to serve as backup against the Calgary Flames. Given that Columbus likely isn’t looking to accrue any more cap space for the trade deadline, this roster move nearly confirms Tarasov’s return tomorrow.
Greaves has been a consistently solid goaltender for the Monsters since debuting in the AHL during the 2021-22 season. In four years, he’s posted a 68-43-14 record in Cleveland with a .905 save percentage and 2.98 goals against average.
Multiple Teams Showing Interest in Nils Hoglander
It wasn’t long ago that Canucks winger Nils Hoglander looked like an important part of Vancouver’s long-term plans. But things haven’t gone as well this year for him and it appears that teams are starting to kick the tires to see if he’s available. ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports (Twitter link) that the Capitals, Penguins, and Blue Jackets are among the teams who have explored the possibility of acquiring Hoglander.
Hoglander made an early impact with Vancouver, picking up 13 goals and 14 assists in 56 games in the shortened 2020-21 season. However, his output dipped in the next two seasons, capped off by him spending the bulk of the 2022-23 campaign in the minors with AHL Abbotsford.
However, Hoglander took a big step forward last season. The 23-year-old set new career highs in goals (24) and points (36) despite playing almost exclusively in the bottom six, averaging just 12:06 per game. Still, he was a regular throughout the season and the playoffs, restoring some value along the way.
That was enough for the Canucks to hand him a three-year, $9MM contract extension that will begin next season. While it walks Hoglander right to UFA eligibility at 27 in the 2028 offseason, it looked as if he was going to be a capable bottom-six option for them for a while.
But things haven’t gone anywhere near as well this season. He has been limited to just two goals and three assists in 21 appearances so far despite basically having the same role. Along the way, his shooting percentage has dropped from 20%, a mark that’s hard to maintain, down to 8.7% which is a little below league average.
While Hoglander’s price tag will be $3MM next season, it’s a much more manageable $1.1MM this season as he wraps up his bridge deal. That’s especially important for Washington, a team that is effectively capped out and well into LTIR. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has ample cap space after moving Lars Eller to the Caps earlier this month while Columbus is at the bottom of the league in spending this season. All three teams make some sense for Hoglander’s services as a player to potentially help their bottom six group while being young enough to still be in the plans if those teams wind up having to pivot to a rebuild down the road.
Despite his slow start, there still should be a fairly strong market for his services beyond those three Eastern Conference teams should GM Patrik Allvin decide to make him available which could make his trade value higher than it might seem. If the Canucks decide to try to shake things up, Hoglander is a potentially viable candidate to move.
Chinakhov Dealing With An Upper-Body Injury
- 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 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.