Johnson Won't Need Surgery, Voronkov Could Be Ahead Of Schedule
Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson will not need surgery on his injured shoulder, GM Don Waddell confirmed to reporters including Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link). However, that shouldn’t be construed that it won’t be a long-term injury as originally reported. Instead, the team simply feels that the injury can be treated with rehab. This is the second straight year that the 22-year-old has dealt with injury troubles and he was off to a good start before sustaining it as he had five points in his first four games. He still technically hasn’t been moved to injured reserve at this time but that’s something that should happen in the coming days whenever they have to open up a roster spot.
- Still with Columbus, forward Dmitri Voronkov was a partial participant in practice today and appears to be ahead of schedule in his recovery from a shoulder injury, reports Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch. The 24-year-old suffered the injury late in the preseason. Voronkov had a solid rookie season for the Blue Jackets in 2023-24, picking up 18 points and 16 assists and with the injuries they’re dealing with, getting him back a little earlier than expected would be some rare positive news on that front.
Utah Inquiring On Ivan Provorov, Other Teams Interested
In today’s rendition of Early Trading with TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the insider shares that the Utah Hockey Club general manager, Bill Armstrong, has been working the phones to fill the void left by Sean Durzi and John Marino‘s injuries. Specifically, LeBrun reports Armstrong has checked in on Columbus Blue Jackets’ defenseman Ivan Provorov although other teams remain interested.
It would be surprising to see Provorov moved at this point in the regular season unless Don Waddell receives an offer he can’t refuse. The Russian defenseman would be a dream trade candidate for any rebuilding team’s general manager. He’s a top-four defenseman set to hit unrestricted free agency next summer with no trade protection in his contract. Assuming he’ll head for greener pastures next offseason, nobody would fault the Blue Jackets for taking him down to the wire of the trade deadline season to reap the best possible return.
The NHL’s newest franchise might be the one to make that offer early in the year out of pure desperation. Durzi and Marino’s surgeries will keep them out for much of the regular season, putting glaring holes in Utah’s blue line. They currently sit fourth in the Central Division standings through seven games and have a legitimate pathway toward the Stanley Cup playoffs should the Colorado Avalanche and Nashville Predators continue their struggles out of the gates.
Not only does Utah need to add a top-four blue liner but they also represent a strong trade partner for Columbus. Armstrong has spent the last couple of years stockpiling draft capital during his tenure with the Arizona Coyotes and has 26 draft selections in the next three NHL Drafts. Utah may hesitate to part with a first-round pick for Provorov but has several second-round selections to dangle.
Utah could also help the Blue Jackets in areas outside of the draft. Forward Michael Carcone is an obvious low-cost trade chip. He’s only managed three games with Utah to start the 2024-25 NHL season but is coming off a year in which he scored 21 goals in 74 contests. Columbus has been one of the highest-scoring teams to start the year and Carcone should add to this strength with increased usage.
They could also help Columbus get over the salary cap floor with the existing contract of defenseman Shea Weber. Utah has Weber’s $7.857MM salary on LTIR but the Blue Jackets have the financial flexibility to activate him for the rest of the 2024-25 season. Carrying all of Weber’s salary and retaining a decent chunk of Provorov’s would allow Columbus to move out other pending unrestricted free agents at the deadline without having to take back much salary in any future trade.
Blue Jackets Not In A Hurry To Make Moves
Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry will be a healthy scratch for a second straight game tonight when the Pens take on the Calgary Flames. Jarry sat out Sunday’s 6-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets and hasn’t played since he gave up three goals on five shots last Wednesday against the Buffalo Sabres.
The Penguins are currently carrying three NHL goaltenders on their road trip through Western Canada and have been reportedly trying to get extra work in for Jarry in practice as he tries to steady his game and move on from the struggles that plagued him since late last season.
In other Eastern Conference notes:
- Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell isn’t in a hurry to add to his roster via trade despite a rash of injuries (as per James Murphy of Responsible Gambler). The Blue Jackets will be without key contributors Boone Jenner, Erik Gudbranson and Kent Johnson for quite a while, but as Waddell puts it, the team knows where they are at, and they know that acquiring short-term pieces doesn’t make sense at this stage of their rebuild. The Blue Jackets have been turning over their roster for five years now and appear unwilling to rush themselves back into the playoff picture by sacrificing the future. The Blue Jackets have several young players on their NHL roster who have performed well in the early going and have a decent pipeline of prospects on the way to the NHL.
- The NHL Department of Player Safety has announced that Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson has been fined $5000 for running interference on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jake Guentzel in last night’s contest. On the play, Ekman-Larsson was the puck carrier and threw a reverse hit on an unsuspecting Guentzel knocking him to the ice. Guentzel remained down for a brief moment before getting back to his feet. OEL received a minor penalty on the play for interference. The fine is the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the money from it will go to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
Erik Gudbranson Had Shoulder Surgery, Out Indefinitely
Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson underwent successful surgery yesterday to address the shoulder injury he sustained last week against the Panthers, the team announced. He was already placed on injured reserve. There’s no timeline for his return to the ice.
Unfortunately for Columbus, they’ll be without another veteran leadership fixture for most of the season. Captain Boone Jenner also underwent shoulder surgery earlier this month, which could cost him the entire campaign, general manager Don Waddell said at the time.
While frequently on IR earlier in his career, the 32-year-old Gudbranson has largely managed to stay healthy since inking a four-year, $16MM deal with the Jackets in free agency in 2022. The stay-at-home defender has been severely overtaxed in largely top-four minutes, though, posting a -38 rating and a poor 43.4 CF% at even strength in 151 appearances as a Jacket while averaging north of 20 minutes per game.
Through three games this season, Gudbranson had no points, an even rating, four hits, and three giveaways while also taking a minor penalty. While a relative non-factor on the ice thus far, he’s an invaluable part of Columbus’ leadership team and was the third-oldest player on the active roster behind newcomers Jack Johnson and James van Riemsdyk.
The right-shot blue-liner’s long-term absence surely means that 2022 No. 6 overall pick David Jiříček will see more minutes than he has to begin the season. The 20-year-old has sat in the press box for most of the campaign thus far and only just made his season debut over the weekend against the Wild, paired with Johnson and recording an assist and a +1 rating in 11:23 of tice time.
Elvis Merzļikins Resumes Skating, Jet Greaves Returned From Emergency Loan
The Columbus Blue Jackets took the ice this morning for practice before their matchup tomorrow night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Columbus notably had three goaltenders on the ice, and team reporter Jeff Svoboda confirmed that Elvis Merzļikins has resumed skating after nursing an upper-body injury.
It looks like Merzlikins is healthy enough to participate in tomorrow night’s contest with the team announcing they have returned netminder Jet Greaves to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, after serving on an emergency recall. Greaves suited up in two games for the Blue Jackets on the recall but spent the entire time on the bench with fellow goaltender Daniil Tarasov taking both starts.
It’s anyone’s guess who the Blue Jackets will choose to start tomorrow night’s contest with Merzlikins and Tarasov producing similar numbers to start the 2024-25 regular season. According to Hockey Reference, the two have combined for a 2-3-0 record through five games with a .869 save percentage and a -4.0 goals save above average. The deciding factor may hinge on Merzlikins’ health summary tomorrow morning.
Kent Johnson’s Injury Not A Short-Term One
It has been a rough first few weeks for the Blue Jackets on the injury front. Boone Jenner might not play this season, Dmitri Voronkov has yet to play, and Erik Gudbranson could be facing a longer-term absence, among others.
Now, Kent Johnson can be added to that list. Speaking after practice today, head coach Dean Evason told reporters including Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch (Twitter link) that the upper-body injury for Johnson is not expected to be a short-term issue. While he has not yet been placed on injured reserve, that is expected to happen in the near future.
The 22-year-old was injured in Thursday’s victory over Buffalo after colliding with teammate James van Riemsdyk. It was actually the second game in a row the Blue Jackets had a ‘friendly fire’ injury with Gudbranson’s injury coming on a collision with Sean Monahan.
Last season, Johnson battled injuries and some ineffectiveness, limiting him to just 42 games with Columbus where he had just six goals and ten assists while also spending time with AHL Cleveland. That resulted in the two sides working out a bridge contract this summer, a three-year, $5.4MM agreement as while he’s still viewed as a long-term building block for the rebuilding Blue Jackets, he certainly hadn’t shown enough for a long-term contract to be viable.
Johnson was off to a nice start to his season before the injury as he had two goals and three assists through his first four appearances and had logged an average of just over 20 minutes a night in his first three full outings. However, it looks like it’s going to be a little while at least before he has a chance to build on that.
Maintenance Day For Yegor Chinakhov
- According to team reporter Jeff Svoboda, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ top defensive prospect, David Jiříček, will make his season debut tomorrow night against the Minnesota Wild. In an interesting storyline to begin the 2024-25 NHL season, the Blue Jackets have healthy scratched the former sixth-overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft through the team’s first four games. In desperate need of playing time to keep his development headed in the right direction, it will be imperative for Jiříček to make well on his opportunities.
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Gudbranson Could Miss Months With Upper-Body Injury
The early prognosis for the upper-body injury keeping Columbus Blue Jackets’ defenseman Erik Gudbranson on the injured reserve isn’t positive. Frank Seravalli of DailyFaceoff reports that Gudbranson is potentially set to miss months due to the injury but the team will have an exact timeline tomorrow after tests are performed.
The Blue Jackets will reintroduce veteran Jack Johnson into the lineup tonight against the Buffalo Sabres in Gudbranson’s stead rather than former sixth-overall pick, David Jiříček. The young defenseman was the obvious choice originally to replace Gudbranson as he hasn’t factored into any games yet this season. Despite being the second defenseman taken off the board in the 2022 NHL Draft Jiříček sits fourth amongst defensemen in his draft class in games played.
Blue Jackets Activate Justin Danforth, Reassign Dylan Gambrell
The Columbus Blue Jackets are gaining some reinforcements for the second game of their four-game homestand. Columbus announced the organization activated forward Justin Danforth from the injured reserve while reassigning Dylan Gambrell to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, after clearing waivers today.
Danforth’s formal activation was expected with Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch reporting earlier today that Danforth would be in the lineup tonight against the Buffalo Sabres. Hedger also added that veteran defenseman Jack Johnson will return to the lineup rather than prospect David Jiříček in Erik Gudbranson‘s absence.
Danforth failed to participate in any preseason games for Columbus last month while dealing with a wrist injury and will make his season debut this evening. He’s set to begin his fourth season with the organization after signing out of the Kontinental Hockey League in 2021.
He had his best professional season last year despite the Blue Jackets being a non-contending team. He scored 10 goals and 26 points in 71 games while averaging 14:16 minutes of ice time per night which was good for 12th on the team in scoring.
He’s expected to slot into the right wing next to James van Riemsdyk and Adam Fantilli on the team’s third line for tonight’s game against the Sabres. His two linemates have not played their best hockey to start the year combining for a 2.4 xGF and a 3.8 xGA according to HockeyReference.
Blue Jackets’ Dylan Gambrell Clears Waivers
10/17: The Blue Jackets can reassign Gambrell to AHL Cleveland as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports he has cleared waivers.
10/16: Dylan Gambrell‘s brief return to the NHL will be shortlived as James Mirtle of The Athletic reports the Columbus Blue Jackets have placed him on waivers. He had not suited up in any of Columbus’ first three games to begin the 2024-25 regular season.
The Blue Jackets will be down to 12 healthy forwards on the roster for tomorrow’s game against the Buffalo Sabres. Defenseman Erik Gudbranson sustained an upper-body injury in last night’s loss against the Florida Panthers which may indicate the team will make a corresponding transaction today or tomorrow.
Gambrell spent all of last season with the Toronto Marlies making him no stranger to the American Hockey League. He scored 14 goals and 36 games leading to a one-year, $775K contract with Columbus this past offseason.
He no longer carries the pedigree of being a late second-round pick by the San Jose Sharks in the 2016 NHL Draft. He’s managed 17 goals and 40 points over 233 NHL contests without scoring more than 12 points in any season.
Should he clear waivers tomorrow, he’s likely to spend much of the season in AHL Cleveland despite Columbus’ need for additional forward depth. The team is off to a mild 1-1-0 start to begin the current campaign and is looking to stay competitive in a difficult North Division.