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Boone Jenner Set To Make Return

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Some good news came to the Columbus Blue Jackets this afternoon by way of Aaron Portzline of The Athletic who is reporting that captain Boone Jenner will be making his return to the lineup on Friday night. One of the better offensive players on the Blue Jackets’ roster, Jenner has been out since December 8th with a broken jaw.

It will be a major reinforcement for Columbus, a team that has seen injuries to other major players such as Patrik Laine and Zach Werenski for much of the season. The reintroduction of Jenner onto the roster will bring a player who has scored 13 goals in 28 games already for the Blue Jackets this season, still good for second on the team in goal-scoring even after being out for over a month.

If Columbus continues to fall in the standings, Jenner could become one of the more intriguing trade deadline options for many competitive teams. Signed for two more years beyond this one, the Blue Jackets shouldn’t feel rushed to move their captain, but his ability to play on both sides of the puck, his relatively cheap contract and his obvious leadership ability could be coveted by a plethora of teams come March.

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Elvis Merzļikins Requests Trade Amid Diminishing Role

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Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzļikins told the media after Monday’s game that he has requested a trade away from the team. Monday marks the first game that Merzļikins has played since December 29th – spending the last six games as either a backup or healthy scratch. He made 21 saves en route to a 4-3 shootout victory.

Merzļikins has become the third goaltender on Columbus’ depth chart, with Daniil Tarasov and Spencer Martin both receiving starts over Merzļikins. The Blue Jackets haven’t proven any more successful with the goalie changes, going 1-3-2 in the games Merzļikins sat out. It’s led Columbus to a dismal 13-21-9 start to the season, a record that ranks them 28th in the NHL.

This trade request could mark the end of what has been a heartwarming story for Merzļikins in Columbus. The 29-year-old became just the third Latvian goaltender to be drafted into the NHL when the Blue Jackets took him in the third round of the 2014 NHL Draft – the same round that saw Warren Foegele, Ilya Sorokin, and Brayden Point be selected. Of the two Latvians to be selected before Merzļikins, only one had played significant NHL time: 568-game veteran Artūrs Irbe. Merzļikins, who has played in 173 games since his NHL debut in 2019-20, now ranks second in games played among Latvian netminders behind only Irbe – surpassing undrafted netminder Pēteris Skudra, the only other to play in more than 100 games.

Columbus has allowed more goals than any team other than the San Jose Sharks this season – but despite it, Merzļikins has still found a way to have a productive year, setting an 8-8-6 record and .906 save percentage through 24 games. He’s back to maintaining a save percentage over .900, a feat he managed in each of his first three seasons but lost with a .876 save percentage in 30 games last year. Merzļikins’ rebound back to form sets him up to be an attractive trade option for teams in need of goaltending help but without the assets to acquire a top name like John Gibson or Jacob Markstrom. But any recipient would need to have cap space, as Merzlikins carries a $5.4MM cap hit over the next four seasons, making him the 11th-most expensive goaltender in the league. There’s also the question of what Columbus would want in return for a goaltender who has become the fifth-most frequent in club history. Regardless, this move brings an exciting spark to the looming March 8th Trade Deadline.

Blue Jackets Activate Sean Kuraly Off IR, Assign Brendan Gaunce To AHL

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The Blue Jackets have activated forward Sean Kuraly off injured reserve, GM Jarmo Kekäläinen announced today. To keep their active roster at the 23-player maximum, forward Brendan Gaunce was assigned to AHL Cleveland in a corresponding transaction.

Kuraly is set to re-enter the lineup for tomorrow’s game against the Canucks. The 30-year-old missed eight games with a scary rib cartilage injury that required the attention of paramedics on December 23 against the Maple Leafs.

He’s projected to return in a fourth-line role alongside Emil Bemström and Justin Danforth. Now in his third season with the Blue Jackets since signing a four-year, $10MM contract in 2021, he’d notched six goals and 11 points in 35 games with a -2 rating before the injury, predominantly playing fourth-line minutes with significant penalty kill time.

That’s solid offensive production for someone used almost exclusively as a shutdown specialist at even strength. He’s averaged only 26.9% of his zone starts in the offensive end since joining the Blue Jackets, a number that hasn’t deviated much this season.

Gaunce, 29, heads back to Cleveland, where he’s played most of his hockey since signing in Columbus in 2021. The veteran of 482 combined NHL and AHL games has six goals and 15 points in 24 games with the Monsters this season. The move ends his only recall of the season thus far, which began when he was brought up under emergency conditions on December 18. He appeared in eight out of 11 Blue Jackets contests during his recall, posting a goal and two assists with a -2 rating in 10:59 of average ice time.

Elvis Merzlikins Has Not Asked For A Trade

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TSN’s Darren Dreger reported on TSN Insider Trading that he believes Montreal Canadiens forward Sean Monahan could be one of the first players moved before the NHL trade deadline. The Canadiens and Monahan struck an agreement on a one-year contract last summer with the understanding that the team would move Monahan to a contending team during the season when the time was right.

For his part, Monahan has been having a decent year and is healthy for the first time in a while. The Brampton, Ontario native has dressed in 41 games and has registered 11 goals and 13 assists while averaging over 18 minutes of ice time a game. The seven-time 20-goal scorer hasn’t topped the 20-goal mark since the 2019-20 season but is on pace for a 22-goal campaign. His contract will also be one of the easier deals to move as he is counting just $2MM against the Canadiens salary cap this season.

In other afternoon notes:

  • Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550 in Buffalo is reporting that Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson is undergoing imaging today for an undisclosed injury. Thompson was on a mission in last night’s game against the Ottawa Senators as he scored two goals before his exit from the game. He did take a high stick in the second period that forced him to briefly leave the bench, but he did return after that before leaving a second time. Thompson missed a few weeks with a hand injury earlier in the season and was just rounding into form in recent weeks. In 32 games this season, the Phoenix, Arizona native has 14 goals and 13 assists. Sabres head coach Don Granato did tell reporters that Thompson could play tomorrow, meaning that whatever is bothering the 26-year-old may not be too serious, but time will tell.
  • Aaron Portzline of The Athletic is reporting that Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins commented to the media today that he has not asked the team for a trade, however, he would like the team to find a new scenario for him and the team has agreed with that. What that means is unclear, but Merzlikins did tell reporters that he is not a backup goaltender, something that he is in line to be tomorrow night when the Blue Jackets take on the Seattle Kraken. If Columbus does go the trade route with Merzlikins, it will not be the easiest move to make as the 29-year-old is in the second year of a five-year $27MM contract and has a ten-team no-trade list. Couple his contract, with his uneven play over the past two and a half years and it will be a difficult transaction for the Blue Jackets to make.

Jordan Dumais To Undergo Surgery

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  • Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Jordan Dumais, one of the most productive players in recent QMJHL history, is undergoing double hip surgery, according to Kevin Dubé of Le Journal de Québec. This is obviously a significant development for Dumais, who is set to be out until at least the second or third round of the QMJHL playoffs, at the earliest. Dumais has formed one of junior hockey’s best lines alongside Vegas Golden Knights prospect Mathieu Cataford and undrafted forward Markus Vidicek. Now, he’ll have to focus on his own recovery rather than chasing down a QMJHL title.

Blue Jackets Prospect Tyler Peddle Traded In QMJHL

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  • The Blue Jackets made Nova Scotia-born center Tyler Peddle the last pick of the 2023 NHL Draft nearly six months ago. He’s now been traded from the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs to the Saint John Sea Dogs as he looks to jumpstart a highly discouraging post-draft campaign. Peddle, 18, notched 24 goals and 41 points in 64 games for Drummondville last season en route to his draft selection. This year, his scoring pace has decreased by almost 50% to just 14 points in 38 combined games between Drummondville and Saint John, the latter of whom he’s already played for once after the trade went through earlier this week. Peddle has not scored a goal in his last ten games and, if he can’t quickly get back on the scoresheet, is looking like a strong candidate to re-enter the NHL draft in 2025 and not earn an entry-level deal from Columbus in that time.

Columbus Blue Jackets Reassign Jake Christiansen

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have reassigned defenseman Jake Christiansen to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.

With defenseman Adam Boqvist cleared to return to the ice tomorrow for the team’s game against the Minnesota Wild, Christiansen no longer has his spot on the team’s NHL roster. He got into three total games in his most recent stretch in the NHL, and he registered one assist.

The 24-year-old undrafted WHL product has developed nicely since his rookie AHL campaign with Cleveland. He has a career-high of 45 points and has so far managed 22 points in 28 games this season. That production ranks him inside the top-10 in scoring by a defenseman in the AHL so far in 2023-24, and over the past few years, he has made it clear that he is a high-end offensive defenseman at the AHL level.

In the NHL, Christiansen has largely played in a sheltered role. With this reassignment, he’ll return to the top end of Cleveland’s lineup, while the Blue Jackets will shift focus to Boqvist. Boqvist, 23, has played in 13 games this season and has scored three points.

Metro Injury Notes: Boqvist, Kuraly, Fast

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Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Adam Boqvist has not played since December 5th, but he could be inching closer to a return to the ice. According to the Columbus Dispatch’s Brian Hedger, Boqvist skated on his own this morning before Blue Jackets practice, as part of his recovery from a shoulder sprain.

Boqvist has played in a total of 13 games this season, three points. His 17:05 average time-on-ice per game in that span is in line with his career averages, although as he’s now 23 years old one would likely hope to see a step forward from the 2018 eighth overall pick. If he can work his way back into health and into the Blue Jackets’ lineup, the rest of 2023-24 will be his opportunity to take that step forward fans have been waiting for.

Some other injury updates from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Blue Jackets head coach Pascal Vincent gave a more firm timeline on the injury to veteran Sean Kuraly, telling Hedger that they expect Kuraly to miss around two more weeks. Kuraly hasn’t played since a scary collision knocked him out of a December 23rd contest, but when healthy he’s a crucial bottom-six leader for the Blue Jackets. He has registered 11 points in 35 games this year.
  • Carolina Hurricanes forward Jesper Fast will be out of the lineup for the team’s next game, according to Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour. Fast was on the receiving end of a hit to the head from Toronto Maple Leafs forward Noah Gregor on December 30th, a hit that knocked him out of the game. The 32-year-old veteran winger has 11 points in 37 games this season, skating in his usual bottom-six defensive role.

Merzlikins (Illness) To Miss Saturday's Game

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  • The Blue Jackets announced (Twitter link) that Elvis Merzlikins’ early departure from last night’s victory over Toronto was due to illness. Spencer Martin played the final two periods and overtime in relief.  He will also miss today’s game versus Buffalo as team reporter Jeff Svoboda relays (Twitter link) that Merzlikins did not accompany the team on the trip.  With Columbus carrying three goalies on its active roster, they don’t need to bring another netminder up from AHL Cleveland.

Blue Jackets Place Sean Kuraly On IR, Recall Jake Christiansen

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The Blue Jackets have made a pair of roster moves leading into today’s contest against Buffalo.  The team announced that they’ve placed center Sean Kuraly on injured reserve retroactive to December 23; they’ve recalled defenseman Jake Christiansen from AHL Cleveland to take his place on the roster.  Meanwhile, the team also revealed that blueliner Zach Werenski will miss four to six weeks with the ankle injury that landed him on IR yesterday.

Kuraly suffered an abdominal injury last weekend against Toronto and was recently listed as day-to-day.  This placement suggests that he’ll miss the game against the Sabres but he will be eligible to return at any point after that due to the back-dating.  The 30-year-old has 11 points and a team-leading 74 hits in 35 games so far this season while logging 13:29 per night.

As for Christiansen, this is his first recall of the season after clearing waivers back in training camp.  The 24-year-old had been quite productive with the Monsters during his entry-level deal and that has continued into his fourth professional campaign as he has 22 points in 28 games so far.  Despite the offensive success in the minors, that has yet to materialize into production at the top level as Christiansen has just five points in 32 career NHL appearances.

Werenski, meanwhile, will be a big loss for the next month for Columbus.  He’s tied for the team lead in points with Johnny Gaudreau, picking up a goal and 24 assists while leading the way in playing time, logging over 24 minutes a night.  Andrew Peeke took his place in the lineup last night against Toronto although they could opt to give Christiansen a look in that spot today.

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