- Although they will not be hosting the 2025 Winter Classic, reports are alluding to the idea that the Columbus Blue Jackets may be hosting a Stadium Series game as soon as next season (Article Link). Being one of only a handful of teams not to host an outdoor game up to this point, the Blue Jackets appear set to host an outdoor game at Ohio Stadium, home of the Ohio State Buckeyes football program. Although nothing has been confirmed yet for the 2024-25 NHL season, the article indicates that NHL representatives were seen surveying the property during Ohio State’s game against the Michigan State Spartans on November 11th.
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Blue Jackets Rumors
Trade Deadline Primer: Columbus Blue Jackets
With the All-Star break in the rearview, the trade deadline looms large and is about a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are in the midst of a disastrous season. The walls started crumbling before the first puck drop of the season when Columbus parted ways with veteran coach Mike Babcock, who the team was looking to bring back from an unceremonious end to his career in the 2019-20 season.
But the problems have persisted in Columbus, with star winger Patrik Laine facing healthy scratches and personal absences, starting goaltender Elvis Merzlikins requesting a trade, top defense prospect David Jiricek expressing frustration with his NHL role, and star rookie Adam Fantilli now out for two months with a lower-body injury. When it rains, it storms – and it is storming heavily in Ohio. And while the upcoming trade deadline won’t remedy the challenges they’re facing, it could give Columbus a chance to kickstart a much-needed reset.
Record
16-24-10, 8th in the Metropolitan
Deadline Status
Seller
Deadline Cap Space
$18.525MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 44/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2024: CBJ 1st, CBJ 3rd, LAK 3rd, CBJ 4th, CBJ 5th, CBJ 6th
2025: CBJ 1st, CBJ 2nd, CBJ 3rd, CBJ 4th, CBJ 5th, CBJ 6th, CBJ 7th, VGK 7th
Trade Chips
Top goaltender Elvis Merzlikins is Columbus’ most likely option to be moved this Spring. The 29-year-old netminder requested a trade from the team, following a near total decline in his role. Merzlikins has only been iced in five of the team’s last 13 games, despite leading the team with nine wins and a .903 save percentage in 28 games this season. The Blue Jackets have instead leaned on Daniil Tarasov and Jet Greaves, a pair of goalies that are both much younger than Merzlikins. Columbus may be looking to find their goaltender for the next generation, something that the aging and expensive Merzlikins might not be around for.
But a Merzlikins deal may need a sweetener to go through. The 178-game veteran of the league is currently the 11th-most expensive goaltender in the NHL, with a $5.4MM cap hit until the end of the 2026-27 season – his age-32 season. That contract would be a significant commitment, even for a team desperate for goaltending help.
There’s no doubt that teams around the league will be eyeing top young players like Kent Johnson or David Jiricek as said “sweeteners”, though they’d certainly require a hefty return. Both options have yet to find their ideal role with the Blue Jackets. Johnson has just 15 points through 34 games this season, on pace for just 14 goals and 36 points, a step down from the 16 goals and 40 points he managed in 79 games last season. He’s also gone without a power-play point through 75 minutes this season – despite scoring 12 points on the man advantage last year. And while Johnson is being confined to the bottom-six, Jiricek is being confined to the minor leagues. The 20-year-old defenseman, who the team took sixth-overall in the 2022 NHL Draft, has averaged the lowest ice time of any Blue Jackets defenseman, playing under 15 minutes a night through 36 games this season and not yet touching special teams at all. He’s managed nine points and 20 penalty minutes in spite of the role, and is vocally at odds with the team’s brass about what ice time he should be receiving.
It seems Columbus is at their length’s end, forced to decide which players to lean into on a roster where 13 different players are averaging between 13 and 15 minutes of ice time. While it doesn’t make sense for one of the league’s lowest-ranked teams to sell the future, their pedigree as being strong in the draft could make any necessary deals easier to stomach.
Luckily, the Blue Jackets won’t be out of the trade market if they choose not to part with their top prospects, or if they can’t find a suitor for Merzlikins’ pricey deal. The team still has centerman Jack Roslovic receiving plenty of trade interest, with teams eager to add the consistent, all-situations role that Roslovic provides. The 27-year-old has just 10 points through 27 games this season, but managed 45 and 44 points across the last two seasons respectively. He’s become a reliable option down the middle and could be the perfect fit for any playoff team looking to play into the Summer. Columbus could also part with Justin Danforth or Sean Kuraly – two aging depth forwards that play a strong role with the Blue Jackets. Danforth could be a particularly interesting option, as the 30-year-old carries just a $975K cap hit over the next two seasons and has a strong 36 points through 101 career NHL games. He could be a cheap and lucrative add for teams looking for a boost in their bottom-six. It’s likely that the return for any veteran forward would be heavily based around draft picks, especially after Sean Monahan fetched a first-round pick in his move from the Montreal Canadiens to the Winnipeg Jets.
Team Needs
1) Build Around Fantilli: In a season of struggles, Columbus is able to rest their hat on one supreme bright spot – Adam Fantilli. The third-overall selectio
n in last year’s draft, Fantilli has burst onto the scene, managing 12 goals and 27 points through 49 games despite a role that’s held him to an average under 16 minutes of ice time each game. What’s worse, Fantilli has spent at least 30 minutes of ice time with 10 different linemates over the first half of his rookie season. That is far from the ideal setting for a top young player. For perspective, #1-overall pick Connor Bedard has only had six linemates on a Blackhawks team devastated by injuries, while #2-overall pick Leo Carlsson has had just four linemates in Anaheim. Columbus is not giving Fantilli a chance to build consistent chemistry with his linemates, likely significantly holding him back from even more success in his rookie season. No matter if it’s because they don’t have the right players in the room, or just don’t know what configuration works best – the Blue Jackets need to use this trade deadline to get the player they’re hoping can lead the franchise into a more comfortable role.
2) Take What You Can Get: The Blue Jackets won’t be making the playoffs this year. And, pending a 2020 run, likely won’t make it next season either. But fans shouldn’t lose hope. Fantilli offers great promise for the future and he’s backed by really exciting prospects like Gavin Brindley – Fantilli’s old teammate – as well as top defense prospect Denton Mateychuk and high-scoring forward Jordan Dumais. That’s only scratching the surface of what is a really deep Blue Jackets prospect pool. Columbus doesn’t need to focus on their depth in the same way as the Anaheim Ducks or Minnesota Wild – and thus don’t have a need to try and stretch any trades. In a year of turmoil, general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen needs to be more focused on building a cohesive roster than saving face. If there’s a chance for him to relieve some of the tension in the Blue Jackets lineup, or find a way to lighten the load on rookie head coach Pascal Vincent, it may be best to act first and worry about long-term upside second.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Blue Jackets’ Adam Fantilli Out Eight Weeks
Blue Jackets rookie Adam Fantilli will miss approximately eight weeks with a calf laceration sustained Sunday against the Kraken, the team announced Wednesday.
Fantilli sustained the injury when Seattle forward Jared McCann’s left skate made incidental contact with Fantilli’s left calf as he attempted to lay a hit. The skate reached Fantilli’s calf despite him wearing multiple layers of protective equipment, including Kevlar socks, per multiple sources.
The 19-year-old has largely been successful in what’s been a tumultuous season for Columbus. Through 49 games, the 2023 third-overall pick has 12 goals, 15 assists and 27 points while averaging 15:42 per game.
An eight-week recovery timeline from today puts Fantilli back in the Blue Jackets lineup with 10 games remaining in the regular season. He will be out through the Trade Deadline and is looking at a return during the last week of March.
Critics of Fantilli’s two-way game during his rookie season will point to his -21 rating, but there’s more to that number than meets the eye. He’s controlled 48.4% of Corsi events at even strength – 1% higher than the Blue Jackets’ total share without Fantilli on the ice – good enough for seventh on the team. His rating has been brought down by goaltending, as Columbus netminders have a .861 SV% when Fantilli is on the ice in all situations.
He’s bounced around the lineup this season, but head coach Pascal Vincent has most commonly used Fantilli either at center between veterans Johnny Gaudreau and Justin Danforth or on a ’Kid Line’ of sorts with Kirill Marchenko and Dmitri Voronkov. Other Blue Jackets youngsters, namely Yegor Chinakhov and Kent Johnson, will likely receive a bit more ice time with Fantilli out of the fold.
Blue Jackets Assign Nick Blankenburg To AHL
The Blue Jackets assigned defenseman Nick Blankenburg to AHL Cleveland on Wednesday, per a team announcement.
Columbus recalled Blankenburg, 25, for the second time this season on Saturday to replace Adam Boqvist on the active roster, who landed on injured reserve. Blankenburg did not play in each of the Blue Jackets’ last three games, however, and heads back to Cleveland without adding to his 49 career NHL appearances.
After an intriguing rookie season in 2022-23 in which Blankenburg posted 14 points in 36 games, most expected the University of Michigan product to challenge for an NHL job out of training camp this year. An influx of veterans on the Columbus blue line limited the spots available for younger players, however, and the waiver-exempt Blankenburg started the season in Cleveland as a result.
Injuries on defense meant Blankenburg got a chance early last month, playing six games after a Dec. 7 emergency recall. However, he failed to get on the scoresheet and posted middling possession metrics before an upper-body injury knocked him out of the lineup, keeping him out of action for nearly a month. The Blue Jackets activated him from IR and reassigned him to Cleveland on Jan. 21, but brought him up less than a week later when Boqvist was injured.
With the Blue Jackets beginning their bye week/All-Star break after Tuesday’s 1-0 win over the Blues, they no longer required an extra defenseman on the roster. If Boqvist is not ready to return when Columbus plays next on Feb. 10 against the Lightning, Blankenburg could see his third summons of the season if the Blue Jackets don’t want to give disgruntled 2022 sixth-overall pick David Jiricek another shot.
The 5-foot-9, 177-lb puck-mover has done well in his first career AHL stint, posting three goals and nine assists with a +7 rating in 19 games with Cleveland. He will be an RFA with arbitration rights this summer upon completion of his two-year, $1.65MM contract.
Blue Jackets Expected To Be Active At Trade Deadline
Amid another disappointing season, Lyle Richardson of The Hockey News wrote an article today encompassing the deadline plans for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Having not made the playoffs since the 2019-20 season, the Blue Jackets are expected to be an active seller at this year’s deadline.
Looking to take the next step in their short rebuild, Columbus made an unexpected splash two summers ago, signing Johnny Gaudreau to a seven-year, $68.25MM contract. Leading the team in points in his first year with the organization, the efforts of Gaudreau were not enough to get them over the hump, finishing with a 37-38-7 record.
Largely justifying the poor season by missing several players due to injury, the Blue Jackets doubled down this past summer, bringing in defensemen Damon Severson and Ivan Provorov through separate trades. Nevertheless, even with the new and improved defensive core, Columbus is on pace for an even worse record this year while they sit dead last in the Eastern Conference.
Appearing to understand the roster may not have been built as effectively as possible, a few days ago reports surfaced that indicated the Blue Jackets would be willing to listen to offers on both Provorov and Patrik Laine. Already unfeasible for the team to move on from Laine’s $8.7MM salary mid-season, he was essentially taken off the market due to his admittance into the NHLPA Player Assistance Program a few days after the initial report.
Adding to the list of players that the Blue Jackets may be willing to move on from, earlier this month, goaltender Elvis Merzlikins reportedly requested a trade once his role with the organization began to diminish. In a buyer market desperate for goaltending help, Merzlikins quickly became one of the most popular trade targets thanks to his .901 SV% on a disappointing Columbus team.
To add more salt to the wound, in the initial article from Richardson, he mentions that top-prospect David Jiricek has become increasingly frustrated with his situation in Columbus, leading to some speculation that the team could move on from him as well. Given his importance as a young up-and-coming blue liner for the team, it is more than unlikely that he will be included in any trade for the Blue Jackets this season, but after being ferried up and down from the minors of the last several weeks, his growing impatience with the team could be something to monitor.
Evening Notes: Fantilli, Capitals, Zadorov
Star Columbus Blue Jackets rookie Adam Fantilli suffered a cut on the back of his leg in the team’s Sunday night loss to the Seattle Kraken. He was seen leaving the game on crutches and the team announced today that he will miss their Tuesday night game against the St. Louis Blues. Fantilli has been a bright spot in a dark Blue Jackets season, tied for second on the team in scoring with 27 points through 49 games. The 19-year-old is one of only four Blue Jackets to play in all 49 of the team’s games this season.
Columbus drafted Fantilli with the third-overall pick in last year’s draft and now becomes the last of the top-three picks to face an injury this season. Chicago Blackhawks sensation Connor Bedard is currently grappling with a jaw injury that’s limited him to 39 games, while Leo Carlsson faced a knee injury that’s held him to just 30 games this season. The trio of top picks is joined by Zach Benson – who has played in 38 games – as the only players to jump directly into the NHL. Despite playing in more games than anyone else in the class, Fantilli doesn’t lead the group in scoring – as Bedard has managed 15 goals and 33 points despite his injury.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Washington Capitals have signed a six-year extension with their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. The new deal carries the partnership through the 2029-30 season. Hershey has been Washington’s affiliate since 2005, when they were coached by NHL-coaching veteran Bruce Boudreau. Hershey won the Calder Cup Championship in their first year under the Capitals, and have since become a legacy team in the minor leagues, winning three other championships. This includes last season when they toppled the Coachella Valley Firebirds in a seven-game series. With six more years ahead of them, Hershey will look to continue to add to their trophy cabinet.
- Player agent Dan Milstein has shared that his client Nikita Zadorov is not expecting to be traded by the Vancouver Canucks before the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline. Speculation arose after Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman discussed Vancouver’s desire to clear up cap space, listing Andrei Kuzmenko and Zadorov as options for moving out cap. Zadorov joined the Canucks on November 30th, with Vancouver sending a 2024 fifth-round pick and 2026 third-round pick to the Calgary Flames. The 28-year-old defender has since played in 24 games with the Canucks, scoring four points and recording 39 penalty minutes. He carries a $3.75MM cap hit through the end of the season and is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.
Patrik Laine Enters NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program
Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine will be out indefinitely while he receives care from the NHL and NHLPA’s Player Assistance Program, the league announced Sunday.
GM Jarmo Kekäläinen issued the following statement:
Patrik has our complete support, and our sole concern is his well-being. Out of respect for Patrik, we will have no further comment.
Laine, 25, has not played since sustaining a clavicle fracture on Dec. 14 against the Maple Leafs. Head coach Pascal Vincent said yesterday that Laine had suffered a setback in his recovery and left the team’s road trip to return to Columbus.
The Finnish winger is in his fourth season with the Blue Jackets since a Jan. 2021 blockbuster deal saw him arrive in Columbus by way of Winnipeg, who selected him second overall in the 2016 draft. The clavicle injury, as well as an illness, an upper-body injury and one healthy scratch, have limited him to 18 games in 2023-24.
His six goals and three assists equate to 0.50 points per game, a sharp decline after averaging 0.97 points per game across the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. This year’s injuries have played a significant role in his lack of production, though. Before sustaining the clavicle fracture, Laine had points in five of his last six games.
Laine has 64 goals, 74 assists and 138 points in 174 games since the Blue Jackets acquired him. His 204 career goals and 388 career points rank fourth among 2016 draftees behind Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk and Alex DeBrincat.
The 6-foot-5, 215-lb winger is in the second season of a four-year, $34.8MM contract with an $8.7MM cap hit signed in July 2022. He has a 10-team no-trade list and will be a UFA upon expiry in 2026.
Patrik Laine Suffers Setback, Not Expected To Return Before All-Star Break
- Star Columbus Blue Jackets winger Patrik Laine has experienced a setback in his injury and is no longer expected to play before the end of the team’s current three-game road trip, per team reporter Brian Hedger. The trip takes the Blue Jackets up to the All-Star Break. If Laine does indeed sit out the trip, his next chance to return will come on Saturday, February 10th when the Blue Jackets host the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Blue Jackets Place Adam Boqvist On IR, Recall Nick Blankenburg
The Blue Jackets have made a pair of roster moves in advance of their game tonight against Vancouver. The team announced that they have placed defenseman Adam Boqvist on injured reserve with an upper-body injury; taking his place on the roster is Nick Blankenburg who has been recalled from AHL Cleveland.
Boqvist was injured in Thursday’s victory over Calgary when he took a puck to the face on the bench. Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch relays (Twitter link) that the blueliner lost teeth and something worse as a result. Boqvist is in the middle of a rough season as injuries and scratches have limited him to just 20 games where he has seven assists. Last season, the 23-year-old looked to turn the corner offensively with 24 points in 46 contests but he just hasn’t been able to get back to that type of performance this year. There’s no word on how long Boqvist will be out with the team simply saying that he’s out through the All-Star break.
Blankenburg, meanwhile, was a full-timer on the roster for Columbus last season though he missed time due to injury. This year, however, he has primarily played in the minors, suiting up in 19 games for the Monsters where he has three goals and nine assists. The 25-year-old has played in six games with the Blue Jackets, averaging nearly 18 minutes a night. This is his final season of waiver exemption.
Columbus recently sent David Jiricek back to Cleveland so it might be a bit surprising that he didn’t get the promotion to return. However, with Jiricek’s ice time being limited lately, it might be more beneficial to have an extended stretch with the Monsters where he’ll get big minutes consistently over being sent back and forth as injuries come and go.
Columbus Willing To Entertain Offers On Patrik Laine, Ivan Provorov
In today’s issue of TSN’s Insider Trading, Darren Dreger reports that the Columbus Blue Jackets are willing to listen to offers on forward Patrik Laine and defenseman Ivan Provorov. Making high-impact additions in the last two summers, it appears the Blue Jackets are at least willing to entertain the idea of a major selloff.
To say that trading away either player is complicated would be an understatement. Laine’s $8.7MM salary over the next several years makes it near impossible for most teams to acquire, while Provorov is less than a year removed from being acquired by Columbus in the first place.
Nevertheless, the value that each player could bring to an organization is inherent. Although relatively streaky and bringing some health concerns to the table, Laine is one of the more well-respected goal scorers in the league, while Provorov has transitioned nicely to the Blue Jackets, on pace to tie his career-high in points with 41.
In Laine, although his goal-scoring ability is apparent, there have been questions surrounding his work ethic throughout his time with the Blue Jackets. Infamously, earlier in the season, Columbus’ head coach, Pascal Vincent made Laine a healthy scratch, reportedly creating a rift between Laine and the rookie head coach. Keeping this in mind, it could be a reasonable possibility that if Vincent is set to lead the Blue Jackets in the future, he may not envision Laine as a part of that plan. 
Drafted second overall by the Winnipeg Jets back in the 2016 NHL Draft, Laine has a total of 204 goals and 388 points, currently putting him in fourth place in both categories among all players of his draft class. Having already been traded once in his career back during the 2020-21 season, Laine’s name being mentioned in trade rumors should put him in familiar territory.
Provorov, on the other hand, is much more known for his defensive attributes rather than his offense. Over a seven-year span with the Philadelphia Flyers, Provorov played in a total of 532 games for the Flyers, scoring 217 points in the process. A regular member of the top penalty kill unit for both Columbus and Philadelphia, although Provorov’s physical play has decreased over the last handful of years, he still regularly racks up nearly 180 blocked shots each season. An effective top-four option for any team throughout the NHL, Provorov’s $4.725MM salary over this season and next is much more palatable to most teams than the contract of Laine.
At the end of the day, given that both players are signed beyond this season to relatively large sums of money, it is unlikely that the Blue Jackets will be able to find a trading partner until the draft or the opening of the free-agent market next summer. Nevertheless, with plenty of competitive teams looking to make a significant upgrade in a wide-open playoff race, Laine and Provorov could quickly become some of the bigger names on the trade market leading up to the trade deadline.