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Blue Jackets Activate Zach Werenski Off IR, Reassign David Jiricek

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After missing a total of 10 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets, the team has announced defenseman Zach Werenski has been activated from the team’s injured reserve. To clear a spot on the active roster, the team has reassigned defenseman David Jiricek to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.

Even though Werenski will likely not save the Blue Jackets from another disappointing season, seeing the return of a defenseman of his stature is a victory for the organization nonetheless. Leading the team in average time on ice at 24 minutes, Werenski has scored one goal and 25 points in 34 games for Columbus so far this season, putting him third on the team in scoring.

Not only the best defenseman but arguably the best player on the Blue Jackets, Werenski is rather unique in the sense that he is tasked with leading the team’s primary powerplay unit, as well as seeing a fair amount of usage on the team’s penalty kill. In Werenski’s absence over the last 10 games, the team’s powerplay has only been able to execute 12.9% of the time, with the penalty kill only achieving a 70.9% success rate, both marketable drop-offs compared to the team’s current averages.

Nevertheless, even with Werenski being one of the most important players in Columbus, there are very legitimate concerns surrounding his ability to stay healthy. Out of a potential 266 games since the beginning of the 2020-21 NHL season, Werenski has only played in 150 of those contests, meaning he has missed nearly 44% of games over the last several years.

Originally recalled back from assignment on January 21st, Jiricek will return to Cleveland to continue to regain confidence in his game. Since his initial reassignment on January 18th, Jiricek was able to suit up in two games for the Monsters, assisting on all three goals scored for the team in their January 20th matchup against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Zach Werenski Could Return Tomorrow

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  • Blue Jackets blueliner Zach Werenski was expected to return at some point on their ongoing road trip but it appears it’ll be sooner rather than later. Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch notes (Twitter link) that the 26-year-old appears to be on track to return on Thursday versus Calgary.  Werenski hasn’t played in nearly a month due to a lower-body injury but is still tied for second on the team in scoring with 25 points in 34 games.

Morning Notes: Laine, Werenski, Byram, Engvall

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Zach Werenski and Patrik Laine are expected to return on the five-game road trip the Columbus Blue Jackets begin on Tuesday. Laine has missed the team’s last 14 games with a broken collarbone, while Werenski has missed 10 games with an ankle injury.

The Blue Jackets went 3-4-3 without their pair of top talents, averaging just 2.7 goals-for and 4.1 goals-against. Werenski’s return will mark the most notable impact, as the 26-year-old defenseman still ranks third on the team in scoring – with one goal and 25 points in 34 games – despite missing 11 games on the season. Laine hasn’t been as productive, boasting six goals and nine points in 18 games, though he was on a hot streak before his injury – netting five points in his last six games. The duo have become pivotal to Columbus’ success, and frequent absentees from the lineup. Laine posted 22 goals and 52 points in 55 games last season, while Werenski was only able to appear in 13 games – and score eight points – as he missed most of the season with a torn labrum and separated shoulder. The Blue Jackets will hope both players can find a newfound bout of health upon their return, as they work to improve on a season that currently has them ranked in the league’s bottom five.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Colorado Avalanche have activated defenseman Bowen Byram off on injured reserve. The 22-year-old defenseman has appeared in 39 of Colorado’s 47 games this season, netting 12 points split evenly. He’s managed the scoring while serving in a top-end role, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time – though it’s a step down from the nearly 22 minutes of ice time Byram averaged in 42 games last season. Caleb Jones and Sam Malinski will likely step out of the lineup to make space for Byram, though one of the two could still see ice time as the Avalanche have opted for seven defensemen recently.

  • Stefen Rosner of NHL.com is reporting that New York Islanders forward Pierre Engvall is feeling better and has returned to full contact at Islanders practice. The 27-year-old has been dealing with an upper-body injury and has not suited up for New York since a 5-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild on January 15th. Engvall’s style of play should be well suited for new head coach Patrick Roy’s system as puck possession remains a strong suit for the former seventh-round pick. Engvall’s numbers are down a bit this season as has just five goals and nine assists in 41 games this season. His shooting percentage has plummeted to just 7.5% down from a career-high 13% last season. There is no timetable yet for Engvall to return to the Islanders lineup.

Columbus Blue Jackets Activate Nick Blankenburg, Recall David Jiříček

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced that defenseman Nick Blankenburg has been activated off of injured reserve and assigned to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, and defenseman David Jiříček has been recalled from the Monsters.

The 25-year-old Blankenburg has been out since December 19th due to injury. The former captain of the Michigan Wolverines was actually playing in the NHL when he was last healthy, skating in his sixth consecutive game with the club. Before that point Blankenburg was in Cleveland, which is where he’ll now return to. Blankenburg has played in 18 games for the Monsters, the first 18 games of his AHL career, and has gotten off to a nice start there with 11 points.

Jiříček now returns to the Blue Jackets’ roster after a two-game stay in Cleveland. The 20-year-old 2022 sixth-overall pick receives this recall fresh off of a three-point game against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, a contest win which he played a role in all three of the Monsters’ goals. The six-foot-four blueliner has played in 36 NHL games already this season and registered nine points. He proved himself as an AHLer in his rookie campaign in North America, scoring 38 points in 55 games.

Jiricek To Be Recalled Next Week

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A few days ago, to create a roster spot upon the return of captain Boone Jenner, the Columbus Blue Jackets decided to send promising young defenseman David Jiricek back to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters. Even though it has been a relatively mediocre season for Jiricek up to this point, it was still surprising to see Jiricek as the head eventually put on the chopping block.

Nevertheless, in an article today from Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, he reports that the plan for Jiricek is to have him play two games this week for the Monsters until the team eventually recalls him in a week. The organization may be looking to give Jiricek an extra boost of confidence before the Blue Jackets’ upcoming five-game road trip before the All-Star game.

As one of the more hyped-up Columbus prospects heading into the season, many expectations placed upon Jiricek before the season were largely unfair, as he has not gotten off to a hot start with the team. In 36 games for the Blue Jackets already this season, Jiricek has scored one goal and nine points, managing just under 15 minutes of ice time per night, without receiving much time on either the powerplay or penalty kill.

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Snapshots: Jenner, Schiefele, Annunen

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated forward Boone Jenner off of injured reserve. This move confirms team reporter Aaron Portzline’s earlier report that the team captain would make his return on Friday.

Jenner is in his 11th season with the Blue Jackets and his third season as the team’s captain. He’s spent all 686 of his career games with Columbus – beating out Rick Nash for the most games in club history. Jenner has managed 347 points in those games, good for third in club history. Jenner had a career year in the 2015-16 season, managing 30 goals and 49 points in 82 games, while boasting a fairly meager 13.3 shooting percentage. He struggled to replicate that scoring ability for much of the subsequent years but has found a newfound finishing ability over recent seasons – netting 23 goals and 26 goals in the last two seasons respectively.  Jenner has 13 goals and 18 points in 29 games this season.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Mark Scheifele is expected to miss the Winnipeg Jets’ Saturday matchup against the Ottawa Senators says head coach Rick Bowness. He is battling a lower-body injury suffered on January 11th. He will be reevaluated ahead of the team’s Monday game against the Boston Bruins. Scheifele was placed on injured reserve on January 16th – with the placement retroactive to January 12th – making Saturday the first game that he could have returned for. His absence corresponded with teammate Kyle Connor’s return from injured reserve, helping to keep Winnipeg’s offense alive while their leading-scorer Scheifele misses time.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have sent 23-year-old goaltender Justus Annunen to the minors. He was recalled on January 13th and made his season debut, saving 36 of 40 shots in a 7-4 win over the Ottawa Senators. He’s now up to five career NHL games spread over the last three seasons, boasting a 3-1-1 record and .871 save percentage in them. Annunen returns to the AHL, where he’s already managed a 9-5-4 record and .908 save percentage in 18 games this season.

Hurricanes Claim Spencer Martin Off Waivers From Blue Jackets

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The Hurricanes have claimed goaltender Spencer Martin off waivers from the Blue Jackets, per a team announcement. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the news. Given the Hurricanes have no open spots on the active roster, the team has likely assigned rookie backup Yaniv Perets to ECHL Norfolk to create space for Martin.

Martin, 28, has now been claimed off waivers for the second time this season. He began the campaign with the Canucks in training camp, expecting to serve out the second season of a two-year, $1.525MM extension. After Vancouver made a mid-September trade to acquire Casey DeSmith from the Canadiens to serve as the primary backup to starter Thatcher Demko, though, Martin fell to third on the organizational depth chart. The Canucks waived him at the end of the month, at which point he got picked up by the Blue Jackets to serve as their backup while youngster Daniil Tarasov was on the shelf with a knee injury.

In 13 appearances with Columbus (10 starts), Martin posted a .887 SV% and a 3-8-1 record. He has a 17-25-6 record and .886 SV% in 51 career showings with the Blue Jackets, Canucks and Avalanche dating back to 2016. A third-round pick of Colorado in the 2013 draft, Martin was primarily an AHL starter for the organizations he played in until getting a more extended look as a backup to Demko in Vancouver last season.

Unfortunately, Martin’s poor play last season was a large reason behind the 2022-23 Canucks’ dysfunction. His -23.5 goals saved above expected was third-worst in the NHL, per MoneyPuck, trailing only Columbus’ Elvis Merzļikins and San Jose’s Kaapo Kähkönen. He’s been marginally better this season, but he’s still been far below average, with -4.7 goals saved above expected in his 13 appearances for the Blue Jackets.

He now heads to Carolina as a more permanent answer for the veteran third goalie position they’ve been looking to fill ever since starter Frederik Andersen exited the lineup in November due to blood clots. The club had signed Jaroslav Halák and Aaron Dell to PTOs earlier in the season, but never converted their tryouts into a full-time contract.

Their thin depth at the goalie position was exacerbated last week when Pyotr Kochetkov entered concussion protocols, leaving the Hurricanes with Antti Raanta and his .869 SV% as their lone option between the pipes with NHL experience. Claiming Martin also allows the Hurricanes to let the 23-year-old Perets continue his development in the ECHL, where he has a .906 SV% and 2.62 GAA in his first professional season.

Blue Jackets Put Spencer Martin On Waivers, Jiricek Sent To AHL

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The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that they’ve placed goaltender Spencer Martin on waivers today and sent defenseman David Jiricek to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. Martin was placed on waivers for the purpose of sending him to the AHL, but he will need to clear waivers first before he can be sent there.

Martin has struggled this season after he was acquired on waivers from the Vancouver Canucks back in September 2023. He has not appeared in a game since a loss on January 2nd to the Boston Bruins. For the season, Martin has dressed in 13 games and has a 3-8-1 record with a 3.65 goals-against average and a save percentage of .887%. Those numbers are not great, and some might speculate that they are being dragged down by playing on a bad team in Columbus, however, Martin’s numbers are only slightly worse with the Blue Jackets as his career average goals against is 3.63 and his career save percentage is lower at .886. Martin’s demotion could lead to Elvis Merzļikins getting more playing time in the coming days, which could be interesting given his recent trade request.

Jiricek heads to Cleveland after dressing in 36 games this season for the Blue Jackets. The former sixth overall pick in the 2022 NHL entry draft has played okay this season, although he hasn’t posted much in the way of offense with just a goal and eight assists this year. The Blue Jackets tried to give the 20-year-old the bulk of his zone starts in the offensive zone and did appear to be sheltering him as best they could. With his demotion to Cleveland, he will likely see more minutes and have an opportunity to play in more high-leverage situations which could help his development long-term.

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.

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