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Columbus Blue Jackets Recall Mikael Pyyhtia

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Now with six regular forwards due to injury, the Columbus Blue Jackets have had to grab multiple players from their AHL affiliate to fill in the gaps on their roster. Continuing with this theme, the Blue Jackets have recalled forward Mikael Pyyhtia from their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, on an emergency loan.

There should be some excitement building in Columbus for Pyyhtia, who has now become the sixth-leading scorer on a very solid Monsters team in his first full season of professional hockey in North America. After being selected by the Blue Jackets with the 114th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Pyyhtia spent the last two seasons in his native Finland to play for TPS of the Finnish Liiga.

In those last two years spent with TPS, Pyyhtia became one of the better offensive players throughout the league. In his 103 regular season games in the Liiga since being drafted by Columbus, Pyyhtia scored a total of 28 goals and 55 points; which is notably solid production from a player in his early 20s.

Now having fully transitioned to North American hockey, Pyyhtia has scored seven goals and 27 points already this season. Helping lead Cleveland to a 34-18-3-3 start in their first 58 games, there is every reason to believe that Pyyhtia will suit up in the Calder Cup playoffs for the first time this year.

Sean Kuraly Out Week-To-Week

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Absent from the team’s practice this morning, the Columbus Blue Jackets will not be expecting back Sean Kuraly any time soon. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that Kuraly is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

It is more of the same for Kuraly, who has seemingly dealt with multiple injuries during his tenure in Columbus. Since signing a four-year, $10MM contract with the Blue Jackets back in 2021, Kuraly has suited up in 205 games for Columbus, missing 11% of the time with injury.

When healthy, Kuraly has been good for double-digit totals in both goals and assists, which has provided the Blue Jackets with solid bottom-six scoring. Unfortunately, Columbus has not gotten the most out of their top six over the last two years, as the Blue Jackets have only averaged 2.89 goals per game over the last three years.

Even though Kuraly is rather mediocre in the faceoff dot, he does bring solid defensive awareness to the table, regularly collecting more takeaways than giveaways throughout his career. Furthermore, Kuraly is far and away the most physical player on Columbus’ roster, as he’s led the team in hits in each year he has suited up for the Blue Jackets.

With Kuraly now out of the lineup for the foreseeable future, it will be an opportunity for veteran forward Brendan Gaunce to receive more playing time at the NHL level. In nine games for the Blue Jackets already this season, Gaunce has scored one goal and three points overall, averaging over 10 minutes of ice time per night.

Blue Jackets Recall Brendan Gaunce On Emergency Loan

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11:00 AM: Kirill Marchenko is under the weather, and may not be ready for the team’s Tuesday matchup against the Montreal Canadiens, per Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispact (Twitter Link). Gaunce will fill-in for Marchenko if he can’t go, while Meyer fills in for Danforth.

10:00 AM: The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled forward Brendan Gaunce from the AHL under emergency conditions. This move comes after Columbus played without Justin Danforth on Saturday, losing the forward to what was initially believed to be an illness but has now been revealed as a concussion.

Gaunce will provide additional depth to a Blue Jackets club marred by injuries, with promising youngsters Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson both missing extended time, while top winger Patrik Laine is away from the team for personal reasons. Gaunce is in his third season with the Columbus organization and has already appeared in eight NHL games this season, recording one goal and three points. Much of his remaining year has come with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, where he ranks second in scoring with 19 goals and 39 points in 46 games. Gaunce is once again serving as a routine injury fill-in – sticking to the role he carved out early in his career. The former first-round pick has totaled just 161 NHL games since making his debut in the 2015-16 season, scoring 27 points. He’s also managed 343 career AHL games, netting 233 points.

Gaunce will join Carson Meyer in the Blue Jackets’ extras room. Meyer was recalled on Sunday and is expected to fill in for Danforth on Tuesday. He has served in a largely similar role to Gaunce, serving as a de facto call-up for Columbus over the last three seasons – although Meyer has yet to play in the NHL this year, instead totaling 22 goals and 37 points in 55 AHL games. He appeared in 14 NHL games last year, netting just one assist and bringing his career totals up to 27 NHL games and four points. The 26-year-old made his debut with the Cleveland Monsters in 2020-21, after four seasons in the NCAA. He and Gaunce will likely rotate in with each other, as Columbus looks to address their long list of missing forwards.

Concussion For Danforth, Out Longer Than Day-To-Day

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  • Blue Jackets forward Justin Danforth is dealing with a concussion and will be out longer than day-to-day, team reporter Jeff Svoboda relays (Twitter link). The 30-year-old missed Saturday’s game against Nashville with what was called an illness at the time.  Danforth is in the middle of a career year, notching 10 goals and 11 assists through 63 games so far.  Danforth inked a one-year, $1.1MM contract extension back in October meaning he won’t be eligible for unrestricted free agency until the 2025 offseason.

Blue Jackets Recall Carson Meyer Under Emergency Conditions

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The Blue Jackets summoned forward Carson Meyer from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters on an emergency loan Sunday, per a team release. As such, his recall does not count toward Columbus’ four permitted post-deadline recalls.

Justin Danforth’s illness-related absence forced Columbus to play a skater short against the Predators yesterday in a 2-1 loss. Despite the roster limit no longer being in place and having ample cap space, the Blue Jackets have opted to carry a trim roster and leave as many players with their AHL club as possible as they approach the postseason.

Meyer, 26, will slot into the lineup on Tuesday against the Canadiens if Danforth isn’t ready to return, which seems likely given they’ve recalled him multiple days in advance of the contest. It’s his first recall of the season after being waived and assigned to Cleveland during training camp.

A 2017 sixth-round pick of the Blue Jackets, the Ohio native is in his fourth season of pro hockey after two seasons with Miami University and two more with Ohio State. He’s second on the Monsters in goals, scoring 22 times and adding 15 assists for 37 points in 55 games with a -1 rating. He has a goal and four points in 27 NHL games since debuting in the 2021-22 campaign.

Meyer’s possession numbers have been okay in his major-league time, recording a 49.2 CF% and a 42.0 xGF% in his limited even-strength minutes. He’s been used exclusively in a fourth-line role, averaging nine minutes per game throughout his NHL action.

Columbus signed Meyer to a third straight one-year deal last summer, paying him $775K in the NHL and $190K in the minors with a $210K guarantee. He’ll remain under team control this summer as an RFA with arbitration rights.

Rangers Acquire Jack Roslovic

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The Rangers have bolstered their forward depth by acquiring Jack Roslovic from the Blue Jackets, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. A 2026 conditional fourth-round pick is heading to Columbus in return; it upgrades to a third-round pick if the Rangers reach the 2024 Stanley Cup Final and Roslovic plays in more than half of their games, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports. The Blue Jackets will be retaining 50 percent of Roslovic’s $4MM cap hit, per Vince Mercogliano with USA Today.

Roslovic will move to the third team of his eight-year career, after spending four years with both the Winnipeg Jets and Columbus Blue Jackets. He’s proven to be a gritty, middle-of-the-lineup centerman capable of putting up consistent scoring. He scored a career-high 22 goals and 45 points in 81 games during the 2021-22 season, following it up with 11 goals and 44 points last year. He’s maintained that scoring pace despite playing on a Blue Jackets roster that’s been marred with struggles all season long, with Roslovic scoring six goals and 23 points in 40 games this year – a pace of 47 points across 82 games.

Scoring isn’t the only consistent in Roslovic’s game, with the gritty forward continuing to make strong impacts on the defensive side of the puck and always carrying a faceoff percentage of around 45 percent. He will now look to carve out a role in New York, battling alongside newcomer Alexander Wennberg for the team’s third-line center role behind Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck. With Roslovic’s cap hit reduced to $2MM, the Rangers still have $2.1MM in cap space for the rest of the season – plenty of room for call-ups and bonus pay.

Bruins Acquire Andrew Peeke

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The Bruins have acquired defenseman Andrew Peeke from the Blue Jackets, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports. Columbus is acquiring 2015 first-round pick Jakub Zbořil in return, per TSN’s Bob McKenzie. Boston has also sent a 2027 third-round pick to Columbus in the swap, per an official release.

With the attachment of a third-round pick, Boston is placing clear trust in Peeke to slot into a solid role on their blue-line. The 25-year-old defenseman has operated in a fairly limited role this season, averaging just over 15 minutes of ice time across 23 games. He’s scored one goal and eight points in that stretch. While he’s seen a decreased role this year, Peeke is no stranger to serving on a top pair, averaging over 21 minutes of ice time in each of the last two seasons. Standing at 6’3″ and 210 lbs, Peeke has established himself as a hefty, physical defender capable of shutting down opponents in his own end. He made his NHL debut in the 2019-20 season but more formally played his first season in 2021-22, scoring two goals and 15 points in 82 games with Columbus. The Blue Jackets drafted Peeke in the second round of the 2016 NHL Draft.

In return, Columbus receives Jakub Zboril – a player that’s earned infamy after getting drafted 13th-overall in the 2015 NHL Draft, a part of Boston’s three consecutive picks along with Jake DeBrusk and Zachary Senyshyn. The trio was immediately followed by the selection of Mathew Barzal, Kyle Connor, and Thomas Chabot. Zboril has since struggled to find a groove in North American pros, recording just one goal and 16 points across 76 career NHL games and 66 points in 213 AHL games. That includes the nine assists he’s managed in 31 AHL games this season, though he’s still searching for his first goal of the year. Zboril has scored one goal across the last four seasons. He now moves to a new club for the first time in his career, hoping that a change of scenery will also bring newfound production.

Blue Jackets Acquire Malcolm Subban

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The Blue Jackets acquired minor-league goaltender Malcolm Subban from the Blues in exchange for future consideration, the team announced. Subban, who was playing for the Blues’ AHL affiliate in Springfield, will now report directly to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters.

Subban, 30, was a first-round pick of the Bruins back in 2012 but has now settled in as a minor-league starter. After spending the last two seasons in the Sabres organization, Subban inked a one-year, two-way deal ($775K NHL/$450K AHL) with the Blues in free agency last summer to provide short-lived competition to youngster Joel Hofer in the backup role to Jordan Binnington. He hasn’t made an NHL appearance since January 2022.

He’s been half-decent with Springfield this year, recording a .907 SV% and an 11-14-4 record in 31 games. However, he’s been outplayed by the younger Vadim Zherenko, who has an 11-7-2 record and .913 SV% in 21 games. As such, the Thunderbirds are no longer relying on him to be a bona fide AHL starter, and he’ll finish out the season as a veteran presence in Cleveland to aid in their stretch run while providing a veteran call-up option for Columbus if injuries strike Elvis Merzļikins or Daniil Tarasov in the last few weeks of the season.

Subban will be a UFA this summer. This trade will likely be completed in a separate minor-league trade, with Cleveland sending an AHL-contracted player to Springfield as compensation.

Columbus Blue Jackets Send Down Jet Greaves

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  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have sent down goaltender Jet Greaves to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, per a team announcement. Greaves was able to play in one game for the Blue Jackets after being recalled on March 4th, stopping 26 of 31 shots in the team’s loss against the Penguins last night.

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Elvis Merzļikins Not Being Held Out For Trade-Related Reasons

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  • Blue Jackets netminder Elvis Merzļikins’ absence is not a guise for a potential trade, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports. His day-to-day designation with an upper-body injury is legitimate, and the 29-year-old will miss tonight’s game against the Golden Knights as such. Rookie Jet Greaves was recalled under emergency conditions from AHL Cleveland yesterday and is expected to back up Daniil Tarasov, who will start for the second time in three games. Trade speculation surrounds Merzļikins amidst a bounce-back season from the Latvian goaltender, who has a robust .904 SV% and 12-13-7 record in 35 games behind a rebuilding Blue Jackets squad.

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