Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine has skated over the past couple of days as he works his way back from an upper-body injury, notes Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch (Twitter link). The 25-year-old got off to a quiet start to his year with a goal and an assist in his first four games while also making the adjustment to playing down the middle on a regular basis. Head coach Pascal Vincent noted that Laine responded well after today’s skate which could be a sign that he could be back sooner than later. When that happens, Hedger notes that the team hasn’t decided if they will move Adam Fantilli back to the wing or if they’ll leave him in his natural center role and put Laine back in his natural wing position.
Blue Jackets Rumors
Blue Jackets Still Looking To Make A Trade
Going into the regular season, there was no question that the Columbus Blue Jackets were dealing with a roster glut, and have been keen on moving players up and down regularly given their current level of play. This was evidenced most recently on Friday, as the Blue Jackets decided to send down top-center prospect, Kent Johnson, in exchange for Yegor Chinakhov from the Cleveland Monsters.
In a Sunday article, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic touched on a few of these issues, most notably pointing out that Blue Jackets General Manager, Jarmo Kekalainen is still working the phones to move out a few players, and that scouts from the Philadelphia Flyers and Winnipeg Jets organizations were seen at the team’s game this past Thursday.
Columbus Blue Jackets Recall Yegor Chinakhov, Assign Kent Johnson To AHL
The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled forward Yegor Chinakhov from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, per a team release issued Friday. In a corresponding transaction, the team has assigned forward Kent Johnson to Cleveland.
Chinakhov’s return from AHL assignment will likely result in his 2023-24 Blue Jackets debut tomorrow against the Capitals. The 2020 first-round pick missed a handful of games at the beginning of the season with a back injury sustained during training camp, and the Blue Jackets opted to assign him to the Monsters last week when he returned to health. Chinakhov, who signed a one-year, $800K deal to remain in Columbus last summer, had three goals and an assist in three games with Cleveland since returning from injury.
His next NHL game will be his first since December 19, 2022, when he sustained an ankle injury against the Stars that kept him out for multiple months. Expected to slide into a middle-six role on the wing, Chinakhov has 11 goals, 16 assists and 27 points in 92 NHL games dating back to his debut in the 2021-22 season. He has been extremely productive in limited action with AHL Cleveland, though, registering over a point per game.
This is disappointing for Johnson, however, who was selected fifth overall by Columbus just two years ago. He’s been given a reduced role by new head coach Pascal Vincent out of the gate, serving as a healthy scratch on two occasions and only averaging 12:43 when in the lineup, notching three points in eight games. That’s coming off the heels of a strong 16-goal, 40-point rookie season in 2022-23. Johnson has not done particularly well this season, however, with poor possession numbers backing up the dip in production. He’ll now head to the Monsters, off to a strong 5-2-0 start, and work toward regaining an everyday spot in the NHL lineup.
Snapshots: Haydn Fleury, Olivier, Ponomarev
The Tampa Bay Lightning have sent defenseman Haydn Fleury to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch on a conditioning assignment. Fleury has only played in two NHL games this season, serving as a healthy scratch seven times.
Fleury has recorded one assist in his two games with Tampa this year, matching the scoring totals that he reached in 29 games with the club last year. In fact, Fleury has scored fewer than five points in each of the 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23 seasons despite playing in at least 29 games in each season. The low scoring has represented a fall from grace for the 2014 seventh-overall selection, who was taken one pick ahead of star winger William Nylander. This AHL assignment will provide Fleury with the first AHL games he’s played since the 2018-19 season when he scored 10 points in 28 minor league games with the Charlotte Checkers. The 27-year-old defender has totaled 246 career NHL games and 33 career points since making his NHL debut in 2017-18.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Columbus Blue Jackets are healthy-scratching forward Mathieu Olivier, replacing him with Kirill Marchenko. The duo are alternating nights in the lineup versus the press box, although Columbus will need to be mindful in icing Marchenko, as he loses his waiver exemption status with four more NHL games.
- The Carolina Hurricanes have removed Vasily Ponomarev from season-opening injured reserve and assigned him to the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners. Carolina remains without an AHL affiliate, meaning their assignments are scattered around the league. That’s why Ponomarev will join the Arizona Coyotes’ affiliate, after appearing in his rookie AHL season last year – scoring 46 points in 64 games with the Chicago Wolves, a mark that ranked second on the team. Ponomarev has looked strong in his North American play since coming over in 2021-22 and will look to continue working his way into the NHL lineup now that he’s healthy.
Blue Jackets' Gudbranson Misses Practice Again
New Jersey Devils reporter Amanda Stein tweeted today that Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald doesn’t think that center Nico Hischier will be travelling with the team on their upcoming four-game road trip. Fitzgerald has reportedly talked with New Jersey’s medical staff and Hischier is being evaluated on a day-to-day basis. The ailment is being called an upper-body issue at this time and could it keep Hischier out of action for the next four games. That would mean that his earliest return date would be November 10th against the Washington Capitals.
The former first-overall pick is off to a slow start this season with just two goals in his first seven games after putting up 31 goals and 49 assists in 81 games last season. His lack of offense hasn’t hurt the Devils thus far as the team is off to a 5-2-1 start and currently sits third in the Metropolitan Division. If Hischier is sidelined for some time it is possible that former NHL regular Chris Tierney could fill in during his absence.
In other Metropolitan notes:
- Columbus Dispatch reporter Brian Hedger tweeted today that Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson has again missed practice. This is the second day in a row that the Ottawa, Ontario native did not skate after playing in Monday night’s game against the Dallas Stars. The 31-year-old was questionable for that game after taking a puck to the foot against the New York Islanders on Saturday night but did play in the 5-3 loss. Gudbranson has no points in nine games thus far this season but has averaged over three blocked shots a game.
- Carolina Hurricanes reporter Walt Ruff tweeted today that Vasily Ponomarev and Ryan Suzuki are both very close to returning to action and will likely be assigned to the AHL shortly after they do. Ponomarev suffered a knee injury in September and started the season on the injured reserve. Last season he played for the Chicago Wolves of the AHL posting 24 goals and 22 assists in 64 games. Suzuki on the other hand has been dealing with a shoulder injury that has kept him off the ice. He also spent last year with the Wolves in the AHL posting 13 goals and 19 assists in 50 games. Carolina doesn’t currently have an AHL affiliate now meaning that both players could find themselves on different teams once they are assigned to the AHL.
Blue Jackets To Burn First Year Of Jiricek's Contract
While Blue Jackets defenseman David Jiricek is eligible to be sent to the minors which would allow the team more time to decide whether or not they should burn the first year of his entry-level deal, Chris Johnston of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that the blueliner is expected to remain with the big club through his tenth game. Doing so means that he would officially burn the first season of his entry-level contract. The 19-year-old has two points in eight games so far this year in Columbus while logging a little under 14 minutes a night. His presence on the roster means that two rearguards (Andrew Peeke and Adam Boqvist) are on the outside looking in but it appears that will be the case for the foreseeable future.
Evening Notes: Gudbranson, Bahl, Oettinger
Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson is expected to play tonight after being limited to 16:49 in Saturday night’s game against the New York Islanders. A lower-body issue forced the 31-year-old defender to play his lowest minutes of the season, but it appears as though the Ottawa, Ontario native won’t miss any games and should be good to go against the Dallas Stars this evening.
Gudbranson has been held scoreless in eight games this season while averaging 19:32 of ice time per game. The Blue Jackets have struggled to possess the puck with the former third-overall pick on the ice, despite Gudbranson getting most of his starts in the offensive zone. Gudbranson has also been much less physical to start the year, averaging less than one hit per game, which is well below his career average of over two hits per game.
In other evening notes:
- New Jersey Devils reporter Amanda Stein tweeted that Devils defenseman Kevin Bahl missed practice today due to an apparent illness. This information comes from New Jersey head coach Lindy Ruff. Bahl has two assists in eight games this season and has seen a dramatic increase in ice time this year as he is playing over 19 minutes a night after averaging just 14:01 a game last season. The 23-year-old rearguard doesn’t offer much offensively but has started to develop into a reliable stay-at-home defenseman on what is a very deep Devils defensive group.
- Saad Yousuf of The Athletic reported today that Dallas Stars netminder Jake Oettinger have offseason surgery on his foot this past July from an ankle injury that occurred in October 2022. The 24-year-old had sought out multiple opinions and was surprised when he got the call early in the summer that he would need the procedure. The star netminder was only able to get back onto the ice in mid-September after rehab, just a week before the start of Stars training camp. Oettinger looks to be feeling no ill effects from a late start to his skating as he has gone 3-0-1 in his first four starts with a .952 save percentage.
Blue Jackets Activate, Reassign Yegor Chinakhov
The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated winger Yegor Chinakhov off injured reserve and assigned him to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, according to a team release Wednesday.
Chinakhov, 22, sustained a back strain pre-season that sidelined him for most of training camp and the first six games of 2022-23. Now healthy, he heads to Cleveland, where he’s only played eight games since coming to North America in 2021. They’ve gone quite well, however, as the 2020 first-round pick has four goals and five assists for nine points in those AHL contests.
The early-season injury likely cost Chinakhov a roster spot, given the team’s influx of young wingers. However, don’t expect him to stick in the minors for long – he notched a respectable 13 points in 30 games with the Blue Jackets last season and posted solid possession numbers relative to his teammates. The 6-foot-1, 204-pound winger will surely be ticketed for top-line minutes in the minors while on assignment.
Assigning Chinakhov directly to the minors also means the team is intent on giving another young Russian winger, Dmitri Voronkov, at least a brief look in the NHL. The Blue Jackets recalled Voronkov earlier in the week when they placed forward Patrik Laine on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, but he hasn’t yet suited up in what will be his first NHL game. That’s expected to change tomorrow against the Canadiens, as Kent Johnson will serve as a healthy scratch so Voronkov can enter the lineup. Voronkov, 23, has played exclusively in Russia up until this season and had no points in four games with AHL Cleveland to start 2023-24.
Chinakhov has not played an NHL game since December 19, 2022, against Dallas, when he sustained an ankle injury on his first shift that sidelined him for the majority of 2022-23. After returning to health, Chinakhov finished out the season in Cleveland.
Blue Jackets Place Patrik Laine On IR, Recall Dmitri Voronkov
According to a team release, the Blue Jackets have recalled forward Dmitri Voronkov from AHL Cleveland. To make room for Voronkov on the active roster, the team placed forward Patrik Laine on injured reserve with an upper-body injury retroactive to last Friday, sidelining him for the team’s next two games at the least.
Voronkov, 23, had a breakout pro season for the KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan in 2022-23, potting 18 goals and 13 assists for 31 points in 54 games while playing a heavy, imposing style of game. He was expected to contend for a roster spot with the Blue Jackets out of training camp but ultimately did not make the cut and began the season on assignment to Cleveland, where he has just one assist through four games. A fourth-round pick of the Blue Jackets in 2019, Voronkov could make his NHL debut Tuesday against the Ducks.
As for Laine, this news is expected after taking a hard, late hit from Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson with just seconds left in Friday’s 3-1 win. Andersson, who has an appeal scheduled for today with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, was suspended four games for the hit. Laine will miss at least three games because of the play, also sitting out of Saturday’s overtime victory over the Wild. It’s a tough break for the 25-year-old, who remains day-to-day after recording two points through four contests, continuing to experiment playing at center after sticking on the wing for most of his 466-game NHL career.
After being acquired from the Jets in exchange for center Pierre-Luc Dubois early in the shortened 2020-21 season, Laine has been an effective goal-scorer for a struggling Columbus team but failed to stay healthy. Just over the last two seasons, Laine notched close to a point-per-game but missed a combined 53 games, keeping him from hitting the 30-goal plateau for the first time since 2018-19. He’s been on pace for well over 30 markers in each of the past two years (38 in 2021-22, 33 in 2022-23), signaling that he can still be the star sniper the Jets thought they were getting with the second-overall pick in 2016.
Rasmus Andersson Suspended Four Games, Flames Will Appeal
6:12 p.m.: Andersson has been suspended four games as a result of the play, NHL Player Safety confirms. Andersson will be eligible to return on November 1 against the Stars. Charging was the official designation on the play. Sportsnet’s Eric Francis later reported the Flames are planning to appeal the suspension, although a significant reduction in length is unlikely to happen in time based on past precedent.
10:19 a.m.: Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson delivered an elbow to the head of Blue Jackets winger Patrik Laine in the dying seconds of last night’s contest, earning himself a major penalty in the process. The clip of the play can be viewed here. It has also earned him a discussion with the league as the Department of Player Safety announced (Twitter link) that he’ll have a hearing today. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that it’s a phone hearing which means the maximum suspension would be for five games.
Laine did not travel with the Blue Jackets following the game for their game today against Minnesota, the team announced (Twitter link). He is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Laine has changed positions this season and has lined up as a center in the early going. Not surprisingly, he has struggled a bit at the faceoff dot, winning just 41% of his draws while he has a goal and an assist in four games so far this season.
As for Andersson, he has once again logged heavy minutes for Calgary in the early going, averaging just shy of 24 minutes per game while chipping in with three points in their first five contests. The Flames are one of just two teams that aren’t in action tonight with their next contest coming tomorrow against Detroit. That means while the hearing will take place today, it’s possible that any supplemental discipline may be announced on Sunday.