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Blue Jackets' Gudbranson Misses Practice Again

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

Predators Claim Liam Foudy Off Waivers From Blue Jackets

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The Predators have added some extra forward depth as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they’ve claimed forward Liam Foudy off waivers from the Blue Jackets.

The 23-year-old was a first-round pick by Columbus back in 2018 (23rd overall) out of OHL London.  While he put up a point per game with the Knights in his post-draft season, consistent production has been tough to come by in the pros.  Foudy has just seven goals and 12 assists in 90 career NHL contests over parts of five seasons.  Things have gone a lot better for him in the minors with AHL Cleveland as he has 35 points in 41 appearances at that level but needed to clear waivers to get back there.  Clearly, that didn’t happen.

Once viewed as a possible important part of their rebuild, the Blue Jackets have since stockpiled several young middlemen which effectively pushed Foudy, a natural center, to the wing.  While the position swap worked better for him as a speedster, their extra depth ultimately knocked him out of the lineup first and now off the roster entirely.

Meanwhile, Nashville is in the midst of shaking up its forward group under new GM Barry Trotz.  Bringing in Foudy is a no-risk proposition for them as he’s on a contract that’s below the league minimum and he will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next summer.  Notably, the Preds had a full roster so a move needed to be made to add Foudy to the active roster.  That move was done by placing defenseman Luke Schenn on IR.  Schenn was injured in the season opener and was given a four-to-six-week recovery timeline.

Columbus Blue Jackets Extend AHL Affiliate

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Since the 2015 season, after changing their AHL affiliation away from the Springfield Falcons, the Columbus Blue Jackets have maintained an affiliation agreement with the Cleveland Monsters. Today, the Blue Jackets organization announced that they would be extending that agreement under a new multi-year agreement between the two parties.

Given the fact that the team already had a previous agreement for this season, and a multi-year agreement suggests the agreement is two years or more, this will cement the Monsters as the longest-serving AHL affiliate of Columbus over their franchise history. As the Blue Jackets officially became an NHL team during the 2000-01 NHL season, their first AHL affiliate would be the Syracuse Crunch, an affiliate that would last until 2010. They would then come to an agreement with the now-defunct Falcons, before finally landing with the Monsters at the start of the 2015-16 season.

Notably, in their first season as the direct AHL affiliate of the Blue Jackets, the Monsters would go on to win the 2016 Calder Cup, sweeping the Hershey Bears in the final series, becoming the first Columbus affiliate to win a championship. At that time, the team was led by Oliver Bjorkstrand and has now transitioned to being led by Trey Fix-Wolansky.

In the announcement, Blue Jackets Director of Player Personnel, Chris Clark, spoke in high regard for the relationship saying:

“Giving our young players an opportunity to grow and develop both on and off the ice in a world-class environment like the one they have with the Cleveland Monsters is very special and we couldn’t be prouder and more excited that our partnership will continue for many years to come. Both organizations share a commitment to succeed at the highest level, while growing the game and having a positive impact in our communities and state and we look forward to continuing that work together.“

Columbus Blue Jackets Activate Zach Werenski, Waive Liam Foudy

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced three roster moves. Star defenseman Zach Werenski has been activated off of injured reserve, and forward Liam Foudy has been placed on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters as a corresponding move.

Also, prospect forward Jordan Dumais was activated off of injured reserve and loaned to the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL.

It had been anticipated by some that defenseman David Jiricek would find himself returned to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters whenever Werenski ended up returning to the lineup.

That’s not the case, though, and according to team reporter Jeff Svoboda Jiricek is actually projected to retain his spot on head coach Pascal Vincent’s nightly lineup. Per Svoboda, 2018 eighth-overall pick Adam Boqvist is likely to be headed for the press box to make room for Werenski’s return.

This activation is great news for the Blue Jackets, who have only enjoyed 14 total games of Werenski both this season and last. Injuries have dogged Werenski in recent years, but when healthy he’s among the NHL’s most dynamic blueliners.

Widely considered a true number-one defenseman, having Werenski in the lineup significantly enhances the Blue Jackets’ ability to compete on a nightly basis.

The result of Werenski’s activation is that Foudy, 23, gets exposed to waivers. The Blue Jackets spent the 18th overall pick at the 2018 draft to select Foudy out of the London Knights of the OHL. The Blue Jackets seemed to be making a bet that Foudy’s genuinely elite speed would allow him to develop into not only an elite OHL scorer but also an impact NHLer.

So far, that bet hasn’t paid off, as Foudy has just 19 points in 90 career NHL games. In his longest stretch of extended NHL action, the 2022-23 season, Foudy managed just 14 points in 62 games. Owner of a $762.5k cap hit through the end of the season, claiming the pending RFA could be an intriguing possibility for teams who may believe they can harness Foudy’s past potential as a prospect in ways the Blue Jackets to this point have not been able to.

As for the move to activate Dumais, what’s notable here is that the Blue Jackets were unable to secure a waiver to allow the 19-year-old to spend 2023-24 in the AHL.

There’s an argument to be made that Dumais has absolutely nothing left to prove at the QMJHL level (he did score 140 points in just 64 games last season, after all) but it seems that such arguments may not have been enough to earn Dumais the type of waiver from the CHL that Shane Wright received. So he’s headed back to the Halifax Mooseheads, where he could very well post video game-like numbers for another season.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Kane, Zub, Werenski

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In the most recent 32 Thoughts podcast episode, Elliotte Friedman added credence to the idea that star free agent Patrick Kane could sign with the Dallas Stars. Friedman says that a very reliable source shared the likelihood of Kane landing in Dallas, adding that the stylistic fit could be good for the aging veteran.

The Stars rapidly rise up the power rankings of teams likely to land Kane, leapfrogging the New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, and Buffalo Sabres. Dallas has flexed a very deep forward group this season, providing nearly identical ice time to each of their top three lines. The only weak spot is likely 34-year-old winger Evgenii Dadonov, who’s spent the year alongside Wyatt Johnston and Jamie Benn. This could be the role that Kane takes over if he joins the Stars; bringing a little more mobility and finesse to the line.

Only three forwards in Dallas’ top nine have scored a goal at this point in the year: Joe Pavelski, Benn, and Roope Hintz. Kane’s all-out-offensive style may be enough to kickstart the Stars’ scorers.

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