Blue Jackets Recall Carson Meyer Under Emergency Conditions
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
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
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
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
- 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
- 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.
Blue Jackets’ Kent Johnson Out For Season With Torn Labrum
The Columbus Blue Jackets have placed sophomore forward Kent Johnson on injured reserve and announced he’s expected to miss the remainder of the season, set to undergo surgery to address a torn labrum in his left shoulder. The Blue Jackets also recalled goaltender Jet Greaves on an emergency basis, with Elvis Merzlikins out day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Johnson suffered the injury in Columbus’ February 28th game against the New York Rangers but he didn’t miss any shifts, playing to the last minute and getting involved in the team’s only goal – though not getting credited with an assist. Johnson was on a 19-game streak without a goal prior to his injury, recording three assists and a -4 in that stretch. His season will now end with just six goals and 16 points in 42 games – a significant step down from the 16 goals and 40 points he managed in 79 games as a rookie last year.
The news of Johnson’s injury is a gut punch to a Blue Jackets lineup already down star rookie Adam Fantilli, who suffered a calf laceration in the team’s January 28th game against the Seattle Kraken. The 2023 third-overall pick will battle to return before the end of season, with his prognosis at the time designating an early April return.
Merzlikins will now miss even more ice time, after losing games to injury and a scratching earlier in the season. He’s served as the team’s de facto starter, recording 12 wins and a .904 save percentage in 35 games. The Blue Jackets will once again need to turn to Daniil Tarasov and Greaves to man the net. Tarasov has a modest .888 in 14 games, while Greaves saved 71 of the 76 shots he’s faced in just two games.
Blue Jackets Sign Max McCue To Entry-Level Deal
2:01 p.m.: The contract carries a cap hit of $858K, per PuckPedia. The deal pays him $775K salary in all three years, a $82.5K signing bonus in 2024-25 and 2025-26 that jumps to $85K in 2026-27, and a minors salary of $82.5K in all three years.
10:37 a.m.: Today marks the first day teams can sign unaffiliated prospects in free agency, and the Blue Jackets are the first team to make a splash. They’ve inked 21-year-old center Max McCue to a three-year entry-level contract that begins in 2024-25, per a team release. Terms were not disclosed.
McCue was a fifth-round pick of the Sharks in 2021, but San Jose lost his exclusive rights after opting not to sign him to an entry-level contract by June 1, 2023. He’s suited up for the OHL’s London Knights since 2019 but lost out on the 2020-21 campaign entirely due to COVID-19, putting a pause on his development.
Still with London as an alternate captain, McCue has set or tied career highs with 24 goals, 26 assists, 50 points, and a +20 rating in 52 games. The 6-foot-1, 174-lb native of Sudbury, Ontario, relies on his speed to generate offense and projects as more of a playmaker than a goal-scorer at the professional level.
McCue has ideal size for the NHL level if he can add more muscle. However, his delayed offensive production in juniors doesn’t bode well for his chances of being a full-time major leaguer.
He’ll likely begin his pro career next season with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, although an assignment to the lower-level ECHL isn’t out of the question. Columbus is one of the handful of NHL teams without a dedicated ECHL affiliate.
Columbus now has 32 out of a maximum of 50 standard player contracts signed for next season, so they still have plenty of room to re-sign their pending RFAs and add a few more bodies to the organization in free agency.
Kent Johnson Out Indefinitely With Upper-Body Injury
Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury suffered in the team’s Wednesday night game against the New York Rangers. Johnson didn’t miss any time in the game, playing until the final minute and assisting on Columbus’ only goal. Johnson is in the midst of an extended scoring drought, with his last goal coming on January 2nd. He’s managed three assists in the 19 games since.
Johnson has gone through a sophomore slump of sorts this season, recording just 16 points in 42 games after scoring 40 in 79 games last season. His struggles have resulted in a healthy scratch and even the first AHL assignment of his career. Johnson spent most of November in the minors, scoring 15 points in 10 games with the Cleveland Monsters. He’s totaled 13 points in 34 NHL games since getting called back up to the Blue Jackets roster on December 1st. He now joins top rookie Adam Fantilli and star winger Patrik Laine on the team’s inactive list, with Fantilli battling a lower-body injury and Laine currently in the NHLPA’s Players Assistance Program.
Alexandre Texier Out Sunday With Illness
- Blue Jackets winger Alexandre Texier won’t play Sunday against the Rangers due to illness, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets’ official site says. As such, 2016 eighth-overall pick Alexander Nylander will make his Blue Jackets debut after being acquired from the Penguins on Thursday. The France-born Texier has only missed two games this season, also due to illness, coming around U.S. Thanksgiving. He has eight goals in 18 points in 54 showings for Columbus after playing last season in the Swiss National League while on personal leave from the club.