Blue Jackets Prospect Tyler Peddle Traded In QMJHL
- The Blue Jackets made Nova Scotia-born center Tyler Peddle the last pick of the 2023 NHL Draft nearly six months ago. He’s now been traded from the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs to the Saint John Sea Dogs as he looks to jumpstart a highly discouraging post-draft campaign. Peddle, 18, notched 24 goals and 41 points in 64 games for Drummondville last season en route to his draft selection. This year, his scoring pace has decreased by almost 50% to just 14 points in 38 combined games between Drummondville and Saint John, the latter of whom he’s already played for once after the trade went through earlier this week. Peddle has not scored a goal in his last ten games and, if he can’t quickly get back on the scoresheet, is looking like a strong candidate to re-enter the NHL draft in 2025 and not earn an entry-level deal from Columbus in that time.
Columbus Blue Jackets Reassign Jake Christiansen
The Columbus Blue Jackets have reassigned defenseman Jake Christiansen to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.
With defenseman Adam Boqvist cleared to return to the ice tomorrow for the team’s game against the Minnesota Wild, Christiansen no longer has his spot on the team’s NHL roster. He got into three total games in his most recent stretch in the NHL, and he registered one assist.
The 24-year-old undrafted WHL product has developed nicely since his rookie AHL campaign with Cleveland. He has a career-high of 45 points and has so far managed 22 points in 28 games this season. That production ranks him inside the top-10 in scoring by a defenseman in the AHL so far in 2023-24, and over the past few years, he has made it clear that he is a high-end offensive defenseman at the AHL level.
In the NHL, Christiansen has largely played in a sheltered role. With this reassignment, he’ll return to the top end of Cleveland’s lineup, while the Blue Jackets will shift focus to Boqvist. Boqvist, 23, has played in 13 games this season and has scored three points.
Metro Injury Notes: Boqvist, Kuraly, Fast
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Adam Boqvist has not played since December 5th, but he could be inching closer to a return to the ice. According to the Columbus Dispatch’s Brian Hedger, Boqvist skated on his own this morning before Blue Jackets practice, as part of his recovery from a shoulder sprain.
Boqvist has played in a total of 13 games this season, three points. His 17:05 average time-on-ice per game in that span is in line with his career averages, although as he’s now 23 years old one would likely hope to see a step forward from the 2018 eighth overall pick. If he can work his way back into health and into the Blue Jackets’ lineup, the rest of 2023-24 will be his opportunity to take that step forward fans have been waiting for.
Some other injury updates from the Metropolitan Division:
- Blue Jackets head coach Pascal Vincent gave a more firm timeline on the injury to veteran Sean Kuraly, telling Hedger that they expect Kuraly to miss around two more weeks. Kuraly hasn’t played since a scary collision knocked him out of a December 23rd contest, but when healthy he’s a crucial bottom-six leader for the Blue Jackets. He has registered 11 points in 35 games this year.
- Carolina Hurricanes forward Jesper Fast will be out of the lineup for the team’s next game, according to Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour. Fast was on the receiving end of a hit to the head from Toronto Maple Leafs forward Noah Gregor on December 30th, a hit that knocked him out of the game. The 32-year-old veteran winger has 11 points in 37 games this season, skating in his usual bottom-six defensive role.
Merzlikins (Illness) To Miss Saturday's Game
- The Blue Jackets announced (Twitter link) that Elvis Merzlikins’ early departure from last night’s victory over Toronto was due to illness. Spencer Martin played the final two periods and overtime in relief. He will also miss today’s game versus Buffalo as team reporter Jeff Svoboda relays (Twitter link) that Merzlikins did not accompany the team on the trip. With Columbus carrying three goalies on its active roster, they don’t need to bring another netminder up from AHL Cleveland.
Blue Jackets Place Sean Kuraly On IR, Recall Jake Christiansen
The Blue Jackets have made a pair of roster moves leading into today’s contest against Buffalo. The team announced that they’ve placed center Sean Kuraly on injured reserve retroactive to December 23; they’ve recalled defenseman Jake Christiansen from AHL Cleveland to take his place on the roster. Meanwhile, the team also revealed that blueliner Zach Werenski will miss four to six weeks with the ankle injury that landed him on IR yesterday.
Kuraly suffered an abdominal injury last weekend against Toronto and was recently listed as day-to-day. This placement suggests that he’ll miss the game against the Sabres but he will be eligible to return at any point after that due to the back-dating. The 30-year-old has 11 points and a team-leading 74 hits in 35 games so far this season while logging 13:29 per night.
As for Christiansen, this is his first recall of the season after clearing waivers back in training camp. The 24-year-old had been quite productive with the Monsters during his entry-level deal and that has continued into his fourth professional campaign as he has 22 points in 28 games so far. Despite the offensive success in the minors, that has yet to materialize into production at the top level as Christiansen has just five points in 32 career NHL appearances.
Werenski, meanwhile, will be a big loss for the next month for Columbus. He’s tied for the team lead in points with Johnny Gaudreau, picking up a goal and 24 assists while leading the way in playing time, logging over 24 minutes a night. Andrew Peeke took his place in the lineup last night against Toronto although they could opt to give Christiansen a look in that spot today.
Blue Jackets Place Zach Werenski On Injured Reserve, Activate Jack Roslovic
The Blue Jackets placed defenseman Zach Werenski on injured reserve Friday, the NHL’s media site reflects. Head coach Pascal Vincent informed reporters yesterday that he’d be sidelined on a week-to-week basis with a lower-body injury. A team release distributed later Friday reflects that Werenski sustained an ankle injury and that the team has also activated forward Jack Roslovic off injured reserve.
Werenski will miss a minimum of seven days, starting from Wednesday when he sustained the injury against the Devils, but he’ll likely be sidelined for much longer given the week-to-week designation. This continues a stretch of horrid injury luck for the Blue Jackets’ top defenseman, who missed two games early this season with a quadriceps contusion and nearly all of last season with a shoulder injury.
He may have just one goal through 34 games, but Werenski has racked up 24 assists for a 0.74 points per game rate that’s the highest of his career – and on the team this season. His two-way play is also at a peak, posting a team-high +1.5 expected rating while averaging nearly 20 minutes per game at even strength and additional time on both special teams units. Simply put, the 26-year-old has been the Blue Jackets’ best player this season by a decent margin.
His absence won’t affect the Blue Jackets’ outlook this season very much, as their 11-18-7 start to the campaign has them with just a 0.6% chance of making the playoffs, per Hockey Reference. However, it is another tough blow for one of the division’s top defensemen who, at 26 years old, is beginning his prime.
If the Blue Jackets can build a playoff contender out of this current group of developing prospects, Werenski will be the leader of the core. He has four seasons remaining after this at a $9.58MM cap hit.
Roslovic will return to the lineup tonight for the first time in over six weeks. He last played on November 12 against the Rangers before sustaining an ankle fracture, resulting in a 21-game absence.
Before getting injured, the 26-year-old had eight points through 14 games. He is expected to play wing on the team’s fourth line alongside Brendan Gaunce and Alexandre Texier in tonight’s game against the Maple Leafs, the teams’ third meeting of the season.
Sean Kuraly Will Remain Out For At Least Two Games
- Blue Jackets center Sean Kuraly will remain out of the lineup for the next two games with what’s now been officially diagnosed as an abdominal contusion, The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reports. Kuraly has not played since paramedics were summoned to attend to an injury he sustained in last Saturday’s game against the Maple Leafs, which he said was caused by the butt end of his stick jamming into his abdomen when he was checked simultaneously by Toronto players Auston Matthews and Jake McCabe. He confirmed the visible distress he was under when leaving the ice was because he was having trouble breathing, although he told Portzline today that he never lost consciousness throughout the incident. He remains listed as day-to-day.
Zach Werenski Out Week-To-Week
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski has dealt with significant injury issues in recent years, including an injury that knocked him out for most of last season. That bad luck continued last night when Werenski was knocked out of the team’s game against the New Jersey Devils after an awkward collision with Devils forward Ondřej Palát.
Today, team reporter Jeff Svoboda relayed word from Blue Jackets head coach Pascal Vincent, who said that Werenski is still being evaluated but the injury is most likely going to keep Werenski out on a week-to-week basis. An extended Werenski absence could very well deal a killing blow to the Blue Jackets’ already long-shot playoff hopes, as the team would need to replace a defenseman scoring at a 60-point pace who plays over 24 minutes per night, including on both special teams units.
Jack Roslovic To Return This Weekend
In an update on injured Columbus Blue Jackets forward, Jack Roslovic, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports Roslovic could return to the lineup on Friday, but is confirmed to be returning by Saturday. Roslovic has been out of the line with a fractured ankle since the team’s game against the New York Rangers on November 12th.
Even with Roslovic set to come off the team’s injured reserve by the end of the upcoming weekend, they will still have four players on the injured reserve, severely limiting their depth as an organization. Nevertheless, with his ability to generate offense, Roslovic will be a welcomed return to the Blue Jackets lineup.
Sean Kuraly Classified As Day-To-Day
- After a scary-looking abdominal injury, it appears veteran forward Sean Kuraly has avoided a significant absence. The Columbus Blue Jackets announced today that Kuraly would miss tonight’s game against the Devils, but that his status is considered day-to-day. That’s encouraging news for the penalty-killing specialist, as at first glance it seemed unlikely he would miss such a brief amount of time.