Snapshots: Laine, Jagr, Perreault
Columbus Blue Jackets winger Patrik Laine is heading to the World Championships per a team release. The tournament is taking place in Riga, Latvia and Tampere, Finland which is Laine’s hometown. The tournament begins May 12 and gold medals will be handed out on May 28. Laine has represented his country in the past, but not since the World Cup of Hockey in 2016. He last played at the World Championships in 2016 where he scored seven goals and 12 points in 10 games.
Laine is available due to Columbus finishing the regular season near the bottom of the NHL standings. The 25-year-old sniper scored 22 goals and 52 points in 55 games this season, but the Blue Jackets ended up in 31st with 59 points in the standings. Laine dealt with a number of injuries this season, including an elbow injury that caused him to miss a couple of weeks in October, an ankle injury that knocked him out for another couple weeks in November and an arm injury that caused him to miss the final three weeks of the regular season. A trip to the World Championships in his hometown is a nice way to end a bumpy season that was filled with nagging injuries and many losses.
- Another player who will be playing again in his hometown is veteran winger Jaromir Jagr. Derek O’Brien of IIHF.com reports Jagr will return to Kladno’s lineup next season, during such time he will turn 52 years old. The veteran superstar last played in the NHL in 2017-18, but has been playing in Czech Extraliga ever since where he scored 14 points in 26 games. Jagr scored 766 goals and 1921 points in his NHL career.
- Per Chris Peters of FloHockey reports Gabe Perreault has broken an impressive USA Hockey record. The 17-year-old forward is playing at the World Under-18 Hockey Championships for USA and had a five point effort against Norway today. In the process, he broke the single-season points record by a U.S. National Team Development Player. Perreault now has 121 points on the season. The previous record of 117 was held by Auston Matthews. Will Smith, another draft eligible forward on the team this season has 113 points. The only others to ever score 100 points for the program are Jack Hughes, Clayton Keller and Cole Caufield.
Alexandre Texier Will Return For 2023-24
Citing personal issues and needing to be closer to family, Alexandre Texier spent the 2022-23 season in Switzerland, playing for Zurich SC. The French-born forward stepped away from his NHL life with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and it was unclear what his future would hold.
After all, this season was supposed to be the second and final year of the contract he signed in 2021, meaning he would be a restricted free agent this summer. That’s not the case, though, as yesterday, the Blue Jackets announced that Texier’s deal would toll to cover the 2023-24 season instead of this one. That means he didn’t earn any of the $1.75MM salary but will return to the NHL in the fall to resume that contract.
In a statement, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen explained:
Alexandre Texier is an outstanding, young player who is an important part of our team and we are excited that he will be rejoining the club as expected next season. His well-being has been our sole priority and we couldn’t be happier that he is ready to resume what is a very promising NHL career at this time.
Today, Texier was back in Columbus with the organization and met with the media. He explained that he was excited to resume his career, and happy to see some familiar faces around the building. The young forward last appeared in an NHL game over a year ago. He suffered a finger injury in January 2022 that kept him out of the lineup before eventually departing following the “loss of people very close to him.”
Now, he has nothing but good things to say about how the organization handled his situation:
I’m just glad that the Blue Jackets and Zurich helped me to go through that, and now my goal is to get ready for September. (The Blue Jackets) were great. I have nothing bad to say. They just helped me, and they came all the way during the season to watch me. It means a lot that they were following me. Now everything is done and I have to play some hockey.
A second-round pick in 2017, Texier burst onto the scene as a high-flying rookie in 2019, playing a handful of minor league games before jumping into a playoff run with Columbus. He had a career-high 11 goals and 20 points in 36 games before his season ended in 2021-22, and appeared to be well on his way to becoming an impact talent in the league.
Normally, a year away from the team might be considered a step back in development. But Texier wasn’t away from hockey entirely. He scored 35 points in 46 games for Zurich, and will soon participate in the World Championships. He confirmed today that he will play for France at the tournament set to start three weeks from now.
Elvis Merzlikins Not Going To World Championships
- Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports goaltender Elvis Merzlikins of the Columbus Blue Jackets will not play in the upcoming World Championships. This is of note since one of the host cities, Riga, Latvia is also the hometown of Merzlikins. The 29-year-old goaltender claims his focus remains completely on becoming a number one goaltender in the NHL, something he fell well short of this season. He posted a 4.23 GAA and a .876 SV% in 30 games for the Blue Jackets. That is a far cry from what his contract dictates he should be doing. Merzlikins has four more years remaining on a contract that carries a $5.4MM cap hit.
Blue Jackets Assign Six Players To AHL
Following the conclusion of their regular season last night, the Blue Jackets wasted little time making some roster moves. Following that contest, they announced (Twitter link) that they’ve returned defensemen Samuel Knazko, Stanislav Svozil, and Billy Sweezey along with forwards Tyler Angle, Joona Luoto, and Mikael Pyyhtia to AHL Cleveland.
Knazko made his professional debut in North America this season and has suited up in 49 games with the Monsters this season, picking up a goal and 20 assists. He got into two contests with Columbus this month, averaging a little under 16 minutes per night of playing time.
Svozil spent most of this season with Regina of the WHL where he had a very productive season, picking up 11 goals and 67 assists in 56 games; his 78 points were the third-highest in the league. He actually has yet to play in the AHL but also has suited up twice for Columbus, recording an assist in his debut on Thursday while logging over 20 minutes a night.
As for Sweezey, he has had a bit more experience in Columbus, suiting up in nine games for them this season, picking up an assist along with 39 hits and 20 blocked shots in his first taste of NHL action. He has 11 assists in 55 contests in the minors this year.
Angle is nothing if not consistent. He has 11 goals with Cleveland this season, matching his output from 2020-21 and 2021-22 in the process. He also now has his first NHL tally in the books after scoring on Friday against Buffalo.
Luoto has been back and forth between the two clubs in recent weeks. He got into seven games with the Blue Jackets this year in his first NHL action since the 2019-20 campaign with Winnipeg while he has collected 14 goals and 11 assists in 45 games with the Monsters.
Lastly, Pyyhtia spent the bulk of the year playing in Finland with TPS Turku of the SM-liiga before being assigned to Cleveland last month. He has played in six games with the Monsters so far, scoring three times while he picked up an assist in his two games with Columbus.
All six players will have an opportunity to play in two more games this weekend as the Monsters wrap up their season. However, with none of them available to play for Cleveland last night, they lost to Utica, eliminating them from playoff contention.
Blue Jackets Fire Brad Larsen
Another coaching vacancy in the NHL has been opened up as the Blue Jackets announced that they have fired head coach Brad Larsen. Additionally, they will not be renewing the contract of goaltender coach Manny Legace. GM Jarmo Kekalainen released the following statement:
This season has been extremely disappointing and the responsibility for that lies with all of us. These decisions were difficult and not made lightly given our respect for both Brad and Manny as coaches and people. Brad has been part of our organization for more than a decade, and we are extremely thankful for his hard work and many contributions – both on and off the ice – during that time. We wish nothing but the best for Brad and his family in the future.
While Larsen hadn’t been the head coach for long (just two years), he had been with the organization for close to a decade. Prior to being promoted to the top job in 2021-22, he had served as an assistant under former bench bosses Todd Richards and John Tortorella.
When Larsen took over the top job, it looked like Columbus was embarking on a bit of a rebuild. But the Blue Jackets got off to a hot start last season and while they eventually missed the playoffs, there was some optimism that they could turn things around a little quicker than expected. That resulted in a surprisingly aggressive summer last year, one that saw them land winger Johnny Gaudreau in free agency in an effort to bolster their attack. In doing so, expectations were heightened for 2022-23.
However, things didn’t go as planned. Not even close, in fact. Instead, the team set a franchise record with 563 man-games lost to injury, many of which were to some of their key performers. That played a big role in their offensive production dropping sharply by 50 goals in total, moving them from 14th in that category a year ago to 30th this season. Meanwhile, with several key blueliners missing (including Zach Werenski who was limited to just 13 appearances), the defense struggled mightily as well, putting extra pressure on the goaltending which also had some challenges with starter Elvis Merzlikins having a year to forget, posting a 4.23 GAA and a .876 SV% which played a big role in Legace’s deal not being renewed.
The end result was a 25-47-9 record, putting the Blue Jackets last in the Eastern Conference while bringing Larsen’s record as head coach to 62-86-16, good for a points percentage of just .427, paving the way for this change to be made.
Columbus now joins Anaheim and Washington as teams that will be looking for a new bench boss for next season. After a 2022 summer that saw them try to accelerate their rebuild, Kekalainen will need to decide if that’s the path they want to continue to go down or if they’ll take a step back once again. Which direction they intend to go should influence if they look for another first-time bench boss to lead them through the rebuild or if their preference will be a veteran bench boss with more of a proven record of short-term success.
Several Blue Jackets Done For Season
Haula has not played for the Devils since their April 6th win against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but will now be available for New Jersey come playoff time. Since being acquired from the Boston Bruins this past offseason, Haula has chipped in nicely for the Devils, scoring 12 goals and 27 assists so far this year. That is a pretty typical year for Haula, as he has become one of the most dependable players in the NHL over the course of his decade-long career.
- Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that none of the currently injured Columbus Blue Jackets players will return for the regular season. This includes such players as Boone Jenner, Patrik Laine, and Elvis Merzlikins. Because of the Blue Jackets’ placement in the standings, it is understandable that they would not want to rush any player back from an injury. From Columbus’ perspective, this season is lost, and it will be better for them to have everyone healthy and rested for the start of the 2023-24 season.
Columbus Blue Jackets Recall Five Players
April 12: Columbus has reassigned all five players back to the AHL after last night’s overtime loss. With two games remaining in their season, expect more gameday transactions as the year draws to a close.
April 11: The Columbus Blue Jackets, with three games remaining in the regular season, have added five players to their roster from the minor leagues. Jake Christiansen, David Jiricek, Joshua Dunne, Trey Fix-Wolansky, and Carson Meyer have all been recalled under emergency conditions, giving them a wave of reinforcements ahead of tonight’s match.
Columbus is in Philadelphia tonight to take on the Flyers, in a game that matters only for draft lottery seeding. The Blue Jackets are tied for last in the league with the Chicago Blackhawks, meaning if they want the best odds, they’ll have to lose over the next few days.
The quintet of players are all relatively young, though Jiricek is the crown jewel. The 19-year-old appears as though he’ll push for a regular spot in the Columbus lineup as soon as next season after transitioning to North American professional hockey with ease. In 52 games with the Cleveland Monsters, the 2022 sixth-overall pick scored 38 points.
Because he has only suited up three times with the Blue Jackets so far, his contract is guaranteed to slide forward to next season, giving the team more control. Jiricek will not reach restricted free agency until 2026.
Upper-Body Injury For Boone Jenner
- The Blue Jackets announced (Twitter link) that center Boone Jenner is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He took the pregame warmup but was a late scratch. Jenner has had a nice season, notching 26 goals, the second-highest total of his career while winning nearly 55% of his faceoffs. While it would be easy to say Columbus should shut him down for their final two games after tonight, their AHL affiliate is currently one point out of a playoff spot and keeping Jenner out would result in Cleveland losing another player to recall, hurting their postseason chances.
Blue Jackets Recall Four Players
A day after sending four players to the AHL to suit up for Cleveland, the Blue Jackets have recalled four players for tonight’s contest against the Rangers. However, there are some different faces rejoining the team as defenseman David Jiricek and winger Trey-Fix Wolansky are both getting the nod, joining blueliner Marcus Bjork and winger Joona Luoto who were among those sent down yesterday. All four recalls are classified as emergency moves and won’t count against the post-deadline limit of four regular recalls.
Jiricek is the headliner among the group as the sixth-overall pick has had a strong first season in North America. The 19-year-old has 38 points in 51 games with the Monsters and didn’t look out of place in a pair of NHL appearances earlier in the year. With Columbus only having four games left, he’s not in danger of burning the first season of his entry-level deal if he stays up with them for the final week of the season.
Fix-Wolansky was sent down last Saturday after missing a team meeting. The 23-year-old has been one of the top scorers at the AHL level this season, notching 28 goals with 41 assists in 57 games, good for fifth in the minors in scoring. Fix-Wolansky has seen action in seven games with the Blue Jackets so far this season but is still looking for his first point.
Bjork has been back and forth several times this season, effectively splitting the year between Columbus and Cleveland. At the NHL level, the 25-year-old has 11 points in 32 games while logging over 18 minutes a night, numbers that aren’t bad for someone in his first season in North America. Bjork’s numbers are similar with the Monsters as he has 13 points in 41 contests.
As for Luoto, he scored his first career NHL goal on Thursday which is his only point in 20 career appearances at the top level. The 25-year-old has been productive in Cleveland, however, tallying 14 goals and 11 assists in 44 contests. He returned to North America as an unrestricted free agent last summer and will once again be eligible to test the market in July.
Columbus Blue Jackets Assign Four To AHL
The Columbus Blue Jackets announced Friday that they have reassigned four players to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters. The team has sent defensemen Marcus Bjork and Billy Sweezey and forwards Joshua Dunne and Joona Luoto to the Monsters, as announced in a team release.
As noted by The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline, the transaction gives the Monsters some serious reinforcements ahead of the team’s biggest game of the season tonight against the Laval Rocket, their adversary for the final playoff spot in the AHL’s North Division.
Bjork, 25, most recently joined the Blue Jackets on emergency recall from Cleveland on April 1 but has split his time between leagues almost evenly during his first season of pro hockey in North America. He has played 32 games with the Blue Jackets, recording three goals and eight assists for 11 points and 42 penalty minutes. The Umea, Sweden-born Bjork has also played 40 games with the Monsters this season, posting six goals, seven assists, and 13 points with 18 penalty minutes.
Dunne has recorded eight penalty minutes and ten shots on goal in 13 career games with the Blue Jackets since making his NHL debut in 2020-21, but the undrafted free agent signing out of Clarkson University is still looking for his first NHL point. The 24-year-old is enjoying his first full, healthy season with the Monsters, sitting second on the team with 20 goals and 36 points in 59 games.
Luoto, 25, has collected a single goal in 20 career NHL games with the Blue Jackets and Winnipeg Jets since making his NHL debut in 2019-20. He has skated in four games with Columbus in 2022-23, recording his first career goal on April 6 after spending last season with Tappara in Finland’s top men’s league. The Tampere-born Finn has also played in 72 games with the Monsters and Manitoba Moose over two AHL stints from 2019-23, adding 16 goals, 17 assists, 33 points, and 32 penalty minutes.
Sweezey made his NHL debut on February 26 and has played seven games with Columbus this season, registering one assist and nine penalty minutes. It’s been an unexpected rise from the minors for the 27-year-old, who got his first taste of NHL hockey due to injuries decimating the Columbus blue line. In 59 games between the Blue Jackets and Monsters this year, he’s yet to record a goal.
With a lack of healthy players available on the Columbus roster to replace the players mentioned above in the lineup, expect Columbus to recall some or all of Bjork, Sweezey, Dunne, and Luoto to the roster tomorrow ahead of their game against the New York Rangers.