- The Blue Jackets announced that they have sent winger Trey Fix-Wolansky to Cleveland of the AHL to create a roster spot to activate winger Justin Danforth off IR. Fix-Wolansky had a goal and an assist in his first five games of NHL action despite averaging less than seven minutes a game. Danforth, meanwhile, had missed the last 19 games with a sprained MCL and has two goals and two assists in 13 games this season.
Blue Jackets Rumors
Trade Deadline Primer: Columbus Blue Jackets
With the All-Star break now behind us, the trade deadline looms large and is just over a month away. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
After missing the playoffs last season and moving out veterans Seth Jones and Cam Atkinson over the summer, it was obvious that Columbus was going in the direction of a rebuild. However, they’ve played better than many expected and have a points percentage over .500 and are the first team outside of a Wild Card spot as they sit nine points behind Boston heading into Friday’s action. Even with that in mind, it seems unlikely that GM Jarmo Kekalainen would part with future assets in an attempt to sneak into the final playoff spot but the season they’re having suggests they’re closer to battling for a consistent playoff position than it seemed back in October.
Record
24-23-1, 5th in the Metropolitan
Deadline Status
Seller
Deadline Cap Space
$29.248MM today, $51.915MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 40/50 contracts used per CapFriendly.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2022: CHI 1st*, CBJ 1st, CBJ 2nd, TB 3rd, CBJ 4th, TOR 4th, TOR 6th, ANA 7th
2023: CBJ 1st, CBJ 2nd, CBJ 3rd, CBJ 4th, CBJ 5th, CBJ 6th, CBJ 7th
*-Chicago’s pick is top-two protected. If the Blackhawks wind up with the first or second selection in 2022, the pick will be conveyed unprotected in 2023.
Trade Chips
After a tough first year in Columbus, Max Domi was viewed as someone who would likely be moved at some point. Seattle decided to pass on him in expansion and in the end, that has worked out quite well for the Blue Jackets. The 26-year-old has rebounded nicely, notching 23 points in 38 games this season, providing them with some capable secondary scoring. He’s a pending unrestricted free agent with a $5.3MM AAV, a price tag they’ll almost certainly need to pay down to maximize their return but Domi would fit in on a few playoff-bound squads as a third liner that can move up if needed and also can play on the wing and down the middle. He won’t be the primary target for teams in the coming weeks but as the top options get moved, interest in him should pick up.
Joonas Korpisalo has had some good seasons in his seven-year NHL career but he started to struggle last season and unfortunately for them, it has carried over this year with the highest GAA of his career (3.82) and the lowest save percentage (.887). Those aren’t ideal numbers to have in the season before your first crack at unrestricted free agency as at this point, it seems unlikely he’ll surpass his current $2.8MM AAV. Despite his struggles, his track record is good enough for teams looking to add some goaltending depth for the stretch run but earlier reports had the Blue Jackets seeking multiple fairly high draft picks. That price will need to come down over the next few weeks.
While I have doubts Patrik Laine will be moved, his situation will be one to monitor. He’s having a nice season when he has been healthy and is averaging over a point per game. But he’s about to enter his final season of RFA eligibility and if he simply takes his $7.5MM qualifying offer again, he could hit the open market in July 2023. If the team senses Laine isn’t willing to sign a long-term deal, his name is bound to come up in trade speculation again. That’s a big price tag for any contender to add which is why I think such a move – if it was to happen – would make more sense in the summer. However, as the deadline gets closer, his name is bound to come up in the rumor mill.
Other Potential Trade Chips: D Scott Harrington ($1.633MM, UFA), D Dean Kukan ($1.65MM, UFA), F Kevin Stenlund ($1.05MM, RFA)
Team Needs
1) Defensive Depth: Columbus only has two defensemen on their NHL roster that are signed beyond the end of next season in Zach Werenski and Jake Bean. Players like Adam Boqvist and Andrew Peeke should be part of the longer-term picture but the depth starts to thin out after that. Another young core blueliner would be nice but even a capable short-term veteran will be needed at some point with Kukan and Harrington set to leave at the end of the season.
2) Draft Picks: Even though Columbus had three first-round picks last year, their prospect pool isn’t the deepest as the Blue Jackets had just eight selections in the previous two years combined, a ripple effect of the Blue Jackets making their push two seasons ago. Simply restocking the pipeline is something they need to do.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Korpisalo Out Day-To-Day With Lower-Body Injury
- When the Columbus Blue Jackets recalled Jean-Francois Berube under emergency conditions, alarm bells went up for some fans as it wasn’t clear what had happened to their normal goaltenders. Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch reports that Joonas Korpisalo is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury. That’s something to keep an eye on as the trade deadline approaches given Korpisalo’s status as a potential rental, though his play this season has obviously had a bigger impact on his value than any minor injury. In 18 appearances, Korpisalo has an .887 save percentage and hasn’t seen game action since January.
Blue Jackets Bring Back Craig Hartsburg
- The Blue Jackets have brought back Craig Hartsburg, he revealed in a podcast for the team’s website (audio link). Hartsburg spent parts of six seasons in Columbus over two separate stints, spending time as both an assistant coach and a scout. Now, he’ll work with the team roughly once a month for a week at a time. The 62-year-old has plenty of NHL coaching experience and has stints as the head coach in Chicago, Anaheim, and Ottawa in the past.
Snapshots: Laine, Bozak, Giroux
Columbus Blue Jackets forward Carson Meyer was supposed to make his NHL debut tonight, but it’ll have to wait for another day. Patrik Laine took warmups with the team and is playing for Columbus in tonight’s game against Buffalo, per team reporter Jeff Svoboda. Laine was dealing with an undisclosed issue in between games, but it turned out that he wouldn’t miss any time. That’s good for the team, as he’s already missed plenty this season. Through just 25 games, he’s still having a very good season in Columbus, posting 12 goals and 24 points. The pending restricted free agent is quietly producing at the highest rate of his NHL career.
More notes from around the league on this Thursday night:
- Tyler Bozak isn’t a go tonight for the St. Louis Blues, per NHL.com’s Lou Korac. He wasn’t at morning skate, either, so it’s likely an undisclosed injury keeping Bozak out of the lineup. Returning to the Blues on a one-year deal this offseason, the veteran center has three goals and nine points in 37 games while taking on a fourth-line center role. Dakota Joshua will draw in against the New Jersey Devils.
- Ahead of the trade deadline, rumours around Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux will continue to swirl. Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater reports that Flyers scouts are present at tonight’s game between the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning, fuelling the fire that the Avalanche have interest in the prized forward. Giroux is in the final year of his contract and tied for the lead in points among Flyers with 36 points. His leadership and all-around acumen would become immediately invaluable to the Avalanche, presumably back as a winger in the top-six. It would give the already stacked Avalanche forward core options galore, potentially allowing head coach Jared Bednar to have Nathan MacKinnon and captain Gabriel Landeskog on separate lines.
Emil Bemstrom Added To COVID Protocol
The Columbus Blue Jackets have lost another young forward for the time being, as Emil Bemstrom has entered the COVID protocol. The team has recalled Trey Fix-Wolansky under emergency conditions to replace him on the roster.
Bemstrom, 22, has played in just 13 games for the Blue Jackets this season, recording two goals and four points. The fourth-round pick became a top prospect a few years ago when he was dominating in Sweden, and looked like he would quickly become a regular at the NHL level when he recorded 20 points in 56 games during the 2019-20 season. Unfortunately, things haven’t gone smoothly for him since, and now he finds himself fighting for ice time. An absence, however short, won’t help his case.
Fix-Wolansky meanwhile could be making his NHL debut should he get into the Blue Jackets lineup, one that is a long time coming for the 22-year-old forward. A seventh-round pick in 2018, the 5’7″ winger was a dominant offensive presence in the WHL, scoring 102 points in 65 games during the 2018-19 season with the Edmonton Oil Kings. He has been excellent in the minor leagues as well, though a torn ACL limited him to just 74 AHL games to this point. In 22 matches this season he has 17 points, once again showing he can drive offense at the professional level. Whether he can do it on a regular basis for the Blue Jackets is another thing entirely but with Bemstrom–along with Alexandre Texier and Eric Robinson–sidelined for the next few games he might get a chance to prove it.
Blue Jackets Move Three To Injured Reserve
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have moved Jake Bean, Eric Robinson, and Alexandre Texier to injured reserve, recalling Brendan Gaunce from the AHL under emergency conditions. All three players are dealing with long-term injuries that were announced over the past few weeks and aren’t expected back for a little while. The placements on IR are all retroactive as well–Bean to January 30, Robinson to January 31, and Texier to January 26.
Danill Tarasov Resumes Skating, Blue Jackets To Have Return Timeline Next Week
- Blue Jackets goaltender Daniil Tarasov has resumed skating as he works his way back from a lower-body injury sustained more than a month ago, GM Jarmo Kekalainen told Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers (Twitter link). The team hopes to know more about his timeline for a return in about a week. The 22-year-old has impressed in four appearances with Columbus this season with a .937 SV% and is the contender to be the full-time backup in 2022-23 so a chance to get in some more NHL work down the stretch would be ideal.
Eric Robinson Out Six Weeks With MCL Injury
The Columbus Blue Jackets seem to announce a serious injury every week these days. Eric Robinson is the latest to hit the shelf, as the team announced that he will miss six weeks with an MCL sprain in his right knee. The winger was injured in Monday’s game against the Florida Panthers on a hit from Radko Gudas, one that did not draw a penalty or any supplementary discipline from the league.
Robinson, 26, has gone from undrafted college free agent to full-time NHL forward in a few short years and has 17 points in 42 games with the Blue Jackets this season. He averages 14 minutes a night in a bottom-six role, with a good chunk of that coming on the penalty kill. He and Sean Kuraly lead all Blue Jackets forwards in shorthanded ice time this season, and given the recent injuries to Alexandre Texier and Jake Bean, the team has lost a lot of the options they’re comfortable with when down a man.
Six weeks doesn’t rule him out for the rest of the season but does take him right up against the trade deadline. Any chance the Blue Jackets had to try and chase down a playoff spot before then is slipping further away with every injury that chips away at the organizational depth. The team now sits 18 points behind the Washington Capitals for fourth in the Metropolitan Division and 14 points behind the Boston Bruins for the final wildcard spot.
Jake Bean Out Four Weeks With Groin Injury
The Columbus Blue Jackets have lost another young player to injury, this time announcing that Jake Bean will miss four weeks with a groin strain suffered last night.
Bean, 23, was acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes last offseason in exchange for a second-round pick after he was passed over in the expansion draft by the Seattle Kraken. The young defenseman has played in 41 games for Columbus this season, normally averaging more than 21 minutes a night. He played just 6:53 yesterday before leaving and will be a big loss for a Blue Jackets team that is still trying to chase down those Eastern Conference wildcard spots.
A win against Montreal left them at 20-21-1 on the season, still 12 points behind Boston for the final playoff position. After announcing Alexandre Texier’s injury just recently, the team’s depth is certainly going to be tested in the next few weeks. Luckily for the Blue Jackets, tonight’s game against the Florida Panthers is the last before the All-Star break, meaning they have a full week of rest for any other bumps and bruises.
Bean meanwhile is in the first season of a three-year deal and was playing well enough to be considered a legitimate part of the future in Columbus. Even if the team struggles and decides to sell at the deadline, he seems an unlikely candidate to be traded even if healthy.