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Alexandre Texier

Columbus Blue Jackets Re-Sign Alexandre Texier

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The Columbus Blue Jackets re-signed young forward Alexandre Texier today, the team announced. It’s a two-year deal paying a total of $3.05MM, meaning it’s got an average annual value of $1.52MM. Texier was a restricted free agent but did not have arbitration rights.

It was a little over two years ago when Texier made his debut in the NHL, bursting onto the scene after dominating the Finnish league as a teenager. He scored three points in eight games for the Blue Jackets in the 2019 playoffs and hopes were high that he would step directly into a top-six role despite his young age. Instead, Texier averaged fewer than 13 minutes in the 36 games he did get into during the 2019-20 season, moving in and out of the lineup as a fringe roster player. He finished the year with six goals and 13 points, not exactly the rookie campaign that was expected.

Unfortunately, his sophomore year didn’t go much better. The 21-year-old had just four goals and 15 points in 49 games this season for the Blue Jackets despite additional minutes and responsibility. His offensive game hasn’t translated at all, though he did get a chance to play center—rather infrequently—under head coach John Tortorella, who is notorious for not trusting young players in the middle of the ice.

Now as the team heads into a new chapter under head coach Brad Larsen and without several key veterans, it will be up to young players like Texier to take the next step in Columbus. A $1.52MM cap hit isn’t insignificant and should mean he’s in the lineup every night, but it also doesn’t guarantee much else. He’ll have to prove he can contribute more regularly at the offensive end of the rink if he wants more ice time and a bigger contract in 2023.

Free Agent Focus: Columbus Blue Jackets

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Free agency is now just a little more than a month away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in late July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. Columbus doesn’t have a lot of huge names to lock up, but it’s still an important offseason for the franchise.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Patrik Laine – It was an incredibly challenging year for the Finnish winger. After being dealt to Columbus by the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for center Pierre-Luc Dubois, Laine proceeded to put up the worst season of his career playing for the Blue Jackets. Struggling under the now-departed John Tortorella’s system, Laine put up just 21 points in 45 games with Columbus and only 10 goals. It’s a sharp decline after his 63-point campaign in 2019-20. While it’s expected that Laine should bounce back under different coaching next season, it’s tough to bank on that when assessing giving out a long-term contract. Due to his struggles this year, and the potential that Laine may not want to stay in Ohio, a bridge deal is likely in order. It’ll likely take him right up until his first season of unrestricted free agent eligibility, and the Blue Jackets will hope to return to being a contender by that point.

F Alexandre Texier – Drafted 45th overall by Columbus in 2017, Texier is slowly but surely making the transition to full-time NHLer. While Texier’s offensive pace dropped slightly this year with just four goals in 49 games, his ice time spiked to almost 16:00 per game this year. He’ll likely see more chances in a top-six role this coming season as Columbus turns to a youth movement. Regardless, it should be a cheap contract extension for Texier, likely under $3MM per season on a show-me deal. The French-born forward has shown some serious flashes of promise in the big leagues, and he’s looked at as a big future piece in Columbus’ middle-six forward group.

Other RFAs: F Kole Sherwood, F Cliff Pu, F Calvin Thurkauf, D Andrew Peeke, G Cam Johnson

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

D Michael Del Zotto – Del Zotto was a nice surprise on the back end for Columbus this season. The 31-year-old defender has bounced in and out of the lineup in recent years due to injury and poor play, but found a stable home with Columbus this season. He started out the season well in a third-pairing role, but moved up the lineup as injuries struck Columbus’ top defenders, especially Zach Werenski. Del Zotto wasn’t a dynamo offensively with just 13 points in 53 contests, but rediscovered his transitional game this season, having arguably his most defensively sound performance since his days with the New York Rangers. With his age and injury history, it’s still unlikely Del Zotto signs anything more than a one-year deal with any team. He’d certainly fit in well again in Columbus next season, as there’s no clear heir-apparent to his spot. With them potentially losing a defender like Dean Kukan to Seattle, re-signing Del Zotto could prove important for the Blue Jackets. Even if not, Del Zotto played well enough this season by most accounts to earn an NHL job again in 2021-22.

D Mikko Lehtonen – Coming over from the KHL with high expectations, Lehtonen mostly fell off the map this season. Signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs before the season’s start, Lehtonen failed to work his way into a regular spot. In an effort to get Lehtonen some more NHL opportunity, Toronto dealt him to Columbus midway through the season. But even with the Blue Jackets, Lehtonen couldn’t work his way out of a bottom-pairing role. Logging around 18 minutes a night in Columbus, Lehtonen posted just three points in 17 games and got caved in defensively most nights. While he had promise coming into the season, it’s likely that Lehtonen will go back to a more comfortable environment overseas.

Other UFAs: F Zac Dalpe, F Mikhail Grigorenko, F Stefan Matteau, F Ryan MacInnis, F Brandon Dubinsky, D Adam Clendening, D Gavin Bayreuther

Projected Cap Space

The Blue Jackets will have plenty of space to maneuver this offseason with around $23.8MM in cap space. With the minute list of players needing new contracts, and with Laine’s and Texier’s being the only real ones of value, the team will have plenty of room to add in free agency and on the trade market. Columbus’ scoring issues have been well-documented over the past few seasons, and it’s a foregone conclusion that something will be done this offseason to address it further. That available cap hit is also expected to increase with the impending trade of Seth Jones, meaning that Columbus may be able to outbid other teams for premium talent.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 03/21/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Here is the complete, updated list for today:

Boston – Sean Kuraly, Jake DeBrusk, David Krejci, David Pastrnak, Craig Smith
NY Islanders – Noah Dobson
NY Rangers – Phil Di Giuseppe (plus their coaching staff)
St. Louis – Zach Sanford

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Alexandre Texier, Columbus

It’s certainly encouraging that there were no new additions to the list from Boston given their recent outbreak or from anywhere else in the league.  Things went in the right direction today with Texier being activated and immediately sent to the taxi squad, a move that may be more procedural than anything else since the youngster only missed two games while being in the protocols.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 03/20/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Here is the complete, updated list for today:

Boston – Sean Kuraly, Jake DeBrusk, David Krejci, David Pastrnak, Craig Smith
Columbus – Alexandre Texier
NY Islanders – Noah Dobson
NY Rangers – Phil Di Giuseppe (plus coaching staff)
St. Louis – Zach Sanford*

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: None

The outbreak in Boston remains a concern, but no additional Bruins and no Buffalo Sabres being added to the list today is encouraging. The hopes is that Boston, who will remain quarantined until Wednesday, will then be able to move forward and the NHL can get back to trending toward an empty CPRA list.

They did move in the wrong direction today, though. Sanford’s addition in St. Louis adds a ninth player and fifth team to the list. However, if this is another case of a false positive then Sanford’s stay could be short. In the meantime, Sanford will miss the Blues’ Saturday night match-up.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 03/19/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Here is the list so far:

Boston – Sean Kuraly, Jake Debrusk*, David Pastrnak*, David Krejci*, Craig Smith*
Columbus – Alexandre Texier
NY Islanders – Noah Dobson
NY Rangers – Phil Di Giuseppe (plus the coaching staff)

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: None

The news in Boston led to two games being postponed, even though the team played last night against Buffalo. In the release, however, the NHL was optimistic the team would be able to open up their facilities next Wednesday. If these players are not back by then it would be a very difficult test for the Bruins, given how important the group is.

This is the second event that includes the Sabres and has terrible optics for the league, given that all four of the Bruins added today played last night against Buffalo, despite Kuraly being added earlier in the day. It’s key to remember that it doesn’t necessarily mean they have tested positive though and the league has more detailed medical information than it shares with the public.

After being made a late addition to the list, Vegas’ William Karlsson was removed from the list just hours later with a confirmed false positive test.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 03/18/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Here is the list so far:

Boston – Sean Kuraly*
Columbus – Alexandre Texier
Minnesota – TBA
NY Islanders – Noah Dobson
NY Rangers – Phil Di Giuseppe (plus the coaching staff)

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: None.

The Rangers coaching staff will not travel with the team for their two-game set against the Capitals this weekend, meaning Kris Knoblauch will remain behind the bench alongside Gord Murphy and Chris Drury. That didn’t seem to slow the team down at all last night as they took home an incredible 9-0 win over the Flyers.

Kuraly was the player who entered the protocol for the Bruins earlier today, initiating contact tracing for the club and forcing them to cancel morning skate. After further testing it was ruled that the game can go as scheduled tonight.

*denotes new addition

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 1/24/21

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It appears as though there will be daily movement this season between the active roster and taxi squad. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of shuffle news each day.

  • The Dallas Stars announced they have recalled forward Tanner Kero from their taxi squad after placing forward Joel Kiviranta on injured reserve. The 28-year-old Kero hasn’t made an NHL appearance since the 2017-18 season, but could get onto the ice depending on the injury status of Jamie Benn, who is a game-time decision. Kiviranta, who was listed as day-to-day Saturday after getting injured in practice, will have to sit out at least three games.
  • The Detroit Red Wings announced they have recalled forwards Givani Smith and Taro Hirose from the taxi squad. Smith has been up and down between the NHL and taxi squad, while Hirose was recalled three days ago to the taxi squad from the AHL. Both are expected to make their season debuts on Sunday. Detroit also have re-assigned forward Riley Barber to the taxi squad. UPDATE: The Red Wings have reversed course, announcing they have sent Hirose and Smith back to the taxi squad after their game with Chicago ended.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers announced they have loaned defenseman Derrick Pouliot from the taxi squad to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL. The team also announced some salary cap moves, sending forward Connor Bunnaman and Samuel Morin to their taxi squad.
  • The Buffalo Sabres announced they have swapped young players as the team has sent forward Dylan Cozens to the taxi squad and recalled Casey Mittelstadt, who is expected to make his season debut Sunday. Cozens scored his first career NHL goal Friday, but head coach Ralph Krueger made it clear before the season that he intends to ease his young players into the lineup. The team has also activated forward Kyle Okposo from injured reserve. He has missed the team’s first five games with a lower-body injury.
  • Las Vegas Review Journal’s David Schoen reports that the Vegas Golden Knights have activated defenseman Nicolas Hague off the taxi squad and moved center Cody Glass to the taxi squad, a similar move from two games ago as the team continues to balance their salary cap with rotating between five and six defensemen.
  • The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell reports that with two forwards (Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov), a defenseman (Dmitry Orlov) and a goaltender (Ilya Samsonov) out due to COVID-19 restrictions, the team was able to recall two players, including forwards Brian Pinho and Connor McMichael (as well as goaltender Craig Anderson), via the emergency recall exception rule and not count against their cap. McMichael is the most interesting of the two as the 2019 first-round pick will make his NHL debut Sunday.
  • The New Jersey Devils announced they have assigned forward Jesper Boqvist to the taxi squad and they have recalled forward Nicholas Merkley, who is expected to make his season debut Sunday. Boqvist has appeared in four games for New Jersey, failing to register a point. Merkley, acquired from Arizona in the Taylor Hall trade last season, had a goal and an assist in four games last year with the Devils.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets already placed Brandon Dubinsky on LTIR earlier today, but the team also made a few other moves to get under the salary cap, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline. The scribe writes that both Alexandre Texier and Liam Foudy have been assigned to the taxi squad, but as paper moves to maximize their LTIR pool. The team has also recalled Emil Bemstrom and Stefan Matteau from the taxi squad.
  • The New York Rangers announced they have recalled forward Colin Blackwell from their taxi squad and is likely to make his Rangers’ debut. The 27-year-old signed with the Rangers as a free agent after posting three goals and 10 points in 27 games for the Nashville Predators last season.
  • The Calgary Flames made their standard game-day transaction, recalling Derek Ryan and Oliver Kylington from the taxi squad. Ryan has appeared in three games with no points, while Kylington has yet to make an appearance for Calgary this year.
  • The Minnesota Wild announced they have recalled goaltender Andrew Hammond from their taxi squad with the status of Cam Talbot being day-to-day. In order to keep three goaltenders on the roster, the team has assigned netminder Hunter Jones from Iowa of the AHL to the taxi squad. Hammond has not made an appearance yet for the Wild.
  • With the Bruins off, CapFriendly reports that Boston has shuffled forwards Jack Studnicka and Trent Frederic plus defenseman Urho Vaakanainen to their taxi squad, continuing their near-daily movement.  Steven Kampfer was reassigned to AHL Providence from the taxi squad to create room for Vaakanainen’s placement.
  • Avalanche defenseman Conor Timmins was in the lineup for their game today against Anaheim, meaning that he has been recalled from the taxi squad.  The 22-year-old has played in four games so far with Colorado this season, logging a little under 13 minutes per game.
  • Pierre Engvall and Jason Spezza were both in the lineup for the Maple Leafs against Calgary today, meaning they were promoted from the taxi squad.  To get back into cap compliance, Travis Boyd was sent to the taxi squad.
  • After scoring in his Canadiens debut on Saturday, Montreal has returned Corey Perry to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The veteran will likely be recalled in time for their next game against Calgary on Thursday.
  • The Ottawa Senators have returned winger Micheal Haley to their taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  He was recalled for Saturday’s game against Winnipeg and played 7:39 while getting into a fight.

Overseas Notes: Texier, Sandstrom, Brannstrom

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have transferred the loan of Alexandre Texier from KalPa in Finland’s Liiga to Grenoble in the French professional league, where the young forward will continue playing for the time being. As Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch reports, Texier will remain in France with his family as someone close to him is dealing with an undisclosed illness.

Texier, 21, actually spent one season with Grenoble in 2016-17 before heading to Finland to continue his development. The young forward took quite an interesting path to the NHL, where he spent all of this season. Texier is still expected back in North America when the 2020-21 season begins.

  • The Philadelphia Flyers have loaned Felix Sandstrom to Vasterviks IK of the Swedish second league, where he will presumably play until things start again in North America. Sandstrom, 23, is another top goaltending prospect in the Flyers system that was the 70th overall pick in 2015. In 2019-20 he posted just an .885 save percentage in the ECHL, but there is still lots of upside in the 6’2″ netminder. Perhaps he can get things back on track in his native Sweden, where he already found success at the highest level before coming to North America in 2019.
  • Though the official announcement still hasn’t come out, Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion confirmed to reporters including Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia that Erik Brannstrom will be loaned to Switzerland until the next NHL season begins. Brannstrom is expected to play for the SCL Tigers in the Swiss NLA. Though he split time this season, the 21-year-old defenseman is expected to receive a full-time NHL role in 2020-21.

Columbus Blue Jackets Announce Several Loans

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have found a few landing spots for some of their most important young players. Emil Bemstrom will head to HIFK Helsinki, Alexandre Texier will return to KalPa and Veini Vehvilainen will head to JYP (a move we detailed yesterday). All three are expected back before the start of the 2020-21 NHL season.

The two young forwards are more than just prospects at this point, but rather full-time NHL players. Bemstrom, 21, played in 56 games for the Blue Jackets this season scoring 20 points as a rookie. Selected in the fourth round of the 2017 draft, he quickly climbed the prospect charts after excelling in Sweden, including a 35-point season in the SHL that earned him Rookie of the Year honors. Bemstrom is only heading into the second year of his entry-level contract, meaning he’ll be an extremely inexpensive option for the Blue Jackets through the 2021-22 season.

Texier meanwhile heads into the final season of his own entry-level deal, after first appearing in North America during 2018-19. The speedy forward made an impact even then for the Blue Jackets, jumping right into the playoffs with the team and being a difference-maker in their first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. This season didn’t go exactly as planned, with Texier only recording 13 points in 36 games, but once again he looked the part of a top-six option when the Blue Jackets hit the postseason. Still just 20 (he’ll turn 21 next week), Texier has a very bright future in Columbus.

Vehvilainen, as we detailed yesterday, is another brilliant goaltending prospect that the Blue Jackets will have to find room for eventually. The 23-year-old could be in contention for an NHL roster spot if the team moves on from one of Joonas Korpisalo or Elvis Merzlikins in a trade this offseason.

Columbus Blue Jackets Eyeing Big Splash This Off-Season

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Last off-season, no team took a bigger hit than the Columbus Blue Jackets. The club lost two of their franchise stars in forward Artemi Panarin and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to free agency, along with expensive rental forwards Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel. Panarin, Bobrovsky, and Duchene were in fact the three largest UFA contracts handed out last summer. No one expected the Blue Jackets to be able to rebound from those losses, but one year later the team knocked out a talented Toronto Maple Leafs team in the qualifying round and gave the Tampa Bay Lightning, one of the NHL’s best, a run for their money in the the first round.

Columbus showed that they still have what it takes to be a contender even with last year’s major losses. The team has discovered not one but two reliable options in net, has one of the top defensive pairs in the league and solid depth behind them, and a mix of youth, experience, skill, and grit up front. If there is one thing that the Blue Jackets still lack, it is what they lost in Panarin and Duchene: elite top-six forwards. While the team has a number of young players who may grow into that role, the club does not appear content to sit in wait, instead hoping to take action this off-season. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline writes that whispers out of the organization is that GM Jarmo Kekalainen is preparing to add at least one if not two high-skill forwards this off-season, with a bona fide top-six center as the priority.

On the surface, this plan makes perfect sense. Portzline notes the Blue Jackets ranked second-to-last in forward scoring this season, which undoubtedly was partially the result of a rash of injuries up front but is still an indictment of the forward corps’ ability to produce. The team also has roughly $68MM committed to 20 players who were regular players this season with just a few restricted free agents to take care of, so there could be cap space to spare on the free agent market.

However, adding impact forwards will be easier said than done. While Columbus has approximately $13.5MM in cap space, should they opt for long-term contracts for budding top-six center Pierre-Luc Dubois and solid young defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, much of that space could be eaten up. On top of that, the team will have to make decisions on re-signing RFA forwards Josh Anderson and Devin Shore as well. If both return, the team will be right up against the cap ceiling without even touching the free agent market. They will also be facing a roster crunch with 17 players already signed to one-way contracts worth $1.6MM or more, including recent KHL import Mikhail Grigorenko but not any of the aforementioned RFA’s.

Even if the team does have space to explore the top names on the open market, they may find that no one fits their top-six center criteria. While the team will surely kick the tires on big names like Taylor Hall, Tyler Toffoli, Mike Hoffman, and Evgenii Dadonov, none of that group is a solution down the middle. The second tier also only offers players that are not necessarily natural centers: Mikael Granlund, Carl Soderberg, or even old friend Derick Brassard. Columbus’ best bet may be to target a younger, more moldable player with some center experience, such as Vladislav Namestnikov, Erik Haula, or Alex Galchenyuk. However, there really isn’t an ideal target to sure up the center position in the top six.

For both internal and external reasons, Kekalainen seems likely to explore the trade market in his efforts to add at least one of his target top-six forwards and most likely at center. Portzline also opines that this is a likely route and that the team could deal from their depth at forward or defense to make a deal. On the blue line in particular, the team will have eight experienced NHL defenseman once Gavrikov is re-signed and will likely have to thin that group. Portzline believes that David Savard would be the easiest to move, while talented but oft-injured Ryan Murray or useful Markus Nutivaara could also draw interest. Up front, the rights to Anderson or Shore could certainly be dealt and the team will likely dangle Alexander Wennberg again this off-season. The real question is whether the team would give up on a top young prospect like Emil Bemstrom, Alexandre Texier, or Liam Foudy. Portzline also believes that teams could come calling on goaltenders Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins, but dealing either one could just create another hole in the lineup.

With plenty of trade chips, the Blue Jackets could cash in on a desperate market. Given both the flat salary cap and the looming threat of the 2021 Expansion Draft, there will likely be many teams open to moving established forwards this off-season and Columbus has a much better chance of finding a true top-six center – and perhaps even another top forward – via trade. One way or another, the club has been inspired by its playoff run and has its sights set on improving immediately, so don’t be surprised to see the Blue Jackets make a big splash this summer.

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