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Trey Fix-Wolansky

Blue Jackets Sign Trey Fix-Wolansky To Extension

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The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that they’ve re-signed winger Trey Fix-Wolansky to a two-year two-way contract extension that will carry him through the 2024-25 season. The former seventh-round pick would have been eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2024-25 but has elected the security of his two-year deal. Fix-Wolansky will count $775K while in the NHL but will make $350K in 2023-24 and $375K in 2024-25 in the AHL. He gets a minimum guaranteed salary of $425K and $450K in the respective years of his extension.

The 24-year-old had an offensive breakout last season while in the AHL. In 61 games he set career highs with the Cleveland Monsters as he put up 29 goals and 42 assists. These numbers eclipsed his combined career numbers from his previous three seasons in the AHL. Fix-Wolansky was also honored by being named to the second AHL All-star team for the first time in his career.

At the NHL level the Edmonton native has dressed in 15 games for Columbus in parts of two seasons posting two goals and a single assist while averaging just over 10 minutes a night. The undersized forward stands just 5’7” and weighs 178 pounds but has learned to play with an edge as his career has gone on. Last season he dressed in just nine games in the NHL but managed to put up 11 hits.

The signing is very low risk for the Blue Jackets as they try to build up some depth in their forward ranks. Most of general manager Jarmo Kekalainen’s moves this offseason have been made to address their defense, but their forward group certainly needs work as well. Fix-Wolansky won’t be an improvement to the group, but he does offer them a talented, albeit undersized 13th forward who can shuffle back and forth between the AHL and the NHL.

Free Agent Focus: Columbus Blue Jackets

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Free agency is now a little more than a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Key Restricted Free Agents

D Marcus Björk – Björk had a nice, albeit abbreviated rookie season for the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 25-year-old Swede split the year between Columbus and the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. In 33 NHL games Björk tallied three goals and eight assists, while in the AHL he put up seven goals and eight assists in 44 games. Björk earned a lot of praise from the Columbus coaching staff and at one point was being dubbed a player who could have a long NHL career, this was before his game fell off during the middle of the season. He was demoted for a few months before being recalled towards the end of the year to re-join Columbus. While his play trailed off, one might wonder if it was tied to fatigue as Björk had never played more than 52 games in a season prior to this year. Columbus will likely lock up Björk for a season or two to take a long look at a player who could become a hidden gem for the Blue Jackets should he be able to build on his small success from this past year.

RW Mathieu Olivier – Olivier has never topped 19 points since turning pro back in 2018-2019. His career high came in the AHL when he put up 10 goals and nine assists in 58 games for the Milwaukee Admirals in the pandemic shortened 2019-2020 season. This past season the 26-year-old played a career high 66 NHL games for the Blue Jackets putting up 81 PIM, as well as five goals and 10 assists. Olivier offers sandpaper and is always willing to battle and stick up for his teammates, however he will never put up much in the way of offence. But given his status as one of Columbus’ most pressing RFA cases, it is a real indication of the lack of NHL talent that the Blue Jackets have on their NHL roster at this time. Olivier will likely be re-signed to a one year/two-way contract for around the league minimum.

Other RFAs: Tim Berni, Joshua Dunne, Carson Meyer, Trey Fix-Wolansky, Jacob Christiansen

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

D Gavin Bayreuther – Bayreuther is the Blue Jackets top unrestricted free agent heading into this offseason and was famously taken by the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft two years ago only to be left unsigned. Bayreuther then became a free agent and quickly signed back with the Blue Jackets where he has played the past few seasons. The New Hampshire native toiled in the AHL with the Texas Stars for four seasons before finally getting a chance in the NHL with the Blue Jackets in the 2021-22 season. The 29-year-old spent most of this past season with Columbus where he put up two goals and 12 assists in 51 games.

Bayreuther has never put up much in the way of offense in his career as he has just 28 career points in 122 career games, he is the epitome of a tweener. He is too good for the AHL however he is likely not a strong enough player to sustain success in the NHL. He will likely be given the opportunity to sign a two-way contract this summer with a decent downside guarantee at the AHL level and the chance to split time between the AHL and the NHL.

F Lane Pederson – The Blue Jackets claimed Pederson off waivers from the Vancouver Canucks this past January. The Saskatoon native spent 27 games in the NHL this season split between to the two clubs and put up three goals and three assists. Much like Bayreuther, Pederson is also a tweener. He’s been a very good offensive player in the AHL the past few seasons as he has put up nearly a point a game since 2018-19. But this offensive success just simply hasn’t carried over the NHL as Pederson has just four goals and seven assists in 71 NHL games.

Pederson will get a two-way contract with a good AHL salary and will likely make for a good 13th or 14th forward next season.

G Michael Hutchinson – Hutchinson is the definition of a journeyman. He has played 153 NHL games spread over ten seasons posting a .902 career save percentage. Early in his career the 33-year-old looked as though he would be a solid NHL backup as posted a .914 save percentage in 38 games going 21-10-5 for the Winnipeg Jets in 2014-15. However, by 2017 Hutchinson found himself back in the AHL and struggled to find consistent NHL work, dressing in just 54 NHL games over the past six seasons. Given his age and recent track record it is realistic to guess that Hutchinson will find work as a teams third string goaltender that can take the bulk of the AHL starts and fill in at the NHL level should an injury occur.

Other UFAs: Joona Luoto, Justin Richards, Jon Gillies

Projected Cap Space

Columbus has ample cap room to fill out their roster as they currently have just under $17MM in space and 21 players signed for next season. However, filling out their roster simply won’t be good enough given how thin the team is on NHL talent. The club has committed big money to Patrik Laine, Johnny Gaudreau and Zach Werenski but haven’t been able to insulate them with much in the way of offensive talent. They have some terrific young players and will need to be careful to leave room for their future contracts, however the Blue Jackets need to do a better job of providing depth scoring so they don’t rely so heavily on their top line scorers. Columbus has been largely unsuccessful in unrestricted free agency making it interesting to see how they will play the market when it opens in July.

 

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

Blue Jackets Recall Four Players

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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.

Blue Jackets Recall Three, Assign Trey-Fix Wolansky To AHL

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Between injuries and illness, the Blue Jackets are currently dealing with a thinned-out roster.  Accordingly, they are bringing up more players from the minors as they announced that forwards Joona Luoto and Justin Richards plus defenseman Marcus Bjork are all being recalled from AHL Cleveland.  They will be taking the place of Jack Roslovic and Lane Pederson (both injured) and Adam Boqvist (illness).  Meanwhile, after oversleeping and missing a team meeting, winger Trey Fix-Wolansky has been assigned back to the Monsters.

Luoto will get his first taste of NHL action tonight since the 2019-20 campaign when he played in 16 games with Winnipeg.  After spending last season in Finland, the 25-year-old signed a two-way deal with Columbus last summer.  He has 14 goals and 11 assists in 43 games with Cleveland this season and will be set to hit Group VI unrestricted free agency in July.

As for Richards, his NHL experience is even more limited as he made just a single appearance for the Rangers back in 2021, recording his first career NHL assist along the way.  The 25-year-old is also in his first year with the Blue Jackets and has been much more productive in the minors this season, picking up 10 goals and 25 assists in 54 games after putting up just six goals and eight helpers a year ago.  He’s also eligible for Group VI free agency this summer.

Bjork, meanwhile, certainly hasn’t looked out of place in his first season in North America.  He has played in 28 games with the Blue Jackets this season, picking up 11 points while logging nearly 19 minutes a night on the back end.  The 25-year-old has also suited up in 40 games for the Monsters, tallying 13 points.  He will be a restricted free agent this summer.

Fix-Wolansky had averaged over 13 minutes a night in his last three games in Columbus and was getting a chance to play higher in the lineup due to the injuries so this mistake is a costly one for him as it gets him taken off the roster.  He has been quite productive in the minors, however, notching 26 goals and 41 assists in just 53 games and will be a big addition to a Monsters team that finds themselves one point out of a play-in spot heading into tonight’s action.

Blue Jackets Recall Jake Christiansen And Trey Fix-Wolansky

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While the Blue Jackets picked up an overtime victory on Friday, it came at a cost with both defenseman Erik Gudbranson (upper body) and winger Mathieu Olivier (lower body) exiting with injuries.  Accordingly, they announced a pair of recalls from the minors as they have brought up defenseman Jake Christiansen and winger Trey Fix-Wolansky from AHL Cleveland on an emergency basis.

Christiansen has suited up in 18 games with the Blue Jackets so far this season.  In that stretch, he has a pair of assists while averaging roughly a block and a hit per contest while logging just shy of 14 minutes a night.  However, despite not being particularly productive in Columbus, the 23-year-old has done well offensively with the Monsters, collecting eight goals and 21 assists in 43 games to help him earn this recall.

As for Fix-Wolansky, the 23-year-old has appeared in four games with Columbus this season.  He has been held off the scoresheet in those contests while averaging just under ten minutes a night.  However, Fix-Wolansky has been one of the top scorers in the minors this season, picking up 26 goals and 51 assists in 53 games with the Monsters, numbers that put him in fourth league-wide in points.  With the injuries that Columbus has, he might have a chance of playing a little higher in the lineup this time around.

As both of these recalls are designated as emergency ones, they will not count against the post-deadline limit of four per team.  However, as soon as Gudbranson or Olivier (or anyone else currently injured at their positions return), they will have to be returned to the AHL or converted to a regular recall at that time which would then count against the limit of four.

Columbus Blue Jackets Place Carson Meyer On Injured Reserve

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The Columbus Blue Jackets are facing even more injury trouble. The team has announced that forward Carson Meyer suffered an oblique strain during last night’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. As a result, the forward has been placed on injured reserve and will be out for six-to-eight weeks.

In a corresponding move, the Blue Jackets have recalled forward Trey Fix-Wolansky from their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.

This season has not gone according to plan for Columbus, and a major reason for their disappointing form has been injuries. Columbus has a whopping seven players already on injured reserve, meaning Meyer will be their eighth player to land on the list. Additionally, the Blue Jackets have franchise defenseman Zach Werenski on long-term injured reserve.

It’s been an absolutely brutal run of injuries for head coach Brad Larsen’s squad, costing the team valuable contributors such as Werenski, Jakub Voracek, captain Boone Jenner, Jake Bean, Yegor Chinakhov, Justin Danforth, Nick Blankenburg, and now Meyer.

These injuries have given some players in the Blue Jackets organization a greater chance to show what they can do at the NHL level than they’d likely have been afforded were the team in better health. Meyer is one of those players, as he’s gotten 13 games at the NHL level this season, a total that already matches his games played from last year.

In those 13 games, Meyer hasn’t managed to get on the scoresheet yet, but he’s registered 22 hits and six blocked shots. He’s found more offensive success at the AHL level, where he has scored 18 points in 15 games this season.

Speaking of AHL success, Meyer’s replacement on the Blue Jackets’ roster is Fix-Wolansky, who has set the American League on fire so far this year. His 34 points in 26 games lead AHL Cleveland, and his quality performance earned him some NHL games earlier this year.

The former Edmonton Oil King has developed nicely since being drafted in the seventh round by the Blue Jackets at the 2018 draft and will look to put together some quality performances in his current go-around at the NHL level.

Columbus Blue Jackets Recall Kirill Marchenko

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Play the kids. The Columbus Blue Jacket’s season hasn’t gone anywhere near according to plan, so it’s time to see what they have in another youngster. Kirill Marchenko has been recalled from the AHL after just 16 games in North America.

Marchenko, 22, was the 49th overall selection in the 2018 draft, with an understanding that he wouldn’t be coming over for several years. Finally, after spending the last several seasons in the KHL, the young forward signed his entry-level contract last spring and made the trip to play with the Cleveland Monsters this year.

The AHL has proven to be no challenge for the young forward, as Marchenko has eight goals and 19 points in 16 games for Cleveland, though there are still some inconsistencies in his game. He is on a five-game point streak and should soon get a chance to show what he can do in the NHL.

Interestingly, it is Trey Fix-Wolansky who has been sent back to make room, after his own four-game stint with the Blue Jackets. Fix-Wolansky is the Monsters’ leading scorer with 22 points in 14 games, but standing just 5’7″ offers a very different skill set than the 6’3″ Russian.

The Blue Jackets have a back-to-back coming up tomorrow and Wednesday, where they will face the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres. Now sitting just 8-13-2, with several key injuries, it has turned into something of an evaluation season for the Columbus front office, instead of a competitive one.

Columbus Blue Jackets Place Elvis Merzlikins On IR

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The Columbus Blue Jackets announced Sunday morning that they have placed goaltender Elvis Merzlikins on IR. In a corresponding move, the team has also recalled winger Trey Fix-Wolansky from the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. Merzlikins suffered a lower-body injury in Tuesday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. The team had already recalled goaltender Daniil Tarasov on an emergency basis with the news that Merzlikins was expected to be out at least 1-2 weeks. Now with the goaltender on IR, the team could recall a forward as they deal with a rash of injuries.

Merzlikins had been off to a rough start to this season, recording a 4.74 goals-against average and .864 save-percentage in nine games. The injury clearly isn’t good news per se, however a break to rest, recuperate, and gather his thoughts might be helpful to Merzlikins nonetheless. As a replacement, Tarasov really hasn’t been much better this season with a 3.57 goals-against average and .893 save-percentage, but the organization does have high hopes overall for the 23-year-old.

In Fix-Wolansky, 23, the Blue Jackets will find quality depth and someone who has been, in a word, sensational with Cleveland this season, notching 10 goals to go with 12 assists in a mere 14 games. Yes, the NHL does get tougher and the winger has just six games of experience at the top level, all last year, but given the Blue Jackets’ struggles to start this season and their recent injuries, giving Fix-Wolansky a chance in the lineup might be on the horizon.

Blue Jackets Re-Sign Trey Fix-Wolansky

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A day after getting their top restricted free agent re-signed, the Blue Jackets went back to locking up some of their depth pieces, announcing the signing of winger Trey Fix-Wolansky to a one-year, two-way contract.  Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the deal will pay $750K in the NHL and $80K in the minors.

The 23-year-old made his NHL debut last season, getting into six games with Columbus where he picked up a goal and an assist despite averaging just 6:17 per contest.  His goal came in his NHL debut against Washington, becoming the sixth player in Blue Jackets history to score in his NHL debut.  Fix-Wolansky spent the bulk of last season in the minors and picked up career highs in goals (15) and assists (18) in 53 games with AHL Cleveland.

Fix-Wolansky will be waiver-eligible for the first time next season and will need to pass through unclaimed in order to make it back to the Monsters.  With a limited track record so far him being a smaller player at 5’8, there’s a good chance he wouldn’t be picked up off the wire.  However, after holding his own in his first taste of NHL action last season, Fix-Wolansky should get another opportunity at some point with the Blue Jackets in 2022-23 when injuries arise.

Columbus now has one remaining restricted free agent to re-sign this summer in winger Emil Bemstrom who wasn’t eligible to file for salary arbitration earlier this month.

Columbus Blue Jackets Place Boone Jenner On Injured Reserve

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The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that they have placed forward Boone Jenner on injured reserve today. In a corresponding move, the team added winger Trey Fix-Wolansky from the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL on emergency recall. Jenner, the Blue Jackets’ captain, is considered week-to-week with a lower body injury.

Losing Jenner is certainly tough for the Blue Jackets, who sit 13 points back of a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, but still consider themselves very much in the race. In addition to being their captain, Jenner also lines up as Columbus’ top center, and leads the team with 23 goals and 44 points in 59 games this season. The loss of Jenner also coincides with potential injuries to Patrik Laine and Jakub Voracek, reports The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline. Without them, Columbus loses its top three point producers, in addition to Alexandre Texier, who is currently on a leave of absence from the team.

Fix-Wolansky recently made his NHL debut for Columbus on February 8th, scoring his first NHL goal that game. The 22-year-old currently has two assists in five NHL games this year, along with an impressive 22 points in 32 games in the AHL this season. If Columbus hopes to stay in the playoff race, they will have to count on secondary options such as Fix-Wolansky.

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