Blue Jackets sign G Zach Sawchenko to one-year extension

The Columbus Blue Jackets announced on Saturday that the club has agreed to terms on a one-year, two-way contract extension with goaltender Zach Sawchenko.

Sawchenko, a 27-year-old native of Calgary, Alberta, appeared in 27 games with the team’s AHL affiliate Cleveland Monsters in 2024-2025.

In those games, Sawchenko posted a .900 save percentage along with a 3.00 goals against average and a 10-11-5 record.

Sawchenko has a total of seven NHL appearances under his belt, all of which came in the 2021-2022 season as a member of the San Jose Sharks. He went 1-2-1 with a .901 save percentage during that stint.

The move comes just prior to the start of the second day of the NHL entry draft, one that could come with more action for a busy Blue Jackets front office.

President of hockey operations and general manager Don Waddell made a big move on Friday, acquiring center Charlie Coyle and winger Miles Wood from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for prospect Gavin Brindley and draft picks.

The move came after it was widely reported that the Jackets just missed out on acquiring star defenseman Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders, who instead made his way to the Montreal Canadiens.

Columbus had two selections in Friday night’s first round, taking defenseman Jackson Smith with the No. 14 overall pick and landing goaltender Pyotr Andreyanov with the No. 20 overall pick.

This promises to be a busy offseason in Ohio’s capital, as Waddell has nearly a full roster already signed to NHL contracts and $32 million in cap space, according to PuckPedia, with which to make impact additions.

The Blue Jackets will look to return to the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2026 after narrowly missing them last year when they went 40-33-9, finishing two points behind the New Jersey Devils for third place in the Metropolitan division.