Jiricek was recalled by the Blue Jackets after their star defenseman Zach Weresnki was placed on injured reserve earlier this morning. The talented young Czech defenseman had 38 points (6G / 32A) in 55 games with the Cleveland Monsters in the AHL. Jiricek was the sixth overall pick of the Blue Jackets in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and could be an interesting piece on the back end if Werenski is forced to miss significant time.
Werenski was placed on the injured reserve and will miss at least one week after being the target of a knee-on-knee collision with Garnet Hathaway in the Blue Jackets' season opener. Hathaway was given a two-minute minor for kneeing on the play. Injuries have been a thorn in Werenski's side the last several seasons as he is coming off a 2022-23 campaign where he was limited to only 13 games. David Jiricek has been recalled from the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL in his absence.
Werenski left Thursday's loss after a knee-on-knee collision with Garnet Hathaway. Initially, it did not look good, but Blue Jackets' head coach Pascal Vincent said that Werenski's injury is not believed to be long-term. This is a fortunate break for Werenski, who missed 69 games a season ago.
A healthy scratch on Tuesday's opening night game against the Lightning, Fabbro will draw back into the lineup on Thursday in place of Luke Schenn (lower-body). Fabbro is expected to skate alongside Roman Josi on the Preds' top pair at 5v5. The 25-year-old defenseman tallied just two goals and nine assists in 79 games with the Predators last season.
Lebanc had 15 goals, 18 assists, 129 SOG, 36 PIMs and a -17 plus/minus through 72 games with San Jose in 2022-23 but will be a healthy scratch for their season opener Thursday vs. Seattle. The 27-year-old right-winger is entering his eighth NHL season and has 216 points in 432 career games with the Sharks. Fabian Zetterlund will take his spot on the Sharks' forth line ahead of San Jose's opener.
Johnson will start the season as a healthy scratch but the talented centreman should find himself on the Blue Jackets roster before long. Patrik Laine being moved to the middle has created an influx of center-depth to start the season for the Blue Jackets, likely factoring into Johnson's early-season healthy scratch. The fifth overall pick from the 2021 NHL Entry Draft is coming off his rookie season with the Blue Jackets which saw him tally 40 points (16G / 24A) in 79 games.
After a fantastic rookie season in 2019-20, where he posted a 2.35 GAA and .923 SV% in 33 games (13-9-8), Merzlinkins has performed progressively worse each year. In 30 games last season (7-18-2), Merzlinkins had a horrendous 4.23 GAA and a .876 SV%. His league-worst GAA (minimum 10 starts) will need to be improved significantly or he will likely find himself battling for starts with backup goalie Spencer Martin. The Blue Jackets go into their season-opener listed as -113 home favourites against the Philadelphia Flyers.
After a fantastic rookie season in 2019-20, where he posted a 2.35 GAA and .923 SV% in 33 games (13-9-8), Merzlinkins has performed progressively worse each year. In 30 games last season (7-18-2), Merzlinkins had a horrendous 4.23 GAA and a .876 SV%. His league-worst GAA (minimum 10 starts) will need to be improved significantly or he will likely find himself battling for starts with backup goalie Spencer Martin. The Blue Jackets go into their season-opener listed as -113 home favourites against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Danforth suited up in six games for the Blue Jackets last season, recording three points (2G / 1A). He is projected to start the 2023-24 season on the third line, playing alongside Kirill Marchenko and Adam Fantilli. The undrafted 30-year-old winger has played 51 games in his NHL career, all with Columbus.
Fabbro had two goals, nine assists, 50 PIMs, 101 SOG, and a -4 plus/minus through 79 games with Nashville in 2022-23 but will be a healthy scratch for their first game of the season vs. Tampa Bay. The 25-year-old defenseman is entering his sixth NHL season and should find himself in the Predators' lineup more often than not this season.
Chinakhov had four goals, nine assists, 44 SOG, 10 PIMs, and a -6 plus/minus through 30 games with Columbus in 2022-23 but will begin the season on the injured reserve as he deals with a back strain. The 22-year-old right-winger is out indefinitely as he enters his third NHL season. The former 1st round pick (21st overall) is expected to be a key depth piece for the young Blue Jackets in 2023-24.
The Blue Jackets 2022 first-round selection (6th overall) has failed to make Columbus' opening day roster and has been assigned to Cleveland (AHL) for the start of the 2023-24 season. The 19-year-old mega prospect appeared in only four games with Columbus in 2022-23, failing to pick up a point while collecting two PIMs and a -4 plus/minus. He returns to Cleveland where he spent most of last season and picked up six goals and 38 points in 55 games played.
Olivier will be forced to miss the beginning of the 2023-24 season as he was placed on the injured reserve Monday with a leg injury and will be out indefinitely. The 26-year-old forward is entering his fifth NHL season and second as a Blue Jacket after putting up five goals, 10 assists, 75 SOG, 81 PIMs, and a -20 plus/minus in 66 games in 2022-23.
Aston-Reese was released on a PTO earlier in the week by Carolina and has now found himself a spot on Detroit's roster after signing a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000. The 29-year-old forward had 10 goals, four assists, 89 SOG, 25 PIMs, and a -6 plus/minus through 77 games with Toronto in 2022-23. The Red Wings will make his fourth NHL team in seven seasons.
Tarasov was injured in practice before training camp started and has yet to make an appearance. GM Jarmo Kekäläinen said the team does not have a timeline on Tarasov's return, which is why they claimed Spencer Martin on waivers last Friday.
Gambrell had four goals, six assists, 46 SOG, 35 PIMs and a -4 plus/minus through 60 games with Ottawa in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with the Maple Leafs. The 26-year-old centre has 17 goals, 23 assists, and a -28 plus/minus through 233 NHL games played and will make a solid depth piece for Toronto.
Johnson had two goals, six assists, 92 SOG, 28 PIMs and a -15 plus/minus through 83 games in 2022-23 with both Chicago and Colorado and has signed a one-year, $775,000 extension with the Avalanche. The 36-year-old defenseman was a key piece of Colorado's 2021-22 Stanley Cup wining roster and will be entering his 18th NHL season. He has 74 goals, 320 points and 599 PIMs across 1107 career NHL games played.
Pressed up against the cap, the Bruins needed some forwards on a reasonable cap-hit and get van Riemsdyk on a very team-friendly, $1.0M AAV deal. van Riemsdyk has spent the last five seasons in Philadelphia, where he had 99 goals and 99 assists (198 points) in 331 games. At age 34, he's probably not the 30-30 threat he was earlier in his career, but he's a solid middle-6 winger who will be a great net-front presence on the power play and should have no problem banging home 20-plus goals on a talented Bruins' roster.
Columbus selected Fantilli with the No.3 overall pick in this year's draft. Fantilli had an outstanding season at the University of Michigan, scoring 30 goals with 35 assists (65 points) in 36 games. He also added five points (2G / 3A) in seven games while representing Canada at the World Juniors. Fantilli is a candidate to make the Blue Jackets out of training camp and could play a huge role in his rookie campaign.
