Things around the Columbus Blue Jackets are starting to look like the 2022-23 season again in one aspect. The injury bug has decimated the team. The domino effect will be felt throughout the organization.
Welcome back to Blue Jackets News & Rumors. Head coach Pascal Vincent shared with the media on Wednesday the latest on a few injury situations. We’ll get you caught up on those. Then we’ll talk about the land of opportunity for those getting a chance to play.
Injury Recap
The Blue Jackets had multiple players unable to finish the game Tuesday night in Montreal. Both Yegor Chinakhov and Sean Kuraly left the game at different points. It wasn’t entirely clear what caused the injuries in each situation.
Vincent said that Kuraly will be week-to-week with a lower-body injury. He was limited to just three total shifts in the third period. As for Chinakhov, he is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Alex Texier took a maintenance day on Wednesday. He’s battling through something as he has had multiple maintenance days of late including on Trade Deadline day. Whatever is ailing him isn’t keeping him out of the lineup for now.
Kirill Marchenko was unable to play in Montreal and is still day-to-day with an illness. However Vincent is hopeful Marchenko will be available on Thursday against the Ottawa Senators.
These injuries and illnesses are on top of what Kent Johnson and Adam Fantilli are going through. Johnson had successful shoulder surgery in Vail, CO and is expected to make a full recovery in six months. That puts him in line to be ready for Training Camp in the fall. Fantilli as we previously reported has not begun skating but is putting in some work off the ice. His timeline for return remains unclear as he recovers from a calf laceration.
With just 17 games left in the season, it’s next man up for the Blue Jackets. In this case, these games are meaningful to the recent callups from the Cleveland Monsters.
More Than a Regular Callup
Players in the AHL are hoping to get their next chance at NHL games. For a few members of the Cleveland Monsters, not only are they getting games, they’re getting a chance to make an impression.
Thanks to the above mentioned injury list, Trey Fix-Wolansky, Carson Meyer, Brendan Gaunce and now Mikael Pyyhtia are with the Blue Jackets. Fix-Wolansky was announced as a regular recall after the Trade Deadline. The other three are all emergency recalls. This means they each need to go back to the AHL once the emergency is over. Otherwise, the team would have to convert the recall to a regular recall.
The Blue Jackets like all teams are allotted four regular recalls until the end of the season. They have used one of the four with Fix-Wolansky.
Coach Vincent has said that the team wants to get a look at some AHL players to see where they’re at. They won’t get a better opportunity to make an impression than now. They’re playing for their futures either within the Blue Jackets or at their next stop.
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In watching the tape of the Montreal game, it was the line of Meyer, Gaunce and Mathieu Olivier that had a really good night. They were all over the puck. They created scoring chances. They owned possession. They like the rest of the Blue Jackets couldn’t beat Cayden Primeau. But for one game, they made a good impression.
Fix-Wolansky could see some top-six time. He should get more comfortable with each passing game. He admitted he had some nerves in the Nashville game but worked through them and got better by the end.
These four players got this opportunity on the Blue Jackets now thanks to their performance with the Monsters. Each will have their chance to play in the AHL playoffs. Perhaps this time in Columbus will give them even more confidence once the playoffs do start.
For now though, they’re being evaluated to see if they can be a part of the solution with the Blue Jackets in the future. The games might not mean much in the standings. But they mean everything to these players. This is not just a regular recall for them. It’s put up and show what they got time.
Side Dishes
- To no one’s surprise, the Blue Jackets’ game in Arizona on Mar 26 will now be shown on Bally Sports. It was originally scheduled as an ESPN+/Hulu exclusive. However given where both teams are at, this move was coming. The game will still start at 10 P.M. eastern.
- The Blue Jackets play three games in four nights at home when they host the Senators, Sharks and Jets. After that, just five home games remain this season.
- Blue Jackets’ prospect Gavin Brindley has been named a finalist for Big 10 Player of the Year.
- Last thing. An observation. While it appears on the surface the Blue Jackets are going through similar endings to their seasons now and last season, the vibes are totally different. Last season, there was no energy. It was guys just going through the motions. This season, guys are engaged. There’s a different feeling around the team that can be felt. They certainly haven’t quit. They had 98 shot attempts on Tuesday night which included over 30 blocks and three posts. It was an unlucky night after the early 3-0 hole. There is a long, long way to go to be sure. But the room is in a good place. At least they have something to build from as they start looking ahead to what 2024-25 might look like.
