Blue Jackets News & Rumors: Jiricek, Fabbro & More

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The Columbus Blue Jackets had a road trip to forget.

With a chance to go out west and play in some winnable games, the Blue Jackets came home from California and Seattle with one out of a possible eight points. The result of that left them with tied for the fewest points in the NHL with 12.

Friday night at Nationwide Arena, they host their division rival Pittsburgh Penguins for the only time this season. After that game, the teams play twice more both in Pittsburgh.

It’s a game somebody has to win. The Blue Jackets have lost six in a row while while the Penguins are just 3-5-2 in their last 10 including a 7-1 crushing loss at the hands of the Dallas Stars.

On this gameday edition of Blue Jackets News & Rumors, we check in on the situation with one of their prominent young players.

Jiricek’s Situation Worth Monitoring

Defenseman David Jiricek started the new season with a fresh start under a new manager in Don Waddell and a new head coach in Dean Evason. This appeared to finally be the time for Jiricek to win a spot out of camp and play an important role on their blue line.

Camp started out that way. Jiricek was skating with Ivan Provorov on the second pair. But then the preseason started. It was far from his best on the ice.

While Jiricek made the team, he got into a rotation on the bottom pair with Jack Johnson and Jordan Harris. With the Blue Jackets struggling with goals against, they went to the waiver wire and were able to get Dante Fabbro from the Nashville Predators.

Fabbro goes immediately to the top pair to play with Zach Werenski. Meanwhile Jordan Harris re-enters the lineup on Friday night. Jack Johnson was a healthy scratch. And so was Jiricek.

It was a fall from grace from the start of camp. Now questions are surfacing wondering what could be next for the Blue Jackets and Jiricek.

While it’s understandable why the questions are being asked, at least for now, Jiricek’s demotion to being a healthy scratch is about his play on the ice.

Coach Dean Evason admitted that Jiricek needs to earn his way back on the ice. The team is helping him with that process.

“That’s our whole thought process is earning the opportunity to play more,” Evason said. “After the game (on the last road trip), we sat, watched all his shifts and teach and communicate of what we need from every player, but from him in particular after. If you want to play, then you need to earn that right to be on the ice and play games.”

David Jiricek Columbus Blue Jackets
David Jiricek’s performance is why he’s been a healthy scratch of late. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Jiricek’s minutes were cut from 16 minutes to under nine minutes due to performance. He made a mistake in Los Angeles when he made a pinch that created a 2-on-1 against which led to a goal against. It’s clear the team needs to see more from him before trusting him with more minutes.

The decision now in which the team is still pondering is what to do next. Kent Johnson is close to returning from injury. His return would require a roster move.

The Blue Jackets still think highly of Jiricek. But they will need to decide what the best course of action is. Sitting for long stretches of time is not in the interest of the player or the team. Would he accept going to Cleveland and playing big minutes?

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It is a new regime with the Blue Jackets. They see Jiricek has things to work on in his game including his skating and his decision-making. They might ultimately decide the AHL is the best thing for him. He doesn’t need waivers so it would be the easiest move to make barring an injury.

Let’s see what develops in this next stretch. If he’s going to remain out of the NHL lineup for long stretches, then they will have to consider assigning him to Cleveland. Then we’ll see how he reacts to that situation.

It’s possible too he continues to rotate in and out of the lineup. This will be a good test for Waddell to see how he views a player he didn’t draft and what he thinks the best course of action is. Keep an eye on this one.

From Waivers to Top Pair

Life can come at you fast. For Fabbro, he was placed on waivers one day. He was claimed by the Blue Jackets the next day. Now he’s playing on the top pair with Werenski.

Fabbro clearly needed a fresh start. He’s grateful for the opportunity the Blue Jackets have presented him. He still believes he has a lot to offer now over 300 games into his NHL career.

“It was obviously a bit frustrating,” Fabbro said. “This new opportunity is awesome and I’m grateful for that. I think this is a great spot for me. I love the guys so far. As long as I put my best foot forward and work everyday, I’m not going to worry about contracts right now. I’m going to worry about winning games. I think that’s the most important part. All that other stuff comes after.”

Fabbro won’t feel out of place playing alongside Werenski. He spent time with the Predators playing with another top defenseman in Roman Josi.

Fabbro saw Josi as a fourth forward out there, similar to how Werenski likes to play. The key for Fabbro is learning the details.

“Just knowing where (Josi) was at all the time and how he wanted to play and got up in the rush, it’s the same thing with Werenski,” Fabbro said. “He’s got all the attributes to do that. I just want to make sure I’m putting myself in the right positions to distribute the puck and grow. Josi helped me out a lot. He’s a great leader and a great person off the ice. He taught me early on how to be fearless and make plays.”

“I’m just trying to get back to my true self as a player. It takes work, but I’m willing to put the work in. I want to be here and try to help this team win.”

Side Dishes

  • Elvis Merzlikins starting Friday night marks his 200th game in the NHL.
  • The Blue Jackets haven’t defeated the Penguins in regulation since 2019. That’s staggering to think about for a division rival.
  • Given the circumstances, Friday against Pittsburgh and Saturday against Montreal are two winnable games. The Blue Jackets have created chances and like what they’ve done in that regard. But they need to finish. They know it. The Penguins are one of the worst teams at quality chances against. We’ll see if they can take advantage of that and finally break three goals in a game.