We have reached the end of March 2025. The Columbus Blue Jackets are right in the thick of the playoff race in the Eastern Conference.
While the team doesn’t play again until Friday, they’ve enjoyed very favorable out of town scores of late. All of the Red Wings, Rangers, Canadiens and Islanders lost their last time out. Even the Ottawa Senators lost to the Buffalo Sabres.
The Blue Jackets still need some help along the way. But if they can start stringing wins together, they’re very much alive for a playoff spot.
We start this week’s News and Rumors with good injury news. Outside of Kevin Labanc, everyone is healthy on the Blue Jackets. That’s going to lead to some very interesting lineup decisions for the rest of this season.
Sillinger & Christiansen Medically Cleared
Head coach Dean Evason confirmed on Wednesday that both Cole Sillinger and Jake Christiansen are potential options for Friday’s game against the Canucks. Evason further went on to say that both players have been medically cleared..
Sillinger and Christiansen each had upper-body injuries. There was some concern at the start about Sillinger’s availability. His injury forced him out of the Stadium Series. The injury was not as bad as first feared which allowed him the chance to return now.
We’ll start to get some clues about Friday’s lineup Thursday at practice. Suddenly, the Blue Jackets have to make some hard decisions. There are more bodies available to them than playing spots on the game roster.
Evason admitted this will be a challenge to figure out. But it is something they’ve already started to talk about.
“We actually went through it a couple of hours ago,” Evason said. “It’s great, but it is challenging to try to figure out the balance of who plays well together, but there’s also an element of the room, the chemistry, all that kind of stuff. But I’ll tell you this, it’s nice for us that we feel comfortable that whatever decisions we make, the team’s just going to go play.”
“We haven’t had a group here that’s been disruptive when they’ve sat out or not played. I think it’s a credit to our leadership group that they are the ones driving into our team and leading in that department. Our communication with individuals in the team is open first and foremost.”
It was Yegor Chinakhov who didn’t play on Monday night against the New York Islanders. With Sillinger and Christiansen each ready, it will be curious to see who the Blue Jackets decide to sit.
There’s another element in play when it comes to roster decisions now too.
New Signings
The Blue Jackets have been busy with a flurry of signings. In all, three players signed on the dotted line this week. One is a Blue Jackets’ draftee. The other two are from the NCAA.
The draftee signed was 2024 second-round pick Charlie Elick. He signed a 3-year entry-level contract. Elick and Tri City will start play in the WHL Playoffs.
Meanwhile, Luca Pinelli’s season with OHL Ottawa ended without them making the playoffs. He was assigned to the Cleveland Monsters this week. He signed his ELC in April.
The Blue Jackets went into the college free agent pool for their other two signees. They signed both Northeastern captain Jack Williams and North Dakota defenseman Caleb MacDonald to two-year ELC’s.
Evason confirmed that Williams will practice with the Blue Jackets once he gets to Columbus. From there, it will be just like any player. Entering the lineup will be based on merit.
“He’ll practice,” Evason said. “We’ll see through practice if he plays or doesn’t play. Nothing has been dictated to us that he has to or doesn’t have to but he’ll be part of our team here practicing and then we’ll go from there.
For Elick, he did enough to earn their ELC’s with the Blue Jackets. Elick was traded midseason from Brandon to Tri City. Although his numbers have dipped this season, he’s a big, mobile defenseman known more as a shutdown defender.
As for Pinelli, he was by far Ottawa’s best player with 37 goals. He could see some playing time for the Monsters down the stretch.
The big takeaway from the Williams and MacDonald signings is that the Blue Jackets are being chosen as a destination. Evason admitted in the case of Williams, that Rick Nash was influential in closing the deal on the signing.
We are starting to see more evidence that players are seeing Columbus in a positive light and are willing to choose them when they have the right to choose where they want to go. That points to an improving culture around the team. It also points to the approach the Blue Jackets are using. Having Nash and other front office members involved is paying dividends.
On MacDonald, the Blue Jackets valued his size and sturdy defensive play. He’s 6-foot-3 and 224 pounds. This only adds to the trend of the team adding young size on the back end.
Landing two quality NCAA players is good on its own. But winning the right to sign them with half the league or more involved? That’s a huge step for the Blue Jackets.
Side Dishes
- Monday’s win against the Islanders was the Blue Jackets’ first win at UBS Arena. They had to comeback twice in order to get the job done. In particular, the 3-3 goal from Kirill Marchenko stood out.
- Marchenko scored from the right point. Dante Fabbro, who would normally be in that spot, was at the net front. The concept of having a forward cover for a pinching defenseman looms large for a team like the Blue Jackets. It allows them to both cover defensively if the puck gets out. But it also allows them to create more scoring chances should they keep the puck in. Evason admitted this was an area of the game that he showed clips of in recent days.
- “That’s something we emphasized a few games ago. We showed some clips of our D being down around the net and then getting out of there and then the puck is delivered there. And now we’ve basically got four people at the top as opposed to having at least two inside. If the D is down, we want him to stay down. And if he’s at the net front and he’s screening the goalie, then screen the goalie. It’s his teammate’s job, responsibility to back him up.”
- The latest on Cayden Lindstrom. On Wednesday morning, he skated at the Ice Haus under the watchful eye of multiple skills coaches. From the looks of it, it was an intense skate. It’s encouraging to see him put the work in since his surgery. There is still no indication of what comes next for him. The big, lingering question will be where does play hockey next season?
- Here’s something to keep an eye on. The Minnesota Wild are in WC1 in the West. Their once big lead for a playoff spot is down to just five. With 10 games left, they appear to be in good shape. But should they falter and miss the playoffs, the Blue Jackets could be the holders of two lottery picks in the 2025 NHL Draft. Their own if they miss the playoffs and the Wild’s if they miss. When the trade first happened, the Wild were one of the best teams in the NHL. They’ve come back to earth a little bit. Regardless, two firsts for the Blue Jackets are huge chips to have when there is a desire to make a big move in the offseason. Stay tuned.