With the Blue Jackets off for a few days, they’ve decided to send one of their players back to the minors as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned center Josh Dunne to AHL Cleveland.
The 24-year-old was recalled back on Monday as the injury replacement for Boone Jenner after he was placed on IR following thumb surgery. Dunne played in three games with Columbus while on recall, logging a little under six minutes a night without recording a point while averaging a hit per contest. It was the second NHL stint of his career after getting into six games late in the 2020-21 campaign.
He has fared better in the minors, however, with six goals and five assists in 24 games so far with the Monsters, numbers that are very similar to the five goals and six helpers he had in 29 contests with them last season. The Blue Jackets are off until Tuesday so the move, which will likely be reversed prior to that game against Buffalo, will save them a bit of money although, with the team well into LTIR, it won’t make any sort of difference on their cap picture.