The Columbus Blue Jackets have inked a professional tryout deal with forward Nate Schnarr, as confirmed by CapFriendly yesterday evening. Schnarr, 24, finds himself looking to earn a spot in the Blue Jackets organization after struggling to adjust to the pro game over the past few seasons.
Despite spending all four seasons of his pro career on an NHL contract, Schnarr is still looking to make his NHL debut. A third-round selection of the Arizona Coyotes in 2017, Schnarr exploded onto the scene as a prospect in the 2018-19 campaign after leading the OHL champion Guelph Storm in points with 102 in 65 games.
He hadn’t posted eye-popping point totals in juniors before that, though, which signaled he may have trouble carrying over that offensive explosion to the pros the following season. He played just 22 games in the minors with the Coyotes in 2019-20 before he was shipped to the New Jersey Devils as part of the five-asset return for Taylor Hall.
Schnarr’s been traded again in each of the past two seasons, ending up with the Montreal Canadiens before finishing out 2022-23 as a member of the Los Angeles Kings organization. Last season was the worst of his pro career to date, recording just four goals and five assists for nine points in 45 AHL games split between the Laval Rocket and Ontario Reign. He recorded just two points in 18 games with Ontario after the trade to the Kings, leading the team to opt not to issue him a qualifying offer this summer and let him become a UFA.
He’s extremely unlikely to earn an NHL role with Columbus off a PTO, but Columbus has brought in potential targets for their minor-league affiliate on tryouts over the past few seasons. At minimum, Schnarr will look to convince the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters to sign him to a contract, although ideally, he’d receive a two-way deal from the Blue Jackets with the option of being called up to make his NHL debut. Columbus has the space to do it; they have 44 out of the maximum 50 active contracts with only one unsigned RFA remaining, defenseman Tim Berni.
Schnarr must impress to stand out amongst a crowded core of existing Blue Jackets prospects and veterans destined for AHL assignment. Per CapFriendly’s projections, the Blue Jackets have 13 forwards under contract slated for assignment to the minors, while the Monsters have four additional forwards signed to AHL deals. 2022 draft choice Jordan Dumais is listed under CapFriendly’s “minors” category for Columbus at the time of writing but is not yet eligible for AHL assignment given his age – he must be returned to juniors if not on the NHL squad, per the NHL/CHL transfer agreement.