Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Blue Jackets Rumors

Blue Jackets Sign Hudson Fasching To Two-Way Deal

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Blue Jackets have brought in winger Hudson Fasching to the organization on a two-way contract, the team announced. It pays him $775K in the NHL and $250K in the minors with a $350K guarantee, per PuckPedia.

Fasching, 30, was a fourth-round pick out of the University of Minnesota by the Kings back in 2013 but never signed with the organization. L.A. traded his signing rights to the Sabres as part of a larger deal for defenseman Brayden McNabb less than a year after drafting him, and he saw brief action for them and the Coyotes over the years before landing with the Islanders, where he’s logged the bulk of his NHL action.

Fasching spent most of his three seasons with the Isles on the NHL roster, logging a combined 137 games played with a 16-21–37 scoring line and a -1 rating in that time. He also saw time with AHL Bridgeport in each of those years, though, successfully clearing waivers at the beginning of the 2022-23 and 2024-25 seasons. He logged nine goals and 14 points in 28 minor-league games, although the vast majority of his time there was spent on conditioning stints. He’ll now land with the Jackets, technically his fifth NHL organization, after seeing his already menial role with the Isles decrease last season.

While the 6’3″, 205-lb righty was a high-end scorer in college, earning some Big 10 All-Rookie and All-Star nods during his time with the Golden Gophers, that production never carried over to the pros. Even across his lengthy minor-league career, his production has been apt for a solid top-nine piece but never groundbreaking. He’s averaged 0.53 points per game in parts of nine AHL seasons, never hitting the 40-point mark in a single campaign. He does have some offensive upside at the NHL level, but no matter where he plays, he grades out best as a bang-and-crash checking line piece with decent skill.

Columbus still has some promising forward prospects on the way who will continue to compete for NHL jobs and top-end AHL roles, but they’re light on experienced, high-end NHL/AHL “tweeners” like Fasching. They began to address that problem earlier this summer by re-acquiring 31-year-old Brendan Gaunce for his second stint in the organization, but they’ll add some more muscular depth here with Fasching.

If a name like Luca Del Bel Belluz doesn’t command an opening-night job, there will be a bit of competition for press-box roles. Fasching will have an opportunity to compete with Zach Aston-Reese, Gaunce, and Mikael Pyyhtia.

Blue Jackets Re-Sign Daemon Hunt To Two-Way Deal

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Blue Jackets have signed defenseman Daemon Hunt to a two-way deal for 2025-26, per a team announcement. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Hunt, 23, was their last remaining unsigned restricted free agent. The Jackets acquired the lefty from the Wild in the David Jiricek trade last November, but he didn’t see any NHL ice for them after the swap.

Instead, the 2020 third-round pick finished the season with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, where he recorded a 2-12–14 scoring line in 48 games with a -8 rating. That marked a step back from his offensive production with Minnesota’s affiliate, the Iowa Wild, in 2023-24, when he produced over half a point per game with 29 in 51 contests.

Near the end of his time with the Wild, Hunt had worked his way up to the No. 8-9 range on Minnesota’s defensive depth chart. He has 13 NHL appearances under his belt, 12 of which came in 2023-24. The Manitoba native played sparingly when dressed, though, recording one assist and averaging only 11:14 per game. He still managed to average two shot attempts per game and posted strong possession numbers in his limited deployment (54.6 CF%, 57.1 xGF% at even strength).

The Blue Jackets’ defense returns unchanged from last season aside from the departure of veteran Jack Johnson, meaning there’s little chance for Hunt to work his way into an opening-night job. Nonetheless, he and prospect Stanislav Svozil are their clear top recall options from Cleveland should they need help on the left side of the blue line throughout the year. Hunt will need to clear waivers if the Jackets want to assign him to Cleveland, though, something he hasn’t had to do before.

Hunt will be a restricted free agent again next summer. The Jackets now have 43 players under contract for 2025-26.

Blue Jackets Sign Mikael Pyyhtia To Two-Way Deal

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Blue Jackets RFA Mikael Pyyhtia has signed a two-way deal for 2025-26, the team announced. The winger was one of two remaining RFAs in Columbus alongside defenseman Daemon Hunt.

His deal will carry a league-minimum salary in the NHL and will be accompanied by a $100K AHL salary and a $140K guarantee, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports. It’s only the second pro deal Pyyhtia has signed after inking his entry-level contract in 2022.

Pyyhtia, 23, was a fourth-round pick by the Jackets in 2020. He worked his way up the development ladder in the coming years and made his NHL debut in the closing days of the 2022-23 season.

Columbus has slowly increased his NHL workload, up from two games to 17 in 2023-24 before he appeared in 47 contests – over half the team’s games – last season. Routinely serving in the No. 13-15 range on the Jackets’ forward depth chart, the 6’0″ Finnish winger managed four goals and three assists while averaging 12:06 per game. He saw some penalty kill deployment, nearly 1:30 per game.

Overall, Pyyhtia’s possession impacts were fine but underwhelming. He posted a relative Corsi share of -4.5% at even strength with a 57.0 dZS%, and a relative Corsi share of -2.2% on the PK.

He’ll check back in a similar role in 2025-26, with a roster spot out of camp a possibility but not a guarantee. He would need to clear waivers if he doesn’t make the team and is assigned to AHL Cleveland. He’ll compete with veteran depth like Zach Aston-Reese while fending off competition from younger names like Luca Del Bel Belluz and Jack Williams.

Blue Jackets Prospect Malte Vass To Transfer To NCAA

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It’s not very often that a player will leave a professional team to go to college but it does happen periodically with international players.  It appears that Blue Jackets prospect Malte Vass will be one of them as Varmlands Folkblad’s Johan Ekberg reports (subscription link) that the blueliner is leaving Sweden to play in the NCAA next season.  Which school he has chosen to go to yet remains unknown but Boston University is a school that is believed to have shown interest in him.

Vass was a third-round pick by Columbus last month, going 76th overall.  However, he was rated much higher on their draft board as Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch relayed after the draft that the Blue Jackets had Vass within the top 15 in their rankings, a sign that they clearly viewed him as being first-round-worthy.

Vass spent last season in Farjestad’s system, playing predominantly with their junior team where he had 11 points and 53 penalty minutes in 40 games.  However, he also got into five games with their SHL club where he was held off the scoresheet.  It’s likely that he would have had a chance to get some more action at their top level in 2025-26 but that’s no longer in the cards.

Vass noted that the recent change to allow CHL players to play in the NCAA expedited his decision to come to North America as the spot that’s being made available to him now might not have been available next year, given the number of junior players now seeking a school to play at.  It will be interesting to see if other international players start to feel that same pressure and up the urgency to pursue an NCAA spot as well over the next couple of years.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Columbus Blue Jackets

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office.  Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those who don’t often see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2025-26 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia.  We’re currently covering the Metropolitan Division, next up are the Blue Jackets.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Current Cap Hit: $79,157,499 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Adam Fantilli (one year, $950K)
D Denton Mateychuk (two years, $886.7K)

Potential Bonuses
Fantilli: $3.2MM
Mateychuk: $750K
Total: $3.95MM

Fantilli was drafted with the hope that he could become a legitimate number one center.  He appears to be on his way to getting there after being moved back down the middle full-time last season while building off his rookie season nicely.  The $1MM in ‘A’ bonuses could very well be hit if he progresses as expected in 2025-26, putting him in a good spot to bypass a bridge contract if that’s a route GM Don Waddell wants to go.  A long-term agreement could run past the $9MM per season mark.

Mateychuk was a midseason recall and quickly earned the confidence of head coach Dean Evason.  He was a very productive blueliner in AHL Cleveland before the promotion but hasn’t had a big chance to showcase that part of his game yet.  If he gets that chance this year, he could have a chance to earn some of his three ‘A’ bonuses but if he remains in more of a fourth or fifth role, that will be tricky.  As things stand, Mateychuk appears likelier to land a bridge agreement on his next contract but if he locks down a more prominent spot on the depth chart by 2027, that could change.

Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level

F Zach Aston-Reese ($775K, UFA)
F Yegor Chinakhov ($2.1MM, RFA)
F Charlie Coyle ($5.25MM, UFA)
G Jet Greaves ($8.125K, RFA)
D Erik Gudbranson ($MM, UFA)
F Boone Jenner ($3.75MM, UFA)
F Cole Sillinger ($2.25MM, RFA)

Coyle was acquired from Colorado this offseason to give the Blue Jackets some extra depth down the middle.  He’s coming off a quiet year that saw him record just 35 points but he’s only a year removed from a 60-point campaign.  Assuming he’s able to get back to at least the 40-point range, Coyle should be able to hit the UFA market next summer with a shot at matching his current price tag on a three or four-year agreement.  Jenner has been a very effective two-way center when healthy.  However, he has missed significant time in five straight seasons which will affect his next contract.  When he’s healthy and in form, he’s a big center who is above average on faceoffs and scores more than 20 goals a season.  That player would normally get $6MM or more on the open market.  But with the injuries, his market value might dip closer to $5MM or so.

Sillinger just turned 22 and already has four NHL seasons under his belt and has taken some gradual strides offensively but isn’t quite proven as a second-line middleman just yet.  Notably, he’ll only be two years away from UFA eligibility next summer while also having arbitration rights.  If the sides can’t agree on a long-term pact, a one-year second bridge contract could run the team around $3.5MM while a medium-term agreement might land closer to $5MM per season.  On the other hand, if he takes a jump forward and Waddell is ready to lock him up long-term, the price tag could push past the $6MM mark.  It’s not often someone this age is in this contractual spot since few 18-year-olds play in the NHL right away and with his development so far, there’s a wide range of outcomes.

Chinakhov has been in the media a lot lately with his trade request being made public in recent weeks.  He’s only one year removed from putting up 16 goals in 53 games but injuries and a long stretch as a healthy scratch limited him to just seven in 30 outings last season.  If he gets back to his 2023-24 form, he’d be in line for a short-term deal that pushes past $3MM per season but if he’s used as he was down the stretch, he could conceivably enter non-tender territory next summer as well.  Aston-Reese was an training camp waiver claim from Vegas last fall and earned this one-year extension soon after.  As a fourth liner who typically plays limited minutes, he’s likely to stay at or near the minimum salary moving forward.

Gudbranson’s contract came as somewhat of a surprise three years ago given that he was more of a fourth or fifth defenseman at the time.  It actually has held up a bit better than expected although last season was largely a write-off due to injuries.  In a perfect world, he should be more of a third-pairing player by the time his next contract begins so at least a small dip should be expected.  That said, right-shot defenders often get paid more than expected so perhaps he surprises again.

Greaves needs to get into at least seven NHL games this season with at least 30 minutes played per game to actually remain a restricted free agent.  If not, he’d become a Group VI UFA.  Considering that he projects to be part of the goaltending tandem next season, it’s safe to say that he’ll easily get there, barring injury.  He was a big part of their late-season push but still has just 21 NHL games under his belt right now.  A solid showing this season could move him closer to the $2MM mark while if he takes over as the starter moving forward, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him more than double that on a deal that buys out a couple of UFA seasons.

Signed Through 2026-27

D Jake Christiansen ($975K, UFA)
F Kent Johnson ($1.8MM, RFA)
F Isac Lundestrom ($1.3MM, UFA)
F Kirill Marchenko ($3.85MM, RFA)
G Elvis Merzlikins ($5.2MM, UFA)
F Dmitri Voronkov ($4.175MM, RFA)

Voronkov received his bridge deal just last month on the heels of a solid second NHL season that saw him record 24 goals and 23 assists.  The short-term contract made sense for both sides to better assess if he can become even more impactful offensively before locking in a long-term agreement.  Assuming he stays on this trajectory, it wouldn’t be surprising to see his next contract surpass the $6MM threshold.  Marchenko appears to be well on his way to an even bigger raise on his next deal.  He very quietly put up 31 goals and 74 points last season, legitimate top-line numbers for a middle-six price tag.  He has surpassed the 20-goal plateau in each of his three NHL seasons and at the rate salaries are set to increase, he could plausibly double his current price tag two on his next contract.

Johnson received a bridge deal last summer on the heels of a tough season.  That contract already looks like a big bargain as he locked down a full-time spot in the top six and had more points than his previous two seasons combined.  At this rate, he could get into the $6MM or $7MM range as well with arbitration rights when his deal is up.  Lundestrom comes over from Anaheim after the Ducks elected to non-tender him.  He has been more of a depth player in recent years, unable to live up to his first-round billing.  The fact he can kill penalties gives him some utility but he’ll need to be a lot more impactful if he wants to get past the $2MM threshold on his next deal.

Christiansen was a full-timer on the NHL roster for just the first time last season which didn’t give him much leverage in contract talks.  He also averaged just 12:32 per game in 2024-25 which was one of the lower marks for a regular.  If he can work his way up to 15 or 16 minutes a night, he could push closer to $1.5MM on his next deal.  It also wouldn’t be overly shocking if he was on waivers at some point on this deal if he’s pushed out of a roster spot.

While Merzlikins showed promise early in his career, he simply hasn’t been able to play at the level of an NHL starting goalie with much consistency.  Frankly, his performance has been that of a backup at best more often than not.  At this point, landing a deal paying half of what he’s getting now could be a challenge barring him turning things around over the next couple of seasons.

Signed Through 2027-28

D Zach Werenski ($9.583MM, UFA)

Werenski’s contract raised some eyebrows at the time it was signed but after they lost Seth Jones to Chicago, they weren’t in a spot where they could risk losing their top defender.  After injuries wrecked the first year of the agreement, he has played at a true number one level, an all-situations player who logs heavy minutes and puts up plenty of offense.  He led the Blue Jackets in scoring last season, averaging just over a point per game while finishing second in Norris Trophy voting.  Given the inflationary trend of the market (particularly on the back end), Werenski appears to be on his way to landing another raise three years from now on another long-term agreement.

Read more

Blue Jackets Expecting New Contracts for Pyyhtia, Hunt

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Outside of a pending trade request from winger Yegor Chinakhov, the Columbus Blue Jackets have already completed most of their heavy lifting this offseason. Still, on the fringes of their summer to-do list, restricted free agents Mikael Pyyhtia and Daemon Hunt are without contracts for the upcoming season.

Furthermore, there’s little chance either player will be a huge factor for the Blue Jackets next season, anyway. Pyyhtia underwent a lengthy 47-game tryout with the team last season, but spent the second half of the year in the AHL after recording only four goals and seven points. Meanwhile, Hunt’s only game last season came with the Minnesota Wild before being moved in the David Jiříček trade.

[SOURCE LINK]

Stefan Matteau Announces Retirement, Becomes Coach

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Jul. 31st: Matteau will only have to take a different pathway around the bench for the next portion of his career following his playing days on the ice. According to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, Matteau will become the next assistant coach for AHL Cleveland. He’ll replace former coach Mark Letestu, who became the next head coach of the AHL’s Colorado Eagles this offseason.

May 12th: Longtime minor-leaguer Stefan Matteau has retired, the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters announced Monday.

Matteau, 31, had spent the last two seasons on AHL deals with the Blue Jackets’ affiliate. Injuries limited him to only four goals and 13 points in 30 games during that time, but he did dress as the team’s captain when healthy in 2024-25 and contributed seven points in 15 games.

The son of former NHLer Stephane Matteau kicked off his professional career with a bang. A versatile 6’2″, 207-lb forward with good skating and a heavy-hitting game, he went 29th overall to the Devils in the 2012 draft. His post-draft season was peculiar – he was recalled midway through the campaign from his junior team, the QMJHL’s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. He spent two months with the Devils before finishing the campaign in juniors again. That initial stretch of three points in 17 games in New Jersey for Matteau would end up standing as one of his career’s most extended NHL stretches.

The Illinois native never spent a full season on an NHL roster and bounced between the Devils, Canadiens, Golden Knights, Avalanche, and Blue Jackets over his 13-year professional career that included seven partial seasons of NHL action. He last played with Colorado in the 2021-22 campaign and totaled a 6-5–11 scoring line in 92 appearances with a -18 rating, averaging 10:15 per game.

Matteau spent nearly all of his career on this side of the Atlantic aside from the 2022-23 campaign, which he split between Sweden’s Linköping HC and Germany’s ERC Ingolstadt. He posted 21 points in 35 regular-season games between the two overseas clubs, including 20 in just 19 games with Ingolstadt.

As for his AHL career, the power winger wraps it up with 76-93–169 in 411 games across 10 seasons with 477 PIMs. All of us at PHR wish Matteau the best in retirement.

Blue Jackets Hire New Strength & Conditioning Coach

at CDT | by 2 Comments

  • According to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, the Columbus Blue Jackets have hired Barry Brennan as their new strength and conditioning coach. Brennan had previously served as the Blue Jackets’ conditioning coach from 2005 to 2010, before serving in the same role with the Atlanta Thrashers for the 2010-11 season, before becoming a team consultant for the KHL’s CSKA Moskva. He’ll replace now-former strength and conditioning coach Kevin Collins, who had been serving in the role since Brennan’s departure ahead of the 2010-11 season.

    [SOURCE LINK]

East Notes: Robertson, Biondi, Gardner

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Even if the Maple Leafs don’t plan on keeping winger Nicholas Robertson around long-term, they should do their best to settle with the restricted free agent before his arbitration hearing on Sunday, David Alter of The Hockey News opines.

He cites a recent example in Toronto, goaltender Ilya Samsonov, who had a one-year, $3.55MM deal handed down through arbitration for the 2023-24 season. Any trade value he had was tanked by his poor performance that year – something Samsonov admitted was influenced in part by the stress of the hearing – and he ended up on waivers and later left in free agency.

Players seeing their performance and confidence dip after an arbitration hearing isn’t a new phenomenon, and it’s something players are being more public about in the last few years. Hearing reasons laid out by your team for why you should be paid less than market value is an understandably unsettling experience. For the high-ceiling Robertson, who’s already had his development and confidence stunted by long strings of healthy scratches and limited deployment that led to a trade request last year, that’s not something Toronto can afford to saddle him with to continue getting positive value out of him, whether that’s via trade or with his on-ice play.

More news and notes out of the Eastern Conference:

  • After going unsigned by the Canadiens, who drafted him in the fourth round in 2020, forward Blake Biondi will begin his pro career in the Hurricanes organization this season on a contract with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. The 23-year-old recently spoke to NHL.com’s Kurt Dusterberg about the significant injury-related and personal adversity he faced during his five-year run in college with the University of Minnesota-Duluth and Notre Dame, but called the opportunity with the Wolves “a great path for me” to continue his development toward landing an NHL contract. The former Minnesota high school star scored 12 goals and 27 points in 38 games last season for Notre Dame.
  • While Canada’s NHL goaltending stable has been relatively weak in the past few years, Blue Jackets prospect Evan Gardner is a name to watch in the next wave of prospects hoping to change that, writes Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. The 2024 second-rounder has put up a pair of spectacular seasons in junior hockey for the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, leading the league in GAA and SV% in his draft year and posting totals of 2.46 and .917, respectively, in 74 career games for the Blades with seven shutouts. While he hasn’t logged any international experience for Canada, he’s on their roster for this week’s World Junior Summer Showcase and is looking to work his way onto their roster for the main WJC in the winter.

Market For Chinakhov Should Be Strong Enough To Net Blue Jackets An NHL-Proven Player

at CDT | by 9 Comments

  • For the second straight summer, the Blue Jackets are dealing with a public trade request. While there wasn’t much of a market for Patrik Laine a year ago, Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch opines that this shouldn’t be the case this time around when it comes to winger Yegor Chinakhov, who made his request public last week.  With Chinakhov making a much more affordable $2.1MM (compared to Laine’s $8.7MM) and being on the final year of his contract, he should have a decent market, one that should allow Columbus to land an NHL-proven piece coming the other way.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top