Columbus Blue Jackets Place Nick Blankenburg On IR, Activate Joonas Korpisalo
The Columbus Blue Jackets announced a pair of roster moves this morning, placing defenseman Nick Blankenburg on IR retroactive to October 23rd and in a related move, goaltender Joonas Korpisalo has been activated off of IR. Korpisalo will not immediately join Columbus, however, as he’s been assigned to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL on a conditioning assignment. Columbus next plays tomorrow afternoon in Newark against the New Jersey Devils. Cleveland plays this evening, but doesn’t play again until next weekend.
Blankenburg, 24, suffered an upper-body injury last Sunday in a game against the New York Rangers, appearing to injure his left arm. The defenseman tried to play through the injury, but left early in the second period. Blankenburg is considered day-to-day, and was practicing today in a non-contact jersey, reports BlueJackets.com’s Jeff Svoboda. Undrafted by an NHL team, Blankenburg spent four seasons at the University of Michigan, capped off by a stellar senior season in which he scored 14 goals to go with 15 assists in just 38 games. After the season, he turned pro, signing with Columbus and making his NHL debut on April 13th of this year. To date, he has two goals and three assists in 11 career games, all with Columbus.
Korpisalo has yet to play this season while recovering from season-ending hip surgery on March 24th. The 28-year-old has made his mark with the Blue Jackets, establishing himself as one of the league’s best backup goaltenders. However, he did struggle last year, recording an .877 save-percentage and 4.10 goals-against average in 22 games. Despite the struggle, Columbus showed their faith in the veteran by signing him to a one-year $1.3MM contract extension this spring. Once healthy, Korpisalo can look to rebound from his poor performance and injury issues of 2021-22 while fighting for playing time alongside starting netminder Elvis Merzlikins, who has struggled himself to start this season.
Injury Notes: Canucks, Chytil, Blankenburg
These days, most news on the Vancouver Canucks relates to their early struggles to start the season. Given their 0-4-2 start after a tough 8-15-2 start last season, flanked by their extensions with Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller, but lack of extension with Bo Horvat, the team’s captain, the questions are fair and the storylines sensible. That said, Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau did provide a few updates to the media this afternoon, including The Athletic’s Harman Dayal, regarding the team’s injuries.
Defenseman Quinn Hughes, who missed last night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, a 5-1 loss in Vancouver’s home-opener, is still considered day-to-day as of right now, good news for one of the team’s best players, who is currently averaging 27:14 of time-on-ice per night, a career-high so far. No real update was given on defenseman Tucker Poolman, who has played in just three games this season, Boudreau calling it a “tough situation,” the 29-year-old having “good days and bad days.” It’s unclear exactly what is bothering Poolman, but he did miss a large chunk of last season while dealing with migraine issues. Defenseman Travis Dermott, who suffered a concussion in late September, has been progressing well, Boudreau said, but will not play this week.
- The New York Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets will each have to finish their game shorthanded this evening. For the Rangers, center Filip Chytil left the game with an upper-body injury and will not return, says The Athletic’s Arthur Staple. Chytil had been tripped up earlier in the game, crashing hard to the ice and slow to get up, presumably the cause of the injury.
- Also leaving that game is Columbus defenseman Nick Blankenburg, who suffered an upper-body injury, the team confirms. Blankenburg had been involved in an awkward collision earlier in the game, appearing to injure his left arm, writes Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. The defenseman attempted to play through the injury, but ultimately left the game early in the second period.
Nick Blankenburg Signs Two-Year Contract
The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed young defenseman Nick Blankenburg to a two-year contract worth a total of $1.65MM, after impressing in his short stint at the end of the season. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that the deal is one-way in both years and will pay $800K in 2022-23 and $850K in 2023-24 ($825K AAV).
Blankenburg, 24, was signed out of the University of Michigan as an undrafted free agent and immediately made an impact, scoring three points in seven games with the Blue Jackets at the end of the season. He was a restricted free agent this summer without arbitration rights, meaning this deal suggests he is truly in the team’s NHL plans moving forward.
And why not, given the level of play he showed at the end of the year. You may think a defenseman who stands just 5’9″ and weighs in under 180 lbs would be one that plays on the perimeter but not Blankenburg, who racked up 19 hits in that seven-game tryout at the end of the year. Blue Jackets Jarmo Kekalainen even noted that in his statement today:
Nick is a hard-nosed, competitive, smart defenseman who really impressed us after his arrival late last season. He has great potential, and we are very excited to watch his continued growth and development with our club.
The fact that he has built-in chemistry with Blue Jackets top prospect Kent Johnson from their time at Michigan doesn’t hurt, as the two joined the organization at basically the same time. They will likely both feature on the NHL roster this season, though Blankenburg will have to compete for any playing time he wants. He’s the eighth defenseman signed to a one-way contract, and has some pretty established talents in front of him on the depth chart.