Monday was a busy day let’s get caught up on the stories before the game tonight against the Wild.
Curtis McEhlinney out; Joonas Korpisalo recalled
McEhlinney was injured at the end of last game when he slipped in the crease and fell awkwardly on his leg. We don’t know the extent of the injury yet but it’s going to be “a while… according to John Tortorella.
#CBJ coach John Tortorella: "Mac’s out for a while. I’m just not sure where Bob is, but we’re planning that these are our goalies."
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) January 4, 2016With Mac out the Jackets were forced to recall Joonas Korpisalo from Lake Erie. With Korpisalo and Forsberg as the teams goalie tandem there is no longer a clear cut starter. Personally I would just switch the two each game. Both guys need play time. Neither one should be stuck on the bench for more than two games tops.
Cody Goloubef Ready to Return; Andrew Bodnarchuk on waivers
Goloubef has been out over a month with a broken jaw he suffered on November 20th. He will be back in action tonight when the Jackets take on the Wild, and he may have a different defence partner.
#CBJ have change D pairs, and it looks like Cody Goloubef will return vs. #mnwild. Murray - Savard | Johnson - Goloubef | Tyutin - Prout.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) January 4, 2016Goloubef spent most of his time prior to this with Ryan Murray. If this is indeed a switch that is happening I'm a big fan of it. This has your two best defencemen paired together, and allows David Savard a chance to play with someone who is not Jack Johnson. Savard has been paired with Johnson basically forever and its quite clear that Johnson is a dragging him down. It would be great from an evaluation standpoint to see if Savard can in fact improve his play away from Johnson. The team has a lot invested in Savard, this is important information to know long-term.
With Goloubef back the Jackets had to send someone down and the odd man out was Bodnarchuk. He was placed on the waivers with the intent to send him down. David Runblad just went unclaimed through waivers recently, so there is no chance Bodnarchuk is claimed. We will get the official word however at noon today.
*Update*
Colorado has claimed Bodnarchuk off waivers.
Colorado claims #CBJ D Andrew Bodnarchuk off waivers.
— Shawn Mitchell (@smitchcd) January 5, 2016Jonathan Drouin & Kerby Rychel
By now I am sure you have heard the reports that Jonathan Drouin was sent down by Tampa Bay and has requested a trade. If this is true Jarmo (and every other GM) needs to be on the phone every day calling. From the Blue Jackets angle this is exactly the type of player they should be trying to acquire; young and absolutely loaded with talent/potential. Now just because a player has requested a trade doesn’t mean it will happen as Aaron Portzline reminded us in his Dispatch article.
-- Rychel is an interesting case. You remember the dust-up at development camp, when Rychel's camp -- agent, father, possibly others -- met with Blue Jackets' officials and demanded an explanation as to why Rychel seems parked so deep on the depth chart? The Dispatch has been told repeatedly that Rychel asked for a trade before the season started, but the Blue Jackets have shown no interest in trading him. The New York Rangers, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, Anaheim, Boston and Detroit have all reportedly shown interest, and why not? Rychel is a point-a-game player in the AHL and has plenty of sand paper.
With the trade deadline approaching Rychel is definitely a name to keep an eye on. He could be used as a nice chip to try and acquire a defencemen (though those trades tend to happen in the off-season), or he could be used as insurance and given a roster spot if the team decides to move a veteran like a Scott Hartnell or Cam Atkinson.
World Junior Update
It was not a great day for the Blue Jackets prospects at the World Juniors. Zach Werenski, Sonny Milano, and Team USA lost their semi-final game to Russia, as did Team Sweden and Gabriel Carlsson who lost to Finland. It's going to end how they wanted it to, but it’s been a great tournament for all three players. I will have a more in-depth look at each prospect once the tournament is finished.
You can watch Team USA and Team Sweden square off in the bronze medal game today at 9am eastern. The gold medal game between Russia and Finland starts at 1pm.
*Update*
The USA defeated Sweden 8-3 to capture the bronze medal. Congratulations to Zach Werenski and Sonny Milano.
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