Columbus Blue Jackets (2024)

The Cleveland Monsters had rolled through the AHL playoffs winning two five-game series in a total of seven games. With the play of goaltender Jet Greaves and scoring from all over the lineup, the Monsters had their sights set on the Eastern Conference Finals and the Hershey Bears. The two teams met in Game 1 on Thursday night at Giant Center. Despite a valiant effort to score twice in the final 1:20 of regulation, the Monsters ultimately fell 5-4 in overtime. Mike Vecchione, who scored the game-winning goal in Game 7 of the Calder Cup Finals last season, scored on…

Don Waddell, former president and general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes for the past 10 years and current president of hockey operations, general manager, and alternate governor of the Columbus Blue Jackets, casually dropped a bombshell report in a recent podcast with top hockey insider, Jeff Marek. He told Marek that he contacted then-Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen a few years ago regarding an Elvis Merzlikins trade. Waddell states the two sides progressed on a deal, but evidently, nothing got done, and now Waddell has taken Kekalainen’s job and Merzlikins remains a Blue Jacket. Considering both the Hurricanes and Merzlikins…

In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Florida Panthers are interested in signing Sam Reinhart to a long-term extension. Will he take a discount to stay with the team? Meanwhile, what is going to be the primary focus of Don Waddell in Columbus? Are the Ottawa Senators still likely to trade Jakob Chychrun before the start of next season? Finally, is Chris Tanev going to play for the Dallas Stars in Game 5 versus the Edmonton Oilers? Panthers Want to Keep Reinhart Around As per Darren Dreger of TSN when asked about a potential extension in Florida for forward Sam Reinhart,…

Don Waddell walked into Nationwide Arena on Wednesday afternoon for his introductory press conference. He might be turning 66 in August, but he says he still has a lot to offer and believes he can make a difference for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Waddell spoke for almost 30 minutes while…

The Columbus Blue Jackets have named Don Waddell as the club’s president of hockey operations, general manager, and alternate governor. The deal is a multi-year contract that moves interim general manager John Davidson back to a senior advisor and alternate governor role. Davidson replaced former president of hockey operations and…

Andrew Telfer has done a lot of things for the sport of hockey in his time. Nasher’s list of accolades spans everything from being a leading NHL gamer and streamer to a social media influencer to being an NHL esports broadcaster. He’s even signed an apparel and equipment deal with…

The Columbus Blue Jackets’ search for their next general manager (GM) could be over. Pierre Lebrun of TSN and The Athletic reports that Don Waddell is the Blue Jackets’ top choice to take over the hockey ops position. Darren Dreger of TSN corroborated the report, suggesting it’s likely the holiday…

In today’s NHL rumors rundown, one insider notes that the Vancouver Canucks and Carolina Hurricanes had been talking about an interesting trade at this past deadline and that the Canucks are returning to those talks and are very serious about Martin Necas. Meanwhile, it appears Don Waddell is taking a…

On Friday, the Carolina Hurricanes announced that Don Waddell was stepping down from his role as President and General Manager. Eric Tulsky, who has been with the organization since 2014 and served as an Assistant General Manager since 2021, has been named interim General Manager. The search for a full-time…

It has been over three months and counting since the Columbus Blue Jackets moved on from general manager Jarmo Kekalainen. We may finally have some significant development in finding Kekalainen’s replacement. Welcome back to Blue Jackets News & Rumors. The Conference Finals are underway. The NHL Combine is less than…

The Columbus Blue Jackets’ 2023-24 season did not turn out how they had hoped. Their 66-point 27-43-12 season put them in last place in the Metropolitan Division and 29th overall. The team was not able to break its four-season playoff drought, but this season showed some improvement compared to previous…

We learned earlier this month that the Columbus Blue Jackets will be selecting fourth overall in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. They’ve beaten around that bush over the last several drafts, selecting third in 2023 (Adam Fantilli), sixth in 2022 (David Jiricek), and fifth in 2021 (Kent Johnson). Each of…

The CHL’s premier tournament is about to kick off in the coming days. For Blue Jackets’ fans, they will have more than their fair share of things to watch for. The 2024 Memorial Cup will get underway on Friday night in Saginaw, Michigan. It marks the first time the tournament…

Jakub Zboril saw what was going on around him at Boston Bruins’ Training Camp as they were preparing for the 2023-24 season. After playing in just 22 games for the Bruins in 2022-23, it was clear the team was looking to go in a different direction. Eventually, the Bruins placed…

2023-24 was another long and tough season for the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was the team’s sixth 82-game season in which they got less than 30 wins. While it was a seven-point improvement over 2022-23, they have a long way to go before even thinking about making the playoffs. The…

Since the end of the regular season, news on the ongoing Blue Jackets’ general-manager search has been few and far between. With John Davidson saying the search would not be done in the public forum, information would be very hard to come by. But on Tuesday, a report from Dennis…

In today’s NHL rumors rundown, there is an odd narrative out there, with strange timing, that Leon Draisaitl might be looking toward the San Jose Sharks when his contract in Edmonton expires. Meanwhile, the Oilers are in the midst of a playoff battle where Draisaitl has been key. Is a…

The 2024 IIHF World Championship has begun and some select Columbus Blue Jackets are ready to begin tournament play. It is being held in Ostrava and Prague, Czechia this year, with 16 different countries participating. Games began on Friday, May 10, with a total of four being played throughout the…

The Cleveland Monsters have punched their ticket into the next round of the Calder Cup Playoffs. They dispatched the Belleville Senators 3-1 on Friday night to advance. They will have home-ice advantage in the North Division finals against the Syracuse Crunch. The best-of-five series starts Thursday at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse….