Early signs promising for Blue Jackets’ power play
Despite limited work in training camp, the Blue Jackets’ power play is already showing encouraging signs of progress.
Through their first three preseason games, none played with the same roster, the Jackets are 2 of 10 on the manadvantage (20 percent) and have put 17 shots on goal. They haven’t allowed any shorthanded goals and aren’t turning the puck over nearly as much while breaking it out of the defensive zone.
The goals were scored by Oliver Bjorkstrand in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday and Boone Jenner in a 5-2 victory Wednesday over the St. Louis Blues.
Patrik Laine and Jakub Voracek are also scoring threats from the wings, along with Bjorkstrand and rookie forwards Cole Sillinger and Yegor Chinakov.
“When you get these ‘one-and-done’ shooters, as I call them, now you’ve got something,” said Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen, who has taken heat the past few years while coordinating power-play units that fizzled. “We haven’t worked on it a lot. The first week (of
camp) wasn’t about that. When you’ve got (68) guys, it’s a little bit different.”
The Jackets’ camp roster is down to 58 after a postgame cutdown Wednesday, but that’s still a large number. Practices focused on special teams will increase as the preseason roster shrinks.
Rinaldo, Johnson clear waivers
Zac Rinaldo and Cam Johnson are awaiting what’s next.
Neither has participated in Blue Jackets camp, but for different reasons.
Rinaldo, 31, was not invited because he declined to get a COVID-19 vaccine the Blue Jackets are requiring of all players this season. After playing sparingly for the Calgary Flames last season, Rinaldo signed a one-year, two-way contract with Columbus on Aug. 13 that pays $750,000 at the NHL level and a guaranteed $300,000 in the AHL.
During a media luncheon prior to training camp, president of hockey operations John Davidson said Rinaldo would not be invited to camp until he gets vaccinated.
Rinaldo has not commented about the situation publicly. His agent, Todd Reynolds, did not respond to a request for comment by The Dispatch. The NHLPA is reviewing the situation with Rinaldo and other unvaccinated players under NHL contracts but has yet to take any action or issue a statement.
Johnson, 27, was dismissed from camp because he failed a physical upon arrival.
“He didn’t meet the standards fitness-wise,” Larsen said. “As soon as I saw that information, we had a talk and told him that he wouldn’t be part of camp.”
Johnson signed a one-year, two-way contract July 15.
After spending most of last season in Cleveland or on the Jackets’ taxi squad, Johnson was thought to be a backup candidate for rookie Daniil Tarasov with the Monsters. Veteran J-F Berube signed a one-year, two-way contract Thursday and will now handle that role to start out.
It’s unclear where Johnson will be assigned, if anywhere.
“He’s pretty far on the outside right now,” Larsen said. “We just signed Berube, so he’s in a tough spot. He just didn’t meet the standards. That was it.”
Roster reduction
The Blue Jackets trimmed their roster by 10 after the game against St. Louis, sending five players back to their junior teams and releasing five others.
Those sent to junior included forward Ben Boyd (2021 sixth round), forward James Malatesta (2021 fifth round), forward Martin Rysavy (2021 seventh round), defenseman Stanislav Svozil (2021 third round) and defenseman Ole Julian Bjorgvik-holm (2020 fifth round).
Free-agent invites released from camp were goalie Emerik Despatie, defenseman Gerard Keane, defenseman Mark Woolley, forward Kaleb Lawrence and forward Peter Reynolds. bhedger@dispatch.com @Brianhedger