COLUMBUS, Ohio — And just like that, Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell has the roster spots to dabble in free agency on Monday.
The Blue Jackets’ offseason remodel under Waddell took a major step forward on Sunday when defenseman Adam Boqvist was placed on waivers for the purpose of buying out his contract, and two notable restricted free agents — defenseman Jake Bean and forward Alex Nylander — were not extended qualifying offers, making them unrestricted free agents.
Late last week, Waddell traded versatile winger Alexandre Texier to the St. Louis Blues for a fourth-round pick in the 2025 draft.
The Blue Jackets have also opted to let two part-time NHLers the last few seasons — defenseman Nick Blankenburg and winger Carson Meyer — walk as unrestricted free agents. Meyer is a native of Powell, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus.
The departure of those four NHL players opens up two roster spots at forward and two on defense, some of which will be filled when the free-agency market opens Monday at noon. Look for Waddell to pursue one or two players on both ends of the ice.
The Blue Jackets did extend qualifying offers to forwards Kent Johnson, Kirill Marchenko and Cole Sillinger and goaltender Jet Greaves, protecting their rights. Waddell has indicated that negotiations with their agents are now well underway.
The decisions to set Boqvist and Nylander free, though not completely shocking, were on some levels surprising.
Rough day for the Boqvists.
Adam lands on waivers for the purposes of a buyout by #CBJ, while Jesper is not qualified by #Bruins, becoming an unrestricted free agent on Monday.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) June 30, 2024
Boqvist, still only 23, is a highly skilled but undersized blueliner who has proven to be injury-prone. Since he was acquired by Columbus in the blockbuster trade with Chicago for Seth Jones, he’s played only 133 of the Blue Jackets’ 246 games, missing most of those games with injuries.
He played only 23 games last season, twice suffering concussions through strange circumstances. The first concussion occurred when he was struck in the face by the puck while sitting on the bench during a game. The second happened when he collided with a linesman along the boards.
Still, Boqvist, the No. 8 pick in 2018 by Chicago, spent significant time playing opposite Zach Werenski on the Blue Jackets’ top defensive pair. He finishes his Blue Jackets career with 17-39-56 and a minus-31 rating in 133 games.
According to CapFriendly, the Blue Jackets will owe Boqvist $533,334 both this season and next season. But by buying out his contract, they save $2.1 million. He was due to make $3.2 million this season.
Nylander, meanwhile, was one of the few bright spots last season after coming over in a trade with Pittsburgh near the trade deadline. After struggling to find traction in the NHL for most of his career, he set a career high with 11 goals in only 23 games.
His qualifying offer would have been $813,750 for the coming season.
The 26-year-old winger, the No. 8 pick by Buffalo in 2016, has played with four different clubs in six NHL seasons and is now on the move again.
The decision to let Bean walk was the least surprising of Waddell’s Sunday moves.
Bean played in 72 games last season and played a career-high 16:19 per game, but he struggled to play above the third pairing, and it wasn’t going to get any easier next season with prospects David Jiricek and Denton Mateychuk expected to challenge for roster spots.
Bean’s qualifying offer for next season would have been $3.2 million, a hefty tag given what his role figured to be.
There’s also this: Waddell traded Bean to Columbus for a second-round pick in 2021 when Bean played for the Carolina Hurricanes and Waddell was the GM there. This is twice that Waddell has removed Bean from his roster.
The Blue Jackets also trimmed some minor-league players by declining to extend qualifying offers. Forward Tyler Angle and defenseman Marcus Björk are free agents on Monday.
(Photo of Adam Boqvist: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
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