COLUMBUS — The Columbus Blue Jackets have reached the portion of training camp where the easy moves are mostly finished and the uncomfortable decisions begin. Wednesday’s transactions reduced the camp roster to 34 players — 18 forwards, 12 defensemen and four goaltenders — with only two preseason games remaining.
Columbus placed goaltender Pheonix Copley, forward James Malatesta and forward Owen Sillinger on waivers for assignment to Cleveland. The club also sent goaltender Evan Gardner, forwards Josh Eernisse, Jordan Dumais and Luca Pinelli, and defensemen Luca Marrelli and Boston Buckberger to the Monsters. Forward Riley Bezeau and defenseman Caleb MacDonald were designated injured non-roster.
Who remains in camp
Forwards (18): Charlie Coyle, Cole Sillinger, Dmitri Voronkov, Miles Wood, Adam Fantilli, Oiva Keskinen, Sean Monahan, Mathieu Olivier, Valeri Nichushkin, Danton Heinen, Luke Tuch, Mikael Pyyhtia, Conor Garland, Kirill Marchenko, Kent Johnson, Jack Williams, Luca Del Bel Belluz and Ryan Lomberg.
Defensemen (12): Jake Christiansen, Denton Mateychuk, Colton White, Carson Soucy, Zach Werenski, Ivan Provorov, Dante Fabbro, Erik Gudbranson, Charlie Elick, Corson Ceulemans, Damon Severson and Guillaume Richard.
Goaltenders (4): Nolan Lalonde, Cam Talbot, Jet Greaves and Elvis Merzlikins.
That leaves Columbus with 11 more roster spots to account for before reaching the NHL’s 23-player opening-night maximum. Those decisions can come through assignments, waivers, injured designations or other roster moves, but the remaining competition is now easy to locate.
The forward decisions
The established group takes up most of the available chairs. The clearest competition is among Keskinen, Tuch, Pyyhtia, Williams and Del Bel Belluz, with roster construction likely determining whether Columbus carries 13 or 14 forwards. Keskinen, Tuch and Williams are in the lineup against Pittsburgh tonight, giving the coaching staff another direct comparison before Saturday’s preseason finale at Detroit.
The defense decisions
The Blue Jackets still have twice as many defensemen as a normal six-man game lineup. Werenski, Provorov, Mateychuk, Fabbro, Severson and Gudbranson form the experienced core, while Christiansen remains an NHL-tested depth option. Soucy is in camp on a professional tryout, making his contract status a separate decision. White, Elick, Ceulemans and Richard are scheduled to face Pittsburgh tonight and remain in the fight for depth roles or the first call from Cleveland.
The goaltending decisions
The waiver move involving Copley clarified part of the picture, but Merzlikins’ health still drives the rest. He underwent shoulder surgery in August and the club has not announced a recovery timetable. Greaves is the returning NHL option, Talbot was signed to a one-year contract on Sept. 15 and Lalonde remains in camp. Talbot and Lalonde will dress against Pittsburgh, while Merzlikins’ availability will help determine how the opening-night tandem is arranged.
Tonight’s preseason game is not merely another tune-up for the regulars. It is one of the final live auditions for the players at the edge of the roster. After Pittsburgh, Columbus has only Saturday’s game at Detroit before opening the regular season Thursday, Oct. 1, against Buffalo at Nationwide Arena. The roster is smaller. The decisions are not necessarily easier.
