COLUMBUS, Ohio — A collection of notes, insights, ruminations and did-you-knows gathered throughout the week that was for the Columbus Blue Jackets:
Item No. 1: Dumais activated
On Thursday, it will be one year since forward prospect Jordan Dumais, the Blue Jackets’ third-round pick (No. 96) in the 2022 draft, played in a competitive game. On Jan. 2, 2024, Dumais and Team Canada lost to Czechia in the quarterfinals of the World Junior Championship in Sweden, a major upset after back-to-back gold medals for the Canadians.
On Saturday, the Blue Jackets activated Dumais from the injured/non-roster list and sent him to AHL Cleveland, where he will begin practicing with the Monsters and ramping up his skating and conditioning, eyeing his pro debut with the club later this season.
Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell told The Athletic earlier this season that Dumais was returning to Columbus from Canada and would have another abdominal surgery that would likely keep him off the ice for at least another six weeks. But he never had the surgery.
The details of Dumais’ travails have been murky at best, but here’s what we know in timeline form:
• Jan. 19, 2024: Dumais had surgery in Columbus to repair a lower abdominal hernia.
• March 1, 2024: Police in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, arrested Dumais for impaired driving. He was later charged with two counts related to the incident and faces a trial date this coming summer. The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League suspended him five games, effectively ending his regular season.
• Early April 2024: Dumais was eligible to return, but was held out of the Halifax Mooseheads’ first-round series because of nagging post-surgical issues that doctors said needed more time to heal. The Mooseheads were swept in the first round.
• July 1-5, 2024: Dumais skated on a limited basis (no contact drills) at Blue Jackets development camp before he was held off the ice after complaining of nagging abdominal discomfort. The Blue Jackets sent him to a specialist in New York for further evaluation.
• July-September 2024: Dumais began dealing with other health issues that neither Waddell nor Dumais has disclosed, but they prevented him from taking part in offseason workouts and kept him from attending Blue Jackets training camp in September.
• November-December 2024: Doctors allowed Dumais to return to the ice on a limited basis, and his workouts revealed his abdominal issues had perhaps solved themselves with the added time and rest.
• Dec. 28 2024: Dumais joined AHL Cleveland.
The Blue Jackets have their fingers crossed that Dumais won’t endure a return of the abdominal issues when he starts pushing harder in practice. Hernias can be notoriously tricky to diagnose and correct.
“He’s had so much time off (to heal), and he feels really good,” Waddell told The Athletic on Saturday. “So let’s try it. He wants to try it. Doctors are OK with it.
“He’s been doing about half of what he should be doing, so he’ll put on full gear and see in the next couple of weeks how he responds.”
Dumais has never been considered an elite-level prospect, mostly because of his size (5-foot-8, 173 pounds) and his average skating. But, as Dumais told reporters at the Jackets summer development camp, he was nagged for several months by the abdominal discomfort before deciding to get it fixed.
Dumais’ status soared in 2022-23 when he put up absurd numbers with Halifax: 54 goals, 86 assists and 140 points in only 64 games. Only Connor Bedard, the No. 1 pick of the Chicago Blackhawks later that year, had more points than Dumais.
That seems like a long time ago now.
Item No. 2: Tarasov’s play
There was a two-week stretch in late October when it looked as if Daniil Tarasov was ready to challenge Elvis Merzlikins for the Blue Jackets’ No. 1 goaltending job. Nobody would have enjoyed a goalie competition more than coach Dean Evason.
Since then, Tarasov has only played his way out of playing time. But he’s avoided a trip to the minor leagues, in part due to his own refusal.
A team source confirmed to The Athletic this week that the Blue Jackets asked Tarasov to head to AHL Cleveland on a conditioning assignment as a way to get his game back together. Those assignments, which do not require a player to clear waivers, can last up to two weeks, or they can be as short as one start.
Tarasov refused the assignment, which is well within his rights per the collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and NHL Players’ Association.
But that explains why the Blue Jackets recalled Jet Greaves for a series of starts before the holiday break. In fact, Tarasov was sent home to Columbus from the Blue Jackets’ road trip to Carolina and Tampa Bay (Dec. 15-17) so that he could get heavy practice minutes, which can be difficult to achieve on the road.
The Blue Jackets knew Tarasov’s return to the lineup would require them to bite the bullet. On Saturday, he looked plenty shaky — especially at the start of the game — in a 4-0 loss to Boston. He stopped 24 of 28 shots, and it can be said that his teammates did him no favors with their sloppy play.
5️⃣5️⃣ gets the first pic.twitter.com/sA6b3F4qUC
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) December 29, 2024
It was his first start since Dec. 5 and only his fifth game since Oct. 26, a span in which the Blue Jackets played 30 games. Here’s why: In his last five outings, Tarasov is 0-5-0 with an .828 save percentage and 5.05 goals-against average.
This is a situation that bears watching.
Now that Tarasov has started a game, does he go back into a regular backup routine behind Merzlikins? Including the weekend home-and-home with Boston, the Blue Jackets play 17 games in 36 days so they will need two goaltenders. (The next back-to-back, however, isn’t until Jan. 22-23.)
Tarasov would need to clear waivers, and Waddell told The Athletic last week that he was reluctant to expose him to the rest of the league because he believes he has NHL talent and doesn’t want to lose him without getting something in return.
But his season stat line is alarming. Tarasov is 3-6-1 with an .857 save percentage and a 4.23 goals-against average. The only player below him is Montreal’s Cayden Primeau, who has an .836 save percentage and 4.70 goals-against average in seven games.
Primeau was placed on waivers Saturday.
Item No. 3: Take 5, Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre
Take 5 is a quick, breezy sitdown with a Blue Jackets player, coach, front-office staffer or broadcaster. This week we caught up with former Blue Jackets defenseman Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, now an analyst with FanDuel Sports Network and a local realtor:
1. What part of Columbus is home and why?
We live in New Albany. After my first season in Columbus (2000-01), I bought a house there and spent my first offseason there. I made a lot of friends there. It’s quiet. It’s close to the airport. It’s completely different now, almost 25 years later, but I still love the area.
2. Favorite restaurant in Columbus.
For convenient/quick, I’d go with Brassica (Sandwiches & Salads). Chicken with falafel. Love that stuff. And BIBIBOP (Asian Grill) is my other place. For a nicer place, I’d go with Jeff Ruby’s (Steakhouse). Food is great, but the atmosphere — a lot of steakhouses, they feel like man caves. Ruby’s is different.
3. What do you do on an off day Sunday?
I’m probably on the (video game) simulator with my son, Dennyn. Virtual racing. We bought two simulators during COVID. Will sit on those for hours, playing iRacing, and drive my wife (Jennifer) crazy. (laughing) When Hélio Castroneves was here at the rink (earlier this month), I was probably a pain in his ass because I followed that guy everywhere.
4. What’s your favorite Blue Jackets memory?
It’s gotta be the sweep of Tampa Bay in 2019. I wasn’t working for the team then, but as a former player and a fan … it just showed you the potential of this market. I want to see it again, too.
As a player, that (inaugural) season was just magical. The love affair with the city, that team that played so hard. We stuck together, we exceeded expectations. There were so many great guys in that room, and Kinger (Dave King) was the perfect coach for us. It’s the most fun I’ve had playing hockey.
5. Which player or broadcaster should have a podcast?
I’m a big podcast guy. I’d probably say Mathieu Olivier. I do a lot of radio back home (Montreal) on a lot of different platforms, and I’ve been on shows either before or after him. He does a bunch of stuff and he’s really good. He’s not afraid to give his opinion … in both languages!
Item No. 4: Snacks
• Blue Jackets winger Kirill Marchenko had his career-long seven-game point streak snapped in the 4-0 loss to Boston on Saturday. Marchenko, who had 4-9-13 during that streak, has 14-26-40 and a plus-17 rating in only 36 games. The 26 assists are already a career high. He’s just two points short of matching last year’s career high set in 78 games.
• The Blue Jackets’ power play is the best they’ve had in at least eight seasons, and Sean Monahan has been a key component. Evason spoke glowingly about Monahan, not just about his play with the man advantage but his acceptance of a role — “the bumper” — that many players find less than ensuing. The bumper sets up in the slot, his back to the net when the puck is on the perimeter and his face to the goalie when the puck is on net. The job requires plenty of tenacity and a willingness to play in traffic, but it doesn’t reward the player with many clean looks on net. Monahan is third on the team with four power-play goals and fourth in points (six), but he’s done plenty of work to help open the ice for others.
• Here’s Evason on Monahan’s “bumper” play: “I’ve been on so many teams — coached and played — where guys are like, ‘I’m not going to play on the bumper. Why would I play on the bumper? It’s not a scoring position.’ Not once has he ever asked to play on the flank. He’s phenomenal at it because he’s committed to it. The team asks him to play the bumper, so he plays the bumper, and he does it to the best of his ability. It’s leadership. That person on the power play keeps pucks alive down low. They support everybody on the ice. he’s rotating and getting everybody involved.”
• Tough times for defenseman Damon Severson, who was a healthy scratch on Dec. 23 vs. Montreal and was benched during the second period on Saturday after an egregious turnover in his own end led to the Bruins’ second goal. Severson is one of the most experienced players on an exceedingly young Blue Jackets roster, but he’s been among the club’s most inconsistent players, a trait that has nagged him throughout his NHL career. In 36 games, he has 6-11-17 with a plus-1 rating, which are decent numbers for a second-pairing player. But there have been some rough nights at the rink this season. The Blue Jackets have to make this work with Severson, though. He’s only in his second year of an eight-year, $50 million contract signed before he was traded by New Jersey to Columbus in the summer of 2023.
• Former Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen has a new gig over the next couple of weeks: He’s serving as an analyst for Discovery’s Max, a Finnish TV network that owns the broadcasting rights to the World Junior Championship, currently being played in Ottawa. Kekäläinen, fired by the Blue Jackets last spring, did broadcasting work earlier in his career, he said. It’s a great way for him to keep apprised of the NHL’s next wave of talent. Look for Kekäläinen to latch on with an NHL club in the near future.
• Sunday Gathering trivia question: Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski had his second career four-assist game in Friday’s 6-2 win over Boston. Only two Blue Jackets players have had five assists in a single game. Name them.
• Dmitri Voronkov had his career-long six-game point streak snapped on Saturday. He had 5-5-10 in that span, putting him at 12-10-22 in only 28 games. He is on pace to shatter his career numbers, too. He had 18-16-34 in 75 games.
• Forward Justin Danforth, out since Dec. 10 with a lower-body injury, has resumed skating. He’s missed eight games since getting injured against Philadelphia.
• Trivia answer: The two Blue Jackets players to have had five-assist games are Espen Knutsen and Artemi Panarin. Knutsen assisted on goals by Jamie Heward (two), David Vyborny, Deron Quint and Alex Selivanov in a 6-4 win over Calgary on March 24, 2001. All five of Panarin’s assists were primary assists. He set up Pierre-Luc Dubois, Lukáš Sedlák, Scott Harrington, Alexander Wennberg and Werenski in a 5-3 win over New Jersey on Dec. 8, 2017.
• After leaving Montreal’s 5-4 loss to Columbus after one period on Dec. 23, former Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine returned to the lineup on Saturday vs. Florida.
• Montreal goaltender Jakub Dobeš, who made his NHL debut on Saturday with a 33-save shutout of the Panthers, spent two seasons (2021-22 and 2022-23) at Ohio State before turning pro. He’s the fourth Montreal goaltender to begin his career with a shutout, the first since Yann Danis had 32 saves vs. Atlanta on Oct. 12, 2005.
(Photo of Jordan Dumais in Sept. 2023: Russell LaBounty / Imagn Images)
