The dog days are behind us, September is here, and by the back half of the month we’ll be able to see the 2025-26 Columbus Blue Jackets on the ice (albeit it in exhibition games). Here’s your thread to discuss any new news that happens between now and the start of camp.
In the meantime, here are some of the moves that occurred in CBJ-land in August:
- Mikael Pyyhtia re-signed to a one-year, two-way deal on August 13 that is worth $775K at the NHL level and $100K in the AHL.
- Daemon Hunt re-signed to a one-year, two-way deal on August 15 that is worth $775K at the NHL level and $80K in the AHL.
- Hudson Fasching was added to the organization on a one-year, two-way deal on August 18 that is worth $775K at the NHL level and $250K in the AHL. Fasching is a 30 year old winger that has recorded 17/23/40 in 175 NHL games (mostly with the Islanders) and 78/84/162 in 308 AHL games. He’s basically the next Brendan Gaunce, i.e. the veteran player that can lead the Monsters and can chip in where necessary with the Jackets when injuries inevitably hit.
- Brendan Smith was hired to a professional tryout offer. The 36-year-old, left-handed defenseman has played 726 games in the NHL over 14 seasons with the Red Wings, Rangers, Devils, Hurricanes, and Stars. This is most likely just a way to meet the veteran requirement during certain preseason games, but it obviously doesn’t hurt to have a veteran like this sharing his knowledge with the young defensemen in camp.
The next benchmark to look for is the annual prospects tournaments. Like last year, the Blue Jackets will be in Buffalo from September 11-14. They will play prospects from New Jersey, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh. We’ll have an open thread for that, too, with streaming information as available. It’s worth noting, however, that certain prospects won’t be featured, with first round picks Cayden Lindstrom and Jackson Smith away at college.
Speaking of prospects, the Blue Jackets’ pipeline ranked #8 in the latest rankings by Corey Pronman at The Athletic. Pronman’s rankings feature every player under 22 years old, so it includes established NHLers like Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson. What this list may lack in proven high-end talent, it’s noteworthy that the Columbus list is long on players that project as future NHLers.
You can read more about the future of the Jackets in our Top 25 Under 25 series, which will continue to post between now and the start of training camp in mid-September.