Columbus Blue Jackets Finalizing 2018 Opening Night Roster
The Columbus Blue Jackets have sent Stenlund, Robinson to Cleveland; Davidsson to SHL.
The front office has trimmed down the roster once more as it sent three players packing from camp. The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that both Kevin Stenlund and Eric Robinson will be heading to Cleveland. Jonathan Davidsson will be heading back to Sweden, where he will compete for Djargardens IF in the SHL.
The moves come after a nice preseason for both Stenlund and Davidsson. The organization was high on Davidsson and his chances to make the team all offseason and Stenlund grabbed attention starting at the Traverse City tournament.
In those four games in norther Michigan and in preseason competition, Stenlund led the team in scoring. He looked like a men amongst boys in Traverse and looked like an NHLer against NHLers.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Unfortunately for both Stenlund and Davidsson, there were contract issues to navigate that likely cost them a spot. Both could be sent back to other leagues without worry of losing the players to a waiver claim. All the other forwards they were competing against, sans Sonny Milano, would all have to go on waivers in order to be sent down to Cleveland.
That leaves the Jackets with two extra forwards in Lukas Sedlak and Markus Hannikainen.
Inured Reserve
The Columbus Blue Jackets also retroactively placed Seth Jones and Ryan Murray on injured reserve today. Jones will be dated September 25th and Murry the 18th. This opens up two more roster spots on the blue line that the Jackets will desperately need in their first two weeks of play.
What was once a tight race to take the sixth and seventh defensive slot has opened up following these injuries. The Jackets will start the season with Gabriel Carlsson, Adam Clendening, Dean Kukan, and Scott Harrington on the roster, although Harrington is dealing with an undisclosed injury.
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The Jackets now carry 24 players on the roster but effectively it is 23. The Jackets still have Matiss Kivlenieks on the roster but he will be sent to Cleveland shortly. The team now needs to prepare itself to make a decision between Carlsson and Clendening once Ryan Murray returns to the roster.