This afternoon's roster news came as a little bit of a surprise. The Blue Jackets are placing defenseman Emil Andrae and forward Danton Heinen both on waivers for reassignment to Cleveland. It looks like they are clearing the way for the return of center Isac Lundestrom.
Heinen & Andrae (CLB) on waivers
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) November 4, 2026
The Jackets need to clear at least one roster spot to fit him into the mix, but I believe this includes some salary cap gymnastics as well. Lundestrom's $1.3 million dollar cap hit is going to come off of the LTIR allocation and become an actual hit against the team's $104 million dollar cap.
As a result, they have to waive two players that I don't believe they really want to waive. Whether or not one or both gets claimed will have to remain to be seen. Lets talk about them.
Danton Heinen is a known entity.
Acquired as a throw-in to the trade that sent Egor Chinakhov to the Pittsburgh Penguins last year, Danton Heinen is a known entity that is doing exactly what we expected him to do. After earning a one-year contrat extension over the summer, we figured he would be on waivers at some point.
Lundestrom's injury gave him an NHL role early in this season, but in the grand scheme of things, nothing has changed. Heinen is here to provide depth and experience when called upon, whether that's in Cleveland or Columbus.
I would be pretty surprised if someone claimed him off of waivers. He cleared last season, but anything is possible. He got into 10 games with the Jackets, going scoreless with 8 shots on goal and a -2 rating. I expect him to be in the lineup for the Monsters ahead of their game on Friday night.
Emil Andrae is a surprising waiver name.
On the flip side, I would not be surprised to see someone claim Emil Andrae off of waivers. He was acquired as a throw-in as well, coming from the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Kirill Marchenko deal.
However, he's a bit of an analytical darling, one who is signed for this year and next at a relatively small $1.5 million dollar cap hit. Despite his 5'9" stature, he's got a bit of snarl and is the kind of player that teams needing help on defense might have their eyes on.
Despite picking up 2 assists in his first 5 games with the Jackets-along with a +3 rating-the 24 year old may find himself playing with a new franchise for the third time in five months. He was originally traded from the Philadelphia Flyers to the Leafs on June 16th. I hope he doesn't get claimed, because I think there is a good chance he will be a difference maker.
The Jackets need their 4c back.
The important part of this bit of news is that the Blue Jackets are going to get their 4th line center back. That line has had several pieces rotating in and out so far, and it's the one line that hasn't found any role for this team. Isac Lundestrom has missed the early part of the season after suffering an achilles injury during offseason training.
Getting him back gives them a strong defensive presence down the middle, one who can kill penalties and eat up some of the tougher minutes that are thrown his way. This will free up responsibilities of a guy like Sean Monahan or Charlie Coyle, which might help this team find more offense.
Similar to the Ivan Provorov situation; having #21 back in the lineup will help balance out the forward group a little more. Hopefully they see similar results.
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