The Columbus Blue Jackets placed defenseman Daemon Hunt on waivers Thursday, leaving us wondering what their intentions are to start the season.
Though 25 players still "officially" remain at camp, three of them have been waived in the last week. Hunt joins goaltender Ivan Fedotov and defenseman Christian Jaros, both of whom cleared.
We expect Fedotov to be reassigned to the Cleveland Monsters at some point, whereas Jaros went through unconditional waivers and is likely to see his contract terminated.
It seemed like Hunt had made the season opening roster for the Blue Jackets, ahead of Jaros. Instead, the team makes a late pivot and will try to pass him through to start his year with the Cleveland Monsters.
The 6'1", 200 pound defenseman had a strong training camp and preseason, impressing the CBJ brass with his all-around game and defensive tenacity. Blue Jackets head coach Dean Evason and Monsters head coach Trent Vogelhuber both had nice things to say about Daemon's game:
#CBJ coach Dean Evason on D Daemon Hunt: "He’s earned the right to still be here, and he has a chance to stay with our hockey club."
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) September 29, 2025
Trent Vogelhuber said Hunt's not flashy, but "he’s a hard, hard player to play against."
2020 third-round pick, acquired from MIN last season. pic.twitter.com/7pPFH1AOkb
It's a little bit surprising to see him hit waivers just a couple of days after those comments. Especially considering the fact that the Blue Jackets have already trimmed their roster to 23 men with him on it, after passing Fedotov and Jaros through waivers.
Daemon was the lone player acquired by the Blue Jackets in the trade that sent David Jiricek to the Minnesota Wild. Originally a third round pick (#65 overall, 2020) of the Wild, he's gotten into 13 regular season NHL games in his young career.
As we discussed this morning when talking about Jaros, there is a need for this kind of defensive presence on the NHL roster. It's likely that he will be back sooner or later, if he is indeed sent to the Monsters.
There is also a chance that he gets claimed by another team. With a one year contract near league minimum, this is the kind of player that other clubs may want to take a gamble on - not unlike the Blue Jackets plucking Dante Fabbro off of the wire last season.
More moves to follow?
Assuming the Blue Jackets demote Fedotov and Hunt; along with the termination of Jaros' contract, they will only have 22 players on the roster when the regular season starts next week.
Could this decision be a precursor of another move or moves? It will be interesting to see.