Zach Aston-Reese will add depth and two-way prowess to the Blue Jackets forward group

The Blue Jackets made one waiver claim on the final day of the NHL's preseason; nabbing veteran forward Zach Aston-Reese from the Vegas Golden Knights. The 30-year old forward will add depth and a ton of two-way acumen to a depleted CBJ forward group.

To be honest, when "ZAR" became available, I crossed my fingers hoping the Jackets would claim him. He's the perfect pickup for this team off of the waiver wire, because he brings a lot of things that they need more of.

At 30 years old, he's a veteran of 310 NHL games; but this is far from a "sexy" pickup. He's made his way to the NHL not by being a prolific scorer. Instead, Aston-Reese is a defense-first winger who should be a really nice depth fit on the Blue Jackets roster.

Just two days after adding a veteran offensive winger, the Jackets add a veteran defensive winger to help fill out their forward group. There's nothing wrong with adding veteran players to what has been the youngest roster in the NHL for much of recent history. Especially when you added both of these guys for virtually nothing - and they both make NHL minimum salaries.

As with Labanc, I don't expect Aston-Reese to blow our minds on a nightly basis. But, he'll bring a consistent work ethic, leadership, and his defensive smarts will help keep whatever line he's on from being pinned into their own end. There's just something more comforting about having veteran pros in places where we've seen replacement level young players over the last few years.

I would expect to see him used heavily in defensive zone situations. Likely, alongside Sean Kuraly and Mathieu Olivier to start. He's not a complete slouch offensively (he has 42 career NHL goals), so it's possible that he could get minutes on other lines as well; but don't expect him to exceed his career-high (10 goals).

With the way the early part of this season is shaping up, the Jackets are going to need all the help they can get. This roster is probably not going to contend for any championships, but adding guys like this allows the team to keep some of their prospects where they should be: developing in bigger roles on a competitive AHL team.