The Blue Jackets’ slow start has created an opening, and the Cleveland Monsters may already have the kind of help Columbus needs.
Through six games in the AHL, Steven Lorentz has piled up six goals and an assist with a plus-3 rating. For a player making his first AHL appearance since 2020, that’s hard to ignore. He’s also given Cleveland a veteran presence in a young room, while showing a two-way game and more offense than expected.
That matters because Columbus has not gotten steady scoring from much beyond the Sillinger-Coyle-Olivier line. The club has already cycled through a list of healthy scratches - Dmitry Voronkov, Luca Del Bel Belluz, Danton Heinen, Carson Soucy, Emil Andrae and Jake Christiansen have all spent time in the press box. At some point, more competition may be the only way to shake loose a lineup that has looked stuck.
Lorentz looks like one of the simplest options. He already cleared waivers before the trade, so the Blue Jackets would not need to put him through again if his NHL stint is short. That makes the move relatively low-risk, especially if the goal is just to see whether his hot start in Cleveland translates to the fourth line in Columbus.
If the team wants another route, there are younger forwards in Lake Erie pushing for the same chance.
Jack Williams has been a name to watch since camp, when he nearly made the roster. He missed three games with an injury, but he’s still off to a strong start with three assists in three games.
At 24, the American forward brings energy, physicality and enough versatility to handle power play, penalty kill and overtime work. At 5-foot-11, he’s not a giant, but he does enough things well to survive in a bottom-six role.
Luca Pinelli may have the most upside of the group. The 21-year-old has three goals and three assists in six games after posting 46 points in 68 AHL games last season.
He’s listed at 5-foot-9 and 168 pounds, but the size hasn’t stopped him from playing with grit. He also got three games with Columbus last season, and while he didn’t record a point, he still made a strong first impression.
Mikael Pyyhtia is the most experienced NHL option of the three. He has 71 games with the Blue Jackets already, and after an offensive breakout last season, he has three goals and three assists in four games for Cleveland. Like Williams, he’s 24, but he also brings a track record of defensive responsibility from three seasons in Finland’s top pro league.
The common thread with all of these options is that they bring speed, energy and offense - traits Columbus could use more of right now. Lorentz adds size at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, while the younger trio offers a smaller, quicker look the current forward group may benefit from.
There are also candidates on the blue line, with Guillaume Richard mentioned as another player who should be in Columbus. For a team still looking for its footing, the case is simple: there are players in Cleveland deserving of a look, and some of the veterans on the roster have not done enough to close the door.
In Other News...
Blue Jackets Suddenly Face A Real Dmitri Voronkov Trade Decision
Dmitri Voronkov has suddenly become one of the more intriguing names on the Blue Jackets radar as trade chatter starts to pick up around the young forward. Columbus has apparently drawn interest from other teams, and the timing is notable because Voronkov is expected to be out of the lineup for Saturdays game, which only adds to the sense that something could be shifting behind the scenes.
One floated scenario has the Blue Jackets sending Voronkov to Calgary, a move that would bring back Connor Zary and a draft pick in return. For Columbus, a deal like that would be about balancing present value with future flexibility, while the Flames would be betting on Voronkovs size and upside. For now, it remains the kind of possibility that can reshape a roster conversation before the front office has made anything public. [Read more 🡒]
Rick Bowness Is Already Testing Blue Jackets Buy-In
Eight games into the season, the Blue Jackets are already searching for traction after opening 3-5-0 and sitting with the fewest points in the Eastern Conference. Rick Bowness has not exactly softened the message, either. The veteran coach has been publicly critical of the groups early play, a continuation of the blunt tone he carried after last seasons failure to reach the playoffs.
That kind of early-season pressure can cut both ways in a young locker room, and it is why the discussion around Bowness has already turned toward buy-in. Analysts Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton recently weighed whether the approach is pushing the right buttons or risking more damage than motivation, leaving the bigger question hanging over Columbus: how long can the message land if the results do not? [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Fans Are Getting Called Out For Something NHL Cheers Elsewhere
Kirill Marchenkos return to Nationwide Arena had the kind of edge that usually comes with a player coming back to a building full of familiar faces. Columbus fans let him hear it, even after he scored, and the reaction was part of the night rather than a side note. It was the sort of hometown response that can make a regular-season game feel a little bigger, and it gave the Blue Jackets another reminder that emotions around former players do not always stay neatly in the past.
What stood out afterward was how differently that kind of boos-and-chanting atmosphere has been received elsewhere in the league. Brady Tkachuk drew a louder, more openly confrontational reaction in Ottawa, and the response around that scene was far more approving than the way some people viewed Columbus fans treatment of Marchenko. The contrast says plenty about how NHL crowds are judged depending on the story attached to the player, and it leaves the Blue Jackets tied to a conversation that is bigger than one return game. [Read more 🡒]