Did you miss anything from the past week at The Hockey News - Columbus Blue Jackets? If you did, we have you covered with the Sunday Recap. Click on each card below to read the stories from the past week. 

From Ex-players to current players and everything in between, we've got you covered. 

July 14 was the three year anniversary of Johnny Gaudreau signing with Columbus.  

On This Date In Columbus Blue Jackets History: Columbus Signs Johnny GaudreauOn this day three years ago, the CBJ made what could be the biggest free agent signing in NHL history when they signed Johnny Gaudreau. No player of his caliber had ever reached free agency. Players like this are usually locked up long before hitting the open market. From The Archive: Premonitions GaudreauThe Hockey News has released its archive to all THN subscribers: 76 years of history, stories, and features. From The Archive: Johnny Gaudreau vs. Mitch MarnerThe Hockey News has released its archive to all THN subscribers: 76 years of history, stories, and features.

There were many exciting moments from this past season. What was yours?

What Was Your Most Memorable Moment of the 2024-25 Season?The 2024-25 Columbus Blue Jackets season had plenty of ups and downs. But today, we're focusing on the ups.  The 2025-26 NHL Schedule Comes Wednesday: What Blue Jackets Fans Should Watch ForThe NHL has officially announced the first three games of the 2025-26 regular season, with the remainder of the schedule to be unveiled on Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET. Blue Jackets Times/Dates For 2025 Prospects Challenge In BuffaloThe Columbus Blue Jackets have announced the times and dates for the 2025 Prospects Challenge to be held in Buffalo, New York. This will be the second year the CBJ will participate in this tournament. Players Who The Columbus Blue Jackets Have Bought Out Are About To Get Last PaymentsBuyouts are a tool that GMs have in their toolbox, but they're very careful when to use them as they can get messy and hold teams back in the future, just ask the Minnesota Wild.  From The Archive: Ready To Break Out: Metro DivisionThe Hockey News has released its archive to all THN subscribers: 76 years of history, stories, and features. Former Blue Jackets Forward Lands New Job In Sharks’ Front OfficeFormer Columbus Blue Jackets forward Thomas Vanek has landed a new job with the San Jose Sharks' front office. Columbus Announces Changes To Hockey Operations DepartmentDon Waddell and the Columbus Blue Jackets have announced several additions to the Hockey ops Dept. today.  Who Is The Best Undrafted Player On The Blue Jackets Roster?The Columbus Blue Jackets have a few players on the roster who weren't picked in the NHL Draft, but have started to turn themselves into pretty good NHL players. But who's the best undrafted player on the current roster? Who's had the best career so far? Pyotr Andreyanov's Agent Dan Milstein Speaks About Columbus Drafting HimWhen the Columbus Blue Jackets drafted Pyotr Andreyanov with the 20th pick in the NHL Draft, lots of Jackets fans were left asking, "Who?" But there were plenty of eagle-eyed fans who knew exactly who he was.  Former Blue Jackets Defensemen Signs In CzechiaFormer Columbus Blue Jackets defensemen Samuel Kňažko has signed a multi-year deal with HC Vítkovice of the Czech Extraliga.

The 2025-26 schedule is here. 

Blue Jackets Announce 2025-26 Home OpenerThe Columbus Blue Jackets have officially announced their 2025-26 home opener. Blue Jackets' 2025-26 NHL Schedule ReleasedToday is the release day for the full NHL schedule for the 2025-26 season. Blue Jackets Sign Former Golden Knights Defensemen The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed former Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Dysin Mayo to a one-year, two-way contract.  From The Archive: Bob, Bread & ButterThe Hockey News has released its archive to all THN subscribers: 76 years of history, stories, and features. Loading The Cannon: Dysin MayoYesterday, the Columbus Blue Jackets signed 28-year-old defenseman Dysin Mayo to a one-year, two-way contract. But who is Dysin Mayo? Let's take a look.  From The Archive: Columbus For The Cup!The Hockey News has released its archive to all THN subscribers: 76 years of history, stories, and features.

Yegor Chinakhov has requested a trade. Read all about it below. 

Yegor Chinakhov Requests Trade?Per Shumi Babaev on X, his client, Yegor Chinakhov has reauested a trade out of Columbus.  What Is Yegor Chinakhov's Trade Value?With the news today that Yegor Chinakhov has requested a trade away from the Columbus Blue Jackets, many are left to wonder what his worth is. Where Could Chinakhov Land If Traded?Yesterday, the Columbus Blue Jackets fan base was shocked by the news that Yegor Chinakhov is looking for a new place to play. His agent took to social media to explain the situation and the differences between him and the coaching staff. Now it has everyone thinking, where could he end up if traded. So, let's take a look at a few trade destinations that could make sense for Chinakhov. Does Columbus Have A Communication Issue Between Coaches And Players? Former Blue Jacket defenseman Jordan Harris gave an interview recently with the Boston Herald, and he said something about the Blue Jacket coaches that could be a cause for concern.  From The Archive: Whalers going to Columbus?The Hockey News has released its archive to all THN subscribers: 78 years of history, stories, and features. From The Archive: A Columbus DiscoveryDo you remember when Sergei Federov played for the Columbus Blue Jackets? Many younger fans do not. But for older fans, it was a fun time while he was here. Enjoy this piece from 2006!  86 Days Until Opening Night At Nationwide Arena: Kirill MarchenkoWith 86 days to go until opening night at Nationwide Arena, there's only one person to talk about - Kirill Marchenko. 

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Kent Hughes has had an active Summer so far. Before the draft, he acquired Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders to address one of the Montreal Canadiens’ pressing needs. While some were arguing that Logan Mailloux could fill the void left by David Savard’s retirement, the GM wanted a proven commodity to strengthen his lineup. Additionally, his decision to trade Mailloux might have already been made. The young defenseman was sacrificed to acquire some help up front in Zachary Bolduc from the St. Louis Blues, a 22-year-old with scoring upside.

The one question that remains is who will skate on the second line alongside Ivan Demidov. Plenty of teams were in the market this offseason for a top-six center, and all signs seem to point toward an internal solution. While the most obvious one seems to be giving yet another audition to Kirby Dach, The Sick Podcast collaborator Grant McCagg suggests it could be an idea to give Oliver Kapanen a look.

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I can see the logic in that suggestion, after all, Kapanen impressed at training camp last season. It’s worth noting, however, that he had a bit of a head start. The then 20-year-old had already been through Timra IK’s training camp in the Swedish league, and he had already started playing games with them, which gave him a bit of an advantage.

As we got deeper into the camp, that advantage faded, and once the competition improved in preseason games with more real NHL skaters, it became harder for the youngster. He made the team out of camp, but after 12 games, the organization decided that he wasn’t quite ready and sent him back to Sweden since he still had a contract with Timra, which prevented him from being sent down to the AHL.

Will it be different this season? Has he made enough progress to be ready not only to play a regular role in the NHL but also to do so alongside Demidov, who will start his NHL career facing huge expectations? The Russian wonder had already shown that he can cut it in the best league in the world, but can he do that with a center that’s only a couple of years older than himself and only has 18 regular-season games under his belt?

The answer will depend on how much progress Kapanen made in Timra, playing big minutes and being used in all situations by coach Olli Jokinen. The former NHL player made it a mission to give the youngster plenty of experience, ensuring his transition to the NHL would be as smooth as possible.

McCagg also believes that the newly acquired Bolduc would be a good option to complete the line. The right winger has shown he has some scoring skills, putting up 36 points in 72 games in St. Louis, but 12 of those points came on the power play. The 22-year-old spent an average of 1:18 on the power play per game and averaged 12:49 of ice time in all situations. Would he be ready to get that much ice time? Furthermore, Demidov is a right winger as well, so one of the two would be playing on his offside. The idea is worth exploring, and that’s what training camp is about. There’s no doubt that Martin St-Louis will be making adjustments in the preseason; he will have no other choice, as the departures of Christian Dvorak and Joel Armia mean there’s no status quo heading into the season.

McCagg further suggests that Dach should be used with Patrik Laine and Alex Newhook. The three did spend some time together last year, and while they didn’t exactly hit it off, it wasn’t as bad a combination as the one formed with Laine, Dach, and Juraj Slafkovsky, which was in dire need of speed. That combination was painful to watch as it lacked dynamism and speed. Adding Newhook instead of Slafkovsky fixes the speed issue, but it creates a line that lacks a player to retrieve pucks in the deep zone.

It’s not an issue if the Canadiens enter the zone in possession rather than dumping the puck in, though. Newhook has demonstrated that he can be in charge of zone entries on the power play, primarily relying on his speed. However, once in the zone, he struggled to find options to keep the play going, even with the man-advantage. At even strength, could Dach and Laine get there in time to offer a viable option? It’s far from a foregone conclusion.

However, both Laine and Dach will be playing out the last year of their contracts, and they’ll have a lot to play for, starting with a contract extension or the value to hit the market as a UFA in Laine’s case. Will that be enough incentive for the Finn to play a more complete game? It remains to be seen, as he has yet to demonstrate that he can play that kind of game either with the Winnipeg Jets or the Columbus Blue Jackets.

At the end of the season, Laine’s then fiancée and now wife Jordan Leigh took to Instagram and thanked Montreal for making him love the game again. Does he love it enough to turn up his efforts a notch? Time will tell, but if a line formed by him, Dach, and Newhook is to succeed, he will have to.

Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images

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The Philadelphia Flyers are not emblems of prospect development nor goalie development, but they are positioned to turn the page on that chapter.

For my returning readers, especially over the years, welcome back to what is effectively a daily column.

You know, the "Bailey's Daily" kind of thing. Conversational, relevant, informative, all of that stuff.

It can be hard to reliably produce content this late in the summer, but we here at The Hockey News are putting a bigger focus on community-building, so I thought it might be a good time for a daily "wrap" of sorts.

Let's see how it goes!

You can't talk Flyers this summer without talking Flyers prospects,  which was at least somewhat to be expected.

GM Danny Briere and Co. haven't gone out and made too many big additions, bar Trevor Zegras, so it would seem that this regime is putting most of their eggs in the baskets of player development.

I didn't love every pick they made in the 2025 NHL Draft, but they ultimately came away with more talent than most other teams.

But, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? Prospect rankings can be highly subjective at times.

Resurgent Flyers Prospect Returns on AHL ContractResurgent Philadelphia Flyers prospect Zayde Wisdom has officially re-upped with the organization that drafted him after testing NHL free agency.

Top Flyers goalie prospect Egor Zavragin barely made a recent top-20 list of NHL-drafted goalie prospects, so, like always, the only thing that matters is what happens on the ice.

Speaking of goalies and prospects, the Anaheim Ducks (I know, I know) might be one place to look to see how it's done.

De facto starting goalie Lukas Dostal, 25, just signed a five-year, $32.5 million ($6.5 million AAV) contract with the Ducks, but it didn't just happen for him overnight.

Let's analyze his path:

In 2020-21, Dostal played 35 games combined between Ilves in Liiga and the AHL San Diego Gulls.

The following year, Dostal played 40 games for the Gulls as the full-time starter and snuck his way into four NHL games for the Ducks.

In 2022-23, the Czech netminder played 19 NHL games and 34 AHL games. By 2023-24, Dostal was a full-time NHLer, and this year, Dostal played 54 games and permanently usurped the starting goalie position from the now-traded John Gibson.

So, when you look at the Flyers and Sam Ersson, who's also 25, you have a 2021-22 season when he played five games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Ersson played 12 games for the Flyers in 2022-23 but otherwise played 42 AHL games down in Allentown.

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Then, with the loss of Carter Hart and the failure to address the backup goalie position, Ersson played 98 NHL games in the last two seasons combined.

This dish didn't spend a lot of time in the oven, and the Flyers are now actively deciding whether to re-fire it or throw it away and start anew.

The Flyers somehow haven't drafted a goalie in either of the last two drafts, leaving them with Ersson, Aleksei Kolosov, Carson Bjarnason, and Zavragin as the four young-ish goalie prospects with conceivable NHL upside.

They may want to get this one right if they aren't going to continue adding to the pool, because developing this position can take upwards of five years most of the time.