The Columbus Blue Jackets are in the midst of a franchise-best season, but one question in net has lingered. It seems they’re finally ready to find an answer for it.
Blue Jackets enter goalie market by placing Curtis McElhinney on waivers
Columbus is trying to solve its last problem.
Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Goalie Sergei Bobrovksy is a frontrunner for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goaltender this season. But Curtis McElhinney hasn’t gotten the job done as consistently in his backup role.
On Monday, Columbus dropped McElhinney on waivers. He’ll be assigned to the AHL if he clears at noon on Tuesday. The Blue Jackets recalled Anton Forsberg from the AHL to try his hand at backing up Bobrovsky.
McElhinney’s season has taken a turn for the worse, and the team’s 5-4 loss to the Rangers on Saturday sealed his fate. The 24-year-old Forsberg certainly earned the look at backup. He led the Monsters to the AHL championship last season and is 12-6-1 with 2.16 goals against average and a .930 save percentage this season.
With their playoff hopes all but secure, the Blue Jackets will look for a goalie at the trade deadline if Forsberg doesn’t pan out behind Bobrovsky, either.
Jaroslav Halak comes to mind, but the New York Islanders goalie comes with an expensive $3.55 million cap hit. If the Winnipeg Jets are willing to move on from Ondrej Pavelec, he could also be an option. The veteran has played the entire season with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.
But now that Forsberg is up, the Blue Jackets will hope their only remaining problem solves itself.
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