Blue Jackets send former first-round pick to AHL

The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that they’ve placed goaltender Spencer Martin on waivers today and sent defenseman David Jiricek to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. Martin was placed on waivers to send him to the AHL, but he will need to clear waivers first before he can be sent there.

Martin has struggled this season after he was acquired on waivers from the Vancouver Canucks back in September 2023. He has not appeared in a game since a loss on Jan. 2 to the Boston Bruins. 

For the season, Martin has dressed in 13 games and has a 3-8-1 record with a 3.65 goals-against average and a save percentage of .887%. Those numbers are not great, and some might speculate that they are being dragged down by playing on a bad team in Columbus; however, Martin’s numbers are only slightly worse with the Blue Jackets as his career average goals against is 3.63 and his career save percentage is lower at .886. 

Martin’s demotion could lead to Elvis Merzļikins getting more playing time in the coming days, which could be interesting given his recent trade request.

Jiricek heads to Cleveland after dressing in 36 games this season for the Blue Jackets. The former sixth overall pick in the 2022 NHL entry draft has played okay this season, although he hasn’t posted much in the way of offense with just a goal and eight assists this year. 

The Blue Jackets tried to give the 20-year-old the bulk of his zone starts in the offensive zone and did appear to be sheltering him as best they could. With his demotion to Cleveland, he will likely see more minutes and have an opportunity to play in more high-leverage situations, which could help his development long-term.