"With the Blue Jackets playing out the stretch and their back end being a bit thinned out due to injuries and the Andrew Peeke trade, the fact they haven’t recalled David Jiricek has been a surprise to some. Head coach Pascal Vincent told Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription link) that they’re prioritizing him playing big minutes with AHL Cleveland, a team that has been hit hard as of late due to recalls. Jiricek has played in 36 NHL games this season; he’d accrue a season toward UFA eligibility if he gets to 40. Speculatively, that could be playing a role in them holding him down there as well."
Maybe this is the last straw for Jiricek and he becomes completely disgruntled with CBJ. Not that he has much leverage, but maybe they trade him for another need. Berggren and a 2nd should be enough!
With all the Madano statue news last weekend, something I did not realize is that Babcock healthy scratched Mike at the end of his last season on what would have been his 1500 game!!!!!! So Mike sits at 1499 NHL games played!