Elliotte Friedman just reported that the Blue Jackets have placed Danton Heinen and Emil Andrae on waivers.
The timing is odd. Columbus beat Colorado 7-2 last night, and now two players who have suited up this season are exposed to the other 31 teams.
Friedman reported that Heinen and Andrae, both Columbus skaters, are now on waivers.
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Heinen is the veteran of the pair. The 31-year-old has 622 NHL games behind him and 102 career goals, but he has no points through 10 games this season and sits at -2. He played just 5:05 against the Avalanche.
His one-year, $1 million deal expires at season's end, so he is a rental for any team that wants a depth center.
| GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | |
| 2026-27 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| Career | 622 | 102 | 151 | 253 | +33 |
Andrae is the more interesting name. He is 24, a second-round pick (54th overall) of the Flyers in 2020, and he has two assists and a +3 rating in five games this season.
His entry-level contract runs through 2027-28 and he is an RFA at expiry. Exposing a young defenseman on that kind of deal is risky, and it's the part of this move that Columbus may regret if another team puts in a claim.
What the waiver move says about Columbus
The Blue Jackets are 6-7-0 and sit 27th in the NHL, sixth in the Metropolitan Division. Rick Bowness has a team that won last night but is just 1-4-0 on the road.
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | DIFF | |
| 1. Carolina Hurricanes | 17 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 26 | +24 |
| 2. New Jersey Devils | 15 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 20 | +9 |
| 3. New York Rangers | 16 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 17 | +1 |
| 4. Washington Capitals | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 16 | +1 |
| 5. New York Islanders | 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 16 | +1 |
| 6. Columbus Blue Jackets | 13 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 12 | -5 |
| 7. Pittsburgh Penguins | 15 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 12 | -3 |
| 8. Philadelphia Flyers | 17 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 12 | -21 |
Goals against are the bigger concern. Columbus has allowed 41 against 36 scored, a -5 differential, and trimming the roster by two does nothing to fix that on its own.
Neither player is a core piece of the offense. But Andrae's age and contract make him the one that other front offices will look at twice. Heinen is a veteran, and veterans with no points in 10 games rarely start a bidding war.
What the Blue Jackets do with the open spots is still unknown. Nothing in the report says who comes in, or whether either player stays in the organization if he clears.
Columbus faces Dallas on Thursday, and by then the fate of both players should be clearer.
Should the Blue Jackets have risked losing Emil Andrae on waivers?
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