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The Columbus Blue Jackets have 22 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today, we look at the history of jersey #22. 

Let's take a look.

Chris Nielsen - 2001-2002 - Drafted by the New York Islanders in 1998. 

After signing with Columbus, Neilsen played 52 games over the course of two seasons. After bouncing around the AHL for a few seasons, he left for Europe and played in Germany for a year. He decided to retire in 2006.

Nowadays, he's the attending surgeon at University Health Network and an Assistant Professor in the Division of Orthopaedic Surgery with the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

Luke Richardson - 2003-2006 - Drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1987. 

Richardson, a former Captain of the CBJ, played 190 games in Columbus. On March 8, 2006, he was traded to the Maple Leafs, later signing with the Senators, and then retiring on November 27, 2008. 

He moved into coaching in 2008 and has bounced around the NHL and AHL. His last job was with the Chicago Blackhawks, where he was fired on December 6th, 2024. Richardson will be an asst. coach for the Nashville Predators for 25-26. 

Mike Commodore - 2009-2011 - Drafted by New Jersey in 1999. 

Commodore was signed by Columbus on July 1, 2008, to a five-year contract worth $18.75 million. After 158 games, he was put on waivers on January 17, 2011, in which he cleared, and was assigned to the Springfield Falcons. He would report to the AHL and play 11 games, but that was it for the Mike Commodore experience. 

He bounced around for a few seasons and finished his career playing in the KHL. Mike Commodore is mostly famous for his very nasty feud with Mike Babcock. 

Václav Prospal - 2012-2013 - Drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1993. 

Vinny Prospal played 130 games for Columbus and had 85 points. After two seasons, he retired on January 24, 2014. 

After retiring, he moved into coaching. He coached youth in the Tampa area before returning to Czechia until 2021. In 2023, he was named an asst. coach for the Rochester Americans of the AHL. 

Sonny Milano - 2016-2020 - Drafted by Columbus in 2014. 

Milano played 116 games for Columbus over five years and totaled 42 points. He spent the majority of his time playing for the Lake Erie/Cleveland Monsters, playing in 163 games. He scored 45 goals and had 112 points. 

The Sonny Milano experiment ended on February 24, 2020, when he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks. 

Jake Bean - 2022-2024 - Drafted by Carolina in 2016.

On July 23, 2021, Bean was traded by the Hurricanes to the Columbus Blue Jackets and then immediately signed to a three-year contract. Bean only played 153 games for the CBJ, which was season in which he only played 14 due to having shoulder surgery. 

The Jackets let him walk in 2024. He signed a deal with Calgary and played 64 games last season. 

Jordan Harris - 2025 - Drafted by the Montréal Canadiens in 2017. 

Harris was traded to Columbus prior to the 2024-25 season in exchange for Patrik Laine. He only played 33 games for the CBJ last season, even though he was healthy all year. The Jackets kept a lot of defensemen on the roster, and that led him to being a healthy scratch for most of the season. 

Harris was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Blue Jackets in the summer of 2025, and he signed with his hometown Boston Bruins. 

There are 22 days until opening night at NWA. The season kicks off by the playing the first game of the season on the road against the New Jersey Devils. 

Next up is training camp, which kicks off on Wednesday, September 18. The camp will run until the preseason begins and then transition directly into the full preseason schedule. Here’s what the Blue Jackets have lined up so far.

After the first few days of camp, most rookies who received an invite will be cut and sent back to their junior teams. From there, the cuts will come more often as pre-season play gets underway.

The pre-season schedule is as follows:

Sunday, Sept. 21 vs. St. Louis Blues, 5 p.m. ET

Monday, Sept. 22 vs. Buffalo Sabres, 7 p.m. ET

Tuesday, Sept. 23 at Buffalo Sabres, 7 p.m. ET

Wednesday, Sept. 24 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, 7 p.m. ET

Saturday, Sept. 27 at Pittsburgh Penguins, 7 p.m. ET

Tuesday, Sept. 30 vs. Washington Capitals, 7 p.m. ET

Saturday, Oct. 4 at Washington Capitals, 7 p.m. ET

* Games in bold are home games * 

After that, the Blue Jackets will open the regular season on the road against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena.

Let us know what you think below.

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On Sunday night, the New York Islanders battle the Philadelphia Flyers to kick off their preseason slate. 

Puck drop is scheduled for 7 PM ET at UBS Arena, where Matthew Schaefer is likely to make his preseason debut. 

Here's how to watch:

Plan accordingly!

The #Isles preseason game tomorrow night will stream LIVE on the Islanders + UBS Arena app and https://t.co/II8TDuHWyn!

Download the app now: https://t.co/qun2pbQ2hXpic.twitter.com/KAjYZSPpAb

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) September 20, 2025

As of now, we do not know who is calling the game, but with Brendan Burke not returning just yet, I wouldn't be surprised if it were Alan Fuehring, who does a fantastic job. 

The Islanders will hold a morning skate and that's when we'll find out the game roster.

Islanders Tony DeAngelo Raves About Matthew Schaefer's Power Play Ability EAST MEADOW, NY -- New York Islanders No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer took shifts quarterbacking the second power-play unit at training camp on Saturday. 

Stay tuned...

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The New Jersey Devils will play their first preseason game today at 1 p.m. against the New York Rangers.

Team reporter Amanda Stein released her projected lineup for the contest, which closely mirrors the roster head coach Sheldon Keefe is expected to use. While not official, here is Stein’s predicted lineup:

Forwards

• Cotter – Glass – Gritsyuk
• Crookshank – Lammikko – Legare
• Gruden – Glendening – Halonen
• Hardman – Rooney – Bordeleau

Defense

• Chowolski – Casey
• Edwards – Strand
• White – Addison
• van de Leest – Osipov

Goaltenders

• Daws
• Romanov
• Malek

If these lines hold, the Devils’ first power-play unit would feature Casey, Gritsyuk, Glass, Cotter, and Bordeleau.

Sheldon Keefe confirms this is pretty close to what the #NJDevils roster will look like for the first preseason game tomorrow against the Rangers.

Might be a slight tweak or two, but very close to this: https://t.co/t1u9m6RbkB

— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) September 20, 2025

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Players to Watch

Arseny Gritsyuk The highly anticipated Russian forward will make his Devils debut today. Drafted 129th overall in 2019, Gritsyuk spent the past several seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League before joining New Jersey this fall. After an impressive showing at training camp, today’s performance will be an early indicator of where he might fit in the lineup.

Nico Daws A reliable depth option in recent years, Daws has stepped in multiple times when the Devils’ top goaltenders were sidelined. With Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen ahead of him, his NHL role likely won’t change this season, but his preseason play will show how much progress he’s made during the offseason.

Juho Lammikko Lammikko last played in the NHL during the 2021–22 season with Vancouver. Known for his two-way game, he has an opportunity to earn a role in New Jersey’s bottom six.

Angus Crookshank After leaving the Ottawa Senators and testing free agency, Crookshank signed a two-year deal with the Devils on July 2. He’s looking to prove he belongs on the NHL roster and could use today’s game as a showcase.

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Keefe’s Emphasis

Coach Sheldon Keefe made it clear what he expects from his players in the preseason opener:

“We’re at the portion of the program here where I want to see effort, speed, pace—it’s a very fast league. Tomorrow isn’t going to be the NHL in terms of speed, but it’s a good way to stand out. That’s been the emphasis for us from our very first meeting: ability to skate, pressure the puck, and do all the things when the puck isn’t on your stick, which is a very large percentage of the game.”

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The puck drops at 1 p.m. The official lineup will be confirmed closer to game time.

The fact that the Montreal Canadiens were looking for a second-line center this summer was one of the worst-kept secrets in the NHL, and as a result, it’s been a summer of speculation in town. While there were rumours about a potential move for Mason McTavish, an RFA who has yet to sign with the Anaheim Ducks, and about Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, Research Group’s Jimmy Murphy published an article Saturday in which he explains that the Canadiens have also shown interest in Evgeny Malkin in the past.

Could Malkin be the center the Habs are keeping close tabs on? It’s not unlikely, after all, as Murphy says in his article, what’s going on in Pittsburgh is pretty obvious for all to see, and for an aging star, the prospect of a rebuild is not exactly thrilling. The big center has even told the media after Friday’s practice that he would be open to waiving his no movement clause to get a chance with a Cup contender.

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The 39-year-old has had some great years in Pittsburgh, and he does have three Stanley Cup rings to show for it. Even though he’s now a bit long in the tooth, at least in hockey terms, he still managed to put 50 points in 68 games last season, and 67 in 82 games the year before. Still, as talented as he is, the center has dealt with numerous injuries throughout his career. He only played 82 games in four of his 19 seasons with the Pens.

Of course, getting some veteran leadership couldn’t hurt the young Canadiens, especially not a veteran who has won it all and knows what it takes, plus, as Demidov revealed back in April, Malkin was his idol growing up.

While I can understand why the Canadiens have enquired about his availability, I firmly believe that Crosby would be a better option. However, I’m still not convinced that the captain will eventually want to move. Besides, with his contract expiring at the end of the season, Malkin could be a rental, and the price tag would be considerably lower than for Crosby, who still has another year left on his contract.

If Malkin remains healthy and things go according to plan for the Canadiens, it certainly wouldn’t be a bad option for a playoff run, unless the veteran doesn’t see Montreal as a contender yet…

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If the first few days of training camp are anything to go by, the Philadelphia Flyers could have a new-look defense under first-year head coach Rick Tocchet.

Through three days, Tocchet has done nothing short of glow about Cam York, who was the recipient of a five-year, $25.75 million contract extension from the Flyers this offseason.

The potential for the 24-year-old defenseman, and the hope, perhaps, is that he can "carry his own pair," in the words of Tocchet.

That would certainly imply far less minutes with frequent defense partner Travis Sanheim, the Flyers' de facto No. 1 defenseman and leader on the back end.

York has spent most of his training camp reps alongside prospect defenseman Helge Grans, a young player of similar age who is looking to finally establish himself as an NHL regular after playing six NHL games for the Flyers last year.

Grans, 23, is no longer waivers-exempt, so this training camp is functionally a now-or-never thing for him in a Flyers uniform.

Flyers Training Camp: Nikita Grebenkin Continues to Shine as Roster Battles Get RealAfter three days, forward prospect Nikita Grebenkin has been the one constant in Philadelphia Flyers training camp, flashing his intriguing potential at seemingly every turn.

It says a lot about the Swede that he's playing with York, who has been talked up so much by Tocchet and the organization this summer.

It should also be noted that Grans, a right-shot, makes sense as a natural 1:1 replacement for the injured Rasmus Ristolainen as a tall, rangy defender.

So, while someone like Emil Andrae might have played more NHL games and played better in most of those games (including on a pair with Sanheim), the 5-foot-9 size and left-handedness will work against him. Fortunately, Andrae is still waivers-exempt for 34 more NHL games or until the end of this season.

As for Sanheim, it's been a little harder to get a read on his role this early into training camp.

The 29-year-old has spent time so far with prospect Spencer Gill, who, while impressive, is still too young and has virtually no chance of making the team this year, and veteran Noah Juulsen, who has struggled mightily and already profiled as a No. 7 or No. 8 defenseman if and when Ristolainen is healthy.

"I think I've already played with two different partners here through three days, so I'm not quite sure whether I'm playing left or right or who I'm with," Sanheim said Saturday. "I think I have the capability of being able to play with a lot of different guys, so whatever they do with me and my pair, I feel comfortable being able to play with whoever back there."

During Saturday's training camp scrimmage, Sanheim also featured on the second power play unit, which consisted of himself, Tyson Foerster, Owen Tippett, Noah Cates, and Bobby Brink.

Flyers' Travis Sanheim Poised for New Leadership Role in 2025-26The Philadelphia Flyers have had a leadership opening since the NHL trade deadline, and Travis Sanheim is a prime candidate to step in and step up.

York and center Christian Dvorak rotated in for Sanheim and Cates at times.

So, while this isn't all to be taken as gospel at this stage, it's a potential new role for Sanheim, and a departure from the days of Ristolainen and Egor Zamula getting valuable power play minutes.

"I think there's more offense to my game," added Sanheim. "I think you saw I was on the power play today, and if that's something I'm asked of this season, I think that excites me."

As for Zamula, he was interestingly paired with Jamie Drysdale on Saturday, swapping places with Nick Seeler, who was next to Gill.

Zamula and Drysdale did spend some time together last season, though not nearly enough to draw conclusions one way or another on their chemistry and performances.

What is clear, though, is that Tocchet recognizes that he may not be able to get the most out of York and Sanheim when they're on the ice playing together at the same time.

How York rises to the challenge remains to be seen, but if the Flyers can manage to give themselves two legitimate top-four defense pairs, it lightens the load on everyone and should allow other guys, such as Grans, to step up and play more comfortably.