Two days after trading Alexandre Texier to the St. Louis Blues, new President and General Manager Don Waddell continued the Columbus Blue Jackets purge.
As first reported by Aaron Portzline of The Athleticthe Blue Jackets intend to buy out the final year of defenseman Adam Boqvist’s contract.
Boqvist was scheduled to make $3.2 million in 2024-25 with a salary cap hit of $2.6 million. With a buyout, the Blue Jackets will owe him $533,334 in each of the next two seasons.
The move saves the team $2.1 million.
The 23-year-old Boqvist played in 133 games with the Blue Jackets, scoring 17 goals and adding 39 assists. Injuries derailed him while in Columbus, with Boqvist missing at least 30 games in all three seasons with the club.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets intend to let Alex Nylander walk away as well, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Nylander, acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Emil Bemstrom in February, was red-hot for the Blue Jackets in his 23 games with Columbus. He scored 11 goals and added four assists for 15 points. He had three multi-goal games with the team, including a hat trick in just his fifth game with the team — a record for fastest hat trick in club history.
The 26-year-old winger made $775,000 this season and was a restricted free agent. By not qualifying him, Nylander now becomes an unrestricted free agent and able to sign with any team.
