“Blue Jackets claim Zach Aston-Reese off waivers from Golden Knights”

The Blue Jackets have gained depth up front Zach Aston Reese claimed off waivers by the Golden Knights, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports.

The 30-year-old Aston-Reese signed a one-year, two-way contract ($775,000/$475,000) to join Vegas in July. After failing to secure a roster spot in Vegas, he mostly lost it to the PTO signee Tanner Pearsonhe will now play this deal out in the Blue Jackets organization.

It's not surprising that Aston-Reese ends up elsewhere, especially with a Columbus club looking to move forward. During his five seasons as a full-time NHL player from 2018 to 2023 with the Penguins, Ducks and Maple Leafs, he was a regular on the fourth line and even produced some of the best even-strength defensive impact in the league in 2020, earning Selke votes . However, last year he had to settle for a two-way deal with the Red Wings and barely played in the NHL, hitting waivers and spending most of the season with AHL Grand Rapids. He made only three appearances for Detroit, averaging just 5:09 per game without scoring a point.

Aston-Reese's point output in Grand Rapids was what you would expect from an NHL-leading defensive forward: a total of 30 points in 61 games. With a career high of 52.2 xGF% when heavily deployed in the defensive zone, he will provide early value to Columbus' back six, even if he doesn't find the net as often.

He could potentially move to left wing and form a fourth line for the Jackets Sean Kuraly And Mathieu Olivier. Columbus also has to send a forward to AHL Cleveland in the next few hours James Malatesta or Mikael Pyyhtiato reduce their active roster to 23 players.