Blue Jackets Place Carson Soucy On Waivers

After activating Dante Fabbro yesterday, the Columbus Blue Jackets are looking to shed some extra weight in their defensive corps. According to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, the Blue Jackets have placed defenseman Carson Soucy on waivers.

If he’s claimed, Soucy will join his fifth organization in three years. The Viking, Alberta, native began his NHL career in the 2017-18 season with the Minnesota Wild and was eventually drafted by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 Expansion Draft.

Soucy, 32, was solid in his two-year stint with the upstart Kraken. In the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, Soucy scored 13 goals and 37 points in 142 games with a +25 rating, and an average of 16:55 of ice time per game. He also blocked 169 shots and delivered 261 hits during that stretch, finishing with a 51.4% CorsiFor and 90.5% on-ice SV% at even strength.

Because of his strong play, Soucy earned his second multi-year contract, signing a three-year, $9.75MM ($3.25MM AAV) deal with the Vancouver Canucks as an unrestricted free agent. Unfortunately, injury troubles began immediately, and Soucy fell out of favor with Vancouver. The Canucks traded him to the New York Rangers the following season for a 2025 third-round selection.

His play didn’t improve after a change of scenery. In 62 games with the Rangers, Soucy scored four goals and 11 points with a +6 rating, averaging nearly 17 minutes of ice time per game. He had promising defensive metrics, but his lack of speed became such a detriment that the Rangers relegated him to bottom-pairing duties.

Nearly 11 months after the Rangers acquired him, they sent him away. On January 26th of last season, New York dealt Soucy to the New York Islanders for a 2026 third-round pick. His tenure with the Isles left much to be desired, to say the least.

Soucy continued his tour of the Metropolitan Division this season after converting a professional tryout agreement with the Blue Jackets. Despite his slow skating, head coach Rick Bowness made the peculiar decision to primarily play Soucy with Erik Gudbranson. The veteran defensive combination produced a 22.2% xGoals% according to MoneyPuck, the lowest on the team by a significant margin. Soucy has registered one assist in seven games with Columbus, averaging 14:45 of ice time.