Jackets give Jiricek new start with deal to Wild

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman David Jiricek will get a fresh start with the Minnesota Wild, who acquired the 2022 sixth pick for 22-year-old defenseman Daemon Hunt and draft picks Saturday night.

The Wild sent Hunt, a first-round pick in the 2025 NHL entry draft (top five protected), a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL draft (previously acquired from Colorado), a fourth-round selection in the 2026 NHL entry (previously acquired from Toronto) and second-round pick in the 2027 NHL draft to the Blue Jackets. Columbus also sent a fifth-round selection in the 2025 NHL draft to the Wild along with Jiricek.

If Minnesota’s first-round pick in the 2025 NHL draft is one of the first five selections, the Wild will retain the pick and transfer its 2026 first-round selection to the Blue Jackets.

Jiricek, 21, was drafted from Plzen HC in the Czech Extraliga by former Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen. He was the second defenseman taken in the 2022 draft. Jiricek has a coveted skills set — 6-foot-4, right-handed shot with offensive upside — but has only played 53 games in the NHL since debuting in the 2022-23 season.

While Jiricek believed he was ready for big minutes and responsibilities in the NHL, three different Blue Jackets coaches and two different front office regimes in Columbus felt he wasn’t ready yet, sending the defenseman back to AHL Cleveland for more experience.

The Wild had been interested in Jiricek dating to last offseason. In trading their 2025 first-rounder, Minnesota GM Bill Guerin is banking on the Wild building on their blazing start (15-4-4) to make the draft pick a low first-rounder, where they wouldn’t get a chance to draft a prospect with Jiricek’s upside.

Hunt was an expendable part of the Wild’s considerable depth on defense — a group that includes last year’s Calder Trophy finalist Brock Faber, AHL defenseman Carson Lambos and Zeev Buium, the University of Denver standout taken 12th last season. Now, they’ve added another defenseman with potential in Jiricek.

“Daemon is a very good, young defenseman and we are excited to welcome him to the Blue Jackets family. In addition to adding a very good prospect, the draft picks we’ve acquired provide us with valuable assets that we can use to improve our club moving forward,” Columbus GM Don Waddell said. “I’d also like to thank David for his contributions during his time with our organization and wish him well.”

Jiricek will report to the Iowa Wild in the AHL.

Source: www.espn.com