Columbus Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner may be headed to another team in the Metropolitan Division. On last night’s U.S. broadcast of the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft, Kevin Weekes of ESPN linked Jenner to sign as a free agent with the Washington Capitals, saying he has “been hearing [Jenner] linked to Washington for a while now.” Washington has been extremely aggressive in this offseason so far as they look to rebound after a disappointing 2025-26 season. They have already added Buffalo Sabres star Alex Tuch and St. Louis Blues scorer Jordan Kyrou, and could add even more to their forward group.
That Jenner is expected to depart the Blue Jackets does not come as a major surprise. It has been previously reported that Jenner and Columbus are likely headed for a divorce, in part because of Jenner’s decline in role last season and how that has made it more difficult for the team to reach an agreement with him on a contract extension. The 33-year-old has spent the entirety of his 808-game NHL career with the Blue Jackets, and is the franchise’s all-time leader in games played. While his role did decline somewhat under Rick Bowness, Jenner still finished the season with 13 goals and 38 points, and could be a valuable part of Washington’s bottom-six in the event he signs there.
Other notes from the Eastern Conference:
- The Capitals dealt pending UFA center David Kampf to the Buffalo Sabres as part of the Tuch trade, but that should not be seen as an indication that the veteran center will play for the Sabres next season. According to Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic, Kampf’s inclusion in the trade was only to balance the number of contracts going each way, and the Sabres do not “have any intent to sign [Kampf].” The 31-year-old pivot is set to hit free agency after a difficult 2025-26 season that saw him begin the season in the AHL, join the Canucks as part of a mutual contract termination, and then play in just two games after being traded to Washington.
- Ottawa Senators veteran forward Claude Giroux will test the waters of unrestricted free agency next week – though he is not closing the door to a return to Ottawa as well, reports Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. It has been generally believed that the 38-year-old veteran, who is a native of the Ottawa area, would likely want to remain with his hometown team for as long as his NHL career goes, so LeBrun’s report contradicts that line of thinking. The veteran of 1,345 games showed he could still be a capable middle-six scorer last season, finishing with 14 goals and 49 points. Seeing as Giroux has not reached the conference finals since 2010, he may be testing free agency in order to see if he can sign with one of the NHL’s top contending teams, a classification Ottawa has not yet earned.
