The Columbus Blue Jackets placed veteran defenseman Carson Soucy on waivers Wednesday, a day after activating Dante Fabbro from injured reserve.
The move, reported by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, is intended to thin out a crowded blue line and create clearer roles among the remaining defenders.
Soucy, 32, has already worn the uniforms of four organizations in the past three seasons, and a claim would make it five.
The Alberta native entered the NHL with the Minnesota Wild in 2017-18 before the Seattle Kraken selected him in the 2021 Expansion Draft.
In two seasons with the expansion club he proved to be a reliable middle-pair option, posting 13 goals and 37 points in 142 games while recording a plus-25 rating and averaging nearly 17 minutes of ice time.
He blocked 169 shots and delivered 261 hits during that stretch, and his even-strength possession numbers were solid.
That performance earned him a three-year, $9.75 million contract from the Vancouver Canucks in free agency. Injuries quickly derailed the deal, and Vancouver moved him the following season to the New York Rangers in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick.
Soucy appeared in 62 games for the Rangers, collecting four goals and 11 points with a plus-6 rating while averaging roughly 17 minutes per night.
Defensive metrics remained respectable, yet his limited footspeed increasingly confined him to bottom-pair minutes.
Less than a year later, on January 26 of the 2025-26 season, the Rangers traded him to the New York Islanders for a 2026 third-round selection. His time on Long Island was brief and unproductive.
This fall he arrived in Columbus on a professional tryout that was later converted into a contract. Through seven games he has managed a single assist while averaging 14:45 of ice time.
Coach Rick Bowness has primarily paired him with Erik Gudbranson, a combination that has produced a 22.2 percent expected-goals share according to MoneyPuck—by a wide margin the weakest figure on the team.
The waiver placement gives every other NHL club a chance to claim Soucy and absorb the remaining years of his contract. If he clears, Columbus can assign him to the American Hockey League or retain him as depth.
Either outcome would give the Blue Jackets more flexibility on the back end as they continue to sort their defensive group following Fabbro’s return.
