COLUMBUS, Ohio — A collection of notes, insights, ruminations and did-you-knows gathered throughout the week that was for the Columbus Blue Jackets:

Item No. 1: Davidson’s plan

It’s a fair question, but not an easy one: Blue Jackets president of hockey operations and now interim general manager John Davidson celebrated his 71st birthday last Tuesday. When he decides to retire, it’ll end one of the most unique careers in major sports.

What is Davidson thinking in that regard? Is his current undertaking with the Blue Jackets — running the NHL trade deadline later this week, finding the franchise’s next GM, etc. — his last hurrah before he rides off into the sunset?

“Ultimately, that’s all up to (club president) Mike Priest and the ownership group, whatever they want,” Davidson told The Athletic this week. “I just want to get us going. I just want to get us back on track. I haven’t even thought about retirement, to be honest.

“When we get it all straightened out, we’ll figure things out. I have a gigantic affinity for this franchise and our city. I just … I like a lot of things that are here. Now we need to get it to the next level.”

Asked if he planned to stay on until he felt the franchise was in good hands and headed in the right direction, Davidson said: “That’s it.”

For now, the focus is on the trade deadline, which arrives at 3 p.m. on Friday. The Blue Jackets are expected to be minor players, with only one significant unrestricted free agent (Jack Roslovic) on the roster and a cluster of young players trying to find their way in the league.

The search for Jarmo Kekäläinen’s replacement won’t begin in earnest until after the trade deadline, Davidson said. He said the Blue Jackets have been contacted by “dozens” of potential candidates in the three weeks since Kekäläinen was dismissed.

“There are young, up-and-coming people, there are experienced people, there are people who have done the job before and aren’t working now … everything from A to Z,” Davidson said. “We’re going to go through (the process), Mike Priest and I. Nothing is out of bounds and no ideas are wrong.

“Mike and I will have a strong discussion about what exactly we’re looking for. We’ve already had some discussions in that direction. When that’s in place — when we settle on the characteristics that we think will really benefit our club, in our situation — that’s when you can go through the list and narrow it and start talking to people.”

Example: When Davidson fired Scott Howson back in February 2013, he already knew where he was headed. The Blue Jackets, he believed, needed to focus heavily on the draft, so Kekäläinen (whom Davidson knew well from their time together in St. Louis) was the obvious candidate.

It’s not as if the Blue Jackets no longer need a talented amateur evaluator; every NHL club does. But what’s imperative at present is team-building and roster construction, sorting through the collection of young talent to find the right fit.

“There’s been considerable interest, and that’s great to see,” Davidson said. “We’ve got a big week ahead with the trade deadline. That needs to take most of our energy now, and it is. But once that passes, finding the right GM will be the focus.”

Item No. 2: Nylander’s chance

Michael Nylander was a productive playmaking center for 15 NHL seasons, most prominently with Chicago, Washington and the New York Rangers. William Nylander is in his ninth season with Toronto, one of the “big four” offensive talents that drive the Maple Leafs.

And then there’s Alex Nylander, who has mostly played in the AHL since turning pro eight seasons ago. It’s hard enough to stick in the NHL, but imagine the pressure within that family.

“Of course, you want to have a career path like they’ve both had,” Nylander told The Athletic this week. “Probably after the year I had in Chicago (2019-20, his only full NHL season), I thought I was going to establish myself in the league and really get going. But stuff happens.

“You can’t dwell or think about that. It’s wasted energy. You can’t compare paths. Everybody’s different. I’m just trying to stay positive, work hard and not give up.”

Nylander, then only 21, had 10-16-26 in 65 games with Chicago, which beat Edmonton in a qualifying round series before losing to Vegas in the first round of the playoffs. He suffered a knee injury in the playoffs, but the Blackhawks hoped it would heal with time.

Then, just two weeks before the following season, Nylander had surgery to repair a torn meniscus. He missed the entire season, setting off a chain of unfortunate events.

The Blackhawks sent him to AHL Rockford before the start of 2021-22 and traded him to Pittsburgh midway through the season. In two-plus seasons with the Penguins, he played 14 NHL games and 142 AHL games, barely getting a sniff even on a club that has struggled to find the right mix lower in its lineup.

“It’s obviously frustrating when you’re playing good down there (AHL),” Nylander said. “I was a point-a-game player. I was just staying positive and I was happy that I was feeling good and playing good.”

Nylander hopes a phone call he received late last month will change his outlook. The Penguins traded Nylander and a conditional draft pick to the Blue Jackets for winger Emil Bemstrom on Feb. 22.

It’s the draft pick that truly enticed the Blue Jackets. If Bemstrom scores six goals the rest of the season — he has one already — the pick moves from a sixth-round pick to a third in the 2025 draft. But they’re taking a flier on Nylander and promising him an opportunity.

Alex Nylander makes the cannon boom for the first time! 💥

Congratulate #92 on his first goal as a Blue Jacket! 🎉@FanaticsBook | #CBJ pic.twitter.com/Jz0aUtrcSO

— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) March 1, 2024

In four games, Nylander has 1-2-3. He’s played right wing on the Blue Jackets’ third line with center Cole Sillinger and, most recently, left winger Alexandre Texier. He’s averaged 15:23 in ice time per game. Among forwards, that trails only Boone Jenner (20:52), Johnny Gaudreau (18:35) and Roslovic (18:09) in that span.

“I was so excited by the trade,” Nylander said. “They’ve told me I’m going to get a big opportunity to show what I can do. I’d like to be a part of this group. I’m going to take advantage of it and try to stay in this league from now on.”

Nylander and Sillinger had a bit of a chuckle last week, a chat that only the sons of former NHL players can have.

Michael Nylander played 15 NHL seasons for nine different clubs. Sillinger’s dad, Mike Sillinger, played 18 seasons for 12 different franchises. In 1998-99 and 1999-2000, they were teammates with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

They were both centers, but, according to Mike Sillinger, they did draw “some shifts together” with the Lightning under coaches Jacques Demers and Steve Ludzik. Now, 23 years later, their sons are playing on the same line in Columbus.

Item No. 3: The hit “hunter”

The Blue Jackets signed forward Max McCue to a three-year entry-level deal on Friday, adding a shift disturber to their prospect pool. McCue has had a breakout year in his fourth season with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League.

“It’s an overage year (in junior) so he should be better,” Blue Jackets assistant general manager Basil McRae said. “He really impressed us early this season, and he’s just continued to do what he’s always done but at a higher level.”

McCue, 21, has 24-27-51 and 97 penalty minutes in 53 games this season. He was drafted by San Jose in the fifth round (No. 136) of the 2021 draft but never signed with the Sharks. He’s been to three NHL training camps: two with San Jose and one with the Rangers this past fall.

The Rangers and McCue had initial talks about signing an AHL contract, but he returned to London, which is atop the OHL standings.

“He’s a bottom-six energy guy,” McRae said. “I don’t want to say he’s a predator, but he’s hunting out there, looking for the big hit. He’s 6-foot-1, but he’s pretty lean (183 pounds) right now. If he puts on some weight … when’s the last time we had a guy who could really hit? Josh Anderson?

“There are a lot of guys on the fourth line who want to hit, but they can’t get there. There are skilled guys who can get there but they turn away from hits. He’s not the most skilled guy, but he does have skill. And he’s always looking for hits.”

McCue could head to AHL Cleveland if London’s OHL playoff run ends in time. At the latest, he’ll turn pro next season and get a shot in Blue Jackets training camp.

“Will he play in the NHL? I don’t know,” McRae said. “But at least he has a calling card, and he has a chance. It’s hard when a player is good to average at everything because you need to be special. The edge that he plays with, that’s his special calling card.”

Item No. 4: Snacks

• As of today, it’s been five weeks since Blue Jackets rookie center Adam Fantilli suffered a lacerated calf in a game against Seattle. Fantilli spent the first few weeks of his recovery back home in Toronto, but he’s been spotted in recent days around Nationwide Arena, where he’s getting daily treatment. If the timetable holds, Fantilli could return later this month with about 10 games remaining in the season. “To be honest, in this situation, we’re not rushing him,” Davidson said. “Whenever nature takes its course, he’ll be back. I hope he plays some games at the end of the season. I’d hate to see him not play and lose all that development time. And he’s a kid who loves to play. But we’re going to be smart and careful with him.”

• Per the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement, Fantilli can’t be among the players the Blue Jackets send to AHL Cleveland temporarily by the Friday deadline to make eligible to play in the AHL after the NHL regular season ends. The players are technically sent to the AHL, but it’s only a “paper” move, as they never physically leave Columbus and are recalled immediately after the deadline passes. So why can’t Fantilli go? The CBA prohibits injured players from being “papered” to the AHL unless they’ve spent less than 25 percent of the regular season with the NHL club. There is a chance Fantilli could go to AHL Cleveland on a conditioning assignment, but that would allow for only a six-day or three-game stay with the Monsters.

• Second-year winger Kent Johnson has missed the last two games after suffering an upper-body injury on the final faceoff of the game on Wednesday in New York. If he’s not able to play in any of the Blue Jackets’ games this week — Monday vs. Vegas, Tuesday at Pittsburgh, Thursday vs. Edmonton — he could end up in the same situation as Fantilli: Not able to be “papered” by the Blue Jackets for a spot in the AHL postseason.

• Here’s your Sunday Gathering trivia question: We’re getting to the point of the season when a lot of players come and go; when fans must familiarize themselves with new faces and new sweater numbers. With that in mind: What is the lowest (closest to zero, but not zero) sweater number that has never been worn by a Blue Jackets player?

• Defenseman Zach Werenski had two more assists in Saturday’s 5-2 win in Chicago, giving him 32 on the season, good for 15th among NHL defensemen. Keep in mind, he struggled at the start of the season after missing almost all of 2022-23 with a shoulder injury, and missed 12 games this season with a high-ankle sprain. Werenski now has 198 helpers in his career, just six behind David Vyborny for No. 2 on the all-time list. Rick Nash is safe (for now) as the franchise leader with 258.

• Saturday’s matchup with Chicago featured the only two clubs in the NHL this season that have yet to get a power-play goal from a defenseman. Both clubs’ power plays have hovered near the bottom of the league all season — Columbus (14.7 percent) is 29th, while Chicago (13.0) is dead last — so perhaps it’s not a surprise that all of the Blue Jackets’ (25) and Blackhawks’ (23) man-advantage goals have been scored by forwards. But get this: The last Blue Jackets defenseman to score on the power play? Marcus Björk, on Dec. 14, 2022, vs. Detroit — a span of 119 games. Björk’s was the only Blue Jackets power-play goal from a defenseman all last season.

• The Blue Jackets faced Carolina goaltender Spencer Martin last Thursday in Nationwide, an interesting matchup considering Martin spent the first half of the season and appeared in 13 games with the Blue Jackets before they lost him on waivers to the Hurricanes on Jan. 19. Martin tried to hype himself up to face his former mates, but it didn’t work. “I was trying to work myself up to stick it to them, basically,” Martin said after making 20 saves in a 4-2 win. “But, at the end of the day, I really enjoyed my time here. Especially seeing those guys during warmups, there’s no hate or anything like that. It was actually really fun.” Martin is 4-0-1 with a .922 save percentage and 1.97 goals-against average in his first five starts with Carolina.

• Your trivia answer: 60. Yegor Chinakhov is the only player to wear No. 59, and Rick Nash’s No. 61 has been retired. But nobody has yet claimed 60. The most frequently issued sweater is No. 23, which has been worn by 14 different players.

• Sillinger has a career-high three-game goal-scoring streak after scoring his 11th of the season on Saturday in Chicago. That gives him 30 goals in his NHL career and makes him the third Blue Jackets player ever to hit 30 NHL goals before turning 21. Nash scored 58 goals and Pierre-Luc Dubois hit 47 before the age of 21. Sillinger has the rest of this season (22 games) to pad his total. He turns 21 on May 16.

SILLY IS ON 🔥

His 3rd goal in 3 games, a new career high!@FanaticsBook | #CBJ pic.twitter.com/9e3xzHQEYO

— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) March 3, 2024

• We’re hearing that defenseman Nick Blankenburg, who has been sidelined by a concussion twice this season and has played only one game at either the NHL or AHL level since Dec. 19, is close to a return with AHL Cleveland. Blankenburg was injured in Columbus on Dec. 19 and sent to Cleveland when he was medically cleared on Jan. 25. He played the next night against AHL Hartford before going back on the shelf. He resumed skating with the Monsters this week, but an exact return date has not been declared.

• AHL Cleveland’s Trey Fix-Wolansky is going to give the Blue Jackets no choice but to recall him at some point soon. He’s working on a five-game goal-scoring streak, totaling 6-1-7 and a plus-7 rating in his last five games and climbing to third in the AHL scoring race with 22-31-53 in 50 games. He also leads the AHL with five shootout goals in seven attempts. He’s scored 124 points in his last 111 AHL games. Meanwhile, defenseman Jake Christiansen is riding an eight-game point streak with AHL Cleveland, putting up 2-6-8 and a plus-4 rating since Feb. 17. His next game — Cleveland hosts Grand Rapids on Monday — will be his 200th AHL outing.

• Davidson went to Cleveland to watch the Monsters last week while the Blue Jackets played in New York. He wasn’t there specifically to see defenseman David Jiricek but has closely watched how Jiricek has played in the 15 games (5-7-12, minus-8) since he was sent down in late January. Jiricek has made it clear he believes he’s an NHL defenseman, but he’s handled the stint well, Davidson said. “There hasn’t been a problem, and I’m really happy about that,” said Davidson. “When you have noise all over the place, it takes away from the focus of just playing and getting better and being coached. He’s doing all of the above, which is good.”

(Photo of John Davidson: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)