Clear Breakaway

Bob McElligott and Aaron Portzline discuss the first day of training camp for the Columbus Blue Jackets, including the latest on Kirill Marchenko, Adam Fantilli, and Denton Mateychuk.

Mike Priest is retiring as president of the Columbus Blue Jackets, effective September 30, staying on as a consultant through the end of the calendar year. John H. McConnell II takes over the role on an interim basis. The news landed after media luncheon day, and Bob McElligott got Aaron Portzline of The Athletic on the line to make sense of it. In this episode: • Who Mike Priest was to this franchise — the day-one employee who helped John H. McConnell land the team and wrote the $75 million expansion check• Whether this connects to the summer of turmoil, and why Porty won't pile the franchise's struggles on one man• Why the grandson stepping forward may be the most consequential thing here, and what a McConnell II era could look like• The open question of who becomes president next, and whether Don Waddell is a candidate to move up• Waddell at media day: another offer to Adam Fantilli "in the next 24 hours," and why a GM wouldn't telegraph that• Cutter Gauthier's 41 goals and new deal in Anaheim, and what it does to the Fantilli negotiation• Camp holdout history in Columbus: Kovalchuk in Atlanta, Josh Anderson in 2017, and the Ryan Johansen fallout nobody ever got over• Waddell setting the expectation at "make the playoffs" — and sounding tired of talking about it• Kirill Marchenko's sit-down with the GM, and why Porty wants to ask him the hard questions himself• Rick Bowness, no fitness testing allowed, and a first day of camp that's going to be nasty Plus two great ones from the road: the night the team plane turned around over Carolina, and the time Porty talked his way into a stranger's Ohio basement at 11 p.m. to file a story by flashlight. Camp opens tomorrow at Nationwide Arena. First preseason game is Monday against Detroit.

Welcome to the maiden voyage of Clear Breakaway. Bob McElligott kicks off the 2026-27 season with a guy who has been covering this team as long as he's been around it: Aaron Portzline, senior writer for The Athletic and a Blue Jackets beat writer since the franchise's first puck drop in 2000. First, Bob handles the elephant in the room, the end of his 17-year run calling games, the decision to eliminate the radio broadcast position in favor of a TV/radio simulcast, and why he didn't see it coming. Then it's hockey, with camp physicals hours away: • Kirill Marchenko's trade request — "one of the least effective trade requests I've ever seen" — and why Porty thinks a 30-to-40-goal scorer doesn't get moved right before the season• Adam Fantilli unsigned, and what the Leo Carlsson and Connor Bedard deals do to his number• Why the RFAs, not the GMs, are holding the hammer this summer — plus lost regional TV money, a new team plane, and Don Waddell's internal budget• The Ryan Johansen 2014 cautionary tale, and what a compacted camp and 84-game schedule mean for a late signing• Cam Talbot's incentive-laden deal, and why Elvis Merzlikins' shoulder may be more serious than anyone is saying• A prospect pipeline that now runs through college campuses instead of Cleveland• Carson Soucy's PTO and whether he's already better than Columbus' seventh defenseman• Kent Johnson on the top line, Cole Sillinger in the middle, and Rick Bowness' message: "We're not here to dick around." New episodes twice a week. Hit like and follow on the Clear Breakaway YouTube page, and send us your questions for the next show. (00:00) Open (00:12) Welcome to Clear Breakaway (01:31) The Elephant in the Room (03:30) Syracuse, the Clippers, a Changing Biz (04:59) Marchenko's Trade Request (09:20) Leverage and the Deadline Scenario (10:47) Fantilli Is Still Unsigned (12:16) Carlsson at 18, Bedard at 15 (13:51) Who Really Has the Hammer? (16:02) Lost TV Money and a New Team Plane (18:19) The Ryan Johansen Lesson (18:53) Short Camp, 84-Game Schedule (20:12) Cam Talbot Signs (22:58) The Pipeline Moved to College (27:20) Soucy's PTO and the Third Pair (30:19) Kent Johnson on the Top Line (33:30) Bowness Sets the Tone (36:03) A Tinderbox? The Mood Around the Team (38:30) Like, Follow, See You Next Time

After 17 years as an NHL broadcaster, Bob McElligott's team decided not to renew his contract. In this first episode, he says thank you ... what's next. Bob talks about the weeks since the news, the people who reached out, and the ones who told him they listened over the years driving an 18-wheeler, cleaning schools at night, working third shift at the plant, and tuning in to the Monday mailbag. Then he shares what he's been building: Clear Breakaway, an online platform that breaks from the way sports content usually gets made, usually with one announcer talking at the masses. He'll have opinions. He'd rather have a conversation. Hockey, baseball, football, basketball and sports in general are all on the table. He also announces the first piece: a twice-weekly podcast with Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, starting this week. Training camp is open, there's a big question at the top of the roster, and Bob says there's no one he'd rather work through it with. There's more coming in the next couple of weeks. For now what do you want to hear? Send your questions to clearbreakaway@gmail.com, we look forward to reading them.