Moments after announcing a two-year extension for Joonas Korpisalo, the Blue Jackets also revealed that they have signed Zac Dalpe to a two-year, two-way contract, and Dean Kukan to a one-year, two-way deal. No financials have been released so far. Dalpe would have been an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, while Kukan was eligible for arbitration for the first time in his career.
The Blue Jackets are doing some spring cleaning in terms of contract decisions, bringing back key members of their AHL squad. Dalpe, acquired off waivers in February from the Minnesota Wild, showed his dominance at the minor league level down the stretch with 15 points in 20 games for the Monsters. The former second-round pick has only played in 128 NHL games, registering 24 points. Though he has a bunch of offensive upside, he just hasn’t been able to crack an NHL lineup with any sort of consistency and at 27 is running out of time. He’s solid depth for the club should injuries strike, but is more likely to spend the year with Cleveland.
Kukan on the other hand is an undrafted defenseman out of Swizterland who impressed this season at the AHL. Since showing his ability in the SHL as a teenager, Kukan has developed into a solid two-way defender that could find his way onto an NHL roster at some point. Just 23-years old (soon to turn 24), he led the defense in scoring for the Monsters with 29 points in 72 games and logged a ton of ice time. He’s competed at the World Championships several times for Switzerland, including the most recent one when he anchored the team’s second pair.