A busy day on the NHL signing wire continues, as the Columbus Blue Jackets have signed defenseman Jake Christiansen to a one-year, two-way contract extension. Columbus didn’t disclose the details of the deal.
Christiansen has amassed 32 games of NHL experience over the past two seasons, proving himself to be a callup option when injuries strike. The 23-year-old is still developing and will fight for NHL time with Columbus’ growing group of young defenders.
24 of those 32 appearances came last season as injuries decimated the team. He recorded four assists in those outings, strictly playing depth minutes.
With healthy seasons from Nick Blankenburg, Jake Bean, and Adam Boqvist next year, though, it seems unlikely Christiansen will build much on his NHL experience to date. The undrafted free agent signing has shown significant offensive upside in the minors, but he simply doesn’t have the NHL ceiling of other players in the Columbus system.
If he does make it to the NHL full-time someday, it would likely be as a bottom-pairing player with power-play time. He has an accurate finish from the back end and is smart with breakout passes, but he doesn’t have much to write home about in his defensive game.
Christiansen is entering his fourth campaign with the Blue Jackets organization after five seasons spent with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips.