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Markus Nutivaara

Columbus Has Key Defensive Decisions To Make This Offseason

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The Columbus Blue Jackets are enjoying some of their best defensive depth in team history as they currently have 10 blueliners on their current roster. Not even including the impressive play of their top line of Seth Jones and Zach Werenski, the team has a quality top-six with trade deadline acquisition Ian Cole to pair with David Savard on the second line. The recently extended Markus Nutivaara also makes a quality third pairing with Ryan Murray. Their depth is so great that veteran Jack Johnson finds himself as a healthy scratch lately and can’t seem to break into Columbus lineup on most days.

However, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Blue Jackets’ blueline should look quite different next season and much of those changes will revolve around what the team does with three players in particular, including Johnson, Cole and Murray.

Johnson has had a tough year and is wrapping up a seven-year, $30.5MM contract. The 31-year-old asked for a  trade midway through the season as his playing time had dropped this year, but the Blue Jackets found no takers and seems unlikely to return to Columbus considering how little he has been playing of late and now has been a healthy scratch for four straight games.

Cole, who many believed Columbus added as only a trade rental, has made quite a mark on the team’s defense and seems to be a good fit next to the physical Savard and the team is considering bringing him back next season. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen had a hand in drafting him back in 2007 when he was with the St. Louis Blues. According to Portzline, there have been rumors the team has already discussed a contract extension with Cole, but there are questions whether the team can afford him.

As for Murray, the team must make a decision on whether they want to retain the restricted free agent. Murray, who is currently making $2.825MM this year, is an excellent skater and puck mover, but has struggled his entire career with injuries. He’s only played out a full 82-game season once and has never come close after that as 66 games is his next highest. He’s played in just 41 games this year.

If the team signs two of those three players, Columbus should continue to have a strong defensive core in the future.

Markus Nutivaara Signs Four-Year Extension

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed Markus Nutivaara to a four-year extension, worth an average annual value of $2.7MM. Nutivaara was scheduled to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season. The salary breakdown is as follows:

  • 2018-19: $2.5MM
  • 2019-20: $2.5MM
  • 2020-21: $2.5MM
  • 2021-22: $3.3MM

Nutivaara, 23, was selected in the seventh round three years ago and has burst onto the scene as a full-time player for the Blue Jackets. Through 59 games this season, he’s recorded 22 points and could see even more ice time in the coming years. With Jack Johnson and Ian Cole likely leaving through free agency, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Nutivaara given more responsibility. With Ryan Murray still scheduled to become an RFA and rumored to be included in trade talks in the past, getting Nutivaara under contract was important.

It’s a very nice raise for the left-handed defenseman, but it does buy out one of his unrestricted free agent years. That obviously bumped up the cap hit a bit, but it is still low enough to be an inexpensive deal for the Blue Jackets if Nutivaara continues to develop. He’ll be just 28 when it expires, and could demand another solid contract on the open market.

The Blue Jackets are heading to the playoffs again if they can hold off the last few challengers, and you can bet that Nutivaara will play a larger role this time around. Last season, he played just two games in the postseason and averaged fewer than 12 minutes. Where he’ll slot in this time around isn’t set in stone, but with the way he has been playing lately there’s no way he should see the press box very often.

Injury Update: Stone, Marchand, Duclair, Crawford, Nutivaara, Bishop

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Ottawa Senators winger Mark Stone will not be making the trip to Florida for their game against the Panthers on Monday, according to Ottawa Sun’s Don Brennan. Stone suffered a leg injury after colliding with Calgary’s Micheal Ferland on Friday.

Brennan added that Ottawa coach Guy Boucher said today that he did not know whether the injury would keep Stone out of the lineup short-term or long-term. The loss of Stone would be another disappointment in the Senators’ season. Stone has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise disappointing season. The 25-year-old already has broken his career-high in assists with 42 and is on track to have a career-high in goals. He currently has 22 this season. He was one of the few untouchable players at the trade deadline this season.

  • The Boston Bruins announced that Brad Marchand would miss Sunday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks with an upper body injury. The move has received a lot of attention as the forward was yanked at the last minute before the game, just one day after Marchand had another collision with a player, this time with Chicago’s Anthony Duclair. Many believe the team held him out as a precaution from potential retribution.
  • Speaking of Duclair, Tracey Myers of NHL.com writes that Duclair was wearing a walking boot on his right leg this morning. Coach Joel Quenneville said yesterday after the game that Duclair is expected to miss one to two weeks. Myers added that goaltender Corey Crawford is still not skating with the team, although he is working out on his own.
  • Steve Gorten of the Columbus Dispatch writes that good news could be coming for two players with the Columbus Blue Jackets as defensemen Dean Kukan and Markus Nutivaara are both practicing in full gear and may be close to returning to the team. Kukan and Nutivaara were both injured in the same game on Feb. 16. Kukan, who has been out with an upper-body injury, has appeared in 10 games for Columbus this year. Nutivaara has been on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. He has played in 51 games so far this season with three goals and 15 assists.
  • Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News writes that Dallas Stars goaltender Ben Bishop, who has been out since Mar. 5 with a knee injury, skated today with no pads and is scheduled to skate tomorrow with pads. No word on how soon, the veteran goaltender is expected to return. The 31-year-old has played 51 games for Dallas, posting a 2.49 GAA and a solid .917 save percentage.

Blue Jackets Activate Carlsson, Place Atkinson On IR

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The Columbus Blue Jackets announced a pair of moves today as the team activated defenseman Gabriel Carlsson from injured reserve and made room on their roster by placing winger Cam Atkinson on injured reserve, retroactive to Oct. 28.

Carlsson, the team’s first-round pick in 2015, has played just four games this season, but the 20-year-old blueliner suffered an upper-body injury on Oct. 13 against the New York Rangers and was placed on injured reserve. He had, however, been a regular on the team. Carlsson won the battle for the defense’s sixth spot in training camp this year, beating out regular Markus Nutivaara and journeyman Scott Harrington.

When Carlsson was injured, the team recalled Nutivaara, who had played 66 games for Columbus last year. The 23-year-old has fared well since replacing Carlsson in the lineup, putting up five assists in nine games, already just two points short of equaling his output last year when he finished with seven points. Who will continue to play on that third pairing is unknown. However, for the moment, both players will continue to play with the Blue Jackets.

Atkinson suffered a lower body injury after suffering numerous injuries in a game on Oct. 28 against the St. Louis Blues. He suffered the original injury in the first period of the game, but returned. Then he was hit in the helmet with a puck during the second period only to re-injure that lower-body injury in the third period when he took a hit and was forced to leave the game. Since the move is retroactive to Oct. 28 and he has already (technically) been on IR for a week, he can be activated at any time, tweets The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline, so a third move could come in the next day or two depending on when Atkinson is ready to go. He is currently listed as day-to-day.

Minor Transactions: 10/05/17

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We’ll keep track of all the assignments around the league right here, as teams fine tune their rosters.

  • The Golden Knights assigned Brandon Pirri to the Chicago Wolves after clearing waivers. The 26-year old forward was just signed to a contract yesterday, after failing to earn on in Florida’s training camp. For the Golden Knights, there is no risk to signing a former 20+ goal scorer to see if he can still compete at this level. The team may be weak on offense all year, and could look to Pirri to infuse some scoring touch on the powerplay at some point.
  • The Boston Bruins sent Emil Johansson back to Providence, and will go with the more veteran Paul Postma as their extra defenseman. Johansson joined the organization last year after his European season was over, and played in six games for the P-Bruins down the stretch. A seventh-round pick, Johansson is highly regarded by the Bruins staff and could get his shot at the NHL at some point this year.
  • The Calgary Flames made another move, sending Garnet Hathaway to the minor leagues in order to clear room for Jaromir Jagr. Jagr was introduced yesterday at a press conference but likely won’t suit up for the team until he gets a few practices under his belt. The Flames could have used his offense last night as they were shutout by the Edmonton Oilers, in a game where Hathaway played just 11 minutes.
  • The Washington Capitals have loaned Chandler Stephenson to Hershey after clearing waivers, meaning the 23-year old will have to wait patiently for his next NHL opportunity. Since being drafted in the third round, Stephenson has only been given short chances at a job with the Capitals, playing in 13 games over the past two years. Still looking for his first NHL point, he’ll have to prove it at the AHL level once again.
  • Grand Rapids will be getting some help, as the Detroit Red Wings have assigned Matt Lorito and Eric Tangradi to the AHL. Tangradi cleared waivers today, and will return to the team he helped take to the Calder Cup championship a year ago. In the playoffs for Grand Rapids, Tangradi scored 19 points in 19 games, and will try to do the same this year. The Griffins have also signed Matt Carey to a professional tryout, and sent Matej Machovsky to the ECHL.
  • According to Adrian Dater of BSN Denver, the Avalanche have indeed sent Joe Colborne to San Antonio to begin the season. Colborne was among those who cleared waivers today, and will have to work his way up from the minor leagues if he wants to return to the NHL. It’s a far fall for Colborne, who was a 19-goal scorer in the league just two seasons ago with Calgary, but suffered the same fate as many Avalanche players and posted a career-low in points last season. Scoring just eight all year, his $2.5MM salary looks like a dreadful overpay.
  • The Blue Jackets have assigned defenseman Markus Nutivaara to the AHL (via the Cleveland Monsters website). For the former seventh-round pick appeared in 66 games during his rookie campaign, collecting two goals and five assists. He also made his way into a pair of playoff games, compiling one goal and one assist.

Ben Levine contributed to this post.

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