Blue Jackets Sign Defenseman Tommy Cross
The Columbus Blue Jackets are bringing in a familiar face in former USHL Junior Blue Jackets player Tommy Cross. The 28-year-old defenseman, a long-time Boston Bruins depth player, is also a good friend of Cam Atkinson from the pair’s time at Boston College. TSN’s Frank Servalli reports that it is a two-way deal for Cross, paying him the minimum $650K at the NHL level.
The 28-year-old has shown off his offensive game over the past couple of years with the Bruins’ AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. In two seasons, he’s combined for 20 goals and 71 points. However, the blueliner has not had any success cracking the Bruins lineup, even with the team’s rash of injuries in the last couple of years. He hasn’t appeared in a regular season game in two years, although he did make an appearance in a Bruins’ playoff game in the 2016-17 season.
The two-way deal should allow Cross to play a major role for the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters and would have to challenge both Dean Kukan and Markus Nutivaara for playing time at the NHL level.
U.S. Announces 2018 Men’s National Roster
USA Hockey announced their initial 2018 national roster for the upcoming 2018 IIHF Men’s World Championships on May 4-20 in Copenhagen and Herning, Denmark, headlined by Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane.
Kane, who announced he’d play this summer after his Blackhawks season ended with no trip to the playoffs, represented the U.S. twice in both the 2010 and 2014 Olympic Games, leading the U.S. to a silver medal in 2010, was named the captain of this team back on April 9. He will be joined by four others with World Championship experience, including Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin, New York Islanders forward Anders Lee, Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy and the Calgary Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau.
The one interesting roster note is the addition of 18-year-old Quinn Hughes, who is considered to be a likely top-10 pick in the upcoming NHL draft. The full roster can be found below:
G Scott Darling
G Keith Kincaid
G Charlie Lindgren
D Will Butcher
D Quinn Hughes
D Nick Jensen
D Alec Martinez
D Connor Murphy
D Jordan Oesterle
D Neal Pionk
F Cam Atkinson
F Blake Coleman
F Alex DeBrincat
F Johnny Gaudreau
F Brian Gibbons
F Patrick Kane
F Chris Kreider
F Dylan Larkin
F Anders Lee
F Sonny Milano
F Derek Ryan
F Tage Thompson
F Colin White
Columbus Sends Several Players To World Championships
Every year when a team is eliminated in the first round, calls come in from the various World Championship teams to see if they are willing (and healthy enough) to suit up for their respective countries. For the Columbus Blue Jackets, many players in the organization received those calls.
Brian Hedger of NHL.com relays the list from GM Jarmo Kekalainen. Ryan Murray (Canada), Pierre-Luc Dubois (Canada), Cam Atkinson (USA), Dean Kukan (Switzerland), Markus Nutivaara (Finland), Alexandre Texier (France) and Matiss Kivlenieks (Latvia) will all be playing in the tournament.
The appearance will be a first for Dubois, who just last season was competing for Canada at the World Junior Championship. 2017-18 saw a huge leap in his development, as he went from an inconsistent junior year to a reliable top-line center on a playoff team. With four points in his first taste of the NHL postseason, Dubois is set up for a long career of impressive moments. The 19-year old could add another one by playing a big role on Team Canada.
For Atkinson, it will be only his second appearance at the tournament despite some great seasons over the past half decade. Though he was only able to play in 65 games for the Blue Jackets this year, he once again showed that he can be a top offensive producer and earned himself a seven-year extension. Atkinson’s small stature hasn’t slowed him down against top competition, and he’ll likely be asked to play a big role for USA Hockey over the next few weeks.
The tournament starts on May 4th, in Denmark.
Minor Transactions: 12/27/17
As the NHL gets back to its regularly scheduled programming today, league rosters will start to thaw after the holiday season. At 12:00am on December 28th, teams will be once again allowed to trade, waive and loan any player on the active roster. For now, we’ll have to make do with recalls from the minor leagues.
- Yesterday, the Columbus Blue Jackets made several transactions in order to deal with the injuries to Cam Atkinson and Alexander Wennberg. Both veteran forwards were placed on injured reserve, while recalling Tyler Motte and Dean Kukan. Sonny Milano and Jordan Schroeder are both also up on emergency recall.
- The Arizona Coyotes recalled Lawson Crouse last night, likely to fill in for a potential suspended Zac Rinaldo. Rinaldo was offered an in-person hearing with the league but declined, and could face a suspension of at least five games for his punch of Samuel Girard.
- The Philadelphia Flyers meanwhile loaned goaltender Alex Lyon back to the minor leagues while activating Michal Neuvirth from injured reserve. Neuvirth hasn’t played a game in a month with a leg injury, but will try to continue the solid start he’d been having before going down.
- The Montreal Canadiens have recalled Brett Lernout from the AHL, and will bring him along on their three-game road trip. Lernout played in his first game of the season for the Canadiens just before Christmas, and will remain an option for Montreal while Shea Weber is with a foot injury and David Schlemko deals with the flu.
- Ottawa has brought Ben Harpur back up from the minor leagues, giving them a seventh defenseman once again now that games have resumed. Harpur has played 14 games for the Senators this season, recording a single point.
- Los Angeles has recalled Kevin Gravel after just a few days in the minor leagues. While Christian Folin is slowly working his way back from injury, he won’t be able to suit up just yet. Gravel hasn’t yet played for the Kings this season, after getting into 49 games last year.
Cam Atkinson, Alexander Wennberg Out Four To Six Weeks
The Columbus Blue Jackets are not having a good holiday season. Brian Hedger of NHL.com confirms that both Cam Atkinson and Alexander Wennberg will miss four to six weeks due to injury. Atkinson’s foot was broken by a Seth Jones shot, while Wennberg will miss time with a back injury.
The news couldn’t come at a worse time for the Blue Jackets, who go on the road for eight of their next 12 games and are trying to fight to stay relevant in the Metropolitan. With the entire division separated by just nine points, losing two of your best forwards for a six week stretch can be devastating. Luckily—if you can call it that—Wennberg and Atkinson had already been struggling this season, forcing other young players to step up offensively.
Last season saw the pair lead the Blue Jackets in almost every offensive category, with Atkinson scoring 35 goals and Wennberg recording 46 assists. They finished with 62 and 59 points respectively, and were deadly threats on the powerplay all season. This year, has been a little different.
The two have combined for just 29 points all season, and were a big part of the Blue Jackets early struggles on the powerplay. While in their offensive funk, the team turned to others like Pierre-Luc Dubois and Oliver Bjorkstrand to lead the way and will now have to again. With Brandon Dubinsky still out with a broken orbital bone, even more pressure will be placed on the young Dubois who has quickly gone from roster afterthought to first-line center.
It will be interesting to see if the Blue Jackets are forced to make a move to help their center group, or if they turn to players like Sonny Milano and Tyler Motte to try and plug the holes. With Artemi Panarin looking like himself again—15 points in his last 12 games—there could be enough offense to still carry the team for the time being.
Metropolitan Notes: Atkinson, Hornqvist, Zacha, Weal
Cam Atkinson’s new seven-year, $41.125MM contract with the Blue Jackets gives him a full no-trade clause from now until June 15th, 2020, reports Steve Gorten of the Columbus Dispatch. After that time, he can block a trade to ten teams until the end of his deal in 2025. He joins Brandon Dubinsky, Nick Foligno, and Sergei Bobrovsky (who all have no-move clauses) as players with trade protection. GM Jarmo Kekalainen acknowledged that if they weren’t able to reach an extension with Atkinson, they likely would have wound up trading him to avoid the risk of losing him for nothing.
Elsewhere in the Metropolitan Division:
- Winger Patric Hornqvist is the most prominent of Pittsburgh’s pending unrestricted free agents this summer but despite that, GM Jim Rutherford told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that it’s unlikely that they will work on an extension during the season: “That would be something that’s a little uncharacteristic for me. For the most part, I wait until the end of the season.” Hornqvist is off to a good start to the season with 12 points (7-5-12) in 18 games and has scored 21 or more goals in each of the last four seasons; that type of consistency is something that will be coveted if he makes it to the open market.
- Although he is waiver-exempt and is a healthy scratch for the fourth game of the last five, the Devils have not discussed sending center Pavel Zacha to their AHL affiliate in Binghamton, reports North Jersey’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link). The 20-year-old is off to a quiet start this season with five points (2-3-5) in 15 games and with Travis Zajac now back in the lineup, finding ice time at a fairly-crowded center position may be tough to do for Zacha in the short-term.
- The Flyers announced that winger Jordan Weal is dealing with an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day. This marks the second time he has had an upper-body issue this season. In his first full NHL campaign, Weal has recorded two goals and four assists in 17 contests while averaging just under 14 minutes per game of playing time.
Columbus Blue Jackets Continue Search For Center Help
After signing Cam Atkinson to a new seven-year extension, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that the Columbus Blue Jackets have redoubled their efforts in search of a center to add to their lineup. Knowing exactly what Atkinson will be making down the road, and that he’ll be a fixture in the top-six for a long while allows the team to more accurately pursue players that will fit into their salary structure. We’d previously heard that they had made an offer for Matt Duchene, clearly showing their interest in chasing the big fish on the market. GM Jarmo Kekalainen is currently at the GM Meetings in Montreal, always an event that is watched with a close eye for potential trade talk.
It’s unclear who exactly the Blue Jackets would be pursuing, as Duchene and Kyle Turris represented the top two center names expected to be traded. While some teams may still consider Alex Galchenyuk a center, much of the rental market—that is, players who are unrestricted free agents at the end of the year—and known trade candidates reside on the wing. There are names like Joe Thornton, John Tavares, Paul Stastny and Henrik Sedin all set to hit the open market but none of them seem like realistic trade candidates at this point.
More likely it would have to be a lesser-known name. Tyler Bozak and Mikael Backlund are also free agents at the end of the year, but are currently on teams looking to compete for the Stanley Cup. Valtteri Filppula and Tomas Plekanec will also hit the market but are past their prime as key offensive pieces. With this renewed interest coming from Atkinson’s future though, it seems to point to the fact that they’d be after a player with term. The Blue Jackets have several young defenders that they could dangle thanks to the immediate impact Zach Werenski has made, while they also have extra wingers that could be moved for an immediate upgrade. For a team that looks poised to compete in the tough Metropolitan Division, nothing seems too drastic.
Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Cam Atkinson To Seven-Year Extension
After a report earlier today that negotiations had heated up, Cam Atkinson has signed a seven-year $41.125MM ($5.875MM AAV) contract extension with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Atkinson was set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and had been rumored to be looking at an average salary of $6MM. That would make this deal seem like a bit of a bargain for Columbus, especially given his importance to the team.
Atkinson, 28, has flourished with the Blue Jackets since becoming an NHL regular, with four straight 20-goal seasons including a career-high of 35 last year. The diminutive forward has climbed all the way from the sixth-round of the NHL Entry Draft to star status in the league, finding great offensive success at every step along the way. In 397 career games Atkinson has 233 points which already ranks him fourth all-time in Blue Jackets history. His 125 goals for the club put him behind only Rick Nash on the Columbus career leaderboard.
The easy comparable for this contract will be the one T.J. Oshie signed this summer, when he re-upped with the Washington Capitals for a similar salary. Oshie’s deal is one year longer, but similarly locks him up longer than the team probably wanted in order to keep the cap hit down. Atkinson will be 29 when the deal kicks in, meaning the team is paying him through his age-35 season. It’s unlikely he’ll keep up the same pace for that long, but paying $5.875MM for a potential 30-goal scorer will allow Columbus to keep most of the rest of their core together.
While Atkinson has just six points so far this year, it’s not just his offensive production that makes him so valuable. Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella uses Atkinson in all situations including the penalty kill, and he’s averaging more than 19 minutes per night this season. Though Columbus’ powerplay hasn’t gotten out of the starting blocks yet this season, if it does start clicking you can bet Atkinson will be in the middle of it. Last season he recorded 21 points with the man advantage, trailing only Alexander Wennberg in that category.
Amazingly, the new deal puts Atkinson as just the third-highest paid player on the club behind Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky and will allow them to do more to keep their club together in the next few years. Over the next two offseasons, Columbus has decisions to make and new contracts to sign with a dozen or so huge parts of their team, including players like Zach Werenski, Ryan Murray and Bobrovsky. Getting Atkinson locked in for a reasonable amount lets them know exactly what they have to work with, and where they need to shave salary.
This is another one of the big names to come off next summer’s UFA list, with several more to come before the end of the year. Even though all eyes are still on John Tavares as the head of that group, players like Atkinson, Evander Kane and James van Riemsdyk help fill out what looks right now to be quite the impressive offensive class. We’ll have to wait and see just who remains on July 1st.
Aaron Portzline of The Athletic broke the news of the extension, though originally had it down as a slightly lower salary.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Contract Talks Heat Up Between Atkinson, Blue Jackets
According to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, contract talks have heated up over the last week between pending unrestricted free agent Cam Atkinson and the Columbus Blue Jackets. Portzline reports that the two sides have discussed contracts spanning six or seven years, with an average salary of $6MM per season.
Atkinson, 28, has flourished with the Blue Jackets since becoming an NHL regular, with four straight 20-goal seasons including a career-high of 35 last year. The diminutive forward has climbed all the way from the sixth-round of the NHL Entry Draft to star status in the league, finding great offensive success at every step along the way. In 397 career games Atkinson has 233 points which already ranks him fourth all-time in Blue Jackets history. His 125 goals for the club put him behind only Rick Nash on the Columbus career leaderboard.
Having Atkinson sign a long-term deal would certainly weaken what currently looks like a pretty exceptional free agent class, something that is sure to happen several times before July 1st. While right now there are a dozen or more impact players headed for the open market, in-season extensions will likely reduce that group substantially.
A $6MM cap hit would put Atkinson right alongside Artemi Panarin as the highest-paid skater on the Blue Jackets, with only Sergei Bobrovsky coming in ahead of them. While there are several restricted free agents that also need contracts, Columbus could fit Atkinson in on the short-term at least due to the inexpensive contributions from players like Zach Werenski, Sonny Milano and Pierre-Luc Dubois.
Pacific Notes: Nugent-Hopkins, Gaborik, Subban, Engelland
With the Matt Duchene trade in the books for a week now, The Hockey News’ Lyle Richardson writes that the Edmonton Oilers are one of three teams to watch over the next couple of months when it comes to making a big move. Citing the league’s need for playmaking centers, the scribe suggests the team could try and move center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and his large contract ($6MM AAV through the 2020-21 season) and try to get a much-needed wing.
Richardson cites Edmonton as well as the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Buffalo Sabres as the three teams most likely to make the next big trade in the league. In fact, he suggested the Oilers attempt to move Nugent-Hopkins to Columbus, who were the losers in getting either Duchene or Kyle Turris via trade. However, could the Blue Jackets fit Nugent-Hopkins under their salary cap without Edmonton retaining some of that salary? The suggestion was the Oilers would either require Cam Atkinson or Josh Anderson in return to make that deal work.
Nugent-Hopkins has been playing well this year as he’s put up six goals and six assists this season. Known as a defensive forward, the former No. 1 overall pick could be a key asset for Columbus or any other team needing a center.
- Los Angeles Times’ Curtis Zupke writes that veteran forward Marian Gaborik got his first full practice under his belt Saturday after having knee surgery back in April. The 35-year-old is not expected to be activated soon as the Kings are taking a cautious approach with the injury-prone winger, who has had knee and foot issues over the last two years, which has seen him play 110 games in the past two-plus seasons. “I felt pretty good,” he said. “Things have been getting into flow. Obviously I’ve missed a lot of time so [I need to] get used to everything — my legs, just the whole body as a hockey player, to get back into things, and to just keep going and ramping things up, and get my timing back. It’s pretty much the whole package I have to get back.”
- Vegas Golden Knights’ goaltender Malcolm Subban was spotted skating at City National Arena today, tweeted SinBin. Subban, who went down with a lower-body injury, was deemed out for four weeks on Oct. 22, so it looks like he might be on target for a return within the next couple of weeks. The team has been forced to use their fourth-string goaltender, Maxime Lagace, for the past two weeks as the team has been decimated by injuries to Marc-Andre Fleury, Subban and Oscar Dansk.
- Sticking with the Golden Knights, The Canadian Press’ Darren Haynes points out that Vegas defenseman Deryk Engelland has more points (2-7-9) than quite a few defensemen, including San Jose Brent Burns, Nashville’s Roman Josi and Calgary Mark Giordano. Engelland, who played for the old Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL earlier in his career and made Las Vegas his home from that point on, has never put up more than 17 points in a season. Always known as a defensive player, the 35-year-old has been reborn in Las Vegas, who is just eight points away from a career-year.