Blue Jackets buy out Hartnell, open salary-cap space
The Blue Jackets continued to carve out space under the NHL’s salary cap Thursday, making a move that has seemed inevitable since the season ended more than two months ago.
The Blue Jackets bought out the remaining two years of Scott Hartnell's contract, making the veteran an unrestricted free agent and giving the Jackets roughly $13 million to re-sign players and strengthen their lineup this summer.
Hartnell’s demise in Columbus was foreshadowed by his dwindling playing time late in the season, including a healthy scratch during the Stanley Cup playoff series against Pittsburgh.
“I think it was mutually beneficial for us to part ways,” Hartnell told The Dispatch. “They’re going in a different way — they’re going young, and they have some young studs coming up.
“I can’t say a bad thing about Columbus. It’s probably a city I’ll come back to
after hockey. It’s such good living. People are great. I made some really good friends outside of hockey, too.”
Hartnell said he does not plan to retire, but there was no clear spot in the Columbus lineup for him next season despite a salary-cap hit of $4.75 million.
“He’s been a great soldier for us for three years,” general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. “He’s a good professional, a great teammate, and he’s well-liked by his teammates.
“These things are never easy, but we wish him the best of luck. He’s going to hopefully find a job and continue his great career.”
Hartnell, 35, came to the Blue Jackets in 2014 in a trade with Philadelphia for forward R.J. Umberger.
It was a great deal for Columbus. Only Cam Atkinson (84) and Nick Foligno (69) had more goals than Hartnell’s 64 in the three seasons since, and only Foligno (161) and Atkinson (155)
had more points than Hartnell’s 146 in that span.
“I haven’t played with a better bunch than the guys here in Columbus,” Hartnell said. “My stallmate Cam (Atkinson), Captain (Nick) Foligno, (Brandon) Dubinsky … the young guys, Josh (Anderson) and Alex (Wennberg) — those guys are great players and great individuals.
“That’s the way to build an organization, and that’s how it is there from top to bottom. I could go through the whole room listing guys. I’ve heard from some already. Josh was the first guy to call me. It’s heartbreaking, a little bit. It’s new territory for me, but you have to move on.”
Hartnell was due to be paid $7.5 million over the final two seasons: $4.5 million in the coming season and $3 million in 2018-19.
Due to NHL buyout rules, he’ll get twothirds of that money ($5 million) spread over twice the remaining term (four years); that's $1.25 million through 2020-21.
After Hartnell’s buyout and the trade of
injured forward David Clarkson to Vegas last week, the Blue Jackets have plenty of elbow room under the salary cap. They plan to be aggressive over the next few days in trades and free agency, which begins Saturday.
“This gives us some flexibility with the different avenues we might take,” Kekalainen said. “You can never have too much cap room.
“There could be different options for us, via trade or free agency or both. We still have two free agents (center Wennberg and right wing Anderson) we have to sign.”
The buyout of Hartnell followed buyouts of forward Jared Boll and defenseman Fedor Tyutin last summer.
“Hartsy is one of the best teammates I’ve ever had,” Atkinson said via text message. “He’s a veteran guy that every team should have. I’ve learned a lot from him. I wish him and (fiancée) Katie nothing but the best. I’m going to miss him.”