Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips Oct. 2, 2018 Columbus Blue Jackets PAGE 02: Columbus Dispatch: Defenseman Ryan Murray hampered by odd injury PAGE 04: The Athletic: No dramas: Blue Jackets get to 23 players far ahead of deadline Cleveland Monsters/Prospects NHL/Websites PAGE 07: The Athletic: LeBrun: 10 players who might be dealt before the trade deadline PAGE 09: The Athletic: Down Goes Brown: Oddly specific predictions for the 2018-19 season PAGE 12: Sportsnet.ca: Best NHL team money can buy under 2018-19 salary cap without ELCs PAGE 17: Seattle Times: With arena in hand, Seattle should expect a big, fat green light from the NHL on Tuesday PAGE 19: The Athletic: LeBrun: Seattle group set for important meeting with executive committee of NHL owners PAGE 21: TSN.CA: 31 Bold Predictions: Golden Knights will hoist Stanley Cup 1 Defenseman Ryan Murray hampered by odd injury By Adam Jardy, Columbus Dispatch – October 2, 2018 It has been an unfortunate reality that injuries have at least partially defined Ryan Murray’s tenure with the Blue Jackets. This latest one, though, has managed to set itself apart — both in how it occurred, and where. It came during the second preseason game of the year as the Jackets hosted Chicago at Nationwide Arena. Murray had already shaken off an earlier hard hit along the boards when a Blackhawks player, as he fell over, had the heel of his skate strike the defenseman in a sensitive area. It wasn’t until he got to the bench that Murray, who knew he was injured, realized the kick to the groin could have been much worse. “When it first happened I was kind of (ticked) off,” he said after Monday’s practice. “Such a freak thing, and then I got to the bench and everyone was like, ‘Are you cut?’ The trainers explained it to me that I was pretty lucky.” It was enough to knock Murray out for the remainder of the exhibition slate and rob the Blue Jackets of another key defenseman in the process. Monday, though, he was on the main ice at Nationwide Arena as coach John Tortorella put the players through their paces with an eye on Thursday’s season opener at Detroit. Whether Murray will play against the Red Wings remains to be seen. Getting back on the ice marked progress, and Tortorella described him “day to day” for the first time since the injury. “It felt pretty good,” Murray said. “I just have to dial in a few things a little bit, get the lungs back, all that stuff. I feel like I’m feeling pretty good right now.” In order to meet roster compliance rules, Murray was placed on injured reserve Monday retroactive to Sept. 18, the day of the Chicago game. Tortorella said he hadn’t yet spoken with the trainers about Murray’s day immediately after practice but that he could potentially be in the lineup against the Red Wings. He also dodged a bullet — or rather a puck — inadvertently sent by Cam Atkinson. “He got hit in the head and thought he was going to go down but he stood in there and didn’t miss any type of repetition,” Tortorella said. “We did a defensive zone drill as far as trying to play tired (and) he was tired because he has been off for a little bit, but he’s in good shape.” The second overall pick in the 2012 draft, Murray has shown flashes of living up to that standing but has had his career stunted by injuries. After playing in 66 games as a rookie in 2013-14, Murray has played in 60 games or fewer in three of the last four seasons, including 44 last year before entering the preseason feeling ready to go. He is a player Tortorella has been watching closely this preseason. “He has shown me … he just has a different mental attitude as far as how to approach the game,” the coach said. “Very important guy for us, because he was playing the way we know he can. That would be a good jolt for us, if he’s able to play (Thursday).” Roster moves 2 The Blue Jackets sent forward Kevin Stenlund to their American Hockey League affiliate in Cleveland and placed forward Alex Broadhurst on waivers for the purpose of also sending him to the Monsters. Forward Jonathan Davidsson was assigned to Djurgardens IF in the Swedish Hockey League and defenseman Seth Jones was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Sept. 25, when he suffered an MCL injury that will sideline him for four to six weeks. The moves give the Jackets 14 forwards and seven defensemen. 3 No dramas: Blue Jackets get to 23 players far ahead of deadline By Aaron Portzline, The Athletic – October 2, 2018 COLUMBUS, Ohio — That wasn’t so hard after all. The Blue Jackets trimmed their roster to 23 active players Monday, more than 24 hours ahead of the 5 p.m. Tuesday deadline, and there were exactly zero surprises. Forwards Markus Hannikainen, Sonny Milano and Lukas Sedlak survived the final cuts, as the Blue Jackets sent center Kevin Stenlund to AHL Cleveland and returned right winger Jonathan Davidsson to Djurgardens of Sweden. Another forward, Alex Broadhurst, was placed on waivers and will head to Cleveland if he clears waivers at noon Tuesday. He missed most of camp with an undisclosed injury. The Blue Jackets will open the season Thursday in Detroit with 14 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders, although there’s still time for movement. That’s especially true on defense, where injuries in the latter half of training camp have caused a disruption. Gabriel Carlsson, Adam Clendening and Dean Kukan all survived final cuts because three players — Seth Jones (knee), Ryan Murray (groin) and Scott Harrington (head) — are currently out of the lineup. It looked pretty clear Monday, however, that Murray is closer to a return. He’s been out two weeks since getting kicked in the groin, but his skating looks good. His lungs, he said, are a different story. “I’ve got to get my conditioning back up,” Murray said. “I’ve been sitting on a couch for a few weeks now.” Murray was placed on injured reserve, but the move was made retroactively to Sept. 18, meaning he could be activated at any time. At this point, it would be a mild surprise if he isn’t in the lineup against the Red Wings. Harrington is in the NHL’s concussion protocol, John Tortorella said, but he has not yet been placed on injured reserve. If the Blue Jackets need a roster spot to put Murray, if he’s activated for the opener, they could simply place Harrington on IR. The Blue Jackets also showed an interesting new look on the power play. The entire No. 1 forward line is now on the top unit, with center Pierre-Luc Dubois taking over for Alex Wennberg. What’s changed is the Blue Jackets’ breakout, how they enter the zone, so it was difficult to get a read on which player was setting up on which half-wall. But this seems a good guess: • The top unit had Zach Werenski on the point, with Cam Atkinson (left) and Artemi Panarin (right) on the half-walls, Dubois in the mid-slot and Nick Foligno down low. So, Foligno has replaced Wennberg at net-front, and Dubois is taking Foligno’s spot in the mid-slot. • The second unit had Murray on the point — another hint that he’s likely returning — with Anthony Duclair (left) and Oliver Bjorkstrand (right) on the half-walls, Boone Jenner at mid-slot and Wennberg down low. Notebook 4 • Former Blue Jackets forward Scott Hartnell announced his retirement Monday, ending a 17-year career that was full of color. Hartnell spent three seasons with the Jackets (2014-15 to 2016-17) and totaled 64-82-146 in 234 games. His contract was bought out after the 2016-17 season. • Hartnell is one of many players to stay in Columbus after his playing days. He and his wife, Katie, live in Dublin. Atkinson said he was heading over to help Hartnell celebrate Monday evening. “I love that guy,” Atkinson said. “I call him my favorite player on and off the ice. Him and I became best buddies right from the get-go. He sat right next to me in the locker room for a long time. It was great having him as a teammate, just because he kept everyone loose. It’s crazy what he’s accomplished in this league — he never won a Cup, but he’s played 1,300 games, he scored a lot of goals, he’s got a lot of points and he did it the hard way his whole career.” • Atkinson was emotional speaking about Hartnell. Here’s more of what he said, when asked about the impact he had on the Blue Jackets organization: “He came in when times were pretty tough, and he helped change the culture, little by little. We had (a team) at the time where it was ‘all about me, I’m all about me,’ and he really sat down with us as a group. There were little things, like respecting the veterans. It was obviously a different time period when he came into the league to where it is now, where he was the youngest guy and 35-plus-year-old players and now it’s the other way around. So little things like that and always playing the right way, practicing the right way and keeping it loose, that’s what I got from him.” • Here’s Tortorella on Hartnell: “Great career.