Columbus Blue Jackets add forward depth with James van Riemsdyk
It didn’t take the Blue Jackets long.
A day after president of hockey operations/general manager Don Waddell told reporters he was down to 10 available NHL forwards going into training camp, the Jackets signed veteran James van Riemsdyk on Sunday to a one-year contract worth $900,000.
Van Riemsdyk, 35, played 71 games for the Boston Bruins last season, tallying 38 points on 11 goals and 27 assists. Listed at 6-foot-3, 207 pounds, van Riemsdyk is a left wing who's adept at playing around the net, especially on power plays.
Drafted second overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2007, van Riemsdyk has a career scoring line of 311-318-629 while logging 1,011 games over 15 seasons for the Flyers (527 games), Toronto Maple Leafs (413 games) and Bruins.
“James van Riemsdyk has been a very consistent, productive player throughout his career and bringing him to Columbus will not only provide depth to our group up front, but also valuable leadership and another veteran presence in our dressing room,” Waddell said in a statement.
The Bruins decided against re-signing van Riemsdyk, and he hadn’t yet secured a contract or professional tryout offer from someone else. He no longer needs the PTO after inking a guaranteed deal with the Blue Jackets three days before players report for medical evaluations.
Johnny Gaudreau’s shocking death Aug. 29 in South Jersey combined with Justin Danforth’s wrist injury plus offseason trades that sent Alexandre Texier to the St. Louis Blues and Patrik Laine to the Montreal Canadiens left the Jackets with a glaring shortage up front.
Waddell said Saturday at the Buffalo NHL Prospects Challenge that he's looking to add two or more forwards via free agency.
So, Van Riemsdyk will likely be joined by another veteran from the open market.
Notable available players include left wing Mike Hoffman, right wing Kyle Okposo and right wing Jakob Silfverberg. Jeff Carter, a center, is also available but he's a former Blue Jacket who voiced his displeasure at being traded to Columbus in 2011 and forced his way out of town in a subsequent trade the following season.
Adding van Riemsdyk gets the Blue Jackets closer to the NHL's salary-cap floor of $65 million, but they're still $1.8 million beneath the minimum with a full roster of 23 players, according to PuckPedia. Waddell has discussed the Jackets' payroll dilemma with the NHL and NHL Players' Association following Gaudreau's death, so there's a chance the Jackets' cap number could stay below the floor.
The Blue Jackets have $24.8 million in cap space remaining, which could spark a preseason trade or trades for veteran players with high salaries that are squeezing other teams' budgets. Payrolls across the NHL must be compliant by the night before the league's regular season opens in October.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: James van Riemsdyk signed by Columbus Blue Jackets
