COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed veteran forward Kevin Labanc to a one-year contract at the NHL minimum of $775,000, hoping to patch one of the lineup holes created by a late-training camp rash of injuries.
Labanc has played 478 NHL games, all with San Jose, totaling 82-143-225. He was in training camp with the New Jersey Devils on a player tryout agreement before the Blue Jackets swooped in with a contract offer.
The 28-year-old winger has had an impressive preseason with the Devils, scoring six goals in four games. He did not travel with New Jersey to Prague, Czechia, for the team’s season-opening Global Series games against the Buffalo Sabres.
Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell had already planned to be active on the trade market and/or the waiver wire in his search for a veteran NHL forward, and that was before the Blue Jackets lost top-six forwards Boone Jenner and Dmitri Voronkov to injuries in recent days.
The addition of Labanc will help. But Waddell likely isn’t done. The Blue Jackets now have 24 healthy players — 13 forwards, nine defensemen and two goaltenders — on their roster.
Like all NHL clubs, they can carry no more than 23 players by Monday’s roster deadline.
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