As we continue to drudge towards opening night, the Columbus Blue Jackets have signed another player to a contract. Kevin Labanc has only been a member of the San Jose Sharks in his eight seasons in the NHL, but now finds a home in Ohio.
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Labanc is still only 28 years old, but has almost 500 NHL games under his belt. At one point in his career, he was a real high riser. Coming out of the 2018-19 season, he had been a solid depth scorer for the Sharks. It was his career year, in which he put up 17 goals and 56 points. He had made a really strong impact on the team’s run to the Stanley Cup Final as a top-six forward and the team looked like they had a key piece to their future. That hasn’t quite been the case and he’s been struggling with injuries, only playing in 56.5% of possible games over the last three seasons.
General manager Don Waddell is confident that Labanc can get back to making an impact in the league.
“Kevin Labanc has been a productive offensive player in this league for several years,” said Waddell in a media release. “He has an excellent shot and playmaking ability and given his character we believe he will fit in very well with our group.”
That potential was showcased in his strong preseason performance on a pro-tryout contract with the New Jersey Devils. He put up six goals and one assist in his four games with the squad, which is likely to have attracted the eye of Waddell. The Blue Jackets have been open that they were looking to add NHL forwards on contracts since the passing of Johnny Gaudreau, and have since done so with Labanc and James van Riemsdyk.
Labanc’s Best Case Scenario with the Blue Jackets
A best-case scenario comparison for this signing is if we look back to 2016-17 when the Blue Jackets signed Sam Gagner to a one-year league minimum contract. Gagner had some struggles after leaving the Edmonton Oilers, and even wound up spending some time in the American Hockey League (AHL). He was coming off of a career-low season, eight goals and 16 points, when he signed with Columbus. Then he found a home in John Tortorella’s system becoming a powerplay specialist and parlaying that role into his most productive offensive season.
If Labanc can find a similar role in Dean Evason’s lineup, taking a middle or bottom-six role, and racking up minutes on the second powerplay unit, this will be a massive win for the Blue Jackets. He was a powerplay specialist for the Sharks when he was at his best, scoring 35.7% of his points on the man advantage during his three most productive seasons. Becoming a mainstay with some of the skilled younger players may rejuvenate his numbers.
For the Blue Jackets, just having Lebanc be an everyday NHLer is a win. They have zero risk in this situation. Only shelling out a one-year league minimum salary for a player who has averaged 14 goals and 38 points per 82 games throughout his career could go really well for Waddell and company. If it doesn’t work out, oh well. At least they tried something as they continue their journey back to being a playoff-relevant team.
Where Labanc will fit in over the course of the entire season is to be determined, but early on he should get a real opportunity to make an impact. Key forwards Boone Jenner and Dmitri Voronkov are injured and expected to miss some time. If Labanc is going to make an impact on the team, he’ll have to make it early or he may find himself squeezed out of a roster spot. Only time will tell, the Blue Jackets’ regular season kicks off on Oct. 10 on the road against the Minnesota Wild.
