Blue Jackets activate veteran forward off IR

The Blue Jackets have activated forward Sean Kuraly off injured reserve, GM Jarmo Kekäläinen announced Sunday. To keep their active roster at the 23-player maximum, forward Brendan Gaunce was assigned to AHL Cleveland in a corresponding transaction.

Kuraly is set to re-enter the lineup for Monday's game against the Canucks. The 30-year-old missed eight games with a scary rib cartilage injury that required the attention of paramedics on Dec. 23 against the Maple Leafs.

He’s projected to return in a fourth-line role alongside Emil Bemström and Justin Danforth. Now in his third season with the Blue Jackets since signing a four-year, $10M contract in 2021, he’d notched six goals and 11 points in 35 games with a -2 rating before the injury, predominantly playing fourth-line minutes with significant penalty kill time.

That’s solid offensive production for someone used almost exclusively as a shutdown specialist at even strength. He’s averaged only 26.9% of his zone starts in the offensive end since joining the Blue Jackets, a number that hasn’t deviated much this season.

Gaunce, 29, heads back to Cleveland, where he’s played most of his hockey since signing in Columbus in 2021. The veteran of 482 combined NHL and AHL games has six goals and 15 points in 24 games with the Monsters this season. 

The move ends his only recall of the season thus far, which began when he was brought up under emergency conditions on Dec. 18. He appeared in eight out of 11 Blue Jackets contests during his recall, posting a goal and two assists with a -2 rating in 10:59 of average ice time.