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Columbus Blue Jackets 17-18 Season Evaluation: Markus Hannikainen

By Lansing Murphy |
NASHVILLE, TN - APRIL 07: Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Markus Hannikainen (37) is shown during the NHL game between the Nashville Predators and the Columbus Blue Jackets, held on April 7, 2018, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - APRIL 07: Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Markus Hannikainen (37) is shown during the NHL game between the Nashville Predators and the Columbus Blue Jackets, held on April 7, 2018, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

With the Columbus Blue Jackets season over it’s time for the Union and Blue staff to give their evaluation of each player’s year.

Markus Hannikainen played the most NHL games of his career this season for the Columbus Blue Jackets. The fast winger spent most of the season as a healthy scratch though and only made 33 appearances this year.

Hannikainen was an undrafted player that has rose to become a fringe NHL player. The Finn’s 2017-2018 season was either disappointing or fraught with too few opportunities, depending on your point of view.

Throughout the season I called for the Jackets to increase Hannikainen’s ice time and for him to fill in more frequently when certain injuries hit the squad. So it’s pretty easy to tell where I fall on the evaluation of Hannikainen’s season.

Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus Blue Jackets /

Columbus Blue Jackets

In his 33 appearances Markus only averaged eight minutes of ice time. Barely enough to get your legs underneath you for a player who had only made 14 NHL appearances before this year. But in a majority of his shifts he was flying around the ice in both the offensive, defensive and neutral zones.

He provided solid fourth line play and was solid with the puck. Again this is in limited time, but he had 10 takeaways compared to only four turnovers. Hannikainen laid 31 hits and blocked 15 shots to add some nice peripheral stats.

Offensively I get the sense that Hannikainen could be a fourth line player that puts up double digit goals. He has a great burst and a solid shot. In very limited time this season he had three goals and three assist. With more consistent playing time and a full 82 games in the league there is no doubt in my mind he could produce.

Matt Calvert will not be back next season with the Columbus Blue Jackets and I can see Hannikainen taking his place. He can kill penalties, plays well in all three zones, and provides more of a scoring punch than Calvert.

Ceiling Hit?

But there is a reasonable argument to be made that a fringe NHL player is all Hannikainen will be. He had opportunities this year and never was able to take his game to the next level.

Maybe all Markus will be is a guy that bounces back and forth from Cleveland to Columbus. With the prospect pipeline having some solid winger options, Hannikainen may be squeezed out with better, younger players coming up.

Last season was tough to gage how well Markus Hannikainen played. It can easily be considered a sub par season where opportunities were given, but not taken advantage of. On the other hand 33 games with eight minutes of ice time per game isn’t enough to make sweeping judgements.

Next: The Next Nash- Riley Nash

I think Hannikainen can provide a nice spark for this team and has potential to be a solid third or fourth line presence. This training camp will be big for Hannikainen as he heads into his final year of his contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

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