In a summer where the Jackets’ prime objective was to shed the roster of players, Scott Harrington was one of the few that was brought in to the organization, in a trade with Toronto for Kerby Rychel.
Fans were underwhelmed by the trade, thinking that Rychel’s status as a former first rounder and recent Calder Cup champion would garner a hefty return. The Jackets weren’t trading from a position of strength however, given Rychel’s public trade request earlier in the season.
With Harrington the Jackets are getting a positionally sound, shutdown defender. A second round pick of the Penguins in 2011, he was traded to the Maple Leafs in the Phil Kessel deal, but spent a bulk of last season on the injured list.