Did anyone think one of the best off-season additions for the Columbus Blue Jackets would be the signing of Sean Kuraly?
There were people who couldnt wait to get to their Twitter account last summer to post negative things about the #CBJ signing Sean Kuraly.
— Brian Hedger (@BrianHedger) January 28, 2022
He has given them everything thats been asked of him and more in a brutal season for his new team.
Have to admire his drive.
That tweet was tweeted prior to the 7-3-0 February the Blue Jackets turned in, which saw them bring a cornucopia of fun to the ice on a nightly basis, and goals aplenty from the squad.
While Kuraly's contributions might not shine as brightly as the goal lamp, or look as obvious thanks to Patrik Laine's recent goal barrage and 11-game point streak, the six-year veteran has likely exceeded your preseason expectations.
Not known for his scoring, Kuraly has matched his career totals for goals in a season with eight. He's seven assists shy from his career mark of 17, and five points from his high-water mark of 23.
He's also making his presence felt in the hits department, as his 157 hits on the season lead the young Blue Jackets.
Establishing himself as a leader in his first season with Columbus under first-year head coach Brad Larsen, Kuraly knows, like any player, you have to keep your emotions in check.
During last Friday's 4-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, Kuraly left the game at 14:07 of the third period after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Vincent Trochek and a resulting 10-minute game misconduct.
Then during Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Kuraly's slew foot, high sticking call on Evgeni Malkin led to Malkin's power-play goal moments later. The latter features a bit of irony considering Kuraly's impact on the teams' penalty killing this season.
"I've got to keep my emotions in check," Kuraly said. "That's part of the job and I'll look to get better at that."
The penalties described above warranted the time away from the ice in those respective scenarios.
Those up close and familiar with the Blue Jackets understand the narrative of whether the team doesn't receive the benefit of the doubt when it comes to calls made by the officials—recently we talked about the Blue Jackets drawing the least amount of penalties this season.
Kuraly added his thoughts about the controversial decision that allowed Sidney Crosby's late third-period goal to stand up after it was deemed that initial contact made by Elvis Merzlikins, not Crosby, nullified goaltender interference.
"Sometimes I disagree with the officials," Kuraly said. "I don't always make the right play out there. They don't always make the right call. I'll let you do a deep dive into that and see what you thought. You can probably draw a better conclusion than me."
As an experienced player playing down the middle, Kuraly's addition to the lineup has helped prop the center position for the Blue Jackets, long an area of need for the team. He, along with Boone Jenner being the other great signing, has made a big impact on the team, as Jenner's team-leading 22 goals and 41 assists indicate.
The aforementioned penalty kill has been a huge strength of late, allowing just four goals in 28 tries for the month of February (9th, 85.7%).
Before that stretch, Kuraly was a central figure in the Blue Jackets 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 20, playing 15:10 with one assist, +3, and 4:27 on the PK.
"(Kuraly) is an important player for me," Larsen said. "He's a guy that takes a lot of the hard minutes. He just quietly does his thing and he's doing a good job on it. He's built trust here in his first 30-plus games and what he can bring in his effort. He's very consistent in that area."
Having grown up in Dublin, playing with the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets, before turning collegiate at Miami to play for the RedHawks, it's pretty cool seeing an NHL player with strong Ohio ties making it in the NHL.
Even better when he's doing it to the caliber Kuraly is every night for the Blue Jackets.
