On Sunday, Chris Johnston from The Athletic was the first to report that the Columbus Blue Jackets are signing forward James van Riemsdyk to a one-year contract. The deal will carry a $900,000 cap hit through the 2024-25 season.
James van Reimsdyk gets a one-year deal with #CBJ worth $900,000.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) September 15, 2024
It is another one-year contract for van Riemsdyk. The Middletown, New Jersey native spent the 2023-24 season with the Boston Bruins, and had a cap hit of $1 million. JVR appeared in 71 games, scoring 11 goals and 27 assists for 38 points, his highest scoring total in two seasons. He also registered five points in 11 postseason games, as the Bruins advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
It was a significant pay cut for van Riemsdyk, as he had received $7 million a season as part of a five-year deal he signed with the Philadelphia Flyers in July 2018. The veteran winger’s production dropped as the contract wore on, only scoring 20 or more goals twice during his second stint with the Flyers.
JVR was originally taken by Philadelphia with the second-overall pick of the 2007 NHL Draft. After a few decent seasons with the Flyers, he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in June 2012. Van Riemsdyk became a big-time scoring threat with the Maple Leafs, hitting the 30-goal mark, including notching 36 during the 2017-18 season.
In 15 NHL seasons, the 35-year-old has played 1,011 games, scoring 311 goals and 318 assists for 629 points. Van Riemsdyk has also registered 36 points in 82 playoff games.
According to CapWages, the Blue Jackets have 41 of a possible 50 contracts signed for the upcoming season. They are also a couple of million dollars under the salary floor, though they have time to change that before final rosters must be submitted on Oct. 7.