With the Columbus Blue Jackets placing Gustav Nyquist on injured reserve, the team added some extra scoring depth via waivers on Saturday.
The Blue Jackets claimed forward Lane Pederson off waivers from the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, marking the third NHL organization of the season for the 25-year-old. Pederson started the season with the Carolina Hurricanes, failing to record a point in four games with the Chicago Wolves.
Pederson was acquired by the Hurricanes in the deal that sent Brent Burns to Carolina as well over the summer, but Pederson never managed to get into the team’s lineup. Vancouver acquired Pederson in October in a deal that also sent Ethan Bear to the Canucks, with Pederson going to the AHL with Abbotsford. Pederson was excellent in the minors, registering 17 goals and 24 points in 18 games before earning an 11-game call-up with the Canucks.
His last game with Vancouver, funny enough, came against Columbus Friday night, where he registered one shot on goal in 10:58 of ice time. Pederson has eight points in 55 games with Arizona, San Jose and Vancouver, but should be able to factor into Columbus’ bottom six. He’s got a physical edge and brings decent scoring value in spurts, and Columbus — sitting near the bottom of the NHL standings — should give him opportunities to stick with the big club.
The Blue Jackets announced on Friday that Nyquist will be out indefinitely with an upper-body injury after getting injured early against Edmonton on Wednesday. The Blue Jackets are already missing some key players for the long run, with Yegor Chinakhov, Jakub Voracek, Jake Bean, Justin Danforth and Zach Werenski all missing a large chunk of time.
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