Our 2017-18 review of Scott Harrington ended with this sentence: “Either way, I expect him to see much less time in a Columbus Blue Jackets sweater next season than the last two years.”
Coming off of a season that saw him in the press box more than the ice, Harrington played 73 games and turned into a regular at the bottom of the team’s defensive corps, even earning time with Seth Jones and Zach Werenski earlier in the season (though we’re still kind of scratching our heads at that).
Harrington certainly isn’t one of the team’s better defenders, and every defensive partner played better without him in terms of score-adjusted shots/60 for and against, but he did show some offensive promise—though you had to look a little deeper than surface level.
Scott Harrington’s scoring chance differential has exploded from “below replacement level” to “near elite” – but his goals for has plummeted. Why? Partly because his sky-high first-half PDO has cratered completely. pic.twitter.com/SxnjqdK6Yr
— Jeremy Crowe (@307x) March 1, 2019
Harrington gave John Tortorella a dependable option at No. 6 with no illusions about his ability. He served on the penalty kill regularly in the second half of the season and played with every defenseman who dressed this year, settling with Dean Kukan in the playoffs.
Still, Harrington outproduced Brandon Dubinsky and Riley Nash offensively. “Below average” sums up the 25-year-old right now, but 2018-19 was certainly a career season for Scott Harrington.
(Blue Jackets won the Kerby Rychel trade)
Scott Harrington 2018-19 Stats
Games played: 73
Goals: 2
Assists: 15
Points: 17
Time on ice: 13:03
Penalty Minutes: 23
Corsi For (even strength): 47.4%
High Point
Harrington played 18:32 (second-most ice-time this season), went +3 and threw a season-high with a blocked shot in a key late-season win over Ottawa on April 6. He also picked up two assists in a 7-4 win at St. Louis on October 25.
Low Point
This isn’t his fault, but still.
Poll
How would you grade Scott Harrington’s 2018-19 season?
| A | 4 |
| B | 49 |
| C | 80 |
| D | 10 |
| F | 0 |