2019-20 Player Review: Scott Harrington’s season lacked luster.

Between the star power of Seth Jones and Zach Werenski, the ironclad duo of Vladislav Gavrikov and David Savard, and up-and-comers like Dean Kukan and Andrew Peeke, it can be tough to make a splash as a defenseman for the Blue Jackets.

2019-20 was not the season that Scott Harrington made a splash.

With only one playoff game appearance this year and 39 games played in the regular season, this certainly wasn’t an impactful season for our pal Scott. This isn’t to say he didn’t make a difference out on the ice! He’s a tough player with a wicked shot, when it’s on.

He actually was having a great January and February, seeing regular ice time while stepping up to fill holes left by Ryan Murray’s upper body injury and Dean Kukan’s knee injury. He absolutely plays a key role in the strong defensive depth that the Blue Jackets so effortlessly tout.

Scott Harrington 2019-20 Stats

Regular Season

Games Played: 39
Goals: 1
Assists: 7
Points: 8
Plus/Minus: -3
PIM: 16

Playoffs

Games Played: 1
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Points: 0
Plus/Minus: -1
PIM: 0

Contract Status

In July 2019, the Columbus Blue Jackets re-signed Scott Harrington to a three-year contract, with GM Jarmo Kekalainen saying, “Scott Harrington is a very smart, reliable defenseman who made great strides to become a regular contributor on our blueline last season. He works very hard and has continued to improve steadily over the past three seasons. Scott has shown himself to be an excellent leader who has earned the respect of his coaches and teammates and we look forward to his continued contributions to our club.”

High Point

I mentioned Harrington’s beginning-of-the-year hot streak already, but I’ll more specifically narrow that down to a shot Harrington fired, which was tipped in by Stefan Matteau on February 24’s 4-3 OT win against the Senators. Harrington’s assist pushed the game into overtime, which Emil Bemstrom then finished off with a goal and snapped an 8-game losing streak.

Low Point

While not exactly surprising since the team was in full health after a several month hiatus, Harrington only made one playoff game appearance this year against Toronto. Again, he has a lot of competition for defensive spots, so hopefully he swings into his prime next season. A Scott Harrington rebirth, if you will - I hope we are so lucky to see that!