2023-24 Player Review: Sean Kuraly is a solid role player

When Sean Kuraly signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the summer of 2021, it was a feel-good story that a player who grew up in Central Ohio was choosing to come home. He also was going to provide much-needed center depth, and over the last three seasons he has met expectations. Through five seasons in Boston, Kuraly had a career high of 8 goals. He has eclipsed that each year in Columbus.

The downside to Kuraly is a common complaint about the Larsen/Vincent era: he was relied on too much. His average time on ice in Boston was 13:09 per game, but he averaged over 15 minutes a game in his first two seasons with the Jackets. That extra two minutes featured diminishing returns. His offense improved here, but still wasn’t worth the amount of offensive shifts he received.

Fortunately, things returned to normal under Vincent, with Kuraly averaging 13:44. The arrival of Adam Fantilli and Dmitri Voronkov and the improvement of Cole Sillinger meant there was no longer a vacuum for Kuraly to fill. He could settle in to that fourth line role.

Contract

Kuraly has one year remaining on his four-year contract, with a cap hit and salary of $2.5 million. He also has a 10 team no trade list. The question is, does he have a future in Columbus? He turns 32 in January, and there are young centers coming up the pipeline who could play a bottom 6 role soon. His cap hit isn’t terrible, but it’s possible to find cheaper depth centers.