Number: 4
Age:27
Birth date: March 10, 1993
Birthplace: Kingston, Ont.
Height, weight:6-2, 204
Stats:39 GP, 1-7-8, 1.5 point shares, 49.46 xGF% at 5-on-5 per Natural Stat Trick
Contract:Signed through 2021-22 season (Two years remaining before UFA status)
Sometimes it's the small deals that end up paying a big dividend in the end.
There wasn't a lot of fanfare when the Blue Jackets traded for Harrington on June 25, 2016. The defenseman, once a second-round pick of Pittsburgh but sent to Toronto in a deal that traded Phil Kessel to the Penguins, was acquired by Columbus on that summer date in exchange for Kerby Rychel.
Since then, Rychel has been a journeyman, playing in just six NHL games with longer stints in the AHL and even the KHL.
Harrington, meanwhile, has become a lunchpail defender for the Blue Jackets, appearing in 166 regular-season games for Columbus and 14 more playoff games. He'll never be a star but he's a dependable player on the blue line, earning the respect of head coach John Tortorella for his easygoing nature off the ice but his dogged determination on it.
"The thing that Harry continues to show is just how hard he competes," Tortorella said this past season. "He's been banged around by this coaching staff a couple years ago -- how many games did he sit out? He has just stayed with it. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him as far as how he handles himself.
And looking forward, with the offseason trades of Ryan Murray and Markus Nutivaara, Harrington again looks to be a key part of the CBJ defensive corps as we look toward the 2020-21 season.
Entering the season:Harrington was coming off a personal-best season in 2018-19 in which he set career highs for games played (73) and points (17). He was expected to be a part of a deep defensive corps which started the season eight-deep with the addition of Vladislav Gavrikov to a crew that already included Harrington as well as Seth Jones, Zach Werenski, David Savard, Dean Kukan, Murray and Nutivaara.
Season recap:Harrington earned a starting nod in game one of the season from Tortorella and the coaching staff but quickly found himself again serving as the seventh defenseman with the emergence of Gavrikov.
However, with all the injuries the Blue Jackets had during the campaign, there was still plenty of room for Harrington to earn playing time, and he ended up suiting up for 39 of the team's 70 regular-season games.
After playing in just 12 games by New Year's Day, he was part of the lineup in 27 games after as the injuries mounted, and Harrington delivered pretty much what was expected while usually skating on the third pair.
While teams had more shot attempts than Columbus while Harrington was on the ice, the Blue Jackets pretty much broke even in expected goals share at 5-on-5 with Harrington in, and Columbus had an advantage in high-danger scoring chances.
Harrington also finished the regular season on a high note, notching assists in three of four games from Feb. 24 to March 4. With the team largely back to full health for the playoffs, he skated in just one of 10 playoff games, the Game 4 overtime loss to Toronto.
