COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS ACQUIRE CENTER RYAN MacINNIS FROM ARIZONA IN EXCHANGE FOR DEFENSEMAN JACOB GRAVES, CONDITIONAL SIXTH ROUND 2019 NHL DRAFT PICK

COLUMBUS, OHIO – The Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired center Ryan MacInnis from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for defenseman Jacob Graves and a conditional sixth round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, club General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen announced today.  If MacInnis appears in 20 NHL regular season games with Columbus during the 2018-19 season, the Coyotes will receive a fifth round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft instead of a sixth round pick in 2019.

 

MacInnis, 22, was selected by Arizona in the second round, 43^rd overall, at the 2014 NHL Draft.  He has appeared in 129 career American Hockey League games, registering 14 goals and 17 assists for 31 points with 72 penalty minutes with the Tucson Roadrunners and Springfield Falcons.  Last season, he collected 6-8-14, 22 penalty minutes and was +3 in 59 games with Tucson and added 2-1-3 and two penalty minutes in nine outings in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

 

The 6-4, 197-pound native of St. Louis, Missouri played three seasons with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League, collecting 79-101-180 and 95 penalty minutes from 2013-16.  He had back-to-back 60-point seasons in his final two campaigns, picking up 25-37-62 and 28 penalty minutes in 67 games in 2014-15 and a career-high 38-43-81 and 49 penalty minutes in 59 outings in 2015-16.  He led the Rangers in goals and points (tied) and was named the club’s Most Valuable Player during his final season.

 

MacInnis spent the 2012-13 season with the United States National Team Development Program and also represented Team USA at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships, tallying 0-3-3 and two penalty minutes in seven games.

 

Graves, 23, was signed by Columbus as a free agent prior to the 2016-17 season.   He split the past two seasons between the Cleveland Monsters, the Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate, and the ECHL.  He tallied 4-4-8 and 58 penalty minutes in 42 games with Cleveland during that time, including 3-3-6 and 29 penalty minutes in 23 outings in 2017-18, and added 0-5-5 and 30 penalty minutes in 33 ECHL contests with Cincinnati and Quad City.