COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS SIGN DEFENSEMAN TOMMY CROSS TO ONE-YEAR, TWO-WAY NHL/AHL CONTRACT

PRESS RELEASE

 

COLUMBUS, OHIO – The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed defenseman Tommy Cross to a one-year, two-way National Hockey League/American Hockey League contract, club general manager Jarmo Kekalainen announced today.  As is club policy, terms were not disclosed.

Cross, 28, has collected one assist in three career NHL regular season games and one assist in one career playoff appearance with the Boston Bruins, while registering 31 goals and 103 assists for 134 points with 413 penalty minutes and a +65 plus/minus rating in 364 career AHL games with the Providence Bruins.  The Hartford, Connecticut native was a second-round pick, 35^th overall, of Boston’s in the 2007 NHL Draft.

Providence’s all-time leader in games played and the club’s captain the past three seasons, Cross set career highs in assists, points and plus/minus rating with 8-28-36, 83 penalty minutes and was +30 (5^th-tied in the AHL) in 73 games in 2017-18.  He set a career high with 12 goals in 2016-17 as he notched 12-23-35, 69 penalty minutes and was +18 in 74 outings.  He also made his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut on April 17, 2017 and collected an assist vs. Ottawa.  He made his NHL debut during the 2015-16 campaign, tallying 0-1-1 in three games.

Cross spent four seasons at Boston College from 2008-12, registering 17-43-60, 171 penalty minutes and a +24 plus/minus rating in 134 games.  A teammate of Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson at BC, Cross helped the Eagles capture the NCAA championship in 2010 and 2012 and three-straight Hockey East titles from 2010-12, serving as the team captain during his senior season.   Prior to enrolling at BC, he spent part of the 2007-08 season with the Ohio Junior Blue Jackets of the United States Hockey League.