Blue Jackets sign Joseph LaBate to one-year, two-way contract

The Columbus Blue Jackets signed left winger Joseph LaBate to a one-year, two-way contract on Friday, according to The Athletic reporter Aaron Portzline.

Earlier in the day, the club had placed the 6-foot-5, 225-pound forward on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the Cleveland Monsters, the Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate.

The contract will last through the rest of the 2024-25 NHL and AHL season. In five games with the Monsters this year, LaBate has a goal and three assists for four points.

The 31-year-old LaBate was taken by the Vancouver Canucks in the fourth round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. He made his NHL debut with the Canucks in 2016-17, where in 13 games he had 21 penalty minutes.

LaBate spent last season in Russia’s KHL with Nur-Sultan Barys, scoring eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points and 41 penalty minutes in 49 games.

The Eagan, Minn., native has spent the majority of his professional career in the AHL, scoring 64 goals and 73 assists for 137 points and 698 penalty minutes in 410 career AHL games with the Monsters, Chicago Wolves, Milwaukee Admirals, Belleville Senators and Utica Comets since making his professional hockey debut in 2014-15.

His most productive offensive season came with the Senators in 2019-20, where in 47 regular-season games he scored 10 goals and recorded 16 assists for 26 points.

Going into Friday, the Blue Jackets are 9-9-3 with 21 points, sixth in the Metropolitan Division and three points out of an Eastern Conference Wild Card playoff spot.

Columbus hosts the Calgary Flames on Friday. Puck drop is at 3 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. MT.