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Blue Jackets bolster defense, sign Adrian Aucoin to one-year, $2 million deal

Adrian Aucoin

After trading defenseman Marc Methot to Ottawa, the Blue Jackets have found his replacement.

According to Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch, the Jackets have signed veteran defenseman Adrian Aucoin to a one-year deal worth $2 million. The deal ends Aucoin’s three year tenure in the desert -- last season, the 38-year-old played in 64 games and scored nine points, his lowest out since playing in 33 games for Chicago in 2005-06.

“Columbus was the first team to call, which is always nice,” Aucoin told Portzline. “A lot of other teams were going after really big fish and waiting to see what happened.

“Columbus made it clear that they wanted me and they had a role for me right away.”

Aucoin will jump into a Jackets defensive group that features Jack Johnson, James Wisniewski and (presumably) 2012 first-round pick Ryan Murray. Columbus hopes Aucoin will provide leadership to a rather green team as well as sound defensive play.