Nutivaara, 23, suffered an upper body injury vs. Philadelphia last Friday and will be sidelined indefinitely. He has tallied three goals and 15 assists for 18 points with 12 penalty minutes and a +5 plus/minus rating in 51 games this season. The Oulu, Finland native was selected by Columbus in the seventh round, 189th overall, at the 2015 NHL Draft and has registered 5-20-25, 18 penalty minutes and is +12 in 117 career NHL games.
Gerbe, 30, was signed by the Blue Jackets on January 24 and had collected 1-9-10 in 11 games with Cleveland. He began the season with Genève-Servette HC in the National League (Switzerland), where he had notched 2-5-7 and 85 penalty minutes in 19 games and totaled 13-22-35 and 107 penalty minutes in 38 games over the past two campaigns.
The Oxford, Michigan native registered 58-80-138 points and 172 penalty minutes in 394 career NHL games with the Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes and added 3-1-4 in nine Stanley Cup Playoff contests between 2008-16. He posted four seasons of 25 or more points, including setting career highs in goals and points with 16-15-31 in 64 contests with Buffalo in 2010-11. The forward later tied his career high in goals and points with 16-15-31 in a career-high 81 games with Carolina in 2014-15. He most recently recorded 3-4-7 and 14 penalty minutes in 47 games with the Hurricanes in 2015-16.
The 5-4, 176-pounder was drafted by Buffalo in the fifth round, 142nd overall, in the 2005 NHL Draft. He racked up 71-62-133, 216 penalty minutes and a +43 plus/minus rating in 123 career games at Boston College from 2005-08. He helped the Eagles win a national championship and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as the nation's top collegiate hockey player in 2007-08 after leading the NCAA in goals and points with 35-33-68 in 43 games.
