BATTALION BREAKDOWN: Markus Nutivaara

Battalion Breakdown is a closer look at the Blue Jackets' past season from a numerical standpoint, starting with the highest jersey number and counting down to the lowest. Today, BlueJackets.com examines defenseman Markus Nutivaara's season and how it impacted Columbus in the 2017-18 campaign.
Markus Nutivaara
Number:65
Age:24
Birthdate:June 6, 1994
Height/Weight:6-1, 191
Position:Defenseman
Nickname:"Nuti"
Among those who solidified themselves as NHL regulars for the Blue Jackets, Markus Nutivaara's name is at the very top of the list.
Coming off hip surgery in April 2017, Nutivaara came to training camp hoping to earn a regular spot in the lineup. It didn't go as planned, after an offseason of rehabbing put him behind in training, and Nutivaara began the season with the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League.
He wasn't in the AHL long, though, after replacing injured rookie defenseman Gabriel Carlsson in October. Nutivaara took full advantage of the opportunity, skating with Ryan Murray at right point on the third defense pairing to start out and eventually earning an everyday role.
Without hip pain hindering his mobility, the Finnish blue-liner showed improvements in speed and quickness, which brought out the best parts of his game. He made significant strides in all three zones and even filled-in capably on the top pairing when defensemen Zach Werenski and Seth Jones each missed time with injuries.
Nutivaara proved that he could play either point and his overall play led to a four-year contract extension that made him part of the Blue Jackets' core group going forward.
He didn't contribute any points against the Washington Capitals during the playoffs but played solid defense and finished with a plus-2 plus/minus rating for the series. He accepted an invitation to play for Finland in the 2018 IIHF Men's World Championship and was one of the best defensemen in the tournament.
Going forward, Nutivaara has potential to become one of the Jackets' top offensive threats from the back end and could earn a second-pairing role as soon as next season. Here's a look back at his 2017-18 campaign, through numbers, to see how he impacted the Blue Jackets:

THE BREAKDOWN
7
Nutivaara played 61 games, five less than he played in 2016-17, but scored seven goals. That's five more than he scored as a rookie, when Nutivaara finished with just seven points on two goals and five assists in 66 games. Nutivaara's shooting percentage went up, as well, rising from 3.0 percent in his first NHL season, on 66 shots, to 8.9 percent on 79 shots in his second year.
23
It wasn't just Nutivaara's goals that went up. His assists and points did too. He had 16 assists to go with those seven goals, including 10 primary helpers to bump his point total to 23. That was a 16-point increase. As Nutivaara began to feel more comfortable, he asserted himself more in the offensive zone and earned more ice time, which showed in his stat line.
53.2
Nutivaara's bigger role among defensemen meant his time in the defensive zone increased too. It didn't, however, mean a corresponding dip in 5-on-5 Corsi percentage, which measures puck possession via the percentage of all shot attempts taken while a player is on the ice. As a rookie, Nutivaara was only deployed for defensive-zone starts 39 percent of the time and finished with a Corsi of 48.4 percent. This season, despite starting in the defensive zone 47.4 percent of the time, he increased his Corsi to 53.2 percent, nearly five percentage points higher.
2.7
As the regular season wound to a close, Nutivaara signed a four-year contract extension that runs through 2021-22. The average annual value (AAV) of the deal works out to a yearly charge of $2.7 million against the NHL Salary Cap in each of those four seasons. That number is both a nice pay increase for Nutivaara, who came into the season looking to become an NHL regular, and a manageable cap hit for the Blue Jackets to keep a talented young defenseman with room to grow.
9
Like the rest of the Blue Jackets, Nutivaara wasn't ready for the season to end when it did. So, he accepted an invitation to play for Finland in the men's world championships, which were held in May in Denmark. Nutivaara played a significant role for the Finns, including a spot on the top power-play unit. He flourished, finishing with nine points on three goals and six assists. His point total was tied for most by any defenseman in the tournament.
33.4
Nutivaara spent 34:03 on the ice during power plays, which worked out to 33.4 seconds per game, on average. As he showed in the world championships, there's a good argument to be made that Nutivaara should get more power-play time. The issue is that Jones and Werenski each handle the quarterbacking roles of the top two units, which doesn't leave much time for any other blue-liners.