Tortorella: Hannikainen will play

The Blue Jackets recalled right wing Markus Hannikainen from minor-league Cleveland on Friday, the seventh time the 23-year-old has been summoned to the NHL this season.

But Hannikainen isn’t coming up to be an insurance policy this time; he’s coming up to play.

Veteran Matt Calvert will be a healthy scratch today when the Blue Jackets play the Carolina Hurricanes at Nationwide Arena, a surprising move that coach John Tortorella would explain only by repeatedly calling it a “coach’s decision.”

“I’m not going to get too far into it,” Tortorella said. “Hanny will play.”

Neither Calvert nor center William Karlsson played Thursday after the Ottawa Senators took a 2-0 lead on Ryan Dzingel’s goal late in the second period. Tortorella shortened his bench in the third period as the Blue Jackets tried in vain to rally.

“I can always play better,” said Calvert, who has zero points and a minus-5 rating in the Blue Jackets’ past 10 games.

Asked if he was surprised by the decision, Calvert said: “A little bit. But it is what it is. We’ll move on from it.”

Asked if it was made clear to him why he wasn’t going to play, Calvert said: “That’ll stay in the room. Leave it at that.”

Calvert has five goals, two assists, 40 penalty minutes and a plus-1 rating in 38 games this season.

The highlight of his season is one of the top moments across the league so far in 2016- 17.

On Nov. 18 against the New York Rangers in Nationwide, he took a puck to the forehead, left the game to get 30- plus stitches above his right eye and returned in the third period to score the winning short-handed goal in a 4-2 victory.

LeBron on skates?

Earlier this week, Tortorella was a guest on WKRK-FM, a sports radio station in Cleveland. Asked if Cavaliers star LeBron James could play hockey, Tortorella had some fun.

“Not a chance,” Tortorella said. “He can’t skate. He’s too damn big and you can tell him I said that. Tell him to get his (butt) out here and come on the ice with us. I want to see him skate.”

Members of the Cavs media on Thursday asked James if he could skate.

“No. No. Where did that come from?” James said.

When told of Tortorella’s comments, James said, “Oh, OK. No, that’s not my thing. That’s not my thing.”

Maybe it will be when the Cavs play their annual exhibition game next fall at Nationwide Arena.