Columbus Blue Jackets Trade Deadline Moves

With the NHL Trade Deadline fast approaching, and many team’s across the league looking to upgrade their rosters, almost every team has decided their deadline approach. For the Columbus Blue Jackets, that would be a seller. But, not as much of a seller as in years’ past. President of Hockey Operations John Davidson, has noted his desires to keep the core of his young team in tact and not risk anything for the future. With the likes of Alexander Wennberg, Brandon Saad, Boone Jenner, Seth Jones, and Ryan Murray, among others, seeming to make up the young core that Davidson speaks of.

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Captain Nick Foligno and Brandon Dubinsky aren’t going anywhere as their presence is vital to a young locker room. But after that, General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen will be all ears at the deadline. The following is broken up into three parts: Identifying the Jackets’ wish list, identify who’s available for Columbus, and my trade deadline predictions. Let’s now take a gander at what Jarmo and Co. might be stewing up on the 29th.

CBJ Wish List

After dealing Ryan Johansen to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Seth Jones, there has been a huge hole left at the center position. The Jackets will not be in the hunt for Steven Stamkos (not that they would’t welcome a conversation) but rather, young players and or prospects to bring some success down the middle in 2016 and beyond.

The Jackets want to compile draft picks. They want to bring in guys in to the system and develop them the right way. With no fourth or fifth round pick in this year’s draft along with roughly $15 million in cap space, the Jackets can be flexible and look to gain ground for the future. Not rebuilding. Reloading. (Yes, we’ve all heard this one before.) The Jackets have the majority of the pieces to the puzzle, it’s now time to assemble the pieces and find the one or two pieces that fell under the table that leaves a gap in the puzzle.

Trade Bait

“Bait” is a terrible word for these group of players so allow me to refrain. “Players who may be most likely to be dealt in order to bring back the most substantial trade package”. The Jackets do not have to make any moves this deadline and could purely wait until the draft and free agency to fine tune their club. However, the few veteran pieces could be hot commodities for playoff clubs looking to make an extra push. This leads us to grizzled vet Scott Hartnell. Hartsy is a playoff machine, he knows how to pester opponents in a seven game series and get to the point where the defense is preoccupied with his shenanigans by game three. Hartnell would be a great player to keep around in Columbus as a leader and role model to the younger guys, but at the end of the day this is a business and at age 33, Hartnell’s trade value may be at its peak. Hartnell caries a $4.75 million dollar salary that may deter some teams from acquiring the vet. Teams at the bottom of the league cap total may be more inclined such as Arizona, Florida, and Nashville to name a few.

With the acquisition of Seth Jones, defenseman Fedor Tyutin became expendable as the Jackets young wave of talent is working through the pipeline for next year (Zach Werenski of the University of Michigan seems to be ready). Tyutin is perfect target for teams looking for defensive depth for a playoff run and the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators have already noted their interest (Ottawa has since become unlikely after acquiring Dion Phaneuf). Tyutin has been with Columbus since the 2008 season, the second longest tenured Jacket, but is most likely to be sporting a different sweater in the coming weeks as veteran defenseman are crucial in the grueling spring months of playoff time.

Next: Blue Jackets Rumors: Should the Jackets Sign Dryden Hunt

Deadline Predictions

To CBJ: RW Anthony Mantha, 2016 NHL Entry Draft 4th Round Pick
To DET: D Fedor Tyutin

To CBJ: LW Valeri Nichushkin, C Jason Dickinson
To DAL: LW Scott Hartnell

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