The blockbuster trade every Columbus Blue Jackets fan was waiting for. John Ramage is heading to the desert for “future considerations”.
Wow. This is a big one for the Columbus Blue Jackets. 26-year-old defenseman John Ramage will leave the organization and head to the desert and join the Arizona Coyotes. In return the CBJ have acquired the all important “future considerations”.
The team announced the move of the Cleveland Monster who just never could break through to the NHL. He played one game for the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2015-2016 season. This year in the AHL he only has nine points in 33 games.
Ramage was in the final year of his contract. The Jackets have effectively opened up a spot on the Monsters squad in exchange for a late round pick if they are lucky. More than likely the teams will swap spots in a mid to late round of the draft to improve the Jackets draft pick by a few spots.
What the Move Really Means
In reality this move just opens up a spot in Cleveland for a player that can benefit from the ice time. The Monsters are going no where this season and Ramage was not a part of the long term plan for the CBJ so why hold on to him?
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This could be a sign that the Jackets are looking at signing a college free agent to the squad once the NCAA season is over. Much like they did with Sam Vigneault last season. The Jackets could be looking for a college defenseman like a Zach Whitecloud from Bemidji State who is getting a lot of attention.
The Jackets invited a fair amount of undrafted defenseman to their summer development camp. You can check out that list here.
It would have been nice if Ramage was a throw in as a part of a deal to get Anthony Duclair but well take “future considerations” for now.