Union and Blue
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Columbus Blue Jackets Potential Trade Chips

By Lansing Murphy

SUNRISE, FL - JUNE 26: President of Hockey Operations of the Columbus Blue Jackets John Davidson (L) and general manager Jarmo Kekalainen of the Columbus Blue Jackets look on from their draft table during Round One of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center on June 26, 2015 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)
SUNRISE, FL - JUNE 26: President of Hockey Operations of the Columbus Blue Jackets John Davidson (L) and general manager Jarmo Kekalainen of the Columbus Blue Jackets look on from their draft table during Round One of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center on June 26, 2015 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Ryan Murray

Columbus Blue Jackets
COLUMBUS, OH – APRIL 17: Ryan Murray #27 of the Columbus Blue Jackets skates with the puck during game 3 in the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on April 17, 2018. Washington Capitals won 3-2 in double overtime. (Photo by Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Serviceable defenseman are valuable around the trade deadline and contenders are always willing to overpay to sure up their blue line. If the Jackets are in sell mode, Ryan Murray would be one of the first to go.

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The 24-year-old has only played 264 games in the NHL despite playing five season’s in the big leagues. Murray has been dogged by injuries his entire time in Columbus. Only once has he played more than 70 games in a season.

But it only takes one GM or coach to say, “I can turn that guys career around”. And when talking about a former #2 overall pick, there will be plenty of managers who think that.

It’s not that Murray hasn’t shown us flashes. He has played well in short stretches of time including last season. But the question is can he put it together for 82 games more than once in his career?

The Columbus Blue Jackets have a ton of defensive depth on the squad and in the prospect pipeline so losing a player like Murray wouldn’t be devastating. I think that they might move him even if they are pushing to win this season.

With Andrew Peeke, Gabriel Carlsson, Scott Harrington, Dean Kukan, and Vladislav Gavrikov all in the system, the Jackets have plenty of options to find his replacement.

Much like Milano, Murray is on a nice deal that teams will value in a trade. Ryan just signed a one-year contract worth $2.85 million and he will be a restricted free agent at the end of the year. Put Murray and Milano together and you have a nice package of players that can play now and still have room to grow for a team looking toward the future.

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