Deadline Discussion: Jack Roslovic

Even with the dearth of centers in Columbus, the Jackets should be listening to offers on Roslovic. There are a few directions this situation can go from here, but with the team sitting at the bottom of the standings, they have to make the tough decisions.

The first option here is to simply hang onto Jack and let him play out his contract. He’s paid like a middle-six center, and he is exactly that, struggles and all. Currently he sits third on the team in scoring, and with such a young group it is important to keep skilled veterans around while the team gains experience.

If you do keep him into next season, I don’t think that’s any kind of loss – the team is still going to be very young, and will still likely need all the help it can get down the middle. Then they can decide on extending his contract for more term – or we can have this whole discussion again at next year’s deadline.

There is also the potential that by keeping him through the deadline, he goes white-hot again to finish out the year and that could boost his value up in a big way. Then you can go into the off-season with him as a bargaining chip to add into another deal. A draft day hockey trade might result in the best bang for your buck here, as teams will have more flexibility with their rosters and cap situations in the summer.

If you do decide to trade him …

Likely, the Jackets would be looking at two vastly different options here: either a trade for futures (draft picks, prospects), or the old change of scenery swap. If they’re looking for futures, Jack’s cap hit of $4.0m AAV through next season is an easy contract for nearly any team in the league to take on. This market should be open to any and all suitors looking for secondary scoring in their lineup.

I’m no expert or insider, but I would guess that his value could be something like a second and third or fourth round pick, or a B-tier prospect plus a mid-round pick. If the Jackets were to go this route, it pushes the team’s competitive window back a little bit, but it could pay off in the long run. Imagine adding another Luca del bel Belluz or Stanislav Svozil type player to the prospect pool this summer.

Or, the team could look to take a chance on another team selling off a struggling roster player. The Vancouver Canucks have been rumored to be interested in Roslovic – could something centered around Roslovic work in a deal to pry away struggling winger Brock Boeser? What about the Edmonton Oilers and Jesse Puljujarvi?

The Jackets would probably have to add more into a deal to get a player like Boeser, but if teams are interested in Jack, you have to at least give it a shot. The only goal here is improving the team in the longer-term, so if you’re going to sell off an NHL player in his prime like this, it has to make sense.

Most likely, I think Jack remains a Blue Jacket at least through the deadline. This is the kind of trade that might make more sense over the summer, if it’s made at all. It’s entirely possible that the team views Jack as a piece they want to keep around through the rebuild, which isn’t a bad thing. Let’s just hope he can find that magical scoring mojo soon.