As the summer cottage season in the NHL has officially begun upon us, the news cycle has correspondingly slowed to a halt. The last major trade or signing took place on July 2nd, and outside of some extensions for RFAs, there hasn't been much to talk about, as per the usual after the beginning of July all the way up to training camp in September.
But, as the pundits keep mentioning, some teams are still looking at improving this offseason through acquisitions. The Blue Jackets are one of those teams, and they are specifically looking for scoring help in their Top-6, or "Top-9" as so many General Managers have been saying this offseason.
Now, it's important to take into account Columbus' cap situation. Per PuckPedia, once they (eventually) extend Adam Fantilli, they will likely be right up against the NHL salary cap. If they wish to add more talent to their roster, it will have to involve shipping talent out. It will be a delicate balancing act between adding salary and adding more net value than they bring back in. There's little wiggle room otherwise.
With that being a given, however, let's take a look through the next few slides, at some possible targets that have had trade speculation attached to them this offseason.
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