The Blue Jackets finally acted ahead of the NHL Draft, acquiring forward Valeri Nichushkin from the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.
The deal is for three draft picks, including one at this weekend's draft:
Nichushkin has scored 235 points in 284 games for the Avalanche over the last five seasons, but he has had his share of struggles off the ice.
The 31-year-old will come to Columbus with four years remaining on an 8-year extension signed back in July of 2022. This contract pays him an AAV of $6.125 million against the cap.
Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell spoke highly of Nichushkin in the team's press release:
"Valeri is a big, strong forward who skates exceptionally well, can score goals, win puck battles and doesn’t shy away from playing in the hard areas...He is an accomplished two-way player who competes at a high level and we are very excited to welcome him to the Blue Jackets family."Don Waddell
Immediate reaction: this is only the beginning.
My immediate reaction to this trade: it feels like a precursor to a larger move. Nichushkin is yet another middle-six forward, coming to a team that already has a glut of them.
He will join a list that includes Kent Johnson, Sean Monahan, Dmitri Voronkov, Conor Garland, Cole Sillinger, Charlie Coyle, Mathieu Olivier, and Miles Wood.
It feels inevitable that a bigger trade will shake down from this team over the next 24 hours. That's the hope, anyway. They still have a glaring hole on their top line, with left wing Mason Marchment likely headed to free agency.
If Nichushkin is the player being acquired to fill that void, that's not a good sign of things to come. Fingers crossed that Waddell and his staff can work some magic over the next couple of days and better round out their roster.
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