The Columbus Blue Jackets find themselves in the midst of another tightly contested early playoff race. At the time of this article, their 13-9-5 record leaves them in a respectable 17th place in the league standings out of 32.
However, despite being 1 game under .500 and being squarely in the middle of the pack league wide, the rest of the Metropolitan seems to have caught an early season hot-streak, leaving the Blue Jackets last place in the division.
That situation sounds more dire than it really is, as in reality only 6 points separates the Blue Jackets from the division leading Washington Capitals. Any way you look at it, one thing has become clear. Moves need to be made to keep up with this division if the plan is to contend for a playoff spot.
Who are they looking to add?
According to a recent article written by Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, there have been numerous teams calling the Vancouver Canucks after the disappointing 10-15-3 start (32nd place). While it's still too early for most teams to consider putting on a true fire sale of players, the Blue Jackets are among the teams calling about left winger Kiefer Sherwood.
Sherwood is a 30 year old winger coming off a career season with the Vancouver Canucks. After starting his career with the Anaheim Ducks, Colorado Avalanche, and Nashville Predators, he finally found a home in Vancouver, becoming an integral middle six forward.
In 78 games last year he tallied 19 goals and 21 assists for 40 points. But he's not just a reliable point producer. He also recorded an absolutely staggering 462 hits in those 78 games, and that pace has not slowed down.
Now it's no secret the Blue Jackets have a reputation as a less than desirable free agent/trade destination in most cases league wide. Market size, franchise success, and other factors have played a role in this, with players choosing bigger markets like New York and Los Angeles.
Many deals in the past have fell through due to this phenomenon, most recently with the Noah Dobson sweepstakes over the summer.
However, the Blue Jackets have a rare leg up on the other teams calling for Sherwood. Kiefer Sherwood is a Columbus OH native, who spent his junior hockey years with the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL, before committing to three years of college hockey at Miami (OH).
He took a long road to the NHL, bouncing from team to team before establishing himself as a valuable asset for the Canucks. A hometown reunion might just be in order.
The last wrinkle in a potential deal would be the money involved. Kiefer Sherwood is currently in the last year of a deal paying him $1.5 Million, and I imagine a contract extension would greatly sway his opinion of a trade out of Vancouver.
Portzline named no assets that would head the other way in this potential deal, which has caused some speculation as to what a good trade package would look like.
Yegor Chinakov is a name that has appeared in rumors since his trade request this offseason, but the CBJ would most likely have to cough up more than that to get a player as valuable as Sherwood in a contract year.
We will keep an eye on this if anything starts to develop!