The rhetoric around here has been the same for most of the season: the Blue Jackets are smarter to stay the course in their rebuild; as opposed to going out and adding at the trade deadline. That's very true, but there is one exception to this rule.
That exception is: any trades should be for young players who fit into this team's true competitive window - which is still around two years away. They could shock the world this year and sneak into a wild card spot. And, I do expect them to be even better next year. But, the real goal here is Stanley Cup contention, and that's still a little ways off.
What kind of players are available at this year's trade deadline who fit that mold? The Buffalo Sabres are rumored to be shopping Dylan Cozens around. We've looked into Vancouver Canucks star Elias Pettersson. And, we've also seen folks talking about Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks.
In my opinion: the biggest need here isn't another skilled forward. The Jackets are in pretty good shape there, as their young players have all taken big steps this season.
Really, the only top-six concern here is Yegor Chinakhov, whose health seems to be a constant issue since coming over from Russia (more on him later). With Cayden Lindstrom, Luca del bel Belluz, Gavin Brindley, James Malatesta, and Jordan Dumais all in the works; it's not hard to see how things might get crowded up front at some point.
The biggest roster surgery that needs to take place for this team to take another step is on the blue line. Here, I can see a clear top pairing for the next few years, with Zach Werenski and Dante Fabbro playing as well as they have this season. Denton Mateychuk has stepped right into a second pairing role, and he looks very good there already.
But after that, I do have concerns. Damon Severson is signed for another six years beyond this one, and when he's on his game, he's a top-four guy. The problem here is, he has wild swings in play that have even resulted in him being a healthy scratch this season.
Jake Christiansen recently re-upped for two more years, which is great for a player who can be your #6/7 guy and fill in higher up as needed. Erik Gudbranson is here through next season, and I think he and Christiansen should give this team a fine third pairing. All in all, this is a serviceable group, even if the team doesn't extend pending UFA Ivan Provorov.
But, what if the worst scenario happens and this team has to play without Werenski for the long-term? This is the exact thought that has many in the fanbase wondering if the team has no choice but to extend Provorov. After all, Severson has been really hit or miss. And, Mateychuk has just 19 NHL games under his belt. You can see where things could go haywire in a hurry. This is why I think this team needs to make its splash on its blue line.
Enter Noah Dobson.
The New York Islanders are rumored to be shopping Noah Dobson ahead of this year's trade deadline. If true, the Blue Jackets should be all in on this player.
Dobson just turned 25 years old, which means his prime is going to come right around the time the Blue Jackets are looking to contend. He's a right hand shot, who scored 10 goals and 70 points in 79 games last season. He would be an obvious fit inside the top four, alongside Mateychuk; where he would see less of the opposition's top lines and earn second power-play unit time.
In return, the Islanders are hoping to get a young top-six forward for their star defenseman. The Jackets have the pieces to make this kind of trade work. I wouldn't hesitate to put together a package around Chinakhov, and also involving one of the first round picks the team has for this summer.
Chinakhov is the most easily replaceable young top-six piece the Jackets have. In fact, they've already played much of this season without him. While I do think it would hurt to lose him, the benefits of adding a young top-four defenseman would be too good to pass up.
If the price gets driven up from there, the Jackets have a stacked prospect pool, and could offer the Islanders a near-NHL ready player that some other teams may not be able to give away. With their cap space and long list of solid assets, the Jackets are as well positioned as anyone to make this kind of deal at the deadline. This is the kind of trade that could turn them into true Cup contenders.