Columbus Blue Jackets looking to move defenseman
According to Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalii, the Columbus Blue Jackets have been involved in trade dialogue over the past few days.
Seravalli said the team is open to “different possibilities” regarding which players could move, but it is “likely centered around” Adam Boqvist, Jake Bean and Andrew Peeke.
Sources say #CBJ have been engaged in trade dialogue with teams in recent days in an effort to move a defenseman from their #NHL roster. They've told teams they'd like more flexibility at the position.@DailyFaceoff
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) October 10, 2023The Blue Jackets have seven defensemen on the opening-night lineup, and still have yet to sign 23-year-old RFA Tim Berni. Zach Werenski is set to return to action after missing most of the season due to injury. Damon Severson and Ivan Provorov were big additions over the summer, helping to beef up the team’s blueline.
Top defensive prospect David Jiricek was sent back to the American Hockey League due to his waiver-exempt status. Ideally, the Blue Jackets would have him come back up and play full-time with the team after a fantastic rookie season with the Cleveland Monsters.
Other notable AHL prospects include Corson Ceulemans and Samuel Knazko.
Peeke, 25, has three years left on his contract at $2.75 million. Adam Boqvist is a little cheaper at $2.6 million until 2025 while Jake Bean has a $2.33 million hit this year before becoming a UFA.
CapFriendly has Columbus sitting at $3.066 million in projected cap space. Mathieu Olivier, Daniil Tarasov, Jordan Dumais and Yegor Chinakhov are on injured reserve to start the season. The team will likely go with a top four of Provorov, Severson, Werenski and Peeke, with Boqvist and Erik Gudbranson making up the third pair.
The Blue Jackets are set to welcome Philadelphia for the team’s season opener on Thursday. Columbus came last in the Eastern Conference with 25 wins and 59 points over 82 games in 2022-23. They landed Adam Fantilli with the third overall pick, giving them another top prospect after selecting Jiricek and defenseman Denton Mateychuk in the first round in 2022.