What the Blue Jackets could do ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline

The Columbus Blue Jackets have been one of the league’s most pleasant surprises, far exceeding expectations and finding themselves in the playoff hunt. As a result, general manager Don Waddell announced that the team has plans to be a buyer at the trade deadline, even with the injuries they’ve had to deal with recently.

But what does buying at the deadline look like for the Blue Jackets? Aaron Portzline from the Athletic joined Daily Faceoff Live for their All 32 segment to talk about what Columbus may be looking for at the deadline.

Aaron Portzline: I think what it for sure doesn’t mean is a rental. I think what it specifically means is a forward. I know they’re expecting [Boone] Jenner back on the other side of the 4 Nations [Face-Off]. The bigger questions are [Sean] Monahan and [Kirill] Marchenko, who could be back, I think at the earliest, mid-March, probably more realistically late March.

So that’s a significant stretch without them obviously. And even when they’re back, you’re wondering, especially Monahan with the wrist, even if he’s cleared to play, is he going to be 100% back to who he was before the injury? That seems like a stretch for me.

So they’re looking to bring in a forward. I don’t know that it’s specifically a centerman. My next conversation with Don Waddell is what are they looking for within that forward? Is that playmaking? Is that scoring? Is that size?

They’re going to be a different team when Jenner comes back, they’ll win some more battles along the wall, the young guys are still obviously not quite there yet. But for a while it seemed like Jenner was going to be treated as their trade deadline acquisition almost, and I think now they realize that they need to add a little more beyond that.

You can watch the full episode here…