Columbus Blue Jackets
Cap Space: $6,830,198
2019 Draft Picks: 1st, 3rd, 4th, 7th
Potential UFA’s: Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky
Verdict: Buyer
Player to watch: Artemi Panarin
The Blue Jackets figure to be one of the most interesting teams to watch come trade deadline. Their roster has been constructed beautifully, where most of the talent is locked up at reasonable money for their prime years.
They are currently the best team in the Metropolitan Division and has the potential to run away with the division crown. However, their two best players, Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky, are pending free agents, and neither has really made any indication that they’re willing to sign extensions before at least the season’s end. They’re both going to get big raises, and the Jackets won’t have enough money to sign both of them, with a couple of big RFA’s to sign in Ryan Murray and Zach Werenski.
This can realistically go either way. The team doesn’t have a ton in the way of draft picks, but they are loaded with young talent at reasonable money. If they really want to go for it, they have resources available, as well as a little cap space, to squeeze in another addition to make this their big run for the Cup.
On the other hand, they don’t want to risk losing their two biggest pieces for nothing, no matter how much young talent the team has to make up for those two potential absences. Also, if they trade away only one of these guys for futures, it could mean more sustainability for the team in the near future, in an effort to build a strong team around the young foundation they have. My guess is that they’ll go for the jugular because that’s the mentality you have to be in when the Cup is within reach.