All right, I get it. People came here to read how I’m going to try to spin this crazy idea.
Trade for Alexander Ovechkin?
Sure, where do the Columbus Blue Jackets find the cap room and package of players to offer up for an aging star who has never been past the second round of the playoffs, might not play defense and could be on the downside of his career?
But, I’m not here to say the Blue Jackets should make this move. I’m just here to say they should look at the possibility of doing it if the Washington Capitals put their captain on the market. And I think I have a compelling argument.
Why is that?
Let’s start from square one. The Columbus Blue Jackets just finished the best season in franchise history – and were out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in five games. This tells us two things.
1. The Blue Jackets are on the right path to building a consistent winner in the NHL.
2. They still have a ways to go to get to the top of the mountain.
Specifically, after Columbus was dumped out of the playoffs, many fans and observers suggested the one thing the Blue Jackets are missing is an bona fide star.
Chicago has Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews and has won three Stanley Cups with that duo. Pittsburgh has used the combination of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and recently Phil Kessel to bring home a pair of Cups with a good chance at another. Washington is consistently one of the most accomplished teams in the NHL behind Ovechkin, and recent Cup winners like Boston and Los Angeles had guys who could crank it up offensively at an elite level when need be.
Here’s another reality: Those guys this are difficult to find. Of the aforementioned players, all but Kessel was drafted by the team he currently plays for. Exciting young stars like Auston Matthews (Toronto), Connor McDavid (Edmonton), Jack Eichel (Buffalo) and Patrik Laine (Winnipeg) look like franchise cornerstones and aren’t going anywhere for a while. The market for stars, simply put, is almost nonexistent without picking first or second in the draft.
Which makes it a fair concern, then, to point out the Blue Jackets don’t have someone like that on the roster at this moment. Sure, I like plenty of the pieces. Cam Atkinson has proved to be one of the best pure goal scorers in the NHL. Alexander Wennberg is a top distributor, Nick Foligno knows how to score, Zach Werenski can pull the strings from the blue line and Brandon Saad might have more talent than anyone on the roster.
Still, is there anyone on the team who opponents truly fear? Right now, Atkinson is probably closest to that, and he’s a damn good player. But will he ever be one of the top five goal scorers in the NHL? That’s a tough one in an era of Matthews, McDavid, Crosby, et al.
Looking younger, there are some guys you like. Werenski’s ceiling is the roof, Michael Jordan might say, and he could very well be the next Erik Karlsson. Oliver Bjorkstrand is a sniper, but will he top out at 20, 30 or 40 goals? Pierre-Luc Dubois was drafted third overall last year, but he’s still just 18 and hasn’t yet played a professional game.
In other words, that superstar isn’t walking through that door right now. But one might be on the market.
Will Washington really, truly trade Ovechkin? That remains to be seen and in fact seems rather unlikely. The rumblings that came after Washington’s playoff loss that the Capitals might hit the reset button are probably just the frustration of another disappointing end. With much of its roster hitting free agency, the Caps already have enough holes to fill without dealing No. 8.
But what if the Caps make the decision this team won’t get over the hump with what it has, then decides to put Ovechkin on the market?
I think you have to call.
Sure, there are stumbling blocks well beyond figuring out who you’d have to give up in a potential deal. Ovechkin is expensive, carrying a cap hit of more than $9.5 million per year through 2020-21. He’s getting older – he’ll be 32 by the time next season starts, and after three consecutive 50-goal seasons he finished with just 33 tallies this year. His commitment to defense at times has been questioned, and one has to wonder how he would mesh with John Tortorella. Plus he’ll likely miss time next season if he follows through on his plan to play in the Olympics. There’s plenty of risk involved.
Having said all that, there’s risk in standing pat as well. Columbus remains in perhaps the toughest division in hockey, one that shows no signs of getting any easier if you watched the NHL draft lottery. Plus, twice Columbus has made a playoff appearance only to throw things into reverse both times.
The Blue Jackets can’t afford to have the same result this time around. In fact, you could argue the time is to win now, both for the sake of franchise momentum and because you don’t want to see this core watch its window slip away.
Making a trade work would be difficult, and there’s no guarantee Washington would entertain the thought of a trade within the division, let alone a trade at all. Simply put, I don't expect to see Ovechkin wearing union blue when the season starts in October.
But if Ovechkin ends up on the market, it’s a move Columbus has to consider.
