Around these parts, we’ll do our best to give you everything you need to know about the Columbus Blue Jackets. We’ll also fill you in on the stories you may not have heard about (or those you didn’t think you need to know about), the social media buzz around the league, along with a few random nuggets for good measure.
Think of it as your morning coffee with a shot of hockey talk.
THERE'S...A CATCH: By now, you’ve read the stories and consumed the speculation about the Blue Jackets potentially making a pre-expansion draft deal with the Vegas Golden Knights. Based on the legitimacy of the sources reporting on it (and the number of sources reporting it), it’s safe to say there’s something to all of the chatter.
With that being said, the variables in play are endless and the Blue Jackets have a lot of bases to cover in this expansion process. First, no one has really gone through this with the exception of a few GMs; the NHL last expanded in 2000 with Columbus and Minnesota, so many of the newer executives and team staffs are dealing with a brand new set of problems and preparations.
It sounds exciting, doesn’t it?
The Blue Jackets are believed to be trying to move David Clarkson’s contract. His playing days are likely over but he has not yet retired (and why would he?), meaning the remaining term and money on his contract sits in the Blue Jackets’ long-term injured reserve. That’s not ideal for the Blue Jackets, who would like to get some financial wiggle room and clear out the LTIR, but it will likely require them to sweeten the pot for Vegas.
Here’s what TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger said yesterday during an appearance on TSN Radio 1040 in Vancouver:
“It sounds like there’s a lot going on between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Vegas Golden Knights. Perhaps David Clarkson’s contract could be part of a package that goes back to Vegas, reportedly, in exchange for a high pick and perhaps a decent prospect. There’s a fair bit going on with George McPhee.”
Continued...
“It could be a first-round pick," Dreger said. "That would make some sense. Columbus is one of those teams that’s not far from being really good. Clarkson, and the fact that he’s physically of no use to the Columbus Blue Jackets, becomes a problem. So if they can unload that deal, that’s the price that Jarmo Kekalainen, John Davidson and the Columbus Blue Jackets may have to pay. The message all along from McPhee and management in Vegas has been: we’re absolutely in the market for high picks or prospects, (but) we’re not in the market for dead money or bad contracts. If they’re going to take on dead money and a bad contract, which I think David Clarkson’s deal absolutely fits in both of those categories…the only way they do that is to get a first-round pick and a decent prospect or a first-round pick and a prospect.”
If it sounds like a steep price, you’re right. But if the Blue Jackets can offload Clarkson’s contract, they would be left with somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 million in cap space with only Alexander Wennberg and Josh Anderson (RFA) left to be signed.
In other words, they could be freed up to go after the “sniper” that Kekalainen mentioned earlier this summer.
NOT SO FAST, NMC: The deadline for NHL teams to ask players to waive no-movement clauses for the expansion draft was 5 p.m. ET on Monday, but if you’re the Pittsburgh Penguins or Nashville Predators, that deadline was extended to 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
One headline (other than the Blue Jackets not asking Scott Hartnell to waive) was the Ottawa Senators asking defenseman Dion Phaneuf to waive his NMC. Phaneuf reportedly declined to waive the clause, which is well within his right, but it ignited a lively discussion on hockey Twitter.
In one corner, you have the folks who don’t understand why Phaneuf wouldn’t waive the clause if it was obvious his team was hoping Vegas would claim him in the expansion draft. It’s not that easy; Ottawa asking him to waive isn’t a direct line to “we want you out of here” as much as it is GM Pierre Dorion looking to get as much bang for his buck in protecting other assets.
Then you have the people who believe Phaneuf was well within his right to waive (which is accurate) and the Senators should have known this was a possibility, particularly when a player like Phaneuf was acquired for a particular reason. He helped facilitate the trade from Toronto to Ottawa via that same clause, and it’s obvious he likes playing for the Senators.
No hard feelings, one would hope.
ICYMI: The Blue Jackets are listed as a modest 20/1 shot to win the Stanley Cup next summer, according to Bovada ... Should the Blue Jackets retain the 24th overall pick, we've listed three players they should steer clear of ... Our latest "burning question" analysis looks at the future of Scott Hartnell in Columbus ... Here's an early look at Adidas' new jersey partnership with NHL clubs.
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