The Columbus Blue Jackets have been relatively quiet in the early days of free agency.
That makes sense for several reasons, namely that they made their biggest roster adjustments via trades before, during, and after the NHL draft, and also because a retooling roster is wasting assets by wading too deep into UFA waters.
Now that the dust has settled and the high-stakes games of musical chairs have mostly played out, though, there are bargain bin opportunities to be had across the NHL. The Blue Jackets aren't a good fit for the majority of remaining UFAs, but these three may actually make sense.
Tomas Tatar
Is Tatar the modern-day Thomas Vanek? Tatar, 30, is coming off a contract that paid him $5.3M over the past four seasons. And while he may be on the 'back nine' of his career, he's still an incredibly effective point-producer. In fact, over the past three seasons, Tatar is 22nd in the NHL in points, sandwiched between Alexander Ovechkin and Sean Couturier. His value seems to plummet in the postseason, though, and he was a healthy scratch for the majority of the Montreal Canadiens' run to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Still, for a team like the Blue Jackets, adding a player like Tatar to help take pressure off of younger players in the lineup may make sense. Are we absolutely convinced that Alexandre Texier, Emil Bemstrom, Liam Foudy, etc. are ready for a bigger role?
The reasons against signing Tatar are clear, too. If the Blue Jackets are committed to letting their younger players sink or swim, signing a player that blocks the path is nonsensical. Then there's the trade value - Tatar has shown he's the type of player that helps teams get TO the playoffs. But he hasn't been a player that helps teams get THROUGH them, and so teams may be reluctant to trade for him.
Marcus Johansson
Blue Jackets may remember Johansson from his time with the Washington Capitals or Boston Bruins. In many ways, the 30-year old is the anti-Tatar, in that his value is primarily derived from attributes that help round out a playoff team: winning faceoffs, playing defensively responsible, chipping in the odd goal... but not for his outright offensive output.
Johansson is a reliable veteran that can play all three forward positions. He's commanded an AAV of roughly $4.5M for the past five seasons, though, and the Blue Jackets may wisely pass on a contract that lucrative. On the other hand, signing Johansson to help bring along a young team, then flipping him at the deadline, could make sense.
Dominik Kahun
Whereas Tatar and Johansson are known commodities, Kahun is a bit of a wildcard. There's no doubting he has NHL talent; he has 83 points in 186 regular-season games over three seasons. On the other hand, there's clearly something that teams don't love about the 26-year old, who has played for four different NHL franchises and has been available for a week in free agency and was not given a qualifying offer for the second consecutive season.
For a team like the Blue Jackets, Kahun may make sense. Worst-case scenario is he's given a sub-$1M contract on a short-term deal. If he 'pops', it's a win, and if he doesn't, it's such a low commitment that it's not a huge deal. The risk/reward is certainly appealing.
On the other hand, the Blue Jackets have a plethora of 'tweener' forwards, including (but not limited to) Foudy, Bemstrom, Justin Danforth, Yegor Chinakhov, and Gregory Hofmann. Would adding Kahun be redundant? Perhaps. But, again, at such a low-cost commitment, perhaps adding some additional offensive firepower would be appealing.
