The separation is starting. So, too, is the desperation.
NHL clubs are getting closer to identifying themselves as buyers or sellers in advance of the trade deadline, and others (like the Blue Jackets) are looking to add simply to keep themselves in the fight.
They need a center. Maybe a defenseman, too. But now that the NHL's holiday roster has lifted, talk is picking up again. Derick Brassard missed practice in Ottawa on Thursday (gasp!) and Kris Letang's name is making the rounds out of Pittsburgh, while Arizona's Anthony Duclair could be getting a fresh start elsewhere.
In his weekly 31 Thoughts column, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman – the best hockey reporter in the business – spoke with Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen for one of his notes. Friedman asked Kekalainen if there's a missing piece that his team needs to take a shot at winning the Stanley Cup.
Here's the excerpt:
I like interviewing Kekalainen. He’s pretty blunt.
I think Columbus could be good enough to win it all. He does, too, but is there anything he looks at with his team and says, “We need this if we are going to get there?” Answer: “Yes.”
Q: “Uh, what would that be?” A: “I’m going to keep that between myself and our organization.”
That's pretty interesting, isn't it? You'd have to think adding a top-flight center is high on the list of possibilities, but a lot can change between now and the deadline. Kekalainen is going to want to see how his team responds to getting its handful of injured players back before deciding what his "big move" is going to be.
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