We're about 24 hours from the bell of free agency sounding, and it's been fairly quiet on the Blue Jackets front.
They're expected to "play it safe," per The Athletic's Aaron Portzline, but we still expect them to pursue a forward who could help out offensively. While the links between the Blue Jackets and potential free agents haven't been plentiful yet, a Saturday report from TSN has them "in the mix" for versatile Hurricanes forward Derek Ryan.
Ryan, 30, is a late bloomer who became a solid option for Carolina the last couple of seasons. He scored 15 goals in 2017-18 and is hitting the free agent market at a time when centers (and forwards) are in demand – so it's no surprise that the Blue Jackets aren't alone in their interest.
#Leafs among the teams to express interest in centre Derek Ryan. They havent made a firm offer (hello, Tavares) but hes sitting on multi-year offers from #Flames and a Central division team. Detroit and Columbus also believed to be in the mix.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) June 30, 2018
Multiple reports have Ryan's price tag estimated at $3 million per season on a two or three-year deal.
