Hold on to your seats, folks.
The Blue Jackets may do some serious wheeling and dealing in the upcoming days. With the NHL Draft starting tomorrow, the Blue Jackets are reportedly interested in adding more picks, according to Elliotte Friedman and Chris Johnston.
The Blue Jackets currently don't have a second or third-round pick, and they only had two fourth-rounders and a seventh last year. Acquiring more draft picks would be critical to setting up the club for future success. Some notable Blue Jackets on the current roster who were drafted in the second or third round include:
- Alexandre Texier (2nd round, 45th overall, 2017)
- Kevin Stenlund (2nd round, 58th overall, 2015)
- Elvis Merzlikins (3rd round, 76th overall, 2014)
- Oliver Bjorkstrand (3rd round, 89th overall, 2013)
- Joonas Korpisalo (3rd round, 62nd overall, 2012)
- Boone Jenner (2nd round, 37th overall, 2011)
As you can see, the club has had success in those rounds. However, in order to get something you want, you have to give up something you don't want to part with (in most cases). According to Friedman and Johnston, the Blue Jackets may try a sign-and-trade with restricted free agent Josh Anderson. Calgary and Montreal are two teams interested in that scenario, but it depends on the contract that Anderson and the Blue Jackets are able to negotiate.
Another Blue Jacket that may be on the move is veteran defenseman David Savard. He has one year left on his contract and would be an excellent fit for a team with playoff aspirations. The Blue Jackets have a deep defensive group, and the loss of Savard could be mitigated.
It'll be very interesting to see how the Blue Jackets approach the draft tomorrow. GM Jarmo Kekäläinen mentioned in his media availability last Friday that when teams are looking for players to draft, the expected window for them is 3-5 years away. With that in mind, the Blue Jackets will have to bring in outside help in terms of scoring, which is what they need to push them to the next level.
