March 7 is just about 4 weeks away and I have read that, while teams may complete trades during the Four Nations tournament, they won't be announced until after the tournament to keep the focus on those games. The Jackets are not only in an all out battle for a wild card spot, but are in the unique position of being allowed to be under the cap floor. With an injury list that seems to grow daily, some $18.75MM in cap space and Don Waddell, who admits to liking to trade at the TDL, in charge it's reasonable to expect that the Jackets will be active in the trade market in the coming weeks.

Now, every GM overpays, either in trade or UFA signing, on a player in the heat of the moment, but Waddell's history is for being cautious and conservative in his dealings. Which allows us to make certain predictions.

To start, we can expect Waddell to weaponize that cap space. IMO, the most likely scenario is being the 3rd party in a trade, agreeing to take on a portion of someone's salary in exchange for some kind of futures. Considering the tight races in the Eastern Conference, there will be several teams in need of salary cap help.

Because of the injuries to Werenski and Fabbro, I think Waddell will hold on to Provorov. Especially since he can translate for Voronkov during games. If Provorov is willing to accept a three or four year contract extension, I think he'll get signed.

Christiansen has proven himself to be a solid 3rd pairing guy who can also fill in anywhere on the blueline ably. Jack Johnson and John Harris are, at best, acceptable 7th Ds. We're stuck with Johnson since his motivation for signing here was to retire a Jacket. We're also stuck with Harris since 7th Ds are a dime a dozen. Improving the 3rd pairing will have to wait for the off season.

Kirill the Thrill's broken jaw provides the most likely addition Waddell could seek. While getting Jenner, Chinakov and Monahan back in the coming weeks will help the team's scoring, Marchenko is first in goals and second in assists on the team. Add in that the wings are where the Jackets are weakest among forwards and I expect Waddell to target wingers. But, oddly, I think he'll be looking for middle six wingers as I think Chinakov can fill in for Kirill temporarily.

While Elvis and Tarasov have been playing well, lately, and history shows that goalies obtained at the TDL rarely pan out until the next season, with Jet Greaves' development, Tarasov could be a toss in in a trade.

I'll say it, again. I don't think the Jackets will make the playoffs. But I do expect Waddell to be opportunistic on trades around the TDL to set the Jackets up for a huge improvement, next season.