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Trade Rumors: Eichel, Blackhawks, Kings

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Jack Eichel remains the biggest name on the trade market and will remain as such until he is dealt. Or not dealt? The Athletic’s John Vogl spoke to both sides and found that GM Kevyn Adams and Eichel’s agent had a long, productive meeting on Wednesday. Eichel’s camp believes that the situation is “heading toward a resolution.” Read into that what you will, but the language at least hints at a possible reconciliation between the two sides. This report comes on the heels of TSN’s Darren Dreger reporting that the Sabres’ asking price of “the equivalent of four first-round picks” has depressed the market. If the Sabres are not willing to drop the price of this franchise-altering trade, they could instead try to make amends with their superstar. Then again, Vogl also notes that the Sabres have not changed their opinion on Eichel’s proposed controversial neck surgery, a line in the sand that could still split the two sides. “Resolution” could still mean that the team and the player are working toward finding a trade.

  • One team in on Eichel are the Chicago Blackhawks. Don’t mistake their openness to trading iconic defenseman Duncan Keith as transitioning into a rebuild. Dreger notes that they are big game hunting this summer and have talked to Buffalo about the star center. However, Dreger does not believe that adding Eichel to a roster that already has two top-tier forward contracts in Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews is feasible from a cap perspective, even if Keith is moved. Instead, he believes that Chicago has a far better chance of landing one of their other two rumored targets: defensemen Seth Jones and Dougie Hamilton.
  • The equivalent of four first-round picks is a mighty big ask, but it won’t slow down the Los Angeles Kings if they want to add Eichel. L.A. has long been a rumored landing spot for Eichel and it seems there is mutual interest in a trade. As Vogl notes, the Kings’ ability to part with the pieces needed to land Eichel hasn’t changed with today’s deal for Nashville forward Viktor Arvidsson. L.A. parted with two valuable draft picks, but not a first-round pick nor any of their top-flight first-round prospects like Quinton Byfield, Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Turcotte, Rasmus Kupari, or Tobias Bjornfot. If Eichel remains on the market, the Kings will definitely be in play.

Latest On Seth Jones

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The playoffs are still raging on, with four teams desperately battling for a chance to hoist the Stanley Cup. Meanwhile, in their individual cities, general managers across the league are dealing with a ticking clock on pending unrestricted free agents, scrambling to finish last-minute expansion plans or making calls to try and find a way to improve their club. In Columbus, the Blue Jackets front office is looking at a long, important to-do list. At the top of it is solve the Seth Jones problem—to trade or not to trade?

Jones, 26, has informed the Blue Jackets that he will not be re-signing with them at this point, meaning he is just over a year away from hitting the market as an unrestricted free agent. The Norris Trophy contender will command a huge price on the open market, likely becoming one of the highest-paid defensemen in the league whether he signs in Columbus or somewhere else. So the Blue Jackets must decide whether to trade him this summer, at next season’s deadline, or try and convince him to somehow change his mind on returning on a long-term extension.

This week, sources told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic that the Philadelphia Flyers are one of the teams that have shown interest in the right-handed defenseman, a fit that the scribe had suggested previously. They certainly aren’t the only team calling Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen though. LeBrun suggests that Jones’ value actually could potentially increase if Columbus held onto him until the next trade deadline, but notes that the best-case scenario is likely trading him in the summer with a team that immediately extends him.

A trade this summer is exactly what Elliotte Friedman expects, as he told Sportsnet radio on Monday:

The Jones [trade] I expect to happen around the draft, I would say it’s probably when we’re going to look at it. Because it’s going to be some picks involved. But I do think they are pretty determined to make that move. 

The Blue Jackets of course already have three first-round picks this year, meaning a trade with more draft picks involved could quickly restock the prospect cupboard. Kekalainen famously “went for it” in 2019, sending out several high picks for players like Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel, hoping to take advantage of the final year with Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky. While that might suggest he’d be willing to do the same in Jones’ final year, the Blue Jackets just aren’t in a competitive enough position with the rest of the roster for it to really make sense.

Remember though—in this very unique offseason—that any acquiring team will also be forced to protect Jones in the expansion draft if the deal is made in the coming weeks. That could potentially delay a trade depending on who is willing to pay the highest price, but keep an eye on that two-day period between the expansion and entry drafts for several moves around the league to be officially announced.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Columbus Likely To Trade Seth Jones Before Draft

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Late last night, it was reported that Columbus Blue Jackets star defenseman Seth Jones will not sign an extension with Columbus and plans to test the 2022 free-agent market. That’s a huge blow to a team that has lost a large chunk of their core players in the last few years. While general manager Jarmo Kekalainen has said in the past that the team intends to go into the season with Jones whether or not he signs a contract extension, that looks to have already changed.

The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline (subscription required) writes that much has changed around the philosophy now that John Davidson has rejoined the organization as President of Hockey Operations. In fact, while Davidson did not confirm the rumors that Elliotte Friedman passed along Saturday Night on Hockey Night in Canada, he made it clear that if Jones does not sign an extension, they will not hold onto the blueliner like the team did when they held onto Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky when both indicated they intended to test free agency at the end of the year in 2019. Both players instead opted to leave the team at the end of the season.

“The No. 1 thing we’d like to do is keep Seth,” Davidson told The Athletic on Sunday. “He has every right in the world to leave if he wants to not extend the contract, but we’ll do what’s best for our team. We just want players who want to be here. This is a different scenario (than in 2019). We were in a position (then) where we thought we had a chance to make a pretty good run at (the Stanley Cup). Beating Tampa Bay (in the first round) was great. Losing to Boston in six … it was a good series, and they lost in seven in the Final.”

With Columbus in a much different position than when they were a solid playoff contender, the team likely has no choice but to consider getting as much as they can for Jones. Portzline said that sources have told him that the team will likely begin shopping the defenseman immediately with the hope of trading him before the draft this summer.

“Whatever happens is going to be what’s the absolute best for the Blue Jackets franchise, period,” Davidson said. “That’s just how it works. Doesn’t matter if it’s Seth Jones or Joe Smith, the player has the right through the (collective bargaining agreement) to do what they feel is necessary for them and their careers. We want players who want to be in Columbus, who want to be Blue Jackets, and we’re going to continue to create that culture.”

Latest On Seth Jones

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have been unable to retain their stars in recent years, with names like Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky, and Matt Duchene all leaving in free agency. The next big name on that list is Seth Jones, who will enter the final season of his six-year, $32.4MM contract in 2021-22 with unrestricted free agency right around the corner. Though the Blue Jackets would obviously love to sign the Norris contender to a long-term contract to keep him in Columbus, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported on Hockey Night In Canada that the 26-year-old will not sign an extension with the team at this point.

We can tell you that sometime in the last week or so, Seth Jones informed the Columbus Blue Jackets that he will not be re-signing. I’m saying ’for now’ at this point because I don’t like to deal in absolutes. But it does appear as if he is prepared to test free agency and we’ll see how Columbus decides to handle this over the next little while.

If Jones has told the team he intends to go to the open market, it means the Blue Jackets will be forced to at least test the market to see what kind of return would be available with one year remaining on his deal. The team is coming off a brutal season that saw them fall to the very bottom of the Central Division standings at 18-26-12, parted ways with their head coach, and traded away their captain Nick Foligno.

Moving Jones would be a huge transaction, but it wouldn’t be the first time the star defender was traded. He arrived in Columbus in a blockbuster five years ago, swapped for up-and-coming center Ryan Johansen. Since then he has turned into one of the very best all-around defensemen in the league, able to contribute offensively while also matching the other team’s best on any given night.

Of course, the Blue Jackets could decide to( and have suggested in the past that they will) keep him and use the next 12 months to attempt to change his mind. Jones’ next contract will likely make him one of the highest-paid defenders in the entire league and as long as the Blue Jackets are willing to pay market value, any growth this summer and next season should be seen as positives.

The Jones situation in Columbus will be one of the most interesting to keep an eye on through the summer and up to the 2022 trade deadline.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Central Notes: Jones, Brome, Panthers

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The 2019 offseason was a tough one for Columbus who saw several of their top veterans head elsewhere in Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene, and Sergei Bobrovsky (among others as well).  Defenseman Seth Jones is a year away from being able to do the same but GM Jarmo Kekalainen told Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch that they won’t be allowing Jones to walk away for nothing, citing that he doesn’t see the team being in the same situation next season as they were back in 2019 when they pushed their chips to the table and had a star player who many expected to go to New York as Panarin eventually did.  For now, the focus will remain on working on a long-term extension for the 26-year-old who averaged more than 25 minutes a game for the third straight season.

Elsewhere in the Central:

  • Earlier this month, Red Wings winger Mathias Brome told Svenskafans’ Andreas Lundskog that he was open to returning overseas but wasn’t going to limit himself to going back to his native Sweden. It appears he’s zeroing in on the Swiss NLA as Aftonbladet’s Tomas Ros and Hans Abrahamsson report that Brome is expected to join Davos.  It was a disappointing first season in North America for the 26-year-old who managed just a goal and an assist in 26 games with Detroit this season despite logging a respectable 13:39 per night.  Brome is set to become a restricted free agent this summer but as he’s a year away from UFA eligibility based on his age, there’s a good chance he’ll be non-tendered if a deal overseas is finalized.
  • Despite missing two of the last three games due to an upper-body injury, Florida center Sam Bennett is available for the series opener against Tampa Bay, notes Jameson Olive of the Panthers’ team site. The 24-year-old made an immediate impact after being acquired from Calgary at the trade deadline, picking up six goals and nine assists in just ten games, beating his output with the Flames despite playing in 28 games more with Calgary.  Meanwhile, Olive also relayed (Twitter link) that winger Patric Hornqvist is ready to return after missing the final seven games of the regular season with an upper-body injury of his own.

Columbus’ Gustav Nyquist Will Not Play This Season

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When the Columbus Blue Jackets watched an exodus of talent walk out the door in the 2019 off-season, the only top free agent that they were able to bring in to help make up for the losses was Gustav Nyquist. Nyquist signed a four-year, $22MM contract that placed him among the most well-compensated UFA’s that summer. A four-time 20-goal scorer coming off a career-high 60-point season, Nyquist was expected to step into the Columbus lineup and bring that same level of production. For the most part he did just that last season, meeting the high expectations. The long-time Detroit Red Wing showed no issues adjusting to his new team, recording 15 goals and 42 points in a shortened 70-game season, good enough for second on the team in scoring. However, the veteran had also quietly been dealing with a nagging injury in his left shoulder that turned out to be a torn labrum. He underwent surgery in early November and was given a 5-to-6 month recovery timeline. The Jackets realized that they would be missing the two-way, top-six forward for much of the season, but expected him back for the stretch run and hoped he would be joining a playoff push as well.

Well, five months have already passed with the six-month mark coming up shortly and there has been little word on Nyquist. That is, until today. Blue Jackets beat writer Jeff Svoboda relays word from head coach John Tortorella that Nyquist will not return to the Columbus lineup this season. Tortorella did not expand on this statement, leaving it ambiguous as to whether there has been a setback in his recovery that is truly preventing his return or whether the club has decided that there is no use bringing him back given their status this season. As for the latter, the Blue Jackets were toying with playoff contention for a short period of time, but have cooled off immensely in recent weeks. In fact, their 2-7-1 record in their past ten games is the second-worst mark in the league in that span. These struggles, pushing Columbus to seventh in the Central Division and ten points back of a playoff spot, coupled with the deadline departures of key contributors Nick Foligno and David Savard, have made a postseason push close to impossible and likely made it an easier decision for the team to shut Nyquist down.

The Blue Jackets certainly could have used Nyquist this season though. The play-making winger logged major minutes for Columbus last season and contributed to both special teams units. Due in no small part to Nyquist’s absence, the team has failed to improve in scoring this season, both even strength and on the power play, and have taken a step back on the penalty kill. And while team defense may seem to rely on the blue line and goaltending more than the forwards, missing Nyquist’s stable two-way presence for 18+ minutes per night has contributed to some degree in the Blue Jacket’s massive slide from the league’s third-best goal against average last season to 26th this year.

With all that said, Nyquist’s inability to return this season does raise some questions about his security this off-season. If the team is simply being cautious by not activating him this season, that would seem to imply that they have his future interests in mind and see him continuing to play a part with their club. However, if the soon-to-be 32-year-old has instead been recovering slowly and is still physically unable to return, that is a whole other issue. Facing financial pressure and facing an impending cap crunch, with Patrik Laine in need of a new deal this summer and Seth Jones and Zach Werenski in the same boat the next summer, a $5.5MM cap hit for an aging player who has not seen action in a year may not be appealing to the Blue Jackets. If they are unsure that Nyquist can return to being a dependable top-six forward in the final two years of his contract, they could opt to expose him in the Expansion Draft or trade him away, letting another team take that chance. Even if just for peace of mind heading into the off-season, it would have been nice for Columbus to see Nyquist return before the end of the season. Instead, they will have to prepare for an important off-season with an expensive question mark on the roster.

Blue Jackets Activate Seth Jones And Dean Kukan Off IR

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Although we’re still more than a month away from the play-in round getting underway, the Blue Jackets made a pair of roster moves today, announcing that they’ve activated defensemen Seth Jones and Dean Kukan off injured reserve, paving the for them to suit up against Toronto in what will likely be early August.

The return of Jones will be huge for their back end.  He led all Columbus players in ice time at 25:17 per game.  While that actually represented a small dip compared to a year ago, that number was still high enough to rank seventh among all blueliners league-wide this season.  He should step back into the number one role and play in all situations; not many teams welcoming back injured players will get a player that has as big of an impact as he does.  He had missed the final 14 games before the pandemic shut down the season due to an ankle injury.

Jones’ offensive numbers dipped this season with 30 points in 56 games, his lowest point per game rate in any of his full seasons with the Blue Jackets.  However, he made a big impact at that end a year ago when they made it to the second round and he’s certainly capable of doing that again.  At the very least, he’ll take some of the pressure off Zach Werenski (who potted a career-best 20 goals this season) in the attacking zone.

After being a depth player the last couple of years, Kukan had stepped into a regular spot on their third pairing before a knee issue caused him to miss the final 29 regular season games.  He wound up suiting up in 33 contests this year, collecting five points (1-4-5) while averaging just shy of 16 minutes per night.  He may not be able to reclaim that regular role after being off for so long but at the very least, he’ll represent capable depth if and when injuries arise.

While not mentioned in this announcement, the Blue Jackets are also expected to welcome back forwards Cam Atkinson, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Nathan Gerbe for their best-of-five series against the Maple Leafs.  Alexandre Texier currently remains on IR along with Josh Anderson and Brandon Dubinsky, neither of whom will be available.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Metropolitan Notes: Jones, Fitzgerald, Golyshev

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While the season remains on hold due to COVID-19, many players are getting every chance to get back to full health. In fact, the delay in the season could be  a huge benefit to several teams that lost key players late in the season, which now might make them available if the NHL is able to continue the season or at least the playoffs.

The Columbus Blue Jackets look like they could be huge benefactors to that end as injured defenseman Seth Jones, a crucial linchpin to the team’s shutdown defense announced that he stepped on the ice today for the first time since suffering an ankle injury in which he required surgery to repair a sprain an hairline fracture on Feb. 11. He was given an 8-10 week recovery time after suffering the injury three days earlier against the Colorado Avalanche.

While Columbus had fared well despite suffering numerous team injuries over the course of the year, Jones’ departure from the lineup had quite the effect. The team picked up just three wins after his injury, with a 3-5-6 record.

The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline adds that while players are not allowed to use their teams’ facilities at the moment, Jones is permitted to do so as part of his rehab from ankle surgery, allowed by deputy commissioner Bill Daly. Injured players are allowed access to team’s facilities since the beginning of the league’s suspension.

  • The Athletic’s Corey Masisak (subscription required) writes in his most recent mailbag entry that the longer the suspension goes on, the more and more likely the New Jersey Devils will had the permanent general manager position to current interim GM Tom Fitzgerald. With most candidates still under contract until the season ends, New Jersey has been unable to interview any candidates that are associated with a team. The team has interviewed former Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Gillis (twice), but if the season goes deep into the summer, there is a good chance they will keep Fitzgerald, who took over for Ray Shero on Jan. 12 and had a successful trade deadline. Fitzgerald was already a top candidate for the job, but the Devils were interested in a full search, which now may be difficult.
  • With rumors that the New York Islanders are already getting Russian goaltending prospect Ilya Sorokin under contract for next season, Sport-Express’ KHL writer Igor Eronko reports that another Russian prospect is considering coming stateside for the 2021-22 season. According to Eronko, 25-year-old forward Anatoli Golyshev has looked at houses in New York and wants to join the team in 2021. Golyshev, an Islanders’ fourth-round pick in 2016, had an injury-plagued campaign this year with just 11 goals and 25 points in 38 games, but scored 37 goals over his previous two years with Yekaterinburg Automobilist in the KHL.

Seth Jones Out Indefinitely, Liam Foudy Recalled

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Tuesday: Jones underwent surgery today to repair a sprain and hairline fracture in his ankle. He is expected to miss the next eight to ten weeks.

Monday: As the Columbus Blue Jackets fought through injury after injury this season, one player they could rely on to hold them up and help them compete in the Metropolitan Division was Seth Jones. The incredible defenseman was having another outstanding season, but just like many of his teammates he’ll now have to watch from the infirmary. Jones has been ruled out “indefinitely” after suffering an ankle injury on Saturday and will be moved to injured reserve. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription required) reports that Jones’ ankle is in fact broken, but is going for more testing before surgery is scheduled.

The Blue Jackets have recalled Gabriel Carlsson from the minor leagues, and Liam Foudy under emergency conditions from the OHL’s London Knights. Cam Atkinson will also not play for the Blue Jackets tonight.

Jones, 25, has received Norris Trophy votes as one of the league’s best defensemen in each of the last three years and would surely garner some more if the vote were held today. With 30 points in 56 games for Columbus, he has been a huge reason why the team has been so stingy in their own end and are in a playoff spot even after the offseason departures. His absence will truly test a group that has fought through plenty of adversity this season.

Foudy’s recall is the first of his career, and will result in his NHL debut later tonight. The 18th overall pick from 2018, he has starred for the Knights and was a big part of the gold medal-winning Team Canada at the World Juniors. After turning 20 just a few days ago, he’ll try to use his elite skating ability to find success in the NHL.

Since he was already returned to the CHL earlier this season however, Foudy cannot stay in the NHL for long. To even recall him in the first place the team needed to be on their third emergency recall—which was no problem thanks to the litany of injuries they’ve dealt with—but CapFriendly explains that he can only miss a single CHL game. The Knights play tomorrow evening.

NHL All-Star Selections Announced

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Although it took some time, with each individual team rolling out their own selections, the final rosters for All-Star Weekend have come into focus. Below are each of the four divisional team, set to face off in the Skills Competition on Friday, January 24th and the All-Star Game on Saturday, January 25th:

Atlantic Division

G Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs
G Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins
D Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
D Shea Weber, Montreal Canadiens
F Tyler Bertuzzi, Detroit Red Wings
F Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
F Anthony Duclair, Ottawa Senators
F Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers
F Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
F David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins (C)

Metropolitan Division

G Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
G Joonas Korpisalo, Columbus Blue Jackets
D John Carlson, Washington Capitals
D Dougie Hamilton, Carolina Hurricanes
D Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets
F Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders
F Jake Guentzel, Pittsburgh Penguins
F Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers
F Kyle Palmieri, New Jersey Devils
F Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers

Central Division

G Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
G Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
D Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
D Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues
F Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
F Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche (C)
F Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues
F Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets
F Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
F Eric Staal, Minnesota Wild

Pacific Division

G Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights
G Darcy Kuemper, Arizona Coyotes
D Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
F Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks
F Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
F Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
F Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers (C)
F Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
F Jakob Silfverberg, Anaheim Ducks
F Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary Flames

Additionally, each divisional squad will have one more addition as decided by the Last Men In fan vote. Voting opens on January 1st and closes on the 10th. Here are the candidates:

Atlantic Division – Patrice Bergeron, Rasmus Dahlin, Dylan Larkin Aleksander Barkov, Max Domi, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Steven Stamkos, Mitch Marner

Metropolitan Division – Teuvo Teravainen, Nick Foligno, Nico Hischier, Brock Nelson, Mika Zibanejad, Claude Giroux, Kris Letang, T.J. Oshie

Central Division – Jonathan Toews, Cale Makar, Jamie Benn, Ryan Suter, Matt Duchene, David Perron Patrik Laine

Pacific Division – Ryan Getzlaf, Clayton Keller, Johnny Gaudreau, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Drew Doughty, Tomas Hertl, Quinn Hughes, Max Pacioretty

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