Item No. 1: Trouba pursuit
The
Blue Jackets were among the clubs that pressed hard to acquire defenseman
Jacob Trouba from the
New York Rangers last week, but Trouba declined to remove Columbus from the list of clubs on the no-trade clause in his contract.
It was nothing personal.
The Athletic has learned from a team official that Trouba refused to approve a trade to at least two other clubs in the Eastern Conference, including the
Detroit Red Wings, before he signed off on a trade to the
Anaheim Duckson Friday.
Another reason it wasn’t personal: Trouba’s wife, Kelly Tyson-Trouba, is a doctor of osteopathic medicine at a hospital in New York, with a residency that reportedly runs through July. It was important to them that Trouba’s next stop work well for both of their careers.
“Anaheim was one of the places my wife and I were interested in,” Trouba told reporters in Anaheim.
It’s unknown what the Blue Jackets were offering the Rangers for Trouba, but Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell’s interest in the player makes two issues abundantly clear:
1. Waddell is not content
The Blue Jackets blue line has been significantly altered since Waddell was hired in late May, and he’s still perusing the league for upgrades.
Waddell has acquired
Dante Fabbro(waivers),
Jack Johnson (free agent),
Jordan Harris (trade with
Montreal) and Daemon Hunt (trade with
Minnesota).
Fabbro has found a home on the top defensive pairing with
Zach Werenski, while Harris has settled into the left side of the third pair. Johnson has been in and out of the lineup on the third pair, and Hunt was assigned to AHL Cleveland just after the trade.
Meanwhile, Waddell moved
Jake Bean,
Nick Blankenburg,
Adam Boqvist and
David Jiricek in separate deals. Those four played a combined 164 games in Columbus last season, but Boqvist (Florida) and Bean (
Calgary) are playing minor roles with their new teams, Blankenburg (
Nashville) has mostly played in the minors, and Jiricek just landed with the Wild.
It’s unclear what Waddell had in mind for Trouba if he had landed him via trade, but, at $8 million per season, he likely would have played on the top pair next to Werenski.
Overall, it indicates Waddell is still active and willing to be aggressive.
2. More nasty needed
The Blue Jackets have
Mathieu Olivier and
Zach Aston-Reese, along with a few other forwards who can bring the heat in a physical game. But the Jackets aren’t always difficult to play against — they don’t initiate, for sure — and that’s especially true on the back end.
Ever since veteran
Erik Gudbranson went out with a long-term shoulder injury in October, the Blue Jackets have lacked a true physical presence on the blue line. Skill and talent, sure, but not a lot of jam.
Trouba, one of the
NHL’s few remaining open-ice hunters, would have changed the entire look of the Blue Jackets defense and, really, the entire roster. Olivier would have been a busy man.
