Confirmed with Link: Jiricek, 2025 5th to Minnesota for Hunt, conditional 2025 1st, 2026 3rd, 2027 2nd and 4th

[Iron Balls McGinty]

How's Corson Ceulemans doing again?

What did Ceulemans ever do to you except be yet another bad Jarmo defenseman draft pick?

 

[Palmu]

A bit underwhelming return, but it seems that other GM's are also concerned about his skating abilities.

Why not just keep Jiricek?

1. He probably asked to be traded. If he had made the request public later, it would have plummeted his trade value even more.

2. Keeping him could have created more drama, and we don’t want that shit near our hopefully future core (Mateychuk, Brindley, LDBB).

 

[ColumbusTrill]

HOW. HOW is it clearly not the case?

Nobody can explain this beyond making grass-is-greener presumptions and pie-in-the-sky "maybe it'll be different this time" assertions.

From what I get from your argument is that every non high first round pick is borderline depth and basically worthless.

I provided plenty of examples of players who have developed with the CBJ who fit the same criteria as what you are describing.

No one knows how much impact Hunt will make. I've tried to tell you to listen to people who have watched him play to give you a better sense of who he is now and what he may become.

Maybe he's the next Christiansen or Oliver or maybe he's the next Bean or Berni. It seems very irresponsible to me to dismiss him before he plays a single game for this organization

 

[SteelCityCannon]

How's Corson Ceulemans doing again?

If you're playing that game, our universally loved first line is compressed of a 1st, 2nd, and 4th rounder.

Draft position don't mean shit once they start playing pro hockey.

 

[ColumbusTrill]

Be the latest "asset" we got from a late 1st. Y'know, the sort of pick we just picked up that supposedly means we didn't throw Jiricek away for nothing.

Wasn't Provorov the latest asset we got for a late 1st? I hate getting legit top 4 NHL defensemen. Darn!

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

How's Corson Ceulemans doing again?

I’ll be back later when you’ve had a chance to chill.

For the next 1:53 I’ll be watching The Dream Team, the 1989 film starring Michael Keaton, Peter Boyle, Christopher Lloyd and Stephen Furst.

 

[Fred Glover]

The team essentially gifted Jiricek a top 4 spot and he still didn’t make the team
I understand why they wanted to move on from him

 

[GoJackets1]

I was hoping for a quality over quantity trade here, and was initially underwhelmed, but honestly, a Christiansen-esque prospect, plus a pick in each of the first 4 rounds is pretty good value for a guy who everybody around the league knows wants out, with potential attitude problems, and obvious skating issues.

I have been relatively high on Jiricek, but he’s definitely more of a question mark now than he was a couple years ago. He hasn’t developed much or improved on missing aspects of the player he was two years ago.

 

[cslebn]

I'd been wanting him packaged for something better.

I kept thinking Rantanen would be great and then I was like we could offer him as a UFA

 

[CBJWerenski8]

 

[Dumais]

meh, was hoping for some kind of impact player back. Even if his value had dropped since his draft, I would had preferred Waddell use him as a sweetener in a bigger package to get someone who can help the team now. I think I would have preferred them to add a first and Provorov to Jiricek and get 1st line/top pairing, the picks just aren't helpful. The team feels like it's over-achieving

Wonder how this will turn out, got a ton of cap space and lots of trade chips. Going to be an interesting TDL/FA. But a 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th isn't bad. Reminds me of the draft day offer from NYI for Murray.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

I'm not naming any names but there are people who are way too negative for whatever reason over a hockey trade.

I've followed this team since the very beginning, attended the very first game and have seen a sh*t ton of losing. I just watched this team go 3-0-1 in a their last 4 games and actually look like a team with structure.

We have new management and new coaching and I'm far more positive about the future of this team than I have been in YEARS.

Maybe we can take a breath and have some perspective. Sometimes a cog doesn't fit in the wheel and you just need to move on. It's ok

 

[Xoggz22]

Not sure if it's been said yet but there is a reason they went heavy D in the draft that can skate. I hoped he would work, but he had serious flaws. I thought the new regime might give it a little more time, but I think this is clear he wasn't coveted around the league and his flaws were a major draw back.

 

[SteelCityCannon]

I'm not naming any names but there are people who are way too negative for whatever reason over a hockey trade.

I've followed this team since the very beginning, attended the very first game and have seen a sh*t ton of losing. I just watched this team go 3-0-1 in a their last 4 games and actually look like a team with structure.

We have new management and new coaching and I'm far more positive about the future of this team than I have been in YEARS.

Maybe we can take a breath and have some perspective. Sometimes a cog doesn't fit in the wheel and you just need to move on. It's ok

I'm with you. Between guys like Waddell and Evason, down to players like Monahan, we feel more legitimate than we have in quite some time. We've been such an easy out the last few years. That's changing and it's changing quick. I'm so goddamn excited.

 

[ColumbusTrill]

No, it's that guys who have shown no upside or even hints of upside beyond "he might be ready for the bottom pairing" are borderline depth. I didn't think they were worthless, but our GM evidently did. Seriously, show me ONE f***ing report of any kind that proclaims him as anything other than "bottom pairing NHL ready" with all the usual "blah blah character" things that folks use when they're trying to talk about a good guy who deserves good things but isn't actually going to attain them.

Here is more than "ONE f***ing report" from the prospect analysis video I've been trying to get you to listen to. I transcribed some quotes for you

link:

"I went down actually every time he went down (to Iowa) to specifically watched those Iowa Wild games to track his just like what he looked like. He is an NHL defenseman. This was the the second time he went down this year I tweet I was like no he should not be here he is the best player on the ice"

"Easily the best player for Iowa last year points-wise and just overall play"

"He kind of just had that f*** you mentality like all right I got sent down. I'm going to be the man here at 21 22 years of age and and he was so as far as like that crop of young defenseman he absolutely dominated"

"I think he brings a lot of what the wild claim they're missing on the blue line. He's got a heavy shot. He does play physical. He is tough to play against like it's kind of always the things you hear against a guy like a Jared Spurgeon or even Brock Faber a little bit like they're not necessarily mean guys not guys that like to play super physical things like that and I think you get a lot of that in Damon hunt"

"I do think the stretches he played I thought he looked better than John Merell I thought he looked better than Alex Gologoski at times I thought he looked better even than freaking Jake Middleton"

"Obviously small samples going have a lot to work with but some of his better pro games were against some of the better teams New York Dallas Boston Tampa Bay Vancouver"

"His projectable game made his way to the NHL and he looked good more. He more than fit in and before they signed or before I guess traded for Chisholm I would have had my life on Damon Hunt being in their top six this year"

 

[Monstershockey]

I’ll be back later when you’ve had a chance to chill.

For the next 1:53 I’ll be watching The Dream Team, the 1989 film starring Michael Keaton, Peter Boyle, Christopher Lloyd and Stephen Furst.

Lol. I remember when tbat movie was on cable all the time. I have always liked Michael Keaton. Probably on of my favorite actors. Don't think I ever disliked a movie he was in. Mr. Mom is a classic. "220, 221, whatever works."

 

[ThirdPeriodTurtle]

Interesting how it seems like the Twitter stratosphere is a bit more Minny fans wondering if they gave up too much and CBJ fans (well one fan based on this, not gonna go digging deeper) saying they like the trade.

 

[thebus88]

Hunt > Fabbro

 

[Monstershockey]

I'm disappointed it didn't work out here. Watching him last night and still seeing the things that keep him AHL bound, while still being able to get a goal and make a couple good defensive plays.

His skating isn't the only thing keeping him down, he seems slow processing the NHL game.

The one thing I will miss, and if he does figure out how to stick in the NHL it will be a solid plus, is how he is a solid player under pressure. He makes some of his best plays, offensively and defensively, when the game is late and we need something big to happen. The OT game the other night was a prime example, making the play defensively to get possesion, then getting down ice to score, even if he was offside.

If he can improve in a couple areas, he will be a solid d-man. Wish him the best.

 

[CannonFire1]

I don’t see how it matters whether it was Jarmo’s pick or not, are we going to trade KJ and Fantilli as well ?

Unless there are credible reports Jiricek INSISTED on being traded, I don’t understand this urgency to get this type of package that I’m sure we could’ve still gotten later as Jiricek is playing well in the A

If you wait until there are credible reports that he wants out, the return is even lower. This sure looks like Waddell trying to maximize value by moving DJ before that happened.

I guess I'm the only CBJ fan that isn't pissed right now.

Waddell is clearly building a certain style of team here. You need to be able to skate. Jiricek will never be remotely a strong skater in the NHL. Patrik Laine damn sure wouldn't have fit.

We got a 1 2 3 and 4 for a guy who can't skate. Hell still be useful in the NHL, maybe even pretty good, but I ain't mad.

I believe in what we're building. I love the way the hurricanes play. If he's building us into that I'm all for it.

You're not the only one. Agree with everything in your post.

 

[CBJ goalie]

HOW. HOW is it clearly not the case?

Nobody can explain this beyond making grass-is-greener presumptions and pie-in-the-sky "maybe it'll be different this time" assertions.

Because the team is trending in the right direction and some of us are glass half full - however, I feel you've taken your glass and threw it against a brick wall.

Without a crystal ball, none of us know who the better players are going to be; Jiricek, Hunt or any of the draft picks.
But I'm confident saying these aren't franchise altering players.

 

[ViD]

 

[CBJWerenski8]

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Waddell, who engaged in trade talks regarding Jiricek ever since the Blue Jackets sent him back to AHL Cleveland on Nov. 20, wasn’t about to bash the young defenseman on his way out the door. Jiricek, despite his disappointment in returning to the AHL again this season, was always good to deal with, Waddell said.

But it was clear by coach Dean Evason’s usage — the 12 healthy scratches Jiricek endured, the limited minutes he drew when he did dress — that the NHL was seen as a little rich for Jiricek at this stage of his career. And that’s all about his skating.

“I watched him play in Cleveland last (spring) and I thought he played well,” Waddell said. “Training camp didn’t go as well as anybody wanted it to. I can’t say where I had him projected, but it’s a hard league for a 20- or 21-year-old player. It’s tough to come in and have an impact right away.

“And after a couple of years, you have to forget where guys were drafted and just evaluate them.”

The words that are used most often to describe Jiricek’s skating are “awkward” and “clumsy.” Those are not compliments, especially in the modern NHL where defensemen are expected to join the play and keep up with smaller, quicker players.

When Jiricek has the puck on his stick — when he’s determining the direction of the play — his skating is not a concern at all. But when he’s defending, especially when the puck changes direction abruptly, his ability to quickly adjust is not smooth.

The Blue Jackets want their defensemen to join the rush and push the play, which sounds like a perfect fit for Jiricek, given his offensive prowess. But he struggled to be aggressive, most believe because he was so concerned about being out of position when the puck went the other way.


There’s no doubt that Jiricek can fix his skating. A different system, one that’s less taxing than Evason’s could help. Continued offseason work by Jiricek could help him become more agile. The passage of time may help, too, as 6-foot-4, 205-pound defensemen, like a puppy, have to grow into their feet.

The Blue Jackets initially asked potential trade partners for one of their top prospects, hoping to make a one-for-one swap. When those players weren’t available, the Blue Jackets adapted their demands for a first-round pick and a depth defenseman.

Waddell spent much of the past 10 days on the phone, but by Saturday he had at least two more teams enter the fray, he said, with offers of a first-round pick and depth defensemen. That demand forced the Wild, who were in hot pursuit of Jiricek from the start, to up the ante, which they did.

The fact that NHL GMs were unwilling to go prospect-for-prospect in a trade for Jiricek could be an indication that they shared the same concerns about his skating. Maybe Waddell was wise to move on Jiricek at this juncture before his inability to crack the NHL became a bigger concern.

The Blue Jackets, in return, received 22-year-old defenseman Daemon Hunt, 6-1 (201), who has played 13 games in two seasons with Minnesota. Evason, who coached the Wild until he was fired last November, coached five games with Hunt in the lineup early last season.

The Jackets also got a first-round pick in 2025, a second-round pick in 2027, and third- and fourth-round picks in 2026. The first-round pick next June is protected in the unlikely event that Minnesota ends up picking in the top 5 of the draft.

The Blue Jackets traveled to Chicago at mid-afternoon Saturday in advance of Sunday’s 3 p.m. game. Waddell didn’t join the flight because he knew the Jiricek trade was coming to a head. He’ll fly later to join the team at the start of a five-game trip.

“It’s a trade we’ve been working on for a while,” Waddell said. “It got to a point this weekend where I thought we were getting fair value and we could say yes.”

 

[aRussian]

I mean, getting rid of a player that was willing to have that was willing to have such a trashbag agent that was willing to not only handcuff the player development but the viability of the team seems like an escape... It's a weird balance with young players because a ton of them seem to have a lot of "prospective" value until they hit 20 and then other factors have their way (one aspect of their game holding them up, motivation/attitude, etc.) and their value tanks. Will it be a Bemstrom case where we could have sold high and made out like kings? Either way, this whole case I suspect was driven by player and agent. Avoid this agent if you can; he's not willing to place both player and team into consideration. Puts both into bad situation and harms both.