There may be big moves across the league on Friday, but the Blue Jackets are expected to be only moderate players. As he’s been saying for weeks, Waddell is hoping to add a second- or third-line forward, but he’s not going to trade a first-round pick or a top prospect to do it.
Waddell’s pursuit of a forward has actually been dialed back from the aggressiveness he displayed before the 4 Nations Face-Off break, due mostly to the fact that leading goal-scorer Kirill Marchenko — who suffered a broken jaw just before the break — has been able to return sooner than expected.
The Blue Jackets had extensive talks with the Nashville Predators regarding winger Gustav Nyquist, but couldn’t swing a deal. He was traded to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday for a 2026 second-round pick.
The greater intrigue for the Blue Jackets between now and Friday may be how they handle their own pending unrestricted free agents.
As reported by
The Athletic on Monday, the Blue Jackets are close to
signing tough winger Mathieu Olivier to a long-term contract extension. Olivier, a pending unrestricted free agent, has emerged as perhaps the NHL’s top fighter, as well as a leader and a secondary scorer (12 goals) for Columbus this season.
But talks with veteran defenseman Ivan Provorov, also a UFA this summer, have not come close to a deal, Waddell said.
For Provorov, 29, this is his first crack at unrestricted free agency, maybe his best chance to land a seven- or eight-year contract that could set him up for the rest of his career. The Blue Jackets like having Provorov in their lineup, Waddell said, but they aren’t prepared to commit to that length of term.
Waddell and Provorov’s agent, Mark Gandler, are expected to talk again on Tuesday.
“We have done a lot of deals together, and we have a really good relationship,” Waddell said. “We just have a difference of opinion about what the market’s going to be like this summer.
“I understand that the player has played his whole career to get to this point, and there aren’t going to be a lot of veteran defensemen on the market this summer. I also know the salary cap is going up. The agent is doing his job, and I understand it. I have no grudges. We’ll continue to talk.”
Should Provorov remain unsigned by Friday, it’s still possible — likely, even — that Waddell will decide to hold onto him for the stretch drive, even with the risk that he signs elsewhere this summer with no compensation to the Blue Jackets.
The Jackets have played their way, against all expectations, into a playoff race for the first time in five seasons. Heading into play on Tuesday, the Jackets hold the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, trailing New Jersey by only four points for third in the Metropolitan Division.
There’s an emotional pull here, too, Waddell acknowledged.
The Blue Jackets have become one of the best stories in the NHL, perhaps in all of sports, in part because of the way they came together to honor the life and legacy of Johnny Gaudreau, who was killed in a tragic accident shortly before training camp.
There’s also a budding love affair between the Blue Jackets’ fans and this club, as seen by the recent sellouts in Nationwide Arena and the massive turnout — nearly 95,000 — for Saturday’s outdoor game, the second-largest attendance in NHL history.
The last thing Waddell wants to do is trade veteran players. This group of players deserves a chance to stay together for a possible playoff run, Waddell said, and the fans deserves it, too.
“There are decisions that will have to be made (when other teams make trade offers this week), but this team has been through a lot this year,” Waddell told
The Athletic. “This is an abnormal year for me at the deadline.
“To pull one of your top defensemen (Provorov) out of the lineup at this time of year, without a replacement, that would not be a decision that’s welcomed by anybody. If we were out of it, like some people thought we were going to be, it’d be a different story.
“I’m looking at it from every possible way, and I have great support from ownership, so we’ll see how the next couple of days go.”
That approach extends beyond Provorov, too. The Blue Jackets have several other pending UFAs: forwards Sean Kuraly, James van Riemsdyk and Danforth, and defensemen Dante Fabbro and Jack Johnson.
“Just to send guys away for mid-round picks doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Waddell said. “These guys have done it all year for us in a tough situation, so sticking with this group … I have no problem with that.”
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