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Blue Jackets Free Agency Preview; don’t expect a splashy signing

June 30, 2018, 8:30 AM ET [2 Comments]
Paul Berthelot
Columbus Blue Jackets Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
As free agency nears the rumours surrounding the Jackets are quiet. They have expressed interest in Rick Nash but right now it sounds like Nash is deciding if he even wants to continue playing next season.




The Jackets have also kicked the tires on James Van Riemsdyk, but he’s looking for a big long-term deal which prices himself too high for the Jackets.




The Jackets likely make a small signing, maybe a depth centre or defencemen. They don’t have a ton of major holes to fill. Barring a Nash signing the biggest name they might go for is Michael Grabner, depending on his price. Grabner would be a very good Matt Calvert replacement, he’s fast and can kill penalties.

Calvert is seeing interest from Colorado. Sounds like he won’t be back.




Jack Johnson has already agreed to a deal with the Penguins.




For the other Jacket big UFA’s (Cole, Letestu, Vanek) looks like only Cole has a chance of staying and even then it’s a small chance. The Jackets want to keep Cole around but it’s a very thin market for defencemen and with how Cole played down the stretch for the Jackets he could be looking at a bigger deal than he is worth.

Aaron Portzline reported that the team has made a three or four year offer to Cole at about $4M per season. That is about the maximum Cole should be making. He was great in Columbus but at the end of the day he’s still only a third pair defencemen. You don’t want to pay too too much for those players.

The other thing to watch for is a potential Artemi Panarin trade. Teams that miss out on the big fish might circle back to the Jackets and Panarin. It’s unlikely he’s dealt tomorrow but talks probably start to pick up tomorrow and Monday if a deal is going to happen.

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