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With the recent success of the Columbus Blue Jackets, which finds them in the playoffs right now, there is starting to become some question about whether or not the Jackets will move Ivan Provorov for the first-round pick that everyone assumed they were going to get.

This weekend I’ll be talking about buyers and sellers a lot as we have just over a month to go before the trade deadline. Of course, one of the big questions about buyers and sellers is bubble teams who are committed to a retool or rebuild. Should such teams trade away some futures for a chance to go to the playoffs?

It largely depends on the city and the GM. By the city, I mean the patience the fans have or the expectations they have. Columbus didn’t go into the season with very high expectations, but they have shown great resilience and have really come together under Coach Dean Evason. It’s also important to note they haven’t had any playoff money come in for a while. Playoff money matters a lot to certain teams. It can be the difference between a franchise losing money or seeing a profit.
There are plenty of teams who would love to have Provorov added for their playoff run. Right-handed defensemen who play a great two-way game are like hockey unicorns.

Montreal-looking trader-ish…

According to sources, one of those teams interested in Provorov is the Montréal Canadiens. They currently sit behind the Blue Jackets by a point or two depending on the hour of the day, and they would like to add a defenseman and a top six forward, I’m told.. Very different situation in Montreal than it is in Columbus. In Montreal, the expectations are always high and quickly are made even higher when the team is playing as well as they’re playing right now. They have draft picks and prospects for sure, and as I wrote previously, they have a high interest in Brock Nelson… as well as some interest in Nazem Kadri….

There are some definite untouchables on the team who played their way into long-term roles… but don’t be surprised if Montreal turns around and suddenly makes a big move…

More to come..

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