Blue Jackets opt for depth, not big names

COLUMBUS --The Columbus Blue Jackets looked around at the trades being completed by other teams leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline on Monday and decided quickly that the prices were too high.
The Tampa Bay Lightning (Ryan McDonagh, J.T. Miller), San Jose Sharks (Evander Kane), Winnipeg Jets (Paul Stastny), Nashville Predators (Ryan Hartman), Boston Bruins (Rick Nash) and Pittsburgh Penguins (Derick Brassard) each included at least a conditional first-round draft pick as part of the trades they completed.

"We were out of that competition because we kind of established our position right from the start that we don't want to give up a first-round pick," Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said Monday after the deadline passed.
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The Blue Jackets sent their first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and injured forward David Clarkson to the Vegas Golden Knights so they would not select forward Josh Anderson or goaltender Joonas Korpisalo in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. Kekalainen feared what going two years in a row without a first-round pick would do to their organizational depth.
"I can already feel the effect of the one-year hole," he said. "I definitely do not want to feel the effects of a two-year hole in the depth chart. So that was kind of a nonstarter with us."
Kekalainen instead settled for making three depth trades that had little impact on the Blue Jackets roster. On Sunday, they acquired center Mark Letestu from the Nashville Predators for a fourth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. Letestu, 33, was traded to the Predators by the Edmonton Oilers earlier Sunday.
The Blue Jackets began Monday by acquiring defenseman Ian Cole from the Ottawa Senators for forward prospect Nick Moutrey and a third-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. Cole, 29, was traded to the Senators as part of a three-team trade that sent Brassard to the Penguins on Friday.

The Blue Jackets later acquired forward Thomas Vanek from the Vancouver Canucks for forwards Jussi Jokinen and Tyler Motte.
Letestu, Cole and Vanek each can become an unrestricted free agent July 1, so each likely is a rental. They're not big-name rentals like Kane and Stastny, but Kekalainen hopes they are enough to help the Blue Jackets get into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Blue Jackets (31-26-5) held the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference heading into their home game against the Washington Capitals on Monday. Columbus was five points behind the New Jersey Devils, who held the first wild card, and two points ahead of the New York Islanders, three ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes and five ahead of the Florida Panthers.
"We want to give our team the best possible chance to make the playoffs," Kekalainen said. "As we've said, that's the goal, that will be the goal, and I think adding the veterans that we added today and [Sunday] will give us a better chance."

The Blue Jackets weren't expected to be in such a precarious position after they finished fourth in the NHL by going 50-24-8 with a Columbus-record 108 points last season, when they lost in five games to the Penguins in the Eastern Conference First Round. A combination of injuries and some players underperforming has them fighting for a spot.
"It could be 91-92 (points to make the playoffs), but I think to be sure, you have to be around 93-94," Kekalainen said. "So that's our focus, is to get enough points to make the playoffs and then we'll see who we get to play."
Kekalainen mentioned Cole's experience winning the Stanley Cup each of the past two seasons with the Penguins. Coach John Tortorella said he likes Letestu's reliability as a two-way center who can win face-offs and kill penalties.

Vanek, 34, has become a journeyman. The Blue Jackets will be the eighth team he's played for in five seasons after the Canucks, Panthers, Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota Wild and Detroit Red Wings. Columbus hopes he can add some scoring to an offense that ranks 29th in the NHL (2.53 goals per game) and 30th on the power play (14.6 percent success rate).
Vanek had 41 points (17 goals, 24 assists), including 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) on the power play, in 61 games with the Canucks.
"Thomas Vanek is probably one of the best power-play players in the League, and a consistent goal-scorer and can add offense to our team," Kekalainen said.
Deadline day was also notable for the Blue Jackets because they didn't trade defenseman Jack Johnson, who asked to be traded. Johnson, 31, can become an unrestricted free agent July 1.
"When the trade request went public, I said and I've said that consistently after, that we would only trade Jack Johnson, who will be a UFA on July 1, if it made a lot of sense for the future of the organization, and if not we would rent him to ourselves for the rest of the year," Kekalainen said. "And it's still a possibility that he'd want to stay here. Who knows?"