Buyers or sellers?
In the middle of a shockingly awful season, the Columbus Blue Jackets quite clearly need some help. Their scoring touch has been mediocre all season, and the defense has allowed the most goals in the NHL. Collectively, the team is a mess, and they will obviously be sellers at the trade deadline.
But, unfortunately for the Blue Jackets, they lack rental pieces. Virtually every rostered player has at least another year remaining on their contract. The only upcoming unrestricted free agents for Columbus? Rene Bourque and Justin Falk, and neither player is going to field a lot of calls at the trade deadline.
However, that doesn't mean the Blue Jackets don't have pieces they can part with.
Team Needs
The obvious major need is any amount of defensemen, and the Blue Jackets already took a step in that direction when they sent Ryan Johansen to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Seth Jones. That's a good initial start, but the Blue Jackets could certainly use more.
Fortunately for Columbus, they have a relatively deep prospect pool. Between forwards Sonny Milano, Paul Bittner and Oliver Bjorkstrand, the Blue Jackets have a slew of talented forward prospects. Throw defensemen Zach Werenski, Gabriel Carlsson and Ryan Collins into the mix, and they have quite a few players with NHL potential. And that's not even to mention Columbus' likely top-five 2016 pick.
But at the upcoming trade deadline, Columbus will still likely receive mostly prospects and picks. And if the Blue Jackets are willing to part with some pieces, they should get some nice returns. They might be able to receive one or two players that can play on their NHL roster now, but, more than likely, the Blue Jackets will be looking torwards their future.
Key Players
Kerby Rychel
Columbus may not like it, but they have an unhappy young forward on their team in Kerby Rychel. The son of former NHLer Warren Rychel made a trade request earlier this season, and that particularly stings when you consider the potential the 21-year-old has. He's a tough power-forward who has a bit of offense to his game, and he's tremendously tough to move off of the puck. Rychel is an ideal third or fourth line player right now, and considering how young he is, he is a wise investment for any team.
But because of that youth and potential, Columbus should be able to get a nice return for Rychel. Any number of NHL teams that are looking for a hard-nosed forward would certainly swap an NHL-bound prospect for Rychel.
Scott Hartnell
One of Columbus' more fan-friendly forwards has found himself among several trade rumor lists. As previously mentioned, Columbus doesn't have any players that can really be considered a "rental," and Hartnell is certainly not an exception. The 33-year-old forward has three more years remaining on his contract, and he carries a $4.75 million cap hit. That's a relatively large commitment for any team, but if a contending team has the cap space and room for Hartnell, teams could do far worse than adding a consistent 20-goal scorer to their team. The Florida Panthers seem to be a good fit, as do Hartnell's former team, the Nashville Predators.
One thing to note on Hartnell: He would bring a relatively good return, but Hartnell also carries a no movement clause in his contract. If the Blue Jackets trade Hartnell, they have to do so with his consent.
Cam Atkinson
It just wouldn't be a Columbus Blue Jackets trade preview without the inclusion of Cam Atkinson. Last trade deadline, Atkinson found himself as a trade possibilty, but he instead ended up signing a three-year, $10.5 million contract just hours before the conclusion of the deadline period. But, again, Atkinson appears to be a trade possibility for Columbus, and he may ultimately be the Blue Jackets' most valuable piece they are willing to part with.
Atkinson is only 26, and he carries an extremely cap-friendly cap hit of $3.5 million through the 2017-18 season. And, much like Hartnell, several teams would love to add a consistent 20-goal scorer, especially one as young and with as great of a contract as Atkinson.
But, personally, I don't really think it makes much sense for the Blue Jackets to part with Atkinson for all of those above reasons, unless they get an offer they simply can't refuse. Production wise, you can't get much better from a second-line right wing. Is Atkinson really part of the problem in Columbus? It doesn't appear like he is. And would you really want to part with someone like Atkinson to fix your other issues? Would it create other issues by parting with Atkinson?
That's all for Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen to decide.
Tommy Chalk writes about the NHL for FOX Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @Tommy_Chalk
