Columbus Blue Jackets 'take care of business' before NHL trade deadline expires
John Davidson’s first NHL trade deadline day in the general manager’s seat was all business.
More: Columbus Blue Jackets trade Jack Roslovic to New York Rangers
The Blue Jackets’ president of hockey operations/interim GM enjoyed interacting with GMs around the league, but left no doubt about two things: it will be somebody else’s job next year and the Jackets took care of their goals prior to the deadline’s arrival at 3 p.m. Friday.
“It’s interesting, this business,” Davidson said. “You’re still in the business where you have to do your business, and we took care of business as best we could. But you’re still seeing human beings go, that you’ve grown attached to, whom you’ve worked with, but you get in that chair and it’s all business ... and that’s exactly what we did.”
More: Columbus Blue Jackets trade Andrew Peeke to Boston Bruins
The Jackets’ business matters wound up being three trades to clear space on their NHL roster and add depth to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters for the stretch run and Calder Cup playoffs.
Malcolm Subban, a goalie, was the first acquisition. He was added from the St. Louis Blues for future considerations. Next, the Blue Jackets sent defenseman Andrew Peeke to the Boston Bruins for veteran AHL defenseman Jakub Zboril — who was assigned to the Monsters. Finally, the Jackets completed their work by sending forward Jack Roslovic to the New York Rangers for a conditional 2026 fourth-round pick.
“With Subban, you need five goalies in your organization,” Davidson said. “We had four after we lost Spencer Martin (on waivers), so we added Subban to give us depth, and he’s good. He’s going to help Cleveland. With Peeker, we’ve got a surplus of defensemen. We have people coming, so we’re making room, and (he’s) another good man that’s worked his tail off. (Roslovic) is an expiring contract, so it’s just something we had to do.”
Davidson said rookie forward Trey Fix-Wolansky will get the first crack at replacing Roslovic in the Blue Jackets’ lineup. He was recalled from Cleveland on Friday evening. Other Monsters could also be recalled over the final 19 games to get NHL auditions. As for bigger trade offers, Davidson and his front office were approached about them by multiple teams. They opted against big deals while operating without former GM Jarmo Kekalainen’s replacement in place.
“We felt that it was something the next general manager should take care of, and I think it just made sense to do that at this point in time,” Davidson said. “We took care of business and we needed to take care of business, and now when a new person comes in, they’ll be able to take care of that business.”
Opposing GMs also called about Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner, but he stayed put — which Davidson said would happen a couple weeks ago.
“Regarding Boone, there’s not many ‘Boone Jenners’ around, so it’s hard to take the emotion out of it, because it becomes emotional when you think of what he does for this organization, on the ice and off the ice,” Davidson said. “As we’re trying to turn the page and get to the next level, he’s an important guy for us – but certainly I can tell you that he’s a very popular player amongst general managers in the National Hockey League.”
As for the trades Davidson did complete, all were favorable to Blue Jackets.
They cleared room for the NHL coaching staff to get a look at younger talent, added depth for Cleveland to attempt a deep playoff run and didn’t cost the Jackets much in the way of retained salary. The Bruins are picking up the rest of Peeke’s contract, which includes two more seasons at $2.75 million a year. The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, will pay 50% of the remaining $854,167 left on Roslovic’s expiring contract plus what’s left of Zboril’s contract that pays him $1,137,000 this season.
“I enjoyed it,” Davidson said of his first deadline as a GM. “The fact that I've been around a long time, I knew what it was about and felt confident in talking to all the general managers around the league. ... I’m a pretty honest person, so when I talk to somebody, I like to be very honest with them about everything. That’s how we worked, and that’s how we got to some of the conclusions that we came to. It was good, but it won’t be my job next year, I can tell you that.”
More: Columbus Blue Jackets turn another late lead into a win over Edmonton Oilers: 6 takeaways
Speaking of that, the Blue Jackets haven’t conducted interviews about their GM vacancy yet, and the search could stretch into the offseason.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets get down to 'business' with Peeke, Roslovic
