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Report: Ottawa and Columbus Trade Inching Closer

December 2, 2011, 12:33 PM ET [ Comments]
Travis Yost
Ottawa Senators Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
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Ottawa's loss in 'Big D' on Thursday night might have left a sour taste of Paul MacLean and the rest of the coaching staff, but help could be on the way in the form of Derick Brassard, the enigmatic 24-year old center currently watching games from the press box in Columbus, Ohio.

As reported first by Elliotte Friedman of CBC and confirmed by multiple subsequent reports, Ottawa and Columbus have had discussions about Brassard before, but that front's again heated up exponentially after player agent Allan Walsh let off this scathing blast the way of the Blue Jackets front office(h/t Calgary Herald):

The coach (Arniel) has a history of burying players and using them as scapegoats to mask his own lack of success on the ice. Derick has been singled out, almost from the very beginning of the season, to be the fall guy in case things don't go well. The Columbus organization cares about Derick and has been good to him, but at some point, one has to say, enough is enough.


Columbus - through GM Scott Howson - immediately issued a response to Walsh:

Scott has my full support with respect to his decisions on who plays and the handling of our hockey team. We all want Derick to play better and be the player we know he can be. The only person who will impact Derick’s playing time is Derick himself.


Clearly, the Blue Jackets are aware of what kind of talent Derick Brassard could become, hence why they've stuck to him - relatively speaking - over the past couple of years. Unfortunately, relations are beginning to seriously strain, and his latest benching - or, as Walsh put it, scapegoating - has really forced the front office into a tight spot.

Ottawa and Columbus have had discussions about Brassard's availability well before the latest incident, but it appeared there were two stumbling blocks. The first? Brassard's value as an asset to Columbus, which wasn't perceived as 'fair' by other front offices. Brassard's increased his point totals three straight years, the latest a 17G/30A campaign in 2010-2011(74 GP).

But, his cool start to this season - 2G/2A in 18 GP - and his agent's most recent outburst have really drawn a line in the sand, and now Ottawa's front office has once again come knocking.

In fact, I can confirm that the two sides have had discussions as early as Friday morning, which shouldn't come as a complete surprise. Good on Ottawa for smelling blood in the water, but that might not be enough to overcome the second aforementioned obstacle; that is, his relatively sizable contract.

While Ottawa certainly has the cap room, Brassard's expected to bring a cap hit of $3.2M, which isn't exactly 'cap friendly' rolling into the next Collective Bargaining Agreement. And, Ottawa's already been plenty outspoken about their willingness to bring in a big-name free agent as early as next off-season, which could make money a bit tighter in the nation's capital.

With the two sides talking again on Friday, you'd have to believe that a trade is more likely than not. The big question remains what asset(s) Columbus will ask for in return. The Blue Jackets might not have leverage in the deal, but they certainly can rest their laurels on Brassard's age and point production as recent as last year.

My guess? A fairly strong pick could be in the mix, as well as a defenseman that can step in and play right away. Could Matt Carkner be on the way out? What about Brian Lee? Both could be seriously victimized by a numbers game in Ottawa. And, what kind of pick would have to complement one of the aforementioned blue liners in order to have both sides come to agreement? My guess is a fairly-high one, at the very least.

Before you ask, I don't see a Sergei Gonchar to Columbus deal happening. They'd love a power-play QB, but they're already spending near the cap and lack the justification for bringing in a diminishing asset the likes of Gonchar.

Back with more later. Enjoy the weekend, folks.

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