The Jackets interest in Ilya Kovalchuck
has been well known. Talks appear to be heating up as Elliotte Friedman on Sportsnet 960 in Calgary, mentioned the Blue Jackets are looking for one more scorer. Transcription from
FanRagSports.
“I think Columbus is out looking for one more scorer. I think they’re hanging around Kovalchuk. I think they’re going to try to see if they can get someone else, and then they’ll circle back on him.
“I think Columbus is sending a message that they’re going for the Stanley Cup in the next two years – big time.”
That came out on Monday then Tuesday, John Davidson talking on Prime Time Sports said that the Jackets have talked to Kovalchuck’s agent.
The Jackets have also been linked to another veteran forward, Joe Thorton. On Monday Freidman had said he thinks the Jackets would be one of many teams that want to talk to Thorton to see what it would take to bring him in.
Friedman followed that up in
30 Thoughts, mentioning the Jackets as potential suitor for Thorton.
5. He’s staying low profile — and there is serious doubt he actually wants to leave San Jose — but there is a list of teams who want to peer inside Joe Thornton’s head. At the draft, there was a lot of talk it would take a three-year deal to lure him. Potential suitors include Columbus, Los Angeles, Montreal and the Rangers. I could see Toronto having interest, but I’m not certain. There was a time Detroit appealed to him, but it doesn’t seem right now for either side. It looks like San Jose is closing in on extensions for Martin Jones and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (both can be announced on Saturday), so we’re all waiting to see what is left for Thornton and/or Patrick Marleau. I’m really fascinated by the Blue Jackets, who are going all-in over the next two years and will try something big. Toronto is quieter about its intentions, but don’t forget that Mike Babcock has plenty of Team Canada history with both Marleau and Thornton.
By pursuing these players the Jackets have it very very clear that the next two seasons is their window. It makes sense for them to go all in these next two years, they have Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky signed for two more years and Zach Werenski’s has two more years of his ELC left.
Kovalchuck and Thorton would be a huge boost to the Columbus forward group. The two would work really well together as Kovalchuk is an elite sniper and Thorton an elite playmaker. This would add some serious scoring punch to a team that scored 247 goals last season. Here’s how the line-up might shake down if they were to get both players.
Kovalchuk-Thorton-Atkinson
Panarin-Wennberg-Bjorkstrand
Foligno-Dubinsky-Jenner
Hartnell-Sedlak-Anderson
Calvert
That is a scary looking line-up. It’s basically two first lines, a second line and a third line. There is also some serious depth behind it, with players like Sonny Milano and Tyler Motte who could step in and fill if an injury struck.
This is a fun hypothetical but it remains to be seen if the Jackets have the cap room to bring in two high priced veterans. The Jackets have a little less than $10M in cap space after getting out from under the David Clarkson deal, but still need to sign both Anderson and Wennberg. I don’t think Anderson will sign for very much and it might be best to sign Wennberg to a bridge deal to keep the cap hit low, giving the Jackets some flexibility for these upcoming seasons.
If they could find a taker for Scott Hartnell and his $4.75M deal that would be a huge help, but I doubt the Jackets want to give up more assets to get rid of another bad contract. The easiest thing to do would be deal Calvert, clearing $2.2M and deal Jack Johnson clearing $4.3M. That would be an extra $6.5M in space which would give the Jackets about $16M total. That might be just enough to get Thorton and Kovalchuck.
Regardless of what happens on July 1st, it’s really good to see the Jackets looking to make a serious run at contending. It’s even better that players are starting to see how great of a city Columbus is and that this is a team that they can chase a cup with. The Metro division is going to be an arms race again this season and Columbus will be right in the middle of it.
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