More information has come out in recent days regarding the Blue Jackets and Jack Johnson. We have some further clarity as to why Johnson asked out and what the Blue Jackets are looking for in return.
Pierre LeBrun was on TSN’s
Insider Trading and had this to say about Columbus and Johnson:
Several teams I'm told have reached out to Columbus since he did ask for that trade over the weekend. Tough part for Columbus, they want a forward back. They don’t want to make a rental deal where they get draft picks in return.
The Jackets don’t want draft picks in return for Johnson and as a contending team that makes sense. They want to upgrade their roster, and unless they have a deal in place to flip picks for that upgrade, acquiring a bunch of futures for Johnson isn’t the smartest idea. As far as wanting a forward, the Jackets have been after a forward since the summer.
We don’t know what teams have been calling the Jackets on Johnson, but people have assumed Edmonton, seeing their need for a defender. Rob Vollman over at ESPN wrote about
teams that make sense for Johnson and mentioned Toronto as the best fit, but also suggested Vegas and Los Angeles.
The team that keeps popping up in these discussions are the Montreal Canadiens. Elliotte Friedman in
31 thoughts this week reiterated the Blue Jackets have had interest in the Canadiens Alex Galchenyuk.
16. The Blue Jackets have watched Alex Galchenyuk pretty closely at times. I’m not sure if they are still interested, but they are looking for scoring.
Johnson for Galchenyuk is not happening 1-for-1. The Jackets would have to add something significant. Johnson and first, or Johnson and a prospect, and now you might have Montreal’s attention. Galchenyuk would be a perfect fit in Columbus. He’s a versatile player who can play wing or centre, he brings scoring upside, and is signed for the following two seasons after this one, fitting in perfect with the Blue Jackets window.
The Jackets are not going to be rushed into any trade. In another thought Friedman laid out what went wrong with the Jackets and Johnson and how Jarmo Kekalainen plans to approach this situation.
15. It’s one of those situations where we probably won’t know the full story unless someone opens up, but it has been rumoured for a while now that Johnson was close to an extension with Columbus early in the season, but… something happened. One of the reasons he asked for a trade is because his ice-time has dropped, but I don’t think that was ever the Blue Jackets’ plan. They wanted Johnson/David Savard to be their second pair behind Seth Jones/Zach Werenski, but both have struggled. GM Jarmo Kekalainen said any deal would be done at the team’s leisure, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if they waited to see whether or not Johnson regained his form. That could also benefit the player, since Columbus has high hopes and he could still be a part of that. Johnson’s never been much of a talker, but when he got to Ohio, the organization appreciated his work ethic and approach at a time it needed good pros. Unfortunate it could end this way — it was a good marriage for both.
The Jackets were hoping that the success of the Savard-Johnson pairing from last season would carry over to this year. That has not happened and it was clear early on in the season that a change needed to be made.
The current people in the Jackets front office have been here long enough that we have a pretty good idea how they operate. Jarmo Kekalainen and John Davidson are not going to be pushed around and will only make a deal if it’s on their terms. We have seen them play hard ball in negotiations with Josh Anderson and Ryan Johansen. They didn’t give in to the massive trade demands of Joe Sakic and the Avalanche. They have gone against the grain many times, trading for and away David Clarkson, and drafting Pierre-Luc Dubois over Jesse Puljujarvi. This organization is not afraid to make a big move but only if they feel it’s in the best interest of the franchise. They will not rush into anything, and this is no exception.
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