The Columbus Blue Jackets are not done adding to their roster this offseason. New head coach Mike Babcock is in. Defensemen Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson are in. Alexandre Texier is back. Expect Leo Carlsson to be selected third overall. Word is the team is looking to add a veteran center to the roster, and all indications are pointing to Kevin Hayes being that guy.
Hayes carries a cap hit of $7.142M the next three seasons, but his salary is less than that.
Columbus currently has $5.854M in cap space according to Cap Friendly.
$2M should be retained by a team to make the trade work and have extra space for injuries on the main roster.
Speculation from the deadline was a second and third round pick combo was offered with 30% retention by teams for the Flyers’ most recent All-Star.
If you are Kekalainen, who do you move?
Player Profile - Robbie Stucker
Defenseman Robbie Stucker is the 210th overall draft selection from the Columbus Blue Jackets in the seventh round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.
Stucker is a Minnesota native and student, who just wrapped his final season of collegiate hockey with the Univeristy of Vermont, before trying professionally with South Carolina in their quest for the Kelly Cup.
Stucker has not seen any tournament hockey since his USHL days with Fargo, being moved there from Chicago (Dubas?). His rights terminate with Columbus on August 15.