The Columbus Blue Jackets' number one priority this summer is to address their defense, and they have plenty of ways to go about doing so.
Should Jarmo Kekalainen and co. go the trade route, they have an abundance of established NHL forwards, with several high-end forward prospects still on the way.
They also have 11 picks in this year's draft, as well as cap space to work with.
While the Blue Jackets aren't likely to be a cap team, they still have well over $10 million available to them, according to GeneralFanager.
That's with 14 forwards, six defensemen, and Sergei Bobrovsky already in place, so essentially all they need is a defenseman and a backup goaltender.
Ryan Johansen, Sergei Bobrovsky, Brandon Dubinsky, Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno, Scott Hartnell, Marko Dano and Alex Wennberg, among others, are all signed for at least the next two seasons - and most are signed longer - so it's not as if they need to be overly weary of their spending.
I'm not suggesting they go on a spending spree, nor is that likely, but the Jackets have enough money to bring in one or two defensemen this summer, especially if they end up trading a guy like Artem Anisimov ($3.28 million cap hit) to do so.
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