The Columbus Blue Jackets finally do something in this offseason. While the Atlantic and Metro were wheeling and dealing roster players, the Blue Jackets held steady until 24 hours before the NHL Draft and acquire Russian winger and Stanley Cup champion Valeri Nichushkin from the Colorado Avalanche. The Colorado Avalanche acquire three draft picks, including a 2026 second round pick (43rd overall, originally owned by the St. Louis Blues), their own 2027 third round pick, and own 2028 fifth round draft pick.
Nichuskin, 31, was the 10th overall draft selection of the Dallas Stars from the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. The big Russian forward is a 2022 Stanley Cup champion with the Colorado Avalanche. In 627 career games in the show, he has registered 154 goals, 203 assists, for 357 points. Note that he has never played a full healthy season in the professional league. Nichuskin re-unites with Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood from their previous tenures in Denver. He also joins Ivan Provorov as they both have the same agent representation. This could be the replacement for Jenner or Marchment on the offense as both are headed to the open market for July 1. The concern around this trade is his behavior off the ice and injury history. The Jackets need the depth to replace when a skater like this has not played a full season, let alone a new 84 game regular season. The Chu Chu Train will likely form an extended Russian collective with Marchenko or Voronkov on a line upfront. Waddell continues to trade every second round draft selection he grabs. Their own second rounder is with Montreal in the Laine dump, this pick from the Chinakov deal is now with Colorado, their 2027 2nd is with Seattle from the Marchment move, and their 2028 2nd is with Vancouver from the Garland move. The future 3rd and 5th are magic beans. If Colorado hits on these picks, it could look worse. Columbus also flipped forward Hunter McKown to the Montreal in exchange for forward Luke Tuch. The younger brother of Alex Tuch has yet to play in an NHL game. Tuch is a pending RFA. What are your thoughts on the moves? Happy Draft Day!