Time to make a move?

The Dispatch is reporting that Klesla will now be out a minimum of 6 weeks. Along with the torn groin muscle, he's got a torn stomach muscle that could require surgery. As we know, the Olympics are causing teams to compress their schedules and this is going to leave us without one of our top D-men for a long time.

Howson has been quoted as saying he's not currently active in the trade market but its not out of the realm of possibility. So what could he be asking for? Does he want a defensive defenseman who can shut down the top guys in the league, or an offensive minded guy who can push the puck with Russell and put pucks in the net?

The Jackets currently have 9.545 million in cap space. This is plenty of wiggle room to pick up a solid top 4 defenseman. Money shouldn't be an issue, even with a number of players eligible for free agency. RFAs include Boll, Blunden, Picard, Sestito, Stralman, and Roy; UFAs are Modin, Torres, MacKenzie. Of these players, I really only see 5 maybe six given new deals.

This is an open discussion about who you want Santa Howson to bring to Columbus.

Just a few names to get the conversation going...

T. Kaberle, M. Green, D. Boyle; Top 3 scoring defensemen (just saying).

We also talked about a lot of guys over the summer; including guys in and outside of the organization. Revisit these posts as a refresher.

The D Market

New Rumors

News and Notes

If you were in Howson's shoes, who would you try to go after, and what are you willing to deal with? Keep in mind that little offensive nugget over in Russia. I know Howson said he wouldn't consider trading the Filatov Cocktail, and I am ok with that. I don't want to see him traded away because I think he's going to be too valuable. But, if someone pulls a Godfather on him and makes him an offer he can't refuse, will he do it? Would you?

As they say, Fire Away!