The action is starting to head up in the NHL trade market as the deadline approaches. The Jackets have firmly taken themselves out of the tank for 30th place (still 21 games to go though) but have made no progress towards a Wild Card spot (it wasn’t going to happen, but you would think they could have closed some ground with their record recently). We will keep you covered should anything break on the trade front. There is a lot of speculation right now, particularly with Hartnell to Nashville and the Canadiens and Jackets scouting each other heavily all season.
To the links we go!
- We will start with a non-trade story, as TSN reports Jack Johnson is in a nasty legal fight with his parents over their home in Michigan. This story just gets worse.
- John Tortorella is not a fan of the new coach’s challenge (ESPN).
- Reminder – SB Nation has a handy page with links to all of the latest trade deals and rumors.
- Elliotte Friedman answered questions for a Reddit AMA.
- Speaking of Friedman, here is his latest edition of 30 Thoughts, in which he speculated about Hartnell to the Predators for Colin Wilson (pass, please).
- Let’s take a break for some prospect stuff. You can watch Zach Werenski tonight if you have BTN:
Reminder that tonight’s @umichhockey game is at 8:30pm on BTN. #GoBlue
— Dekers Club (@DekersClub) February 25, 2016
- Keegan Kolesar (2015, 3rd round draft pick) spoke with Hockey’s Future about his move to Seattle.
- A CBJ Prospect’s Week in Review from Buckeye State Hockey.
- Damien Cox details how Ryan Johansen is not quite the offensive force Nashville was expecting. More from Cox:
Feel like you just don’t notice Ryan Johansen like you should. Four goals as a Predator, this his 21st game.
— Damien Cox (@DamoSpin) February 24, 2016
- Matt Souva (Buckeye State Hockey) takes an advanced look at Kerby Rychel and his linemates. As you’d suspect…playing with Gregory Campbell is bad for just about everyone.
- Alison Lukan recently wrote about Alexander Wennberg and a look at “shot assists” as a new stat showing up in hockey analytics.
- Over 16,000 fans enjoyed the outdoor Winter Park according to the team.
- Want to feel like you got kicked in the groin? Here is a piece from the Patriot Ledger about the Blue Jackets trade history with Adam McQuaid and a pick that turned into Jamie Benn.
- Speaking of past trades, ESPN detailed the top 5 NHL trades of the last five seasons. Throw in the “bonus” and the Jackets show up twice on the list.
- Scott Burnside (ESPN) gave a breakdown of buyers and sellers in the Metropolitan Division.
- In other hockey news, Ilya Kovalchuk is having some issues with his KHL team it sounds like.