Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Rumor time: Columbus interested in swapping Mike Commodore for Sheldon Souray?

Mike Commodore

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Mike Commodore (22) talks to members of the Dallas Stars Ice Girls as he waits to re-enter the NHL hockey game after suffering an injury in the third period Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2009, in Dallas. Commodore suffered a cut to the left side of the face in the Blue Jackets’ 3-1 loss to the Stars. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

AP

With the Columbus Blue Jackets dealing with a mild injury to defenseman Kris Russell (out 2-4 weeks with a knee sprain) it appears there are discussions being had in Columbus about acquiring a big-name defenseman to help the team out. While the Blue Jackets missed out on acquiring Toronto’s Tomas Kaberle and Kevin Bieksa from Vancouver, Aaron Portzline of the Puck-Rakers Blog says talks are being had in Columbus about taking a major headache off the hands of the Edmonton Oilers.

The Dispatch has learned that there have been internal conversations within the Blue Jackets about trading for Souray, a three-time All-Star with record-setting power play ability and one of the most fear slap shots in the NHL.

The likely candidate to be traded by Columbus would be Mike Commodore, the club’s highest- paid defenseman.

To be clear, there is no deal on the table between the Blue Jackets and Oilers. If there have been talks between Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson and Oilers GM Steve Tambellini, they have not been extensive or specific, The Dispatch has been told.

This move is fascinating on a couple of levels. First off, Souray would solve a major issue in Columbus in that the Blue Jackets have no true power play threat on the blue line and Souray with his booming shot would be an instant boon to their offense. Giving up Commodore in the deal is intriguing in that he’s been a very loyal soldier for the Jackets in his time there and by all accounts he’s a great guy to have in the locker room. Commodore, however, is a tough, grind-it-out kind of defenseman with some skill, something the Blue Jackets are also rather thin on.

The money between the two sides is negotiable. Commodore’s cap hit is for $3.75 million over the next three seasons and while Souray’s is over $5 million for the next two, the Blue Jackets aren’t hampered by the cap to be able to make the move. The only thing that could hamper the deal financially for the Blue Jackets is that the outlook for ticket sales this year isn’t very inspiring. If the Jackets are dealing with a tighter internal budget (they’re at $53 million in payroll this year) then the extra couple million it would cost to bring in Souray (his actual salary due is less than his cap hit) could be an issue.

If the deal were to be made, it solves one problem with Columbus by giving them an offensive weapon on the blue line while taking care of a huge problem for the Oilers in getting Souray out of Edmonton and bringing in a more welcome personality like Commodore. Whether or not this actually happens is another story entirely.