Columbus Blue Jackets forward R.J. Umberger will likely be playing for a new team next season.
According to Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch, the 32-year-old requested a trade from the Blue Jackets and the team will do their part to move him this summer.
Umberger had a rough season in what was ultimately a very successful one for the organization. While he had 18 goals and 34 points this season, it wasn’t all happy times as Portzline said:
Umberger was angered and hurt late in the regular season when he was made a healthy scratch four times in a seven-game stretch while the Blue Jackets were fighting for a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
He has two years left on his contract with a $4.6 million cap hit and has a limited no-trade clause on his deal that becomes a full no-trade clause that allows him to pick a list of 10 teams he won’t accept a deal to that starts on June 15.
It may be a hard sell to deal a guy who at this point in his career is a 20-goal, 40-point player per season and has that kind of cap hit. That said, he’s been a steady and consistently healthy guy and you could do worse.