The Columbus Blue Jackets are looking to unload James Wisniewski according to Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch.
Heard from two different sources tonight that #CBJ are shopping D James Wisniewski around the #NHL, trying to move before Monday's deadline.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) February 24, 2015
The right-shot defenseman was a healthy scratch for Sunday night’s game against the New York Rangers, which kick-started speculation.
However, Jackets’ GM Jarmo Kekalainen told the Columbus Dispatch last night that “there is no pending trade” for Wisniewski.
Teams such as the Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens, who have injuries on the back end, could be interested.
He may also be a guy on the Red Wings radar. Detroit has just one right-handed shooting defenseman on its roster currently (Alexey Marchenko).
But Wisniewski is an expensive solution.
The 31-year-old still has two years remaining on his six-year, $33 million contract, which has a cap hit of $5.5 million.
Wisniewski has seven goals, 27 points and a minus-6 rating in 52 games this season while averaging 21:22 in time on ice.