The Columbus Blue Jackets will most certainly be sellers by the Feb. 29 trade deadline, but with a catch.
They might not have much to sell.
“We’re not looking to tear this thing down,” president of hockey ops John Davidson said, per the Columbus Dispatch. “Are you kidding? We have some pieces in place. These guys are going to play every game to win.
“That’s just in their DNA and the coaches’ DNA to win every game they play.”
(To Davidson’s point, the Jackets are 8-3-2 in their last 13, at a time where losing games -- and increasing draft lottery chances -- could be seen as more beneficial than winning.)
If teams are looking to pluck some players out of Columbus, they’ll likely have to settle on peripheral parts rather than core individuals.
The likes of Scott Hartnell and Fedor Tyutin are rumored to be available -- Tyutin is believed to be on Detroit’s radar -- while pending UFAs Rene Bourque and Justin Falk, both essentially spare parts, could presumably be had for a song.
But Davidson shot down the notion of moving a bigger-ticket guy, saying “there’s no change in the plan.”
“We’re not giving up our future,” he explained. “No chance, unless it just makes a ton of sense.”