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Why Blue Jackets acquired Kinkaid from Devils

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The Columbus Blue Jackets were active at the trade deadline making deals for Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel, Adam McQuaid and Keith Kinkaid, but their biggest move may have been one they didn't make.

Well, the Columbus Blue Jackets have made a trade involving a goalie. No, Sergei Bobrovsky hasn’t been traded, but they’ve landed veteran Keith Kinkaid from the New Jersey Devils for a fifth-round pick in 2022.

What does this have to do with Bobrovsky? Probably nothing.

Let’s be honest, the odds of a fifth-rounder eventually panning out are slim. On top of that, the Devils will only make the pick in four NHL Entry Drafts from now, so they basically gave up next to nothing to get a goalie that has played in 82 games over the last two seasons and two more in the playoffs.

No matter what your opinion of Kinkaid is as a goalie, that’s a price you simply can’t pass up if you’re looking to add depth between the pipes. The 29-year-old is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, so they can walk away from him on July 1st if they want to.
[Winners and losers of the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline]

Blue Jackets backup netminder Joonas Korpisalo has struggled this year, as he has a 3.07 goals-against-average and a .896 save percentage. He’s also played in just two of Columbus’ last 14 games. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen clearly felt like he needed to upgrade his backup position so that head coach John Tortorella could rest Bobrovsky a little more often down the stretch.

Kekalainen has now added three veterans to his roster since Friday. Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel and Kinkaid have definitely changed the look of this roster. Will it be enough to make them go on a run in the playoffs? Time will tell.

MORE:
Blue Jackets power up for playoff run by adding Matt Duchene
Blue Jackets add Dzingel

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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.