Why surprising Rangers rival plans to ‘keep this group together’ ahead of NHL Trade Deadline
No one figured the Columbus Blue Jackets to be ahead of the New York Rangers in the race for a playoff berth at the break for the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off, especially after their best player, forward Johnny Gaudreau, was killed in a cycling accident in late August.
But they are – and that has likely turned the Blue Jackets from being projected sellers to buyers as the March 7 NHL Trade Deadline approaches, according to president of hockey operations and general manager Don Waddell, who was hired just over eight months ago to revive a team that hasn’t made the Stanley Cup Playoffs or finished above .500 since 2019-20.
The team Waddell has put together sits one point out of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference – and two points ahead of the Rangers, who have a game in hand, despite a disappointing 4-3 loss to New York on Saturday in their final game before the break. Thus, rather than be a seller as the trade deadline nears, he’s looking to add talent — especially with two of his top forwards, Kirill Marchenko (broken jaw) and Sean Monahan (wrist) out week to week.
However, he doesn’t want to sacrifice the future to do it.
“I think right now, short term, I’m looking to see — and this has probably changed in the last week and a half — if we can add something up front to help this group right now because of the Marchenko and Monahan losses,” Waddell told the team’s website.
“Are we going to pay a high price for a rent-a-player? No, but if we get somebody that has some term left or a player that we think would fit well into our roster that we don’t have to give up assets that I’m not willing to give up — I think if we can do that, it would be something that would send a message not only to the players and the coaches but our 5th Line (fan) support, saying that we’re trying to do something.”
Salary-cap space shouldn’t be an issue for Waddell. According to Puckpedia, the Blue Jackets are projected to have more than $19 million in cap room.
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Blue Jackets GM looking to add talent before NHL Trade Deadline
He also has plenty of draft capital. Columbus has two first-round picks in this year’s NHL Draft, as well as one pick in the third and sixth rounds, and two in the fourth and seventh. The Jackets have nine picks, including their own first-rounders, in the 2026 and 2027 drafts.
With that kind of capital, Waddell said he’s not interested in bringing in any more mid-round picks.
“As far as trading players away, I’m interested in hockey deals,” he said. “We have a lot of draft capital. I don’t need third- and fourth- and fifth-round picks. We have a lot of those. We have to make good decisions, though, if we get offered something that is going to make us better in the future. My job is to manage today but watch out for the future, obviously.
“That’s why I spent so much time on the road the last couple of weeks. I went to a lot of different games, not just our games. It’s going to come quick here. We have the two-week (4 Nations) break, the trade deadline is March 7, with the outdoor game (March 1 against the Detroit Red Wings at Ohio Stadium) in between. There’s not going to be much time. Our scouts — we had a call yesterday focused on different teams. They’ll continue to do their jobs. We’ll be ready for it. I anticipate there could be some in and out, for sure.”
Columbus has eight pending unrestricted free agents on its roster, led by top-four defenseman Ivan Provorov, who’s in the final season of a six-year contract that carries a cap hit of $4.725 million. But Wadell doesn’t appear to be in a hurry to part with any of them — barring a major offer. He said he’s more interested in keeping the group he has.
“Getting mid-round picks for players and stuff like that, these players are too important for us as we go down the stretch regardless of where we’re at,” Waddell said. “They’ve helped us get this far. I think we owe it to everybody to try to keep this group together.
“If there’s something that blows our mind away, some kind of offer we can’t refuse, we have to look at that. But where we’re at, you look at the trade deadline. The guys that maybe you thought if you were out of it, you were going to move, they’re almost like your deadline day acquisitions because you haven’t moved them. If we can make this team better, that’s my job to try to do that, but I’m not looking to move guys out for mid-round picks.”
The Rangers, Blue Jackets, Boston Bruins and New York Islanders are among the teams trying to worm their way into a playoff berth down the stretch of the season. The Ottawa Senators currently are the top wild card with 62 points, one ahead of the Detroit Red Wings (61 points) who are the second wild card.
Coming out of the break, the Rangers have seven games before the trade deadline, including two against the Islanders. The Rangers could be seeking a top-six wing, left-shot defenseman or bottom-six forward.
The Blue Jackets need scoring with Monahan and Marchenko sidelined. They will play six games before the deadline.
The Rangers and Blue Jackets play March 9 at Madison Square Garden, two days after the deadline.
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