One of the NHL’s worst contracts lands on the trade block!

The Columbus Blue Jackets are starting to run out of options to get over that salary cap floor, as more than one month into the 2024-25 season, they are still sitting dangerously close to it.

Many insiders and pundits have hinted at an upcoming trade being in the cards for Columbus, taking advantage of its financial flexibility. One option mentioned more than once recently is the possibility of the Blue Jackets taking on a bad contract from other teams and, at the same time, get some asset sweeteners, such as draft picks or prospects.
Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff recently revealed that general manager Don Waddell was actively listening to all offers, mentioning how undesirable contracts were an option in Columbus.

“Well It’s not going to be adding in the short term, which isn’t a surprise to Blue Jackets fans. However, he has let teams know that he’s interested in taking on contracts that may be viewed as undesirable, in exchange for assets. They’ve got cap space. Also, we’re in a year in which, with increased cap space, there probably won’t be a need for third-party brokers when It comes to the trade deadline. Columbus is aware of that. They want to flex that and use their cap space to take on deals. It’s just that, to this point, the ones that have been floated to Don Waddell, are guys that have three to five years left on their deal, which is fascinating to think about. Teams that have made long-term commitments that they’re already unhappy with. Don Waddell’s response has been ”Not really interested in guys for that long, because somewhere in that three to five-year window, my team’s going to be better and should be pushing for the playoffs, and I don’t want to devote cap space to players that are already viewed as undesirable.” So, they’re open and there’s also no urgency to do this because they’re already above the salary cap floor, so that’s not going to be a concern moving forward.”

NHL Trade Rumours put together an interesting list on what players could be targeted in Columbus. They listed Detroit Red Wings’ Justin Holl, Seattle Kraken’s Andre Burakovsky and Pittsburgh Penguins’ Bryan Rust as options.

Holl is signed through next season at $3.4 million against the cap, though he holds a 10-team no-trade clause. Burakovsky owns a $5.5 million cap hit for this season, and the next two, and has a no-trade clause which protects him from 10 teams. As for Rust, he has no trade protection left on his contract, but a total of three more years at $5.1 million against the cap.

Few teams have the cap space that the Jackets have and surely they must do soemthing about it. However, they probably want shorter deals to make sure they have the room to load with star players in years to come when they become contenders.

The current cap floor is at $65 million and the Jackets sit only about $2 million over that minimum. They need to add salary soon in order to stay cap-compliant.

Columbus remains realistic about its playoff chances, but the team must keep in mind its long-term vision for the upcoming seasons.