Columbus Blue Jackets' Top Trade Candidate This Season

The Columbus Blue Jackets have three good trade candidates that they could move for solid returns before the trade deadline this season - Vladislav Gavrikov, Gustav Nyquist, and Jack Roslovic. It appears as though, in that order, they are most likely to least likely to be moved.

Gavrikov is almost as good as gone. He is a top pairing defenceman who can be a great top-four option for a playoff team with a very good cap hit of $2.8 million. If a team has the Blue Jackets retain some, his cap hit would be that of a third pairing defenceman. He has a sneaky ability to produce points despite only having 10 this season. But his main contributions are to the defensive end where he blocks shots and plays physically. He also eats a ton of minutes for a team looking for help on the left side.

Gavrikov is the Blue Jackets' top trade candidate because Nyquist will be tougher to move with a cap hit of $5.5 million AAV. He is a UFA at the end of the season, but even at 50% retained, a number of contenders won't have the space to add $2.75 million. Nyquist is a second line player on Columbus, but would be a solid third line player on another team for the rest of the season. He has eight goals and 18 points in 42 games this season, but he is a four-time 20-goal scorer and has reached 40 points in all eight seasons he's played in the NHL.

Roslovic is a possibility, but he is still young and has one year remaining on his contract. The Blue Jackets may only be open to trading him if an offer is very good. If it's not, they could give him another season as the top line/top-six centre to see where his potential lies.