Blue Jackets Rumors: Top Prospect Won't Be Traded

In late January, Columbus Blue Jackets top prospect David Jiricek expressed clear frustration about being demoted to the American Hockey League (AHL). This naturally led to some speculation in the rumor mill about the potential of him being moved.

However, in his most recent 32 Thoughts column, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman put an end to that rumor. He had this to say about the Jiricek trade chatter: "There was a short explosion around his AHL demotion, but the Blue Jackets made it verrrrrrrry clear they are not moving David Jiricek. They see the potential — and so does everyone else."

Given the fact that the Blue Jackets are in the middle of trying to improve their roster, it makes sense that they have zero desire to move on from Jiricek. He has the tools to blossom into a high-impact defenseman later down the road, and that is something that the Blue Jackets certainly could use.

While they have a surplus of NHL-caliber defensemen right now, several of them are trade targets and are likely to be moved in the near future. As a result, spots on the NHL roster should open up for him in the upcoming weeks.

Jiricek, 20, has appeared in 36 games this season with the Blue Jackets, he had one goal, nine points, and a minus-1 rating.