3 Potential Trade Destinations for Blue Jackets' Ivan Provorov

The Columbus Blue Jackets are expected to make a couple of deals ahead of the March 8 trade deadline with their biggest move likely being defenseman Ivan Provorov.

Provorov is on the radar of several playoff-bound teams as he can log heavy minutes and contribute on both the power-play and penalty kill. So far through 60 games, the Russian blueliner has recorded 26 points and is playing over 22 minutes a night. He's signed for $6.75 AAV however there's some retained salary in Philly, so the cap hit is only $4.7 for the Blue Jackets.

Here's three potential trade destinations for the top-four blueliner:

Florida Panthers

The Panthers are in on just about everything at the moment as they look to get creative to add pieces ahead of the deadline. Provorov doesn't have any trade protection and can be moved at will. The Blue Jackets are looking for a first-round pick or top prospects/NHL ready players in any move and could be in talks with Florida.

Tampa Bay Lightning

After losing Mikhail Sergachev for the season, the Lightning have some serious cap space to add an impact defenseman and even though they are talking to the Calgary Flames about Noah Hanifin, who would like to be traded to Tampa, the Flames don't necessarily love what the Lightning are offering. Their plan B could very well be adding Provorov from Columbus.

Los Angeles Kings

The Kings are a bit of a wild card here as they are looking for a top-six winger and someone who can help their left-side of the blue line. The Kings have a number of young right-handed defenseman including Jordan Spence, so perhaps something gets worked out between the two clubs. Another wildcard team worth mentioning would be the Detroit Red Wings who are open to just about anything ahead of the deadline.

The latest on the Blue Jackets trade deadline preview by Elliotte Friedman via 32 Thoughts:

Since John Davidson came out and said Boone Jenner isn’t going anywhere, that market’s dried up. The Blue Jackets have a ton of young talent, and will look to fortify around it, although that seems more an off-season goal. Sensibly, the new leader will be given latitude on how to proceed, beyond some obvious current possibilities. There are teams really breaking down Elvis Merzlikins, figuring how much a fresh start will help him. There’s also a season-long defensive backlog to address, with Ivan Provorov added to the list of available blueliners.