Blue Jackets Rumors: Mathieu Olivier Named Trade Candidate

The Columbus Blue Jackets currently have a 7-9-2 record and are at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division standings. Because of this, they are expected to be sellers yet again this season.

Due to this, in NHL insider Frank Seravalli's latest Trade Targets board for Daily Faceoff, he named Mathieu Olivier as one of the top trade candidates for this season.

Olivier, 27, has been off to a strong start this season with the Blue Jackets. In 18 games, he has a career-high six goals and also has two assists. Overall, the Blue Jackets' tough guy is showing that he has the potential to provide some decent secondary scoring, so that could lead to teams calling.

However, Olivier's immense physical and toughness are the two main elements as to why he should generate interest this season. Playoff clubs are always looking to get more challenging to play against, and bringing in a player like Olivier would make them do just that. In 18 games this season, he has 35 penalty minutes and 59 hits.

Olivier has an affordable $1.1 million cap hit, and his contract expires at the end of the season. Thus, he could be a popular rental in the trade market.