Yahoo Sports Blue Jackets' GM Waddell Holding Firm: No Plans to Move Pending UFA's (Yet)
Columbus Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell was a guest on Jeff Marek's The Sheet podcast late last week. To no one's surprise, Marek asked all the questions every Blue Jackets fan has been wondering about.
The main topic was the Blue Jackets' trade deadline plans now that the team has found some success and is in the playoff race. Does it complicate things for the front office?
Waddell had this to say:
“No, because I’ve gotten a lot of calls about some of our free agents going back the last month and a half or so, and I’ve told them all that we’re not willing to just get rid of players at this point. We’re looking at if we can improve our team through hockey trades and all that. Our job as a general manager is to continue to look at that. But, you know, a guy like Ivan Provorov, who I get a lot of calls about, he’s one of our best defenders, if not our best defender. And there’s an opportunity, potential to sign him. And if we can sign him, that would be great. And if not, then come March, we’ll have to make a decision about what we do. But I owe it to the players, I owe it to the fans, I owe it to the ownership that if we’re in the hunt, we’ve got to try to continue at least to stay in the hunt and play it out and see how it goes.”
It looks like the Blue Jackets could even head into the trade deadline as conservative buyers. If they can continue to stay in the hunt for the playoffs, Waddell may feel compelled to add at the deadline to improve his team's chances.
Related: 2 Blue Jackets Players Named To Flyers Quarter Century Team
Although they would likely be underdogs in nearly every playoff series they enter, once you’re in the postseason, anything can happen. Blue Jackets fans know that firsthand from the 2019 playoffs when they swept the top-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round.
The next few months will be fascinating if the Blue Jackets can keep playing at this level.
What's Next - The Philadelphia Flyers visit Nationwide tonight.
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