A David Jiricek trade could be close and what the Columbus Blue Jackets could be looking for
Daily Faceoff Youtube: Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk in how close a David Jiricek trade could be.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Yaremchuk: “Well, on that note, let’s talk about one of the defensemen that is on the market and could be on the move soon, Frank. How close are we to a resolution in the David Jiricek situation?”
Seravalli: “Oh, I think relatively close is what I would call it. I think there was certainly an increased attention paid to David Jiricek in front offices based on the ones that I corresponded with.
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The best way I can frame up this situation right now is that I believe Columbus Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell has five to six concrete offers on the table that he’s evaluating.
I think they were relatively close to a, you know, a deal at some point over the weekend. I think that they had made significant progress on Monday, to the point where some thought a deal might get done, or might have been nearing the finish line.
But I know that with a young player of this stature, Don Waddel and his staff want to make sure that they’re not leaving any stones unturned around the league. And it’s been an interesting process, because there’s a number of teams that have wanted to get in the mix that, frankly, either I’m told, haven’t received a callback or have been politely, you know, just told, ‘Hey, we don’t think that this is a fit. We don’t see you having the pieces that we’re looking for.’
And so what is it exactly that the Columbus Blue Jackets are looking for? It’s a player of similar stature, you know, a young top-end pick or prospect, or potentially a package of players that can, that the Columbus Blue Jackets and their fan base can get excited about. We’re talking about the number six overall pick from just two years ago, David Jiricek turns 21 soon.
Right now, it certainly seems like a matter of when, and not if Jiricek is going to be on the move. But what are the teams that we’re talking about that have been in the mix over the last number of days?
There seems to be lots of thought that the Minnesota Wild are one of the front-runners for Jiricek at this point. Not entirely sure what that package would look like. I think the Philadelphia Flyers have been involved. I think at varying points, the Pittsburgh Penguins have as well. Kyle Dubas, I believe, traveled to go see David Jiricek play on Sunday. Those are the sort of three teams that I would circle around.
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But I don’t think you can count out the San Jose Sharks or potentially the Buffalo Sabers. I think there’s been a whole group of teams that have been right there in the mix.”
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