Daily Faceoff: David Pagnotta on The Sheet with Jeff Marek talking about the Columbus Blue Jackets and their winning streak that has put them in the playoff hunt, and therefore complicating the trade market.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Marek: “But how much, this is, this is a good one for you. How much do you think this Columbus winning streak has thrown a wrench into the, into the market? Because a lot of us thought that by now, like they’re going to continue to lose and fall out of it.
And, you know, like you and I talked about, you know, either Boone Jenner or Charlie Coyle off to the Edmonton Oilers. And, you know, helping to make a third line. Which Stan Bowman is, of course, we would assume, trying to put together there with the Oilers. How much of this winning streak complicating everything right now, Dave?”
Edmonton Oilers Enter Olympic Break Searching for Answers
Pagnotta: “It does and it doesn’t. Because, like from the doesn’t side, Waddell and company, they thought this was the team, I mean, not to this level, not to how well they’ve done with, with (Rick) Bowness behind the bench, and that’s not sustainable. But they thought they were a hell of a better team than they had shown in the first bit of the season.
And they they believed that what they had on paper was going to be reflecting their overall performance wasn’t the case, and they needed to make a change. And with Bones coming in, it’s a looser room. There’s more communication. There was some talk that, you know, maybe the players started to tune Evanson out, and that’s why they ultimately went in this direction. But things have definitely shifted.
They feel they’re a playoff contending team. But at the same time, if they can’t get (Erik) Gudbranson and Jenner and Coyle signed, or at least don’t feel confident, or there’s a risk of them going to free agency, then I think Waddell is going to look at the market and see what’s available to them.
Whether it’s Edmonton or, you know, LA’s looking for a center. Do they go the Coyle direction? There are other teams that want to benefit, you know, their, the rest of their club, reward their club, I should say, by adding to it. So whether it’s the Dallas or Columbus or, excuse me, Colorado’s. Carolina in the east, other teams, Tampa, Montreal, etc.
There are a lot of teams that are going to be looking to make moves, and they want to be, they’re curious to see, ‘Hey, is Coyle available? Is Jenner available? Can we go in this direction?
So I think Columbus, again, they feel this is the team that, that they’ve put together that can compete for a playoff spot. So they’re comfortable with that. But at the same time, can they get these guys signed? Mason Marchment, another one.”
Marek: “It is interesting. You know, in no, no surprise, you know, Rick Bowness comes in. Seven games, they’ve only surrendered 13 shot, 13 goals. Like we kind of, should have, seen this one coming, that right away, defensively, this team was going to tighten up. I’ll be really curious to see what Columbus does.
NHL Rumors: Utah Mammoth, and the Toronto Maple Leafs
Like if they get in, we’re gonna talk about Artemi Panarin here in a second. So same thing that happened to Panarin in Columbus, too. And (Sergei) Bobrovsky, you know, like, treat them like their own rentals. It was important for the organization get over the hump, playoffs, etc. And it worked in that first round against Tampa Bay Lightning, for sure. But then ultimately those guys ended up going and for nothing.”
If you love our reporting, choose NHLrumors.com as a preferred source on Google.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? Rumor roundups and hot topics from around the league. We’re also posting some stuff on Instagram.
