Another NHL GM may be forced to tear it all down!

It is probably still hard to digest for the Ottawa Senators fans to know that nearly 16 months ago, the Sens were one goal away from punching their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final as they lost in overtime to the eventual champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Add to all this the recent heartburn of trading captain Erik Karlsson to the San Jose Sharks, and the ridiculous attempt from GM Pierre Dorion to look optimistic about the season, and you have yourself quite the indigestion. 

When all of this should scare other clubs away from making the same mistakes, it seems that one NHL team might be forced to emulate the Senators and tear it all down themselves. 

During last night’s “Insider Trading” segment on TSN, Darren Dreger reported that Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen continues for field calls from clubs interested in acquiring left wing Artemi Panarin. While the Russian sniper has not  changed his mood about a market change and is looking to play elsewhere, Kekalainen keeps saying he has  “no interest in trading him and his principle point of interest is trying to convince him to re-sign, likewise for Sergei Bobrovsky.”

During a Thursday morning radio appearance on Montreal’s TSN 690, Dreger was asked how he thought things would play out for the Jackets. And it sounds like they could become the 2017-18 version of the Senators... 

"I don’t think that Panarin’s position is going to change between now and the trade deadline. So as we creep closer to that, then obviously the pressure mounts on the Columbus Blue Jackets, and they’ve got to assess where they’re at and whether or not they feel they can make a run for it, and if they can’t then I think we’re legitimately looking at a trade possibility closer to the deadline for both of those guys.”

While it seems like Columbus could be a contender this season, Dreger believes they should move Panarin and Bobrovsky, who could end up walking for free anyway in July 2019. So what, let's tear it all down now and move on? 

“I’m not saying it applies to every team,” added Dreger. “But a handful of years ago it was unthinkable for a team to not have their players sign before the deadline, or have an assurance that that player was likely going to sign, because the idea of a decent unrestricted free agent walking for free and not getting anything in return made no sense at all.

“So maybe Columbus approaches it that way too.”

Are we entering a mode Senators 2.0 now in the NHL?