Blockbuster move already in the works ahead of the summer?!

The Columbus Blue Jackets missed out on defenseman Jakob Chychrun as the Arizona Coyotes shipped him to the Ottawa Senators ahead of the deadline, and it might have only fuelled their desire for another busy summer.

Back in July 2022, the Jackets were quite productive, signing free-agent Johnny Gaudreau to a seven-year contract and free-agent defenseman Erik Gudbranson to a four-year deal, re-signing winger Patrik Laine to a four-year deal, and shipping out winger Oliver Bjorkstrand to the Seattle Kraken.

They’re expected to be as busy this summer. Insider Aaron Portzline of The Athletic expects that GM Jarmo Kekalainen’s priority will be bolstering the blue line. Columbus picked up a conditional 2023 first-rounder from the Los Angeles Kings as part of the return for goalie Joonas Korpisalo and Vladislav Gavrikov and could use that pick as a trade chip before the draft to add a defenseman during the offseason.

Kekalainen also believes the Blue Jackets could look to add some veteran leadership after losing key veterans like Nick Foligno, David Savard, Seth Jones, Jakub Voracek and Cam Atkinson.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman pointed to Philadelphia Flyers’ Kevin Hayes and his co-host Jeff Marek mentioned those discussions could resume closer to the NHL Draft at the end of June.

Speaking of the draft, the Jackets could have the best odds of winning next month’s draft lottery and the right to choose generational prospect Connor Bedard.

On top of that, Kekalainen could make that anticipated monster move or trade in the summer for immediate roster depth in Columbus.

Let’s keep an eye on this!

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