Blue Jackets put Wennberg in the press box just hours after Matt Duchene trade.

It seems like the Columbus Blue Jackets may have an odd man out on their roster, although perhaps it is merely a product of me reading way too much into this move from the team.

According to a report from Sportsnet's National Hockey League insider Chris Johnston, the Columbus Blue Jackets made former first round pick Alexander Wennberg a healthy scratch on Saturday. This was not the first time being made a healthy scratch for Wennberg and it seems to have been a very bad fit for him overall under the system of Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella. 

This of course has led to rampant speculation that Wennberg could be one of the pieces that will be on the move ahead of the trade deadline for the 2018 - 2019 National Hockey League regular season and there's plenty of good reason to believe so. As I mentioned the 24 year old center has really struggled under Tortorella and that alone has to be a major red flag for Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen. Not only do I believe that Kekalainen would want a player that works under his current system, but he has also just strengthened his team considerably at the position that Wennberg occupies. 

The Blue Jackets of course made a major splash this week when they appeared to go all in with a trade involving now former Ottawa Senators center Matt Duchene. The Blue Jackets signaled quite clearly to the National Hockey League that they would not be sellers at the NHL trade deadline and instead appear to be gearing up for what they hope will be their first playoff series win in franchise history and beyond. Wennberg could prove to be a valuable asset at the deadline as well and with 4 more years of control on his current contract he would not be your typical rental player either. 

The young center is a former 1st round pick (14th overall) in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft and I do believe that he could flourish under the guidance of another head coach. Wennberg has after all shown that he can produce at the National Hockey League with a 59 point season in his sophomore season in the NHL, he simply hasn't been able to show that flare under Tortorella. 

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