NHL enforcer Adam McQuaid traded just one hour before the deadline.

We have another trade and again a very familiar team is involved. 

It appears that the Columbus Blue Jackets intend to continue going all in for the Stanley Cup during the 2018 - 2019 National Hockey League regular season with yet another big trade ahead of the deadline. This time, according to a breaking news report from TSN National Hockey League insider Darren Dreger, the Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired some grit on the blue line by adding veteran NHL enforcer Adam McQuaid to their roster.

McQuaid is of course best known for his time as one of the toughest players on the Boston Bruins blue line, a team with whom he spent the majority of his career, but most recently was a New York Ranger after being dealt to that team in a deal involving one other player and a pair of draft picks. It seems the New York Rangers were merely looking to break even on this one with them getting a very similar return from the Blue Jackets as the one they gave up to the Bruins. 

In the initial trade for McQuaid the Rangers gave up both a 4th round draft pick at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and a 7th round pick at the 2019 Entry Draft and in this deal with the Blue Jackets they will be getting back a 4th round draft pick at the NHL Entry Draft and a 7th round draft pick at the NHL Entry draft, although we do not know in what year the new picks will come. 

One thing we do know however is that the Columbus Blue Jackets are all of a sudden looking like a very serious contender for the 2019 Stanley Cup Championship and the addition of a veteran who already has his name on the Stanley Cup and who also adds toughness to your line up only makes them that much scarier. There are many who still think that this will not be enough to push the Columbus Blue Jackets over the hump in the playoffs but you can't fault Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen for going all in here. The Blue Jackets have never so much as won a playoff series, but this seems like it should be enough to get them at least that much.

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