Rumor: Top contender looking to make a big move before the playoffs.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have to be considered the biggest surprise of the 2016-2017 season and they are now in a unique position to capitalize on their unexpected success.

While there are a number of contending team who would like to make a big move prior to the trade deadline, but with over four million dollars in current cap space the Blue Jackets are one of the few contenders with the flexibility to make something big a reality, and it sounds like they know it.

From the Fourth Period:

Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen and his staff are exploring the marketplace, weighing their options and coming up with various targets with the trade deadline just over five weeks away.

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It's believed the Blue Jackets would like to add a center and could be eyeing Martin Hanzal of the Arizona Coyotes, among others.

While Hanzal would almost certainly be a rental, the Jackets also have the ability to target players with term, and some of the names Colorado has been dangling could be extremely interesting for a team in Columbus' position.

You would have been called crazy if you had attempted to make this statement at the start of the season, but come the trade deadline the Blue Jackets may be the team everyone will be watching very closely.