Early deal with Vegas pays off
LAS VEGAS — For more than three months, Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen could only chuckle when he heard his club’s expansion outlook diagnosed as problematic.
Pundits predicted a bloodletting, with so many desirable, young players on the roster and so few spots open on the Jackets’ protected list. Many NHL GMs called repeatedly with kind offers to do Kekalainen and the Blue Jackets “a favor.”
Now it can be told: The Blue Jackets were the first team to have a deal in place with the Vegas Golden Knights, reaching an agreement with Knights GM George McPhee months ago, perhaps even before the NHL’s trade deadline on March 1.
So on Wednesday, when the Jackets traded the contract of injured forward David Clarkson, a first- round pick ( No. 24 overall) in Friday night’s draft and a second-round pick in 2019 so that Vegas would take center William Karlsson, it was a mere formality to the Blue Jackets’ hierarchy.
“We valued certainty, so much that we wanted to get it done early to have peace of mind, to know where we stood,” Kekalainen said. “The price we paid (to Vegas) was pretty fair, and the fact that we did it well ahead of time probably set the market price (for other trades with Vegas).
“We liked William Karlsson a lot. He’s a young player who’s getting better, and the center-ice position is hard to replace. But we have guys coming who we think can fill those spots.”
The Blue Jackets did not upset their “foundation,” Kekalainen said. Right wing Josh Anderson, goaltender Joonas Korpisalo and defensive depth were not disturbed.
The expectation is that center PierreLuc Dubois, the No. 3 overall pick last June, will be able to assume a bottom- six role with the Jackets next season.
“Pierre-Luc can not only make our team this coming season,” Kekalainen said. “He can make our team better.”
Wednesday’s trade made an immediate impact on the Blue Jackets on at least two fronts. First, the bad news. The Blue Jackets sent their first-round pick to Vegas and their second-round pick to Vancouver as compensation for hiring coach John Tortorella away from the Canucks in October 2015.
Thus, the Jackets won’t be on the clock until the 86th overall pick in Saturday’s third round. For a longtime scout such as Kekalainen, that’s tough to take.
“Many things can happen between now and the start of a draft,” he said. “You can get picks. We can do a lot of different things. We’ll see where it ends.” Now the good news. By unloading Clarkson’s contract ($5.25 million) and trading Karlsson, the Blue Jackets cleared $6.25 million of salary cap space and now rest roughly $10.3 million below the NHL’s $75 million cap.
They could create more space if they buy out the remaining two years on veteran Scott Hartnell’s contract.
That money can be used to sign center Alexander Wennberg and Anderson — both restricted free agents — to new contracts. Their current deals expire on July 1.
Also, it gives Kekalainen some elbow room to be aggressive toward his No. 1 objective this offseason: acquire high-end offensive talent.
“If there’s a player we really like, really want, we’ll make our team better,” Kekalainen said. “We can be aggressive.
“But we want to keep in mind the long-term well-being of our team and not get carried away with moving assets that will cost us our future.” 1. New Jersey 2. Philadelphia 3. Dallas 4. Colorado 5. Vancouver 6. Vegas 7. Arizona 8. Buffalo 9. Detroit 10. Florida 11. Los Angeles 12. Carolina 13. Vegas 14. Tampa Bay 15. Las Vegas 16. Calgary 17. Toronto 18. Boston 19. San Jose 20. St. Louis 21. N.Y. Rangers 22. Edmonton 23. Arizona 24. Winnipeg 25. Montreal 26. Chicago 27. St. Louis 28. Ottawa 29. Dallas 30. Nashville 31. Pittsburgh Round 3: 86th overall Round 4: 117th Round 5: 148th Round 6: 179th Round 7: 210th