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Could Blue Jackets Trade a No. 1 Goaltender?

Could the Columbus Blue Jackets look at trading one of the their No. 1 goaltenders this summer?

Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription required) reports the Columbus Blue Jackets believe they have two No. 1 or starting goaltenders in Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins and may decide this summer that it’s best to move one in a deal that would help the team.

Noting that both netminders are restricted free agents this offseason and then become pending unrestricted free agents the following summer, this might be the time to move one.

Portzline writes:

With one year to go before they hit their “unrestricted years,” expect the Blue Jackets to accept nothing less than a two-year term. It’s unlikely either player would want to go longer than three or four years, but we shall see.

Portzline suggests that if the team is going to keep both players, each salary will fall in the range of about $2.5 million to $3.25 million. That’s not the worst thing in the world (spending $6.5 million on a duo) but neither has “Stanley Cup quality goalie” on their respective resume.

A Crazy Goalie Market

Portzline also points to what might be an extremely busy summer for goaltenders with a number of names looking for deals or potentially on the market. He writes:

Vegas’ Robin Lehner, the New York Islanders’ Thomas Greiss, Chicago’s Corey Crawford, Boston’s Jaroslav Halak, Calgary’s Cam Talbot, St. Louis’ Jake Allen, Detroit’s Jimmy Howard, Edmonton’s Mike Smith and others could all be looking for new homes, too.

The Expansion Draft

The Blue Jackets are also in an enviable position when it comes to the NHL Expansion Draft. The team isn’t forced to protect Merzlikins because he is exempt. Instead, Matiss Kivlenieks qualifies as a goalie they can expose because he will have had three pro seasons in the books by next summer.

Related: Nugent-Hopkins To Rangers Trade Rumor

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