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Blue Jackets Likely Out of the Running for Jack Eichel Trade

It appears the Columbus Blue Jackets have shifted focus and are no longer heavily pursuing star center Jack Eichel via trade.

According to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline, don’t expect the Columbus Blue Jackets to be one of the teams still in the running for disgruntled superstar center Jack Eichel when the final few teams get to working out the details of a trade. The Blue Jackets were once a team figured to be in the mix, but recent reports note they’ve pulled back and are no longer among the favorites.

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Portzline writes:

There’s a lot to unpack here, but let’s get this part out of the way first: after talking with numerous sources in recent days, it doesn’t appear that the Blue Jackets — at least as of today — are in hot pursuit of Eichel, one of the premier centers in the league.

The scribe acknowledges that Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen did have conversations with his Sabres GM Kevyn Adams and did his “due diligence.” Those conversations were apparently part of Kekalainen speaking with “six or seven” GMs in a single day. And, while the Blue Jackets desperately need to make improvements at the center ice position, the baggage Eichel carries with him is not ideal for the Blue Jackets organization, who has issues of their own.

Portzline notes that Eichel’s health, his price tag, and the fact that Blue Jackets have moved from from being a reloading team to a rebuilding team all provide reasons not to make the trade. If the Blue Jackets have settled into the idea of making the right decisions over a longer period of time, “giving up so many young players — and taking on so much risk with Eichel’s injury — seems the wrong move at this stage of the process,” says Portzline.

Blue Jackets Will Lose, And Lose A Lot

Since John Davidson returned to the organization from the New York Rangers, it seems the focus of the team is to select potential difference-makers at the draft. The team will likely be trading Seth Jones, there are questions about the future of Maxi Domi, and who knows what happens with Patrik Laine.

Not to mention, there’s no telling whether or not Eichel is interested in joining the Blue Jackets. While his no-trade clause doesn’t kick in until 2022, there’s a sense in Columbus that, perhaps, Eichel won’t want to be a part of what the organization is doing. The center has lost so often in Buffalo, he’s likely looking to join a competitive team. A rebuilding Blue Jackets franchise isn’t really that.

“But Columbus knows full well that the contract is just a technicality if the player isn’t happy or doesn’t want to be there. Eichel seems to be in anywhere-but-here mode, but that could change quickly if the losing continues in his next stop,” says Portzline.

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