Should The Columbus Blue Jackets Push For The Playoffs By Trading For Upgrades?
The Columbus Blue Jackets acknowledge the crowd after beating the Boston Bruins on Dec. 27.
Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images
The Columbus Blue Jackets entered 2025 in the thick of the playoff race, and they're a dark horse to make it.
They also have cap space and a good amount of young talent in the lineup and in the prospect pool. It’s a good time for Columbus to make the most of their place in the standings and push to lock up a playoff spot for the first time since 2019-20.
Columbus is now just two points behind the Ottawa Senators for the second Eastern Conference wild-card berth. The Jackets won four of their last six games, and in that span, they’ve beaten above-average teams in a playoff spot, including the New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes.
The NHL’s schedule-maker has also gifted the Blue Jackets with an excellent stretch ahead of them. In their next nine games, they’re taking on teams that aren’t in a playoff position: St. Louis (twice), Detroit, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Philadelphia, San Jose, the New York Rangers and New York Islanders.
If they take advantage of that schedule, the Blue Jackets could well be in a playoff spot, or at least even closer than they are. That’s especially encouraging, and Jackets GM Don Waddell should now be moving forward, looking to add to his team for a post-season run.
This doesn’t mean the Blue Jackets have to be solely in buyer mode and trade away their future before the league’s March 7 trade deadline. Waddell can be a buyer and a seller under the right circumstances.
To wit: looming UFAs Ivan Provorov, James van Riemsdyk and Kevin Labanc all could be moved, but now that Columbus is in a spot where a playoff berth is a very real possibility, Waddell can trade for players who can help the team now and in the long haul. As per PuckPedia, the Jackets have a whopping $34.4 million in salary cap space, so Columbus can swing for the fences and bring in high-impact performers.
Don’t be mistaken – the Blue Jackets still will have a tough road ahead. At 16-16-6, they’re clearly not an excellent squad, but their current strong play has opened a window for them to try and take the next step in their development.
It would be easy for Waddell to maintain the status quo, but Columbus has what it takes to add one or two veteran pieces and load up to play meaningful games through the deadline and down the stretch of the regular season. If they fail to lock up a playoff spot, that surely will hurt the team and its fan base, but it'll demonstrate a commitment to competitiveness that should help them in the future.
When Waddell joined the Blue Jackets last summer, he said all the right things about leading this organization to prominence, and he recently said he’d be meeting with the team’s pending UFAs about their future with the team. That’s a sign that more changes could be ahead. And that’s a very good development.
Waddell has raised expectations for this franchise, and that should thrill anyone who roots for Columbus.
Better days are definitely ahead for the Blue Jackets. The rest of this season could be the start of something new and special as the team and community continue to mourn the tragic deaths of Columbus left winger Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew.
The coming weeks and months will be crucial in determining what the Jackets are capable of, but at this moment, Columbus is well-advised to throw caution to the wind and provide enough roster improvement to make a playoff spot a reality. They'll need help to get there, and that’s why Waddell’s moves by the trade deadline have to be about helping them remain competitive.
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