Elliotte Friedman Says "Columbus Is The Center Of The Universe" In Terms Of Tonight's NHL Draft

Elliotte Friedman on his 32 Thoughts Podcast yesterday talked about the Columbus Blue Jackets and what they're going to do with the #4 overall pick. 

It was reported last night that the Philadelphia Flyers were pushing hard for the CBJ pick. 

Friedman said about Columbus, “I think Columbus is the center of the universe when it comes to potentially moving down. And there are teams out there who believe that the Blue Jackets are motivated to do something big. They would like to make a splash.”

Per reports, Columbus asked for the 12th overall pick, 32nd overall, and Colorado’s 1st round pick from the Flyers in exchange for #4 overall. Friedman responded with, “What I heard was that was too much for Philly, but the two teams were expected to speak again today.” He goes on to say “I don't believe that Philly is the only team in there. And this is a guess, I wonder if the other team is potentially Carolina, and Necas is included in this. That's the team I'm throwing a dart at.”

Co-host Jeff Marek also offered his guess on how the top four would be drafted. Marek said, “Based on my conversations, it is my belief that Chicago will take Levshunov second, Anaheim will take Zeev Buium third. Cayden Lindstrom goes to the Columbus Blue Jackets at #4."

Friedman says that he thinks Waddell is motivated to sell that pick. This might upset some Blue Jacket fans as they hope to get a young game-breaker with that pick. The return for such a trade could yield a very good return, but is it worth it? 

Would a trade like this be considered as speeding up a rebuild? 

What do you think? Please share your thoughts on our forum.

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