Mikhail Sergachev's Injury Could Start The Trade Frenzy
The Columbus Blue Jackets have had a problem since last summer. That problem? Too many bodies and not enough ice time to go around.
I watched Mikhail Sergachev suffer a gruesome leg injury on Tuesday night. He was stretchered off and the look on his face said it all, he wasn't going to return this season for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
With the team confirming that he had surgery on his broken leg, the rest of the league immediately shifted its focus to who the Lightning would go out and get. For fans of the Blue Jackets, this could be the chance for GM Jarmo Kekalainen to finally unload someone from the crowded Columbus blueline.
Columbus social media seems to be fixated on a few names - Jake Bean, Adam Boqvist, Andrew Peeke, and Ivan Provorov. But who would they send to Tampa?
Personally I would cross Boqvist and Bean immediately off the list. I don't think the CBJ front office is ready to give up on them just yet. Both have tremendous upside, but are still young. They both were also brought in directly as a result of trading Seth Jones as well.
That leaves Ivan Provorov and Andrew Peeke.
Ivan Provorov - 4-19-23 | -10 | 41 Hits | 94 Blocks
Current Contract Status - One year remaining at $4.725 million.
He was traded to Columbus last summer in a move that I personally thought was a stop-gap move until David Jiricek and others were ready to play top minutes in the NHL. Provorov has had his ups and downs this season, but could fit in well with Tampa.
Andrew Peeke - 0-6-6 | -4 | 39 Hits | 40 Blocks
Current Contract Status - Two years remaining at $2.75 million.
Andrew Peeke has only played in 20 games this season, and has at times looked out of place, and that's probably because he hasn't played that often. His defensive first style is right up Tampa's ally.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are currently using $10.3 million in LTIR, and will most certainly add Sergachev's $8.5 million to that. With that, they can add any player they want as a rental for the rest of the season.
A few years ago they added sturdy CBJ defenseman David Savard at the trade deadline and went on to win a championship, could this be the year they add another Columbus defenseman?
When you look at Sergachev's stats, they resemble Provorov's. He currently has a line of 2-17-19, -16, with 34 hits and 70 blocks. Provorov also makes half as much as Sergachev. This seems like a trade waiting to happen. Unless however they replace Sergachev with another $8.5 million AAV defenseman, which they could very well do if someone comes along and offers it to them.
The return for a trade like this would likely be picks. In 2024, the Lightning have picks in the 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th rounds. For 2025, they have picks in all rounds but the 1st. So it's looking like whatever Jarmo could get for Provorov would be 3rd round or worse, which in many fans eyes would be a complete waste considering what they traded to get him in the first place. The Lightning don't have too many guys the Blue Jackets could swap for Provorov unless Kekalainen could pry a young player and a pick in return, again, highly unlikely.
Per the usual, the Jackets front office has a lot of work to do.
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