By: Chris Nosek
The original outlook was that Don Waddell was going to fire sale. Players like Charlie Coyle, Mason Marchment, Boone Jenner, and Erik Gudbranson were all rumored to be being shopped. Instead, the hiring of Rick Bowness turned the Blue Jackets’ fortune around, and they became the hottest team in the league before the Olympic break.
Instead of dealing away players, Waddell was able to bring in Conor Garland from Vancouver. Garland starts a new 6-year contract next season, but Columbus has 6 pending unrestricted free agents. They have several young players who they continue to wait for to take another step. Wadell got great value on the one trade he did make, and Garland should fit in nicely with this lineup. To properly grade this deadline, we need to see whether this team qualifies for the playoffs, and if Waddell can re-sign any of the veterans, and which ones.
Waddell has been this team’s General Manager for 22 months. Last season, they finished two points out of a playoff spot despite the devastating loss of Johnny Gaudreau to start their season. This year, Waddell is still navigating that loss from a roster-building perspective. The same roster that went 19-19-7 under Dean Evason has now gone 14-2-3 under Rick Bowness. Standing pat at the deadline and getting a better read on what this team actually is was the right move, but Waddell needs to complete his next steps to know whether buying or selling would have been the right move. We’ll revisit this one for sure.
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