Blue Jackets have heard from “just about evert GM in the league” about Seth Jones
It doesn’t look like it’s going to be very difficult for Jarmo Kekalainen to find a trade involving star defender Seth Jones.
According to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, just about every general manager in the league has called to inquire about Jones. Portzline went on to add that the Blackhawks, Flyers, Avalanche, and Kings appear to be the front runners in the Jones sweepstakes.
“Where will Jones be traded? Kekalainen’s heard from just about every GM in the league regarding his prized defenseman, he said, but four teams appear to be front-runners based on multiple conversations with NHL club executives: Chicago, Colorado, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.”
Also in the article, prospect guru Corey Pronman was asked about what type of return the Blue Jackets should expect in exchange for Jones. He mentioned the @Erik Karlsson trade from 2018, in which the San Jose Sharks sent forwards @Chris Tierney and @Rudolfs Balcers, defenseman @Dylan DeMelo, the rights to forward prospect @Joshua Norris, a first-round pick in 2019 or 2020, a second-round pick in 2019, and two conditional picks to the Senators for the two-time Norris Trophy winner.
Jones has one more year left on his contract with a $5,400,000 cap hit before he can hit the free-agent market. The Blue Jackets opted not to sell off stars such as @Artemi Panarin and @Sergei Bobrovsky and both ultimately walked in free agency. Kekalainen surely won’t allow the same thing to happen with Jones.