How aggressive will Blue Jackets be at trade deadline after GM change?

The Columbus Blue Jackets made a move that felt long overdue and finally fired their general manager Jarmo Kekalainen. He’d been the third longest-tenured GM before he was fired, and with an underwhelming resume during his time there and the 2023-24 season getting about as ugly as it possibly could for the Blue Jackets, it seemed like only a matter of time before Kekalainen was gone.

As the Blue Jackets search for a new general manager, they now head into the trade deadline without someone steering the ship, and while Columbus’ President of Hockey Operations John Davidson is at the helm for the interim, it leaves the question as to if they’ll make a lot of moves at the deadline or stay quiet and let the new general manager handle those responsibilities.

Frank Seravalli talked about what the Blue Jackets could do at the trade deadline and more on Daily Faceoff Live.

Frank Seravalli: So John Davidson is the interim and it makes me go back to what I was just saying. How aggressive is he going to be? Is he going to leave it up to the next guy to do a lot of the heavy lifting in the summer? Or is this a moment in time where you try and unload a few pieces if you can in return for picks?

Outside of Boone Jenner, there’s not really anyone on their roster that’s going to bring you back a really juicy, significant haul. Elvis Merzlikins, not really much of a market for him. Jack Roslovic, same thing. These are some intriguing players, some have term, some are pending free agents, some are pending restricted free agents. I just don’t know how aggressive John Davidson is going to be. I certainly have question marks about that.

You can watch the full episode here…