The Edmonton Oilers and the Columbus Blue Jackets have been connected in several trade rumors over the last few weeks. Most of these named Artem Anisimov, but a new report suggests that the Oilers were after a bigger name in Ryan Johansen.
https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/541414320681517056
The belief is that the Blue Jackets may be willing to part with Johansen after some awkward contract negotiations over the summer. The club eventually reached a three-year extension with the forward, but the belief is that the relationship may still be a bit rocky. As a result, several teams have reached out to the Blue Jackets asking about Johansen, but apparently he isn’t for sale at this time.
For the Blue Jackets, a trade of Johansen wouldn’t really make much sense. Unless they’re planning to start another rebuild, why would they trade their best forward who currently leads the team in assists and points? The team has Johansen secured through 2016-17 and he has been their most reliable and dynamic forward.
Even with their rocky history, it would take something truly special to pry Johansen out of Columbus. That’s not to say Johansen is untouchable – no player is untouchable if the deal is right – but it seems pretty unlikely that we’ll see a deal involving Johansen unless the receiving team overpays by a huge margin.
