Rumors have been circulating about a potential trade of defenseman David Jiricek. He’s played six NHL games for the Columbus Blue Jackets this season but has recently been sent to their AHL affiliate, The Cleveland Monsters. Jiricek was drafted by the Blue Jackets sixth overall in the first round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.
On Monday morning’s episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliot Friedman had this to say about a possible trade,
“I did hear on Saturday there were some rumors of some teams who thought they might be getting close, but he played in the American Hockey League on Saturday night. So that said to me that, I think if he was close to getting dealt he probably wouldn’t have played that night.”
He also said that Columbus may be looking for another young player similar to Jiricek.
Later on Monday insider Frank Seravelli said on Sportnets 650,
“It seems like a David Jiricek move is a relative imminent transaction… Something that could be processed tonight… Can tell you it’s not the Canucks.”
“Since we’ve been talking, further update… the Blue Jackets are still going through the evaluation process. I think they’ve got 5 to 6 credible offers on the table that they’re working through. Should happen in the next 24 to 48 hours.”
Amid those conflicting reports when asked about the possibility of an “imminent trade” the Atheltic’s Aaron Portzline replied,
“Don’t have the sense that anything is imminent. But teams are talking.”
Rumors of where Jiricek could end up are also spreading. Elliot Friedman was also quoted on his podcast saying,
“Another team that’s got a lot of young players, but I don’t know how they feel about this, is Philadelphia, I’m looking at teams who’ve got young players who maybe haven’t popped yet and you could make that kind of a deal.”
He mentioned that the Nashville Predators or Minnesota Wild might be a good trading partner for the Blue Jackets.
Jiricek had the chance to play in 43 games last season and has played in six out of the Jacket’s 20 games this season, mostly being a healthy scratch. With the recent addition of Dante Fabbro the Blue Jackets increased their defensive depth. This gave Jiricek even less chance for NHL playing time so the move to the AHL seemed obvious.
As we discussed on last week’s episode of The Brew Jackets podcast, at 21 years old he is still a young player, and getting top-pair minutes may be better for his development than being scratched every other night. It’s possible that gaining some more confidence in the AHL could help him play his way back to the NHL. Last season he played 29 games for the Monsters and had seven goals and 12 assists. He’s already achieved one goal and one assist in two games for Cleveland since departing Columbus. He’s shown he can be a force at that level of hockey.
The move also gives the Blue Jackets plenty of time to make a deal. In October rumors circulated that another defenseman, Ivan Provoron, could also be on the move. TSN’s Pierre Lebrun said,
“Provorov is going to be in high demand closer to [the] March 7th trade deadline. My sense though, is that the Blue Jackets may not be ready at this point to deal him.”
Could this possibly lead to a package deal? The Blue Jackets could use another top-six player, and the two defensemen could help a struggling team by offering a veteran player who can step in immediately along with a prospective NHL defenseman for the future. Whatever the case, Blue Jacket’s General Manager Don Waddell will most likely wait until the right offer lands on his desk. There’s no rush to move anyone and trade values could rise toward the March 8 trade deadline.
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