In an extremely crowded Eastern Conference playoff picture, no club has been a bigger surprise to potentially make it in than the Columbus Blue Jackets.
That makes the job for the New York Rangers, who are in the midst of that scrum for a playoff berth, that much harder — and the Jackets could cause the Blueshirts’ task to become all the more difficult if they’re able to pull off a possible blockbuster trade.
The Blue Jackets (25-19-7) climbed into the second wild-card spot with an impressive 2-1 overtime victory on the road against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday. Columbus has won two in a row and is 7-2-1 in its last 10 to pull even in points with the Tampa Bay Lightning, who hold the top wild-card berth.
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Young talent has lifted Blue Jackets into thick of playoff race
The start of the Jackets’ season was shrouded in tragedy after the death of star forward Johnny Gaudreau in August. The Blue Jackets have since risen on the strength of a career season from defenseman Zach Werenski and breakout campaigns from 20-something forwards Kirill Marchenko, Dmitri Voronkov, Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson.
This ascending group might get a significant boost in the five weeks or so leading up to the March 7 trade deadline. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported this week that Columbus has held talks with the Vancouver Canucks regarding a deal for star center Elias Pettersson, who could be moved amidst a reported rift with teammate J.T. Miller that’s causing team-wide strife.
The Canucks finished with 109 points in 2023-24, but they’re 23-17-10 this season and in a battle for a playoff spot — though they’ve won three straight to move within a point of the second Western Conference wild-card berth. They’re also two points behind the sinking Los Angeles Kings for the third playoff spot in the Pacific Division.
“A team to talk about is the Columbus Blue Jackets, and it’s not surprising because they have massive salary-cap space,” LeBrun said. “So as the Canucks make their rounds talking to teams on both J.T. Miller and Pettersson; the conversation with the Blue Jackets is on Pettersson.
“We’ll see if preliminary discussions, which have begun very recently, can go to the next level.”
The 26-year-old Pettersson piled up 191 points over the previous two seasons — most on the team — but his production has sagged this season, with 11 goals and 21 assists for 32 points in 44 games. The reasons for it aren’t certain, though Miller’s usually high point-producing ways have also taken a hit in 2024-25. This suggests the acrimony that has built up around the team and fueled a media circus might be at least partially to blame.
Could a change of scenery for Pettersson allow him to rediscover his point-per-game form? If the Canucks decide to move him, Columbus is one of the few contending teams that could make a deal work. Pettersson’s monster contract runs through 2031-32 with an annual salary-cap hit of $11.6 million — sixth-highest in the NHL.
The Blue Jackets could absorb it, according to Puckpedia. At $18.7 million, they have the most cap space in the league, and they’ll possess an absurd $85.7 million or so of space at the deadline. With an outstanding balance sheet, Columbus can make Pettersson’s pact work this season and beyond, should they want to gamble on installing him as the centerpiece of their offense into the future. With so many young assets and an extra first-round draft pick this year, Columbus should have plenty of trade capital to satisfy Vancouver.
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Rangers might have to move fast for Miller as Pettersson rumors heat up
The Rangers and Blue Jackets represent perhaps the two most surprising teams in the NHL in 2024-25 — for opposite reasons. The Blueshirts’ often-nightmarish season has caused them to drop from Presidents’ Trophy winners in 2023-24 to a team that’s struggling to keep pace in the playoff race.
That’s helped open the door for the Blue Jackets, a team that nobody predicted would end a four-year playoff drought this season, to make a run at the postseason. Consequently, the Rangers are surely rooting against the Jackets and Canucks consummating a deal. With Pettersson, Columbus would be a significantly fortified team that the Rangers would have to pass to reach a wild-card spot. They visit the Blue Jackets on Feb. 8 in what will be a crucial matchup.
Additionally, Pettersson being traded to the Rangers’ Metropolitan Division rivals would complicate the Blueshirts’ ongoing pursuit of Miller. Maybe the Canucks have their eyes on moving out both players, but doing away with two star centers — among the NHL’s most valuable commodities — would signal at least a partial rebuild, something Vancouver’s management has generally been loathe to undertake.
Does that mean the Rangers need to beat the Blue Jackets to the trade punch and make a deal for Miller before Columbus can potentially pry Pettersson away? It’s very possible, and the odds of it happening are perhaps stacked against the Blueshirts. Pettersson doesn’t gain no-move protection until July 1, so he can be sent anywhere. Miller possesses a full no-move clause, though it seems as if he’d waive it for a trade to New York.
Just the rumor or speculation of Pettersson being traded robs the Rangers of some leverage in negotiations. Miller has full control over where he goes — he could steer himself to the Blueshirts, his first NHL team — and the urgency for the Canucks to move beyond the toxic situation in their dressing room increases as the season progresses. If Pettersson goes before a deal for Miller is completed, though, Vancouver at the very least will have lessened the pressure to move Miller expediently, if at all — and as such, likely could demand much more in return.
Pettersson being sent to Columbus would represent a double-whammy for the Rangers. It’s also far from a certainty that it will happen. The Buffalo Sabres are thought to be in the mix for Pettersson as well, and they could also theoretically make the money work with some contracts going back the other way. They also possess plenty of draft picks to help get a deal done.
Vancouver also may be more inclined to build its future around Pettersson, who’s nearly six years younger than Miller — a player known to have a high-intensity but grating personality. Pettersson’s production declined sharply when Miller returned in mid-December after missing a month due to a leave of absence. The Canucks no doubt took note.
The Rangers, though, have no choice but to prepare for a potential Pettersson trade — and act accordingly. The Canucks appear all but certain to make a big move with one of their top centers before the NHL Trade Deadline on March 7. If the Blueshirts want Miller — and want to possibly prevent the Blue Jackets from becoming an even tougher opponent — they might have act fast.
