The Columbus Blue Jackets have already made one sign-and-trade this offseason, acquiring Damon Severson from the New Jersey Devils and immediately signing him to an eight-year contract. While players set to be free agents in 2024 aren’t eligible to sign extensions until the first of July in a few short weeks, there is one option that would make a lot of sense for them to explore if they’re committed to winning as soon as possible. Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets wouldn’t be an easy player to land, but it would certainly solidify their center core and give them someone who is much closer to that elusive first-line center they’ve been looking for than anyone they currently have on the roster.
Does Scheifele Make Sense?
Looking at Scheifele on paper, there’s not much of a fit for the player at first. He’s a 30-year-old, who hasn’t had much success from a postseason standpoint to this point in his career. He’s likely in a win-now mindset, therefore signing long-term with a team that finished in the basement of the league in the 2022-23 season likely wouldn’t make the most sense. However, the pickups of the aforementioned Severson and Ivan Provorov will undoubtedly improve the blue line, and adding Scheifele to the mix would fill the remaining void on the roster, a top-line center.
Adding a top center and two top-four defensemen will be a major step in the right direction, but injuries also can’t be ignored during this past season. Some of the team’s biggest improvements will come from within, with the return of Zach Werenski for example. While there may not be many different names on the roster, although it’s unlikely Jarmo Kekalainen is even close to finished making moves; the few names they do bring in will ultimately be major difference makers while complementing the returning players.
A key to the sign and trade will undoubtedly be term, a player of Scheifele’s stature will likely be looking for as long of a contract as possible, so the seven or eight-year range. Considering that will nearly take him to retirement, a term like that can be painful for the last two or three seasons. If Kekalainen truly feels that his window to win is within the next five years, as the Severson signing implies; then it’s certainly worth bringing the center into the fold. Even with that being said, if they truly believe that their third overall pick this year, whoever that may be, will be a future first-line center, then Scheifele will be able to settle into a second-line role as he continues to age toward the end of the deal.
The Cost of Scheifele
Trading for Scheifele will certainly be much more expensive than Severson was, for one significant reason. He still has one more year on his contract before he becomes an unrestricted free agent, as a result, Winnipeg doesn’t need to rush to move him. Severson on the other hand had essentially zero value since he’d hit the open market in less than a month. Kevin Cheveldayoff will have some pressure to move him though, considering he also has to figure out what to do with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Connor Hellebuyck.
According to Murat Ates of The Athletic, the Jets don’t want futures to be the focal point of a trade. They want pieces that can help them continue to make the playoffs, which Columbus may be able to oblige (from ‘What we’re hearing about Pierre-Luc Dubois, Connor Hellebuyck, Blake Wheeler and the Winnipeg Jets’ future,’ The Athletic, June 15th, 2023). The question then becomes if Winnipeg would prefer younger pieces that they can build around for the next generation of their organizations, or if they’re looking to bring in more veteran help who can keep them as competitive as possible in the next few seasons. Someone like Adam Boqvist or Andrew Peeke may be appealing to them, as it gives them long-term team control in a market that isn’t historically appealing to free agents.
If they’re looking for a forward, it wouldn’t surprise me if Cole Sillinger would be available in a trade like this. There wouldn’t be much room for him on the Columbus depth chart in the long run, and the Blue Jackets get the type of player they’d ideally want him to turn into down the road.
Related: Insider Says Blue Jackets’ Peeke Generating Trade Interest
Financially the contract likely won’t be in the same range as Johnny Gaudreau’s contract, however, based on the current market it would likely be in the $8-9 million range. It would put the contract in the same ballpark as players such as Bo Horvat, Dylan Larkin, and Roope Hintz who have recently signed extensions.
While this may not be ideal for the Blue Jackets, especially a few years down the line; if you’re going to get a top center then you’re going to have to spend a lot of money. This isn’t much of a pay raise though, which will make it more palatable as Scheifele’s currently on the books for $6.125 million. Some gymnastics will be required to make the salary work in the long run, but it seems like it would definitely be worth it to bring in a high-caliber player. He is only a single season removed from a point-per-game pace and with the puzzle starting to take shape, he could certainly be one of the final pieces needed to make the Blue Jackets a playoff team once again. A core of Scheifele, Johnny Gaudreau, Patrik Laine and Zach Werenski seems as if it should almost certainly be in playoff contention for the foreseeable future.
