The Columbus Blue Jackets suffered through one of the most painful, frustrating seasons any NHL team has ever faced. The team lost a franchise-record 413 man-games to injury in March, with about six weeks left to go in the season. By the merciful end of the year, the team had lost a total of 502 man-games, a figure which paced the league.
In short, you'll forgive the Blue Jackets if they're ready to forget about last season and move on and, more importantly, find a way or several ways to right the infuriating and dumbfounding lack of luck they were forced to endure in the 2014-15 season.
To that end, Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen has a man on a mission since the season ended - he's acquired Brandon Saad, added Gregory Campbell and built a forward corps perhaps deeper than any other team in the NHL. But don't for a second think he's forgotten about the blueline.
"The Blue Jackets were in on trade talks concerning Dougie Hamilton before Boston sent him to Calgary, and they've contacted the St. Louis Blues about Kevin Shattenkirk. The Jackets also made a contract offer to free agent Paul Martin before he signed with San Jose," reports Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch.
As Portzline notes, Hamilton was dealt to the Flames for three early picks in the 2015 NHL Draft, a haul which was widely panned. A recent report suggested that Bruins GM Don Sweeney felt "trapped" because he knew an offer sheet was coming for Hamilton, likely from the Edmonton Oilers and former Boston GM Peter Chiarelli, that the cap space-strapped B's simply wouldn't be able to match. In the end, Hamilton wound up being dealt for peanuts compared to the player he appeared to be last year and is likely to become.
Adding him to a Blue Jackets group led by a player most consider highly overrated, Jack Johnson, would certainly have been a coup for Kekalainen. Of course, the Jackets have a similar player and a potential star-in-the-making of their own in David Savard - the 24-year-old Savard broke out for 11 goals and 25 assists last season - but considering the recent trends of the NHL, having more than one offensively-minded defenseman certainly isn't a bad thing.
Shattenkirk, another elite-skating blueliner, would have also represented an offensive upgrade on the Blue Jackets backend. It hasn't been confirmed as to whether Blues GM Doug Armstrong has actually made him available or not, but talk has persisted since the draft that Shattenkirk could potentially be had for the right price as Armstrong looks to shake up the core of his underachieving team.
In the end, while Kekalainen didn't pull the trigger on either trade or land Martin, Jackets fans will be happy to know he hasn't given up on his pursuit of further defensive help.
"Kekalainen said he will keep looking and 'won't rush the process just to add a body,' but he still believes the current blue-line group is good enough to win, especially if Ryan Murray - who played only 12 games last season - can stay healthy," writes Portzline.
