General manager Don Waddell of the Columbus Blue Jackets (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
After the loss of their teammate—and Johnny Gaudreau’s brother—Matthew Gaudreau in a tragic accident just before this past season, the Columbus Blue Jackets went on a Cinderella run down the stretch and narrowly missed the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
With the NHL trade market already in a fluid state as the 2025 NHL Entry Draft kicks off in Los Angeles on Friday, an NHL executive source told RG to beware of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“I’m telling you right now, everybody loves talking about Utah as that team ready to make a splash with another big trade, but the Blue Jackets are in on a lot of potentially big things right now,” the source said Thursday morning—less than 12 hours after the Mammoth acquired JJ Peterka from the Buffalo Sabres.
“People are sleeping on Don Waddell. He’s looking to make some impact moves and take his team to the next level.
People forget how close this team was to the playoffs in April, and they’re not looking at this as an anomaly.”
Another source confirmed a report by RG senior reporter Marco D’Amico that the Blue Jackets were among the teams pursuing Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson, whom Flames general manager Craig Conroy is now entertaining offers for.
“The Blue Jackets have been in on him for a while now,” the source told RG. “That goes back to the trade deadline. He’s one of a few guys I know Don is following up on.”
D’Amico later reported that the Blue Jackets, along with the Montreal Canadiens, were pushing to acquire New York Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson.
Trade Chips, Draft Picks and Goalie Targets in Play
The Blue Jackets hold the 14th and 20th overall picks, along with selections at 77th (third round), 109th (fourth), 160th (fifth), 173rd (sixth), and 205th and 218th overall (seventh round).
On Friday, Waddell confirmed in his pre-draft press conference that he has been actively pursuing multiple trade avenues.
“We’ve had lots of discussions the last few weeks with a lot of teams,” Waddell told the media Thursday. “There’s certainly some teams that don’t even have first-round picks that are waiting to see what might be available, and they’ll start with 10, 11, 12 and work their way through.”
Waddell also emphasized that, as an NHL executive told RG on Wednesday, a rising salary cap and a fluid draft have created a clogged market full of buyers.
“We’ll make our hockey club better for today, but we’ve also got to guard the future, too,” Waddell said. “So, if we end up keeping both (first-round) picks and picking them, then we’ll get players for the future. I’m still pretty confident there’s something that’s going to break here before the draft, and if it happens, great. If it doesn’t, we’ll move forward.”
Later Friday, the Blue Jackets made two trades: they dealt backup goalie Daniil Tarasov to the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers for a 2025 fifth-round pick (160th overall), and acquired forward Brendan Gaunce from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for forward Cameron Butler.
Silovs recently backstopped the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks to the Calder Cup Playoffs and won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as MVP of the postseason. The 24-year-old Latvian netminder started every playoff game for Abbotsford, finishing with a .931 save percentage and five shutouts—one shy of the all-time single-playoff record. Three of those came in series-clinching games.
“He’s got the trade arsenal to get an impact goalie if he can find one,” the source said.
James Murphy
