Winnipeg Jets forward Jack Roslovic is officially on the trade block. What would a trade to the Columbus Blue Jackets for him look like?
In General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff’s December 29, 2020 news conference, he confirmed that Winnipeg Jets forward Jack Roslovic will likely not be reporting to training camp. Subsequently, reports came out indicating that Roslovic has requested a trade from the Jets.
Given the likelihood that we have seen the last of Roslovic in a Jets jersey, it’s time to come up with potential trades for the promising young forward.
Here is the potential trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets:
Why This Deal Makes Sense for Columbus
Columbus is an obvious potential trade partner for the Jets as general manager Jarmo Kekalainen would love to have a Columbus born player on the team. Roslovic could slot into the Blue Jackets top six forwards immediately playing with either Max Domi or Pierre-Luc Dubois, as he has more offensive upside than all the current wingers other than Cam Atkinson.
Jarmo Kekalainen would be familiar with Finnish defenseman Sami Niku. Although Niku would have a tough time even making the bottom pair defense for the Blue Jackets, he would provide the team with defense depth.
Why This Deal Makes Sense for the Jets
I know this trade does not fill the obvious gap on second pair left defense, but I believe the Jets are going to have a hard time getting a top four defenseman in return for Roslovic and should look at obtaining young talent in return.
Liam Foudy is a 6-foot-1, 190-pound center who was selected 18th overall in the 2018 NHL entry draft. Foudy was one of Canada’s best players at the 2019 World Junior Hockey Championships and played two NHL games last season with the Blue Jackets and did not look out of place. He projects to be a very good NHL player, possibly a second line center level.
Andrew Peeke is a 6-foot-3 right shooting defenseman who split last season between the AHL and NHL, playing 22 games with the Blue Jackets. While Peeke does not have a lot of offensive upside, he did show that he could physically play at the NHL level. Peeke could make the Jets bottom defense pair this season and provides depth with the pending expansion draft and with Tucker Poolman becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2022.
Winnipeg Jets Fans: What do you think about this proposed trade to Columbus? Leave your comments below!