A trade may not be imminent, but the Blue Jackets and their former first-round draft pick appear headed that way.

NHL insiders are saying a David Jiricek trade could happen soon, but the Blue Jackets are also content to stand pat.

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman David Jiricek has been the subject of trade rumors the entire season, and the San Jose Sharks might take a swing for the former sixth-overall pick.

According to MoneyPuck, the Wild are controlling play with a 65.7 percent expected goal rate with his shutdown pair with Jonas Brodin and have only allowed 1.37 expected goals per 60 minutes with Brodin and Spurgeon on the ice. That’s third best in the NHL (minimum 90 minutes).

Yet, we haven’t had a real trade of significance to this point. That is likely to soon change as it seems to be a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’ the Blue Jackets move defenseman David Jiricek. Sources indicated Columbus has engaged with as many as five or six teams,

The Blue Jackets have made an interesting move regarding defenseman David Jiricek as trade rumors swirl around him.

We’re talking about members of Flyers Twitter scrambling to their keyboards in unison to explain why the Flyers NEED to trade for Player X, who either just became available or has appeared in at least one NHL trade rumor.

Jim Montgomery’s tenure in St. Louis kicked off with a bang, as the Blues delivered a dominant 5-2 victory over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.