By @CLulovics
With February in the books the Columbus Blue Jackets are all but out of the playoff race. The month of February went like the rest of the season for the Jackets with players coming off and going on the IR list. Sergei Bobrovsky who was selected for the All Star game was placed on the IR with a groin strain but has since been activated on February 28th. Boone Jenner is still out due to back problems but is skating lightly. The team lost Brandon Dubinsky and Matt Calvert both to concussions during the last week of the month. The Blue Jackets have lost a league high of over 400 man games due to injuries.
The trade deadline was March 2nd and some teams were buyers hoping to get players to help them either make the playoffs or help them go deep into the playoffs with hope of winning the Stanley Cup Finals. Some other teams not in the race will be sellers with hoping to pick up young prospects or draft picks which will help rebuilding for the future. The Jackets did make a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs trading Nathan Horton who hasn't played a game in 2 years due to back problems for David Clarkson. Not only did the Jackets get a player who has the grit the Jackets are looking for but also got a player who unlike Horton, isn't injured. Horton did sign here and wanted to be a part of the rebuilding phase but unfortunately things just didn't work out with the back problems but hopefully he can recover and play hockey again.
During the trade deadline multiple teams did make moves either helping them make or go deep into the playoffs while other teams like Buffalo unloaded players for draft picks or young prospects. The Blue Jackets did make a couple trades though but basically stood their ground neither unloading a bunch of players or acquiring "rental" players with hope of making the playoffs this year. In a deal with the Minnesota Wild, the Jackets traded defenseman Jordan Leopold for defenseman Justin Falk and a 2015 5th round pick. Also in a trade involving defenseman James Wisniewski along with a 3rd round pick which was from Detroit for forward Rene Bourque, forward William Karlsson and a 2015 2nd round pick.
Also on Monday March 2nd the Blue Jackets and forward Cam Atkinson agreed to terms on a new 3 year deal worth in the neighborhood of 10 million according to reports.
While the year didn't go according to plan with all the injuries at the start of the season and continuing thoughout the whole year, this team is still on the rise and I have faith in the organization that they have a plan and will become a playoff contender next year unless they go on a hot streak like they have the past couple of years.
As always We Are The 5th Line, Carry The Flag and Let's Go JACKETS!!!!!!!!!!!!
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