Blue Jackets to seek first-round pick for D Provorov
Published
Plenty of time remains before the March 7 trade deadline, but it appears interest is already building in Columbus Blue Jackets defenceman Ivan Provorov.
TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reports the Blue Jackets will be looking for a first-round pick back for Provorov, once the team decides they are ready to deal him.
"Ivan Provorov figures to be the No. 1 rental defenceman traded before March 7," LeBrun explained on Insider Trading. "But the Columbus Blue Jackets are calling the several teams that have reached out or telling them they're not ready to deal with him quite yet.
"And there's an understandable sensitivity to the Jackets wanting to give their group as long a leash as possible to remain competitive. But the business of the game will take over at some point here. They're not going to make the playoffs.
"They have to manage their assets ahead of March 7. They will most likely deal Provorov.
"The asking price will be a first-round pick, which is obviously pretty rich. Now, last year, Sean Walker and Noah Hanifin did indeed fetch a first-round pick as rental defenceman at the deadline. Chris Tanev did not, although some of that (is because) Calgary just preferred the package they got from Dallas. So, we'll see if [Blue Jackets general manager] Don Waddell can get that. But [Provorov] will be a name we'll be talking about a lot."
Provorov is in his second season with the Blue Jackets after being in the summer of 2023 from the Philadelphia Flyers. He is a pending unrestricted free agent carrying a cap hit of $4.725 million after the Los Angeles Kings retained just over $2 million of his $6.75 million salary in the three-way trade that landed him in Columbus.
The 27-year-old blueliner has one goal and six points in 19 games this season while averaging 23:50 of ice time, second-highest on the team behind Zach Werenski (25:45).
Provorov was selected seventh overall by the Flyers in the 2015 draft. He has 71 goals and 255 points in 633 career games with Philadelphia and Columbus.
The Blue Jackets sit sixth in the Metropolitan Division this season with an 8-9-2 record. The team has not made the playoffs since 2020.