'Virtually no chance' Blue Jackets trade pending UFA Olivier
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It appears Columbus Blue Jackets forward Mathieu Olivier will not be joining the TSN Trade Bait board ahead of the deadline next week.
TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports the Blue Jackets are engaged in ongoing contract talks with the pending unrestricted free agent.
"Virtually no chance he’s traded," Dreger wrote on X. "Big part of the Jackets team."
Olivier, 28, has 11 goals and 20 points in 59 games this season while amassing 99 penalty minutes. He carries a cap hit of $1.1 million on his expiring two-year deal signed with Columbus in 2023.
Undrafted to begin his NHL career, Olivier has 24 goals and 54 points in 227 games with the Nashville Predators and Blue Jackets.
The Blue Jackets picked up a 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday to build a four-point cushion on keeping a wild-card spot.
While Olivier appears set to stay, the Blue Jackets still face a key decision on fellow pending UFA Ivan Provorov. The 28-year-old blueliner has seven goals and 27 points in 59 games this season while sitting second on the team in average ice time at 23:36 per game.
Provorov carries a cap hit of $4.725 million, with the Los Angeles Kings retaining the other $2.025 million of his $6.75 million salary in the trade that sent him from the Philadelphia Flyers to Columbus.