With Olivier signed, Blue Jackets turn attention to trade deadline

As Blue Jackets president of hockey operations and general manager Don Waddell approaches his first NHL trade deadline as general manager of the Blue Jackets, he appears to be taking a piece of advice from the medical field.

First, do no harm.

The Blue Jackets are in the midst of an incredible run, posting an 18-8-3 record since Dec. 19 to tie for fourth in the NHL in wins and place fourth in points percentage during that span.

You can point to a number of reasons for the success – All-Star-level performances from Zach Werenski and Kirill Marchenko, the emergence of such youngsters as Kent Johnson, Dmitri Voronkov and Adam Fantilli, increased production out of veteran hand James van Riemsdyk, and steady play out of Elvis Merzlikins – but one of the biggest is team chemistry.

Bonded by factors both on and off the ice, it’s clear members of this Blue Jackets team feed off one another, so as Waddell looks at Friday’s 3 p.m. deadline, chemistry is one of the biggest things he has to take into account.

“The belief in our group and in that room and within us as teammates is really high, and it’s a special group to be a part of,” captain Boone Jenner said Tuesday. “We’ve battled for each other all year, and we’ll continue to do that. That’s what being a team is, and we definitely have that in our group. It’s fun to be a part of.”

The good news is Waddell recognizes that fact. While he wants to try to show faith in the Blue Jackets and what they've accomplished so far this season, he knows if he's going to make a deal, it has to be the right one.

“We want to bring in obviously the best players we can, but we also have to make sure we know their character and we know how they’re going to be in the locker room,” Waddell said Wednesday. “If I rip a guy out of this locker room right now that’s playing a role for us on this hockey club, I think that’s pretty devastating to our team. I think it’s the wrong message from my end. I think it’s the wrong message to the fans, the coaches and the players.”

Olivier Deal Adds Stability

To that end, Blue Jackets players were excited Wednesday to find out that negotiations with Mathieu Olivier yielded a six-year, $18 million contract extension for the pugnacious wing.

Olivier had been set to hit free agency this summer but has become an indispensable part of the team, scoring a career-high 12 goals, leading the NHL with 11 fighting majors and wearing an alternate captain’s “A” for much of the season after injuries to Jenner, forward Sean Monahan and defenseman Erik Gudbranson.

The Quebec native's direct, physical style on the ice, increased offensive output, leadership capabilities, and hard work and dedication all added up to make Waddell prioritize signing Olivier to a long-term extension.

“I wasn’t going to react initially with any of our free agents,” said Waddell, who is in his first season with the club. “I wanted to get to know these guys not only as players but as people. We want to make sure we have the right personnel here on and off the ice. As the season went on and I paid attention to how Mathieu operated, I got comfortable with getting to a point with calling his agent. We worked on this for a long time to get us to this point, so I’m very pleased to have it done.”

Olivier was all smiles Wednesday when talking about the contract extension, as he’s made no bones about wanting to stay with the Blue Jackets and see through what the team has started to build here.

He’s also accomplished his goal this season of bringing more than just physicality, as he’s one of just two players this season along with Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk with 10-plus goals and 70 or more penalty minutes.

“I think I’ve developed a lot of stuff around my identity as a hockey player,” he said. “Everyone knows I’m a physical guy that can stand up for my teammates, add hits and blocked shots, but I feel like the biggest growth I’ve had as a hockey player is developing everything else around that and trying to make myself as valuable to my team as I can.”

While Waddell was able to get Olivier to put pen to paper, he said he doesn’t anticipate any further signings of the team's unrestricted free agents-to-be before Friday’s deadline. Forwards Sean Kuraly, James van Riemsdyk and Justin Danforth as well as defensemen Ivan Provorov, Dante Fabbro and Jack Johnson are among the players in that mix, but as the general manager noted above, he doesn’t plan to move a player out for future assets given the team chemistry and success this season.

Instead, he’ll circle back with the UFAs-to-be in the offseason while keeping them on the roster to help the team’s playoff push.

“Instead of getting into negotiations sometimes where there’s not a good ending, I’ve told agents, let’s just wait to the end of the season,” Waddell said, “and if players want to stay here and we can find a compromise between salary and term, we will keep them.”

The Next 48 Hours

Indeed, a team that no one on the outside expected to be in playoff contention holds the first wild card spot with 21 games to go, leaving Waddell in a spot where not only does he plan to keep his UFAs-to-be, he’s looking to add as well.

The most likely place to do so is up front, where Waddell has said he'd like to bring in some more depth at the forward position. But considering just how bright the future of the organization is and how many young players are filling key roles, it'll have to be the right deal to get the general manager to act.

“If we’re in it and we can add pieces that we think are things that are going to help us continue down this path – I've said all along, we’re not in a position to trade first-round picks and trade top prospects for rental players,” Waddell said. “That’s just not where we are in this process. Saying that, if we can make our team better at the cost that we’re willing to pay, we’re willing to do that."

In the end, some of the biggest additions may come from injured reserve. Waddell said during the 4 Nations break that injuries to such players as Monahan and Marchenko may push him to be more active in seeking a forward on the market, but the team's situation has brightened since then.

Marchenko, Jenner and Yegor Chinakhov all have come off injured reserve since the break, while Monahan and Gudbranson are also working their way back. The Blue Jackets hope to stay healthy otherwise – the upper body injury to Cole Sillinger notwithstanding, as the young center hit injured reserve Tuesday – but the relative return to health could be the biggest boost that the team gets down the stretch.

“With the team that we have here currently, we’ve had a lot of injuries this year, so I think our biggest additions have been the guys coming back that are regulars in our lineup,” defenseman Damon Severson said. “I think we have more guys that are about to come back here in the next week to two weeks or three weeks. That’s part of the game.

“That’s the biggest thing I’ve realized this year is when you have so many guys that are key players that have been injured and you’re still going through and winning some hockey games, when they come back, that can only help.”