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Columbus Blue Jackets GM Kekalainen 'still working at it' after Gavrikov, Korpisalo deal
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- Columbus Blue Jackets GM Kekalainen 'still working at it' after Gavrikov, Korpisalo deal
BUFFALO, N.Y. ― When reports about a deal between the Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings surfaced on Tuesday night, Vladislav Gavrikov and Joonas Korpisalo sat next to each other.
Watching from the press box as their teammates upset the Buffalo Sabres , 5-3, at KeyBank Center, the two friends and Blue Jackets teammates learned at the same time they'd remain teammates with the Kings after a trade that was completed around 1 a.m. Wednesday.
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It was the final trade in a day that was filled with wheeling and dealing across the league, including an earlier Columbus trade sending injured forward Gustav Nyquist to the Minnesota Wild for a fifth-round draft pick.
"We'd been kind of thinking that way all along, that we don't want to scramble right at the deadline," Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. "We did that last year. I think we completed a trade with Carolina (for Max Domi ) 30 seconds before the deadline and we were all sweating bullets in the office, whether we were going to get it done or not, and we didn't want to go through the same experience again. So, get them done before, and well before, and then you don't have to scramble."
Jarmo Kekalainen, general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets, left, answers a question as John Davidson, president of hockey operations.
Columbus Blue Jackets might not be done trading
Kekalainen is likely to pull off a couple more deals after adding three draft picks to his stockpile plus veteran goalie Jonathan Quick as a possible trade asset in his first two.
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The return for Columbus in the Gavrikov/Korpisalo deal was a conditional first-round pick in this year's draft plus a 2024 third-round pick and Quick, who played in L.A. for 16 years and backstopped the Kings to the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014.
"We keep working at it and definitely with the picks that we have now, as assets, we're looking to make our team better, not just picking year after year," Kekalainen said. "Obviously, our (own) first pick (this year) is not going to be in play, but the (first) pick that we acquired (from L.A.) and some of the future picks that we have plenty of now will be in play."
The condition attached to the first-round pick acquired in the Gavrikov/Korpisalo deal is connected to the Kings making the playoffs, which appears to be a near certainty with a nine-point cushion and 20 games left. Should the Kings not qualify, they'd keep the first-round pick and the Blue Jackets would get L.A.'s second-round picks in 2023 and 2024 plus the Kings' 2024 third-round selection.
"It's a busy time and everybody's trying to figure out the present and the future," said Kekalainen, whose team is currently last in the league's standings. "Some teams are obviously in the playoffs and they're thinking about the 'now' much more than the teams that are on the outside looking in, and (those teams are) thinking about the future more than anything. There's been a lot of phone calls, not a lot of sleep and a lot of activity the last few days, and I expected that continue until the end."
The Blue Jackets traded goaltender Jonathan Quick to the Vegas Golden Knights Thursday.
What will the Columbus Blue Jackets do with Jonathan Quick?
According to Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli , Quick was shocked and upset about the deal, which was completed after the Kings won 6-5 Tuesday night in Winnipeg.
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Quick flew back to Los Angeles with the Kings after being informed of the trade and it's fair to wonder whether he'll even show up in Columbus.
Kekalainen said Wednesday that he informed Quick and the goalie's agent, George Bazos, that Columbus intends "to do the right thing," by seeking out potential deals for a Quick flip to a contender. If so, the Blue Jackets may have to eat a portion of the $5.8 million cap hit they agreed to fully take off the Kings' plate to complete the Gavrikov/Korpisalo trade.
"We'll stay in touch with him and we've still got plenty of time here," Kekalainen said. "We'll see what happens."
Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, right, recorded 15 goals and 58 assists in 256 career games with the Blue Jackets.
What's next for Gavrikov and Korpisalo with the Los Angeles Kings?
As for the completed trade between the Blue Jackets and Kings, it finally put an end to months of speculation about Gavrikov and Korpisalo . Both were on the market because they're pending unrestricted free agents.
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Gavrikov and the Blue Jackets were unable to agree on an extension, which Kekalainen said was mostly an issue with contract length, while Korpisalo signed only a one-year extension last summer after surgery to repair a hip labrum last spring .
There was also the matter of Elvis Merzlikins ' five-year contract with a $5.4 million charge against the salary cap and rookie Daniil Tarasov requiring waivers next season for assignment to the American Hockey League, which would likely result losing him to another team.
"Both of them are pending unrestricted free agents," Kekalainen said. "Where we are in our process and in the season right now, we felt that it was a necessary move for our future."
Korpisalo and Gavrikov will stiffen L.A.'s defensive zone as the Kings chug toward a second straight playoff appearance.
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Trading Quick means Korpisalo will take likely over the Kings' starting role in a rare mid-season goaltending flip the Finnish netminder earned with a strong rebound season in Columbus. Gavrikov, 27, is a proven stopper with good experience (256 games), size (6-3, 221) and willingness to block shots in bulk quantities.
Gavrikov is expected to test the open market in July and Korpisalo could also seek a new NHL home that way. Until then, both will be focused on helping a talented Kings team reach its full potential by making a long playoff run.
It's a position Kekalainen hopes the Blue Jackets return to soon in their rebuild.
"I like the approach," he said of teams like the Kings adding pieces. "That's the kind of approach I would have too, if we had a team in the playoff picture right now, and a team that we think has a legitimate chance of going far and contending for the Cup. I'd be 'all in.' We've done it before in 2019 and we're going to do it again once we get there. You do everything you can in a year when you feel like you have a chance to win the Cup. That's what we're all here for."
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets deal Korpisalo, Gavrikov to Kings
