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Blue Jackets send Max Domi to Carolina Hurricanes in last-minute deal
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- Blue Jackets send Max Domi to Carolina Hurricanes in last-minute deal
It went right to the end.
Just as it looked like the Blue Jackets might not pull off a single deal before the NHL's trade deadline arrived at 3 p.m. Monday, they reached a three-way trade that used the Florida Panthers to send forward Max Domi to the Carolina Hurricanes .
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Domi was the centerpiece of a multi-faceted deal that included multiple prospects changing teams, the Blue Jackets' sixth-round pick in this year's draft going to the Panthers — a pick they acquired last season for Riley Nash — and retained salary on Domi's contract by the both Columbus and Florida.
"Sometimes things take a little longer, sometimes they get done sooner," Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said, referring to the trade remaining unofficial for three-plus hours after all three teams agreed to their parts of it. "This one took right to the wire. The main thing is, we got it done."
The Blue Jackets are keeping 50% of Domi's $5.3 million cap hit, while the Hurricanes and Panthers will split the other half evenly. That's the reason Columbus sent the sixth-round pick to Florida along with Domi for University of Wisconsin defenseman prospect Tyler Inamoto and then flipped Inamoto to Carolina for the rights to defenseman Aidan Hreschuk — a Boston College freshman.
Carolina also sent 25-year old forward prospect Yegor Korshkov, a former second-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs (2016) to the Panthers to complete the deal.
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Hreschuk, from Long Beach, California, is a 5-foot-11 freshman at Boston College and was selected by the Hurricanes in the third round of last year's draft. He had one goal, seven assists and eight points in 37 games as an undersized puck-mover who should fit in well with the Blue Jackets' growing stable of undersized puck-movers.
Domi, 27, is a pending free agent acquired by Columbus on Oct. 6, 2020.
The Blue Jackets sent power Josh Anderson to the Montreal Canadiens , who then signed the speedy power forward to a five-year contract extension that began this season.
Domi struggled in his first season with Columbus, clashing with former coach John Tortorella at times, and his performance was also inconsistent this year. He has shown flashes of high-end offensive skill, which led to a career-high 72 points in 2018-19 with the Canadiens, but Domi has also bounced around the Jackets' lineup under new coach Brad Larsen.
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Domi was viewed as a second-line center when Kekalainen acquired him, but his time at center ice was short-lived. Tortorella moved him to the wing early last year and Domi didn't move back to the middle until the final few weeks.
He hasn't played center for Larsen at all.
"Injuries at the start of the year (didn't help), but for the most part I haven't really had a consistent role," Domi said last week. "When you talk about opportunity, it's been pretty scarce for the most part, but it is what it is."
Domi also had an odd summer leading into this season.
After undergoing offseason shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum, the Blue Jackets opted not to protect him in the NHL's expansion draft for the Seattle Kraken . The Kraken then passed on Domi for journeyman defenseman Gavin Bayreuther , who didn't sign with Seattle and re-signed with Columbus.
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It was extra incentive for Domi, who was selected 12th overall by the Arizona Coyotes in 2013 and centered the Canadiens' top line as recently as 2018-19. He returned from the shoulder surgery a month early, looking like a man on a mission, but a fractured rib in the second game plus a COVID-19 infection that followed were hurdles that slowed Domi's production.
He eventually got back on track, but never fully to the point that Kekalainen and the front office envisioned. Judging by the Hurricanes' current forward lines, Domi is likely to slot into fourth line at left wing, playing with center Jesperi Kotkniemi and Derek Stepan .
Carolina is atop the Metropolitan Division and hopes to make a deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Blue Jackets are all but mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, but are gearing up for the future as one of the NHL's top teams post-All-Star break.
"Sometimes you make good trades, sometimes you make not-as-good trades," Kekalainen said. "That happens in the league a lot. We got a good player for two years and Max Domi's a proven player in this league. He had some very good nights for us. It was a good player for us. We wish him nothing but the best, but I'm not gonna start grading our own trades."
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Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner still week-to-week
Boone Jenner has missed four games and remains out "week-to-week" with a lower back injury. Only 19 games remain for the Jackets and their captain hasn't been ruled out for a return before the season ends.
""I can say that's not what I've been told," Larsen said, when asked if Jenner might miss the rest of the season. "He's making progress, but it's week-to-week. I think there's a real good chance that he could be back at some point."
Blue Jackets only use cap space for Domi trade
Kekalainen had roughly $10.8 million in salary-cap room that could've been used to broker a deal between other teams, the same way he leaned on third teams last year in deals for David Savard and Nick Foligno, but the GM didn't sign off on any.
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"We could've brokered a deal with our cap space if the offer was right," Kekalainen said. "Obviously, we have plenty of cap space, but there's a certain monetary value that we put on picks. That has to be met as well. It has to be worth our while with the pick that we would be getting for not only the cap space, but the cash amount that we'd be taking."
Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins out 'for a little bit'
After leaving the net early in the third period Saturday against the St. Louis Blues, goalie Elvis Merzlikins did not participate in Monday's practice.
Merzlikins left when "something tightened up on him," according to Larsen. The issue is an upper-body injury that has something to do with his back.
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The goalies for practice were Joonas Korpisalo, a pending free agent, and Jean-Francois Berube, an emergency recall from the Cleveland Monsters on Sunday.
"Elvis is injured right now and he's out for a little bit," said Kekalainen, who didn't complete a trade for Korpisalo. "We have J-F Berube here and Korpisalo, so we should be in good hands and have two healthy goalies for (Tuesday's) game (in Pittsburgh).
Adam Boqvist practices again with Blue Jackets, not ready to return
After dealing with multiple injuries, defenseman Adam Boqvist is being treated with extra caution in his return from the latest one – an upper-body injury believed to be a concussion.
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Boqvist has joined the past few full-team practices, but he'll remain "day-to-day" for a while longer.
"He's feeling better," Larsen said. "But we're going to take it slow with him – just bring him along, get some practices in there, as well, and see how he feels."
bhedger@dispatch.com
@BrianHedger
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets: Max Domi traded to Carolina Hurricanes
