Blue Jackets running out of time to make decision on Ivan Provorov

The Columbus Blue Jackets are running out of time to make an Ivan Provorov decision

Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic: The Columbus Blue Jackets and pending UFA defenseman Ivan Provorov exchanged contract offers back in January. They weren’t close and don’t get the sense that they circled back.

The Blue Jackets are in the playoff race but can they really allow Provorov to leave on July 1st for nothing? They’ve got the next few games to decide how legit they think they are and also wade through contract offers that will likely come in. Could they pass up an offer that has a first-round pick included?

Will the Chicago Blackhawks retain salary on Seth Jones, and looking at some trade tiers?

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet: The Chicago Blackhawks aren’t looking for futures in any Seth Jones trade.

Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic: A few teams view Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones as a second-pairing guy right now, and that isn’t what you want to pay $9.5 million for. With five years left, would have to think they’ll need to retain salary to move his contract.

If you get to $6, $6.5 million, there definitely would be more interest. That would be for a lot of years and may not interest the Blackhawks, but it would get them better offers.

Jones would like his hometown Dallas Stars, and the Florida Panthers might have an interest with pending UFA Aaron Ekblad.

Scott Powers, Mark Lazerus, and Chris Johnston of The Athletic: League sources say that a Seth Jones trade seems unlikely to happen anytime soon, it is being explored. Five years left at $9.5 million is the biggest challenge.

Another concern for the Chicago Blackhawks is getting to the salary floor. Currently, with Jones’ contract they have around $36 million in projected salary cap space. They could be looking to add a top-tier forward, but can they land one?

Seth Jones trade tiers

Possibly – Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes (Brent Burns and Dmitry Orlov are UFAs), Detroit Red Wings, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Winnipeg Jets.

Maybe – Columbus Blue Jackets, Utah Hockey Club, and the Vegas Golden Knights.

Unlikely – Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senatorsm Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, and Washington Capitals.