Blue Jackets shore up forward depth in trade with Sharks

Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell made it clear he would be looking to add, not subtract ahead of the NHL trade deadline — and he stayed true to his word with less than an hour to go.

The Jackets have acquired forward Luke Kunin from the San Jose Sharks ahead of the stretch run, as first reported by The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun and confirmed by Waddell shortly after. In return, the Sharks are receiving a 2025 fourth-round draft pick.

“Luke is a versatile forward who can play down the middle or on the wing, kills penalties and has tremendous character and work ethic,” Waddell said in the official release. “He has been a very consistent player throughout his career, and we think he’ll be a good addition to our club.”

Kunin was held out of San Jose’s lineup on Thursday night against the Colorado Avalanche, so it’s entirely unsurprising that he was dealt ahead of the 3 p.m. ET deadline.

The 27-year-old has struggled as the Sharks’ third-line center, managing just 18 points in 77 games last year and currently at 18 in 63 in 2024-25.

A former 15th overall pick by the Minnesota Wild in the 2016 NHL Draft, Kunin broke out with the team in 2019-20, amassing 31 points in 63 games. He was traded to the Nashville Predators in 2020 and spent two seasons in Tennessee before joining the Sharks.

Over 422 career games split between the Sharks, Predators and Wild, Kunin has managed 73 goals and 142 points, along with 378 penalty minutes and 695 shots on goal. He’s averaged 14:58 of ice time per game throughout his career.

Signed to a one-year, $2.75 million contract before the season started, Kunin will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Waddell said he wanted to add a depth forward, and that’s exactly what he did ahead of the deadline. It’ll be interesting to see if Kunin can have better fortune in Ohio than he did in California over the last few seasons.

The Blue Jackets currently occupy the top wildcard berth in the Eastern Conference with 20 games left in their regular-season.