With the Columbus Blue Jackets on the edge of the playoffs, GM Jarmo Kekalainen made four big deadline moves in an effort to get the team over the hump and into contention. Jarmo traded for Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel, Adam McQuaid, and Keith Kinkaid.
The team did not take off as hoped, instead squeaking into the playoffs as the eighth seed. There, they met the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round and swept the President’s Trophy winners in the first round for the first series win in franchise history.