Columbus Blue Jackets Add Another Heavy-Hitter to the Blueline with Damon Severson

It's been a week of money moves for the Columbus Blue Jackets as they try to improve after a painful 2022-23 NHL Season. This week they'd already extended Jake Christiansen and traded with the Philidelphia Flyers to gain Ivan Provorov, flipping a 2023 First-Round Pick they got in the Korpisalo/Gavrikhov trade in March. Now, they've flipped yet another 2023 Pick (this time from Round Three)) to gain yet another defenseman with an incredible backstory. 

His name is Damon Severson, and the fact he is now a Blue Jacket for the low price of a Third-Round Pick is stunning to me. At age 28, he's already played in the league for 9 seasons with his former Detroit Red Wings. This past season he played in 81 of 82 games regular season games, scoring 7 goals and 26 assists for 33 total points. In addition, the Red Wings made it to Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, and he played a large part in his team making it past the New York Rangers; a favorite by many to go further than Round One for sure! They would be knocked out themselves quickly by the Hurricanes, winning just 1 game in that series. Still, a good showing by the full team, and Severson, which is why many were curious where he'd go this off-season. Now, before the Stanley Cup has been given, we already know this defensive fireball is wearing our Jersey. Better yet, this isn't a short engagement, either. Over his contracted 8-year stay with us in Columbus, he'll net an ice-cold $50 Million. 

Now, this doesn't take up all of our cap space, but you do have to wonder if anyone will be on their way out due to this week's mega moves. The good news is that we have players in the pipeline who will likely stay there for another season. If some come over, they'll likely have two-way deals, meaning we'd split that contract cost with our AHL Cleveland Monsters, but have them at our disposal if injuries arise. With all of that said, the organization leaders made it clear they'd improve this team during the 2023 Off-Season, and it's fun to see them holding up to that promise early.  It is important to note, though, that we have many more players than we need. The end result; this is just the beginning of both the Off-Season and changes ahead, I'm sure! 

Welcome to Columbus, Severson!     

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