The Columbus Blue Jackets finally found a taker for defenceman James Wisniewski, trading him at the last minute to the Anaheim Ducks for Rene Bourque, William Karlsson and a 2nd Round Pick.
#CBJ James Wisniewski and a third-round pick to Anaheim for a second-round pick, William Karlsson and Rene Bourque.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) March 2, 2015
Wisniewski, 30, was originally reported to have given a 10 team trade list that made it difficult for the Columbus Blue Jackets to trade him. Wisniewski has two more years left on a deal that will have a cap hit of $5.5 million dollars. The offensive defenceman has 29 points in 56 games with the struggling Blue Jackets.
Another former Montreal Canadien, Rene Bourque comes back in the deal. Bourque was traded earlier in the season for Bryan Allen and comes with one more season of a $3.5M cap hit, despite the year only costing $2.5 million for the Blue Jackets should they keep him up in the NHL. Bourque, 32, went on a scoring tear in the playoffs last year with 11 points in 17 games. This season he has only been able to muster 10 points in 43 games. He won’t get a chance to repeat his performance in Columbus.
Karlsson was a 2nd round pick in 2011 for the Anaheim Ducks. The 6” forward has been spending time in Norfolk and could find ice time next year with the Blue Jackets.
Keep your eyes posted to the Last Word On Sports Hockey Team as we will be posting full details and analysis of all trades of the 3:00 PM EST NHL Trade Deadline.
Photo by Mel of Flickr
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