Blue Jackets Acquire Damon Severson Via Sign And Trade
The Columbus Blue Jackets are not messing around. The hire of Mike Babcock indicated that Columbus was still trying to win. Now they have been more aggressive than anyone this offseason trying to improve their club. This is now the second trade for a high salaried defenseman the CBJ will pick up before the end of the Stanley Cup Finals. Damon Severson is heading to Columbus.
Damon Severson and NJ are working on a sign and trade to Columbus. 8x$6.25M
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 9, 2023
PuckPedia has the details of Severson’s max-term contract:
2023-24: $6MM salary, $2MM signing bonus, full no-trade clause
2024-25: $6MM salary, $2MM signing bonus, full no-trade clause
2025-26: $5.5MM salary, $2MM signing bonus, full no-trade clause
2026-27: $4.1MM salary, $2MM signing bonus, full no-trade clause
2027-28: $3.3MM salary, $1.8MM signing bonus, 20-team trade list
2028-29: $4.1MM salary, $1MM signing bonus, 12-team trade list
2029-30: $5.1MM salary, 12-team trade list
2030-31: $5.1MM salary, 12-team trade list
This is the second true sign and trade in NHL history. The Matthew Tkachuk trade sending him to Florida was the first.
Severson, 28, was the longest tenured New Jersey Devil but I’m not sure this price tag was one that made sense to pay for them. With Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec set to make their mark, paying Severson this kind of deal didn’t make a ton of sense. Instead, they recoup some of the asset and collect a third round pick from Columbus.
Columbus is not messing around. Earlier this week they also acquired Ivan Provorov from Philadelphia. If nothing else their blue line will be much better than it was a year ago. Severson is a good player that can move the puck but time will tell if this deal actually ages well. Severson is going to be asked to do way more on a team that doesn’t have Dougie Hamilton.
