It has been a fairly decent season for the Columbus Blue Jackets, all things considered.

While they are unlikely to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs (the eight teams in the Eastern Conference seem pretty set right now) they have definitely performed better than preseason expectations, have seen Patrik Laine rediscover his game, and have a pretty good long-term outlook thanks in large part to their return on the offseason’s Seth Jones trade. There are some building blocks here, and another significant one ahead with that first-round pick that originally belongs to the Chicago Blackhawks (Seth Jones trade).

As fun as their 2019 trade deadline was when they went all in as a bubble team that is unlikely to repeat itself here. They look like sellers. As they probably should be.

If you are somebody that is hopeful that they might trade Laine before the deadline, keep hoping. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen seemed adamant that is not going to happen, and there is really no need for it. Not only do they still maintain his player rights after this season as a restricted free agent, he has been the player they hoped he would when they acquired him a year ago and should put all of their focus into re-signing him long-term.