Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Kerby Rychel wants out

Columbus Blue Jackets’ prospect Kerby Rychel wants a trade

The NHL Trade Deadline is still almost eight weeks away but it is slowly starting to build into being an exciting day on February 29.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have had a forgettable season. They are not winning games and some of their players have been named in trade rumors prior to the deadline. The latest appears to be their 2013 first round selection Kerby Rychel, who was selected 19th overall.

According to Sportsnet in Canada as well as Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch newspaper, Rychel’s father, as well as agent, has let it be known that the 21 year old winger would like to be dealt from the state of Ohio to another NHL club.

The forward has had six points over the first 16 contests with the Columbus franchise. He also played in the Ontario Hockey League in Canada with the Windsor Spitfires and the Guelph Storm as well as the American Hockey League as a member of the Springfield Falcons.

This fall the Columbus Blue Jackets fired their head coach Todd Richards and replaced him with John Tortorella. There have been a series of injuries for the Jackets’ players over the past few campaigns. There also appears to be friction between coach Tortorella and superstar Ryan Johansen. There are clearly issues that need fixing for the Ohio based hockey club.

It is hard to say whether Rychel will be a top gem for one of the other 29 franchises. There have been previous first round selections in NHL Entry Drafts who have been disasters and who never became successful players.

If he is viewed as a possible gem by another franchise, the Jackets could probably fetch value in return for a Rychel transaction.

According to Sportsnet, Portzline indicated that the Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Anaheim Ducks, Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins have all expressed interest in  acquiring the forward.