Blue Jackets Trade Chimera To Capitals

The Blue Jackets announced on Sunday that they would trade LW Jason Chimera to the Washington Capitals for RW Chris Clark and D Milan Jurcina. Columbus was losing and they needed to change up their roster to keep up in the competitive Western Conference. Chimera is going from the 2nd worst team in the Western Conference to the 2nd best team in the Eastern Conference. Was this a smart move by the Blue Jackets?

I have been very vocal about how I think Chimera and Jakub Voracek have been the the two energy guys the Blue Jackets can’t go without. I had to wait two days after the trade to sit back and analyze this and not let my emotions get the best of me. Chimera has been with Columbus for the last 4 1/2 seasons and has close ties to many here. When he gets on the ice, he just leaves it all out there. He hustles and does a lot of the little things right, something the Blue Jackets, as a team, have not done well this season. A rumor this past off-season was that Columbus was going to send him to San Jose for D Christian Ehrhoff, a trade that would have been a plus if it happened.  The injury to Rusty Klesla put Columbus in a bind and they had to improve in two areas, veteran leadership and defense, and they got both in return from Washington.

I’m not saying that Chris Clark and Milan Jurcina are upgrades in their positions, but they are bodies to put on the ice. Clark was the captain for Washington and with Columbus having so many young players, they need an example to look up to and lead them in a different direction. He will not be a captain for the Blue Jackets, but will be a de-facto leader because of his experience. He does have a problem staying healthy the last few seasons, but if he can stay on the ice, he can help this club.

Jurcina is a good defenseman for the Capitals, but I wouldn’t say he’s a complete upgrade over the first line defense. They needed another guy back there because of the Klesla injury. He can score when he wants to, so he could turn out to be just as good as Anton Stralman, who they traded for at the beginning of the season. Jurcina currently has a +/- of even, and that is a positive thing considering no one currently on the defense for Columbus has a positive +/- rating.

If I wrote this article yesterday, I’m sure it would be a completely negative rating for this trade, but after sitting on it for a day, it could work out for Columbus. Chimera was a huge price to pay for Clark and Jurcina, but leadership is hard to obtain and let’s face it, a price for a defenseman has increased over the last few seasons. I think both teams improve in certain areas and maybe this unit can gel and pull this season together.

Tags: chris clark, jason chimera, milan jurcina