Blue Jackets Get a Fresh Kent Johnson Trade Twist

Columbus has a new layer to sort through with Kent Johnson, and the timing matters because every June rumor comes wrapped in a little more urgency. When a young player gets dragged into trade chatter after a frustrating finish, the conversation usually says as much about the organization’s direction as it does about the player. The Blue Jackets now have to decide whether Johnson is part of the next step or part of the asset pile, and that is where the real tension starts.