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Blue Jackets expect quiet deadline

Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

The Columbus Blue Jackets are content with their youth.

Less than two weeks from the March 1 trade deadline, the Ohio club doesn't foresee a flurry of upgrades, despite its high rank in the standings.

Sitting third in the Metropolitan, the Blue Jackets hold down a playoff position and are poised to make just their third postseason appearance since joining the league 17 years ago. Youth has been served, and general manager Jarmo Kekalainen has his eyes on the road ahead, seeing bigger and better things from a team on the rise.

"I don't think we want to get ahead of ourselves, where we try to put all the eggs in one basket in the spring of 2017 and, sort of, go for it," Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch. "We're going to go for it if we make the playoffs, (in the sense that) it's going to be a great opportunity for our group."

Center Alexander Wennberg, 22, leads the Blue Jackets with 36 assists, sitting among the top four in team scoring with 24-year-old Brandon Saad. That youthful exuberance extends to the blue line, where teenaged Zach Werenski has been a revelation.

It's that group who will be the key pieces for the Blue Jackets down the road.

"There will be a right time where we look at it and think our window might be closing, that maybe this is when we should make a move like that," Kekalainen added. "Our window is not closing in 2017, it's just starting to crack open."

A handful of top players could be available at the deadline, including Colorado Avalanche center Matt Duchene and St. Louis Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, but don't expect the Blue Jackets to be among the big-game hunters.

The GM, however, did leave open the possibility that the Blue Jackets could make a depth addition or two.

Cap space is tight - the Blue Jackets have less than $2 million in projected wiggle room - but it should leave Kekalainen with enough flexibility if he chooses to add to his lower ranks before the deadline.

"It's just smart, with injuries and all that can get in your way in the springtime," Kekalainen said. "You want to protect yourself. We have decent depth. But you can always have better depth in the playoffs, with NHL guys."

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