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The Columbus Blue Jackets were supposed to be one of the NHL’s up-and-coming teams in 2015-16. They made one of the biggest splashes of the offseason by trading for Brandon Saad, and several young talents seemed primed to take the next step in their collective development. A summer jammed with excitement quickly dissolved into a disastrous October.

Columbus lost its first eight contests and finished the first month of the regular season 2-10-0. Their playoff chances were sunk by the time November rolled around. Even the actively and openly rebuilding Toronto Maple Leafs clung to a 20% chance to make the postseason in January.

Once again the light at the end of the Blue Jackets’ tunnel is the entry draft, where general manager Jarmo Kekalainen will look to add another high-end talent to his roster. What sort of storylines and strategy might we see Columbus utilize on June 24 and 25? Let’s take a look at how a few things might shake out.

Can they trade any no-movement contracts away?

There are still some aspects of the potential expansion draft that remain up in the air. It’s unclear how no-movement clauses (NMC) will be treated, but the general idea seems to be that players with NMC contracts won’t be available to expansion franchises. They may also end up counting against the total number of players a team can protect, which could be disastrous for the Blue Jackets.

NHL hasn't decided on players with NMCs being eligible for expansion draft. But expectation is they will not be available for selection — Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 16, 2016

We’ve written at length about how the team may look to work through the expansion process, but Columbus could end up losing one of their younger professional skaters if they maintain their current number of no-movement deals. That’s not ideal for an organization that is still looking to win a playoff series for the first time in team history.

Brandon Dubinsky, Nick Foligno, David Clarkson, Scott Hartnell and Fedor Tyutin make up Columbus’ contingent of players with no-movement clauses. We can safely assume that no one would be interested in taking on Clarkson’s contract — among the worst in pro hockey — and there’s virtually no chance that the team offloads the team captain in Foligno.

Dubinsky, Hartnell or Tyutin could present attractive options for other teams though, and one of these veterans may be willing to waive their no-movement clause for a shot at the Stanley Cup. There would be some kinks to work out, but Kekalainen would be wise to work the phones heading into the draft if NMC deals are treated how we expect them to be during expansion.

Say “thanks but no thanks” to trading down

The 2016 draft lotto saw the Blue Jackets actually move up a spot for the first time in team history via the lottery process. They could have fallen as far as the No. 7 pick, which would obviously been less than ideal.

Instead they snuck into the top three, where there is a trio of potentially game-breaking forwards waiting.

This particular version of the draft is considered to be a bit top heavy, and the gap between the No. 3 pick and the No. 4 selection could eventually be pretty wide. There are always players who outperform their draft-day standing, but Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi are widely considered to be the best players available this year.

Matthew Tkachuk, Alexander Nylander and even Olli Juolevi will likely be good players at the NHL level, but they aren’t considered ready for pro hockey heading into 2016-17.

Teams will be calling Kekalainen to kick tires on the third-overall pick, yet the general manager shouldn’t move it unless he’s truly blown away by an offer.

Stranger things have happened, but the Blue Jackets need to protect this pick like they guarded their 2012 No. 2 selection. There haven’t been any rumblings about Columbus shopping the selection, and that absolutely should not change in the coming weeks.

Projecting the Blue Jackets’ first-round pick

The top three picks are considered more or less locked in by just about every major scouting service in existence. If there’s movement, it will likely come at first overall, where the Toronto Maple Leafs could shock the hockey world by taking Laine over Matthews. There are some dissenting opinions about who the best player available is, but that likely won’t have much of an impact on who is available for the Blue Jackets.

If Laine goes one, it’s tough to imagine the Winnipeg Jets passing on Matthews. While that sequence of events might be positive karma coming back for all the kicks to the stomach Columbus has endured at the draft over the years, it’s highly unlikely. This essentially means that Puljujarvi will be the name Kekalainen calls.

Earlier this month Sonny Sachdeva wrote about why the versatile forward would be a perfect fit in Ohio, and that post is worth a few minutes of your time if you’re unfamiliar with Puljujarvi as a player.

Finding value at pick No. 34

As John Davidson said after Columbus jumped up to select third: “We’re going to get a hell of a piece, a hell of a player.” The forgone conclusion is that the Blue Jackets will be able to add a high-end, NHL-ready forward with their third-overall selection. Lost in the excitement of moving up has been the fact that Columbus will also pick relatively high in round two as well.

Don’t underestimate the impact a high second rounder could possibly have down the road. Team scouts have likely had their top five or six players pinned to the top of their boards for months now. The back third of the first round and second round are much more fluid though, with organizational preferences really starting to shine through as the draft rolls on.

Here are a few names to keep an eye on once the second round kicks off and Kekalainen makes (presumably) his second pick of the draft.

— Adam Mascherin (C): The 5-foot-9, 192-pound pivot may not look big on paper but he plays like a tank. Mascherin isn’t afraid to take the puck to the net if given a lane and has impressed scouts with his soft hands, vision and hockey IQ. Unsurprisingly, he needs work in the defensive zone but could have enough offensive pop to tempt Columbus. They need play-making centers, and the Ontario native fits the bill.

— Filip Gustavsson (G): With Joonas Korpisalo, Anton Forsberg and Oscar Dansk already in the system, it might seem odd to peg the Blue Jackets as a potential destination for Gustavsson. This would represent a bit of a slip for the Swedish goaltender though, and adding arguably the best netminder available may be too good to pass up at this pick.

— Libor Hajek (D): Standing at 6-foot-1 and weighing in at 196 pounds, Hajek made quite a positive impression during his first year playing on North American ice. He plays with intensity and thrives on physical contact and making plays in the corner. He could be the perfect compliment to smoother skating options already in Columbus like Ryan Murray and Seth Jones.

– Mitch Mattson (C): This would be a bit of a project pick and a gamble for the Blue Jackets, but one that could pay off down the road. Mattson is 6-foot-4 but still needs to add some muscle to his frame as he’s only 190 pounds. NHL teams can teach prospects how to work out, and if he ends up developing more offensive instincts at the University of North Dakota, Mattson could be the big center of Columbus’ dreams.

Predicting the Blue Jackets draft-day strategy