Erik Karlsson...and the Blue Jackets?

It would certainly be a case of the rich getting richer, considering they have one of the best young blue lines in the NHL. Adding one of the best players in the world to their defense would be quite the coup for GM Jarmo Kekalainen – who already has Zach Werenski, Seth Jones, Ryan Murray and Markus Nutivaara on the back end.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman dropped this nugget during a Tuesday night radio hit, which was picked up by Chris Nichols. He's heard that the Blue Jackets are attempting to throw their hat into the ring for Karlsson, who will be a free agent next July:

Friedman/Karlsson "But somebody was telling me that they thought maybe Columbus was trying to get into this too, which I thought was pretty interesting." #Sens #CBJ — Chris Nichols (@NicholsOnHockey) July 3, 2018

We have no idea what a potential trade package would look like for the Blue Jackets to get Karlsson, but you'd have to imagine it would involve plenty of draft picks and/or prospects. This may be something – and it may be nothing – but nonetheless, it's further proof that Kekalainen is leaving no stone unturned to improve the Blue Jackets.

This time, he would going for the biggest fish in the pond.

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