Although Columbus Blue Jackets forward Mathieu Olivier was considered a trade candidate heading into the 2024-25 NHL season, that no longer seems to be the case, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported on Friday.
“Ongoing extension discussions between [the Blue Jackets] and Mathieu Olivier,” the hockey insider wrote on X. “Progress has been made. Virtually no chance he’s traded. Big part of the Jackets team.”
Olivier has been a wrecking ball for the Blue Jackets this season, throwing 223 hits in 59 games — behind only Vancouver Canucks forward Kiefer Sherwood for tops in the league.
He’s also chipped in 11 goals and 20 points while mainly playing in a bottom-six role.
Columbus acquired Olivier from the Nashville Predators prior to the 2022-23 season for a fourth-round pick. He signed a two-year, $2.2 million contract with the Jackets the following summer.
The pending unrestricted free agent has been a key piece of the squad’s impressive turnaround this season. His 20 points are already a career high, and he’s also raised his shooting percentage to 14.9 percent.
The Biloxi, Mississippi native will likely earn at least a bit of a raise on his next contract after a career year; Pro Hockey Rumors’ Brennan McClain sees a comparable being Vegas Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar.
“Keegan Kolesar’s three-year, $7.5MM extension with the Vegas Golden Knights is a reasonable comparable, given his similar playstyle to that of Olivier,” McClain wrote on Friday. “Since Olivier is three years younger than Kolesar, the Blue Jackets may entertain giving Olivier a fourth year and bumping his AAV closer to the $2.75MM range.”
Whether or not Olivier is locked up before the trade deadline, it looks almost certain that he will not be getting traded before next Friday. And the Blue Jackets just continue to have success in 2024-25.
Blue Jackets have emerged into legitimate playoff contenders
The Blue Jackets have hung around the playoff picture for basically the entire campaign, and they’re surging at the perfect time. After a mammoth 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night — a team they are battling with for a wildcard spot — Columbus has improved to 29-22-8.
On the last day of February, the Jackets are currently occupying the final wildcard berth in the Eastern Conference, and have created four points of separation on the New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins.
It’s still going to take a herculean effort to get in, but Dean Evason’s club is now tied with the Red Wings with 66 points after triumphing in three consecutive games and six of 10 dating back to January 25.
Captain Boone Jenner and top forward scorer Kirill Marchenko are back in the lineup, and along with the continued Norris Trophy-caliber play from Zach Werenski, the Jackets look like they have a great chance to still be in a playoff spot come mid-April.
With 23 games left, every single one is going to be crucial for one of the NHL’s best surprises this year. And that begins with another huge tilt against Detroit in the 2025 Stadium Series at Ohio Stadium on Saturday night.
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