Columbus Blue Jackets Send Jason Chimera to Washington Capitals

As the scuttlebutt has been all day, the Washington Capitals and Columbus Blue Jackets finally made a trade.

Some anticipated that it might involve Karl Alzner and Nikita Filatov (to those of you who are sitting at your computer screens snickering…I had the same reaction) while others didn’t speculate and just reported what they knew. In the end, it ended up being a little less dramatic, but still a good trade for both sides.

Washington Gets:
LW – Jason Chimera

Columbus Gets:
RW – Chris Clark
D – Milan Jurcina

Let’s be honest. Anytime a team trades it’s captain (Clark), it’s going to be scrutinized.

But let’s look at this for a second. The Caps just signed Alexander Semin to a one-year, $6 million extension. Clark is scheduled to make $2.5 million next season, with a $2.633 cap hit, while Chimera is scheduled to make $1.875 million both in reality and against the cap.

It’s not much, but every little bit counts.

Not only that, but this paves the way for Alex Ovechkin to take over the role that he has been groomed for as the team’s captain.

Meanwhile, for Columbus, it gives them two things.

One, a natural born leader in Chris Clark . There is no doubt that the Blue Jackets lack in the leadership department right now and Clark will provide just that.

Second, it gives them a much needed defenseman with both Marc Methot and Rostislav Klesla on the shelf.

It’s very rare in the cap-era of the NHL that you see a win-win trade for both sides, but this truly is one. The Caps are in first place and, though Clark was playing decent hockey for them, Chimera gives them the same qualities—just cheaper.