Jeff Carter: Will Columbus Blue Jackets Settle for Anything Less?

With the NHL entry draft and the beginning of free agency right around the corner, no two teams have been talked about more in the past few days than the Philadelphia Flyers and the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Flyers have been talked about ever since their acquisition of the negotiation rights for goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.

"Bryz" is asking for a hefty chunk of change, and the only way the Flyers are going to be able to afford him is if they clear necessary cap space.

Jeff Carter has been the most talked about Flyer to go, since moving his 11-year contract with an annual cap hit of $5.27 million would seem to be the easiest move.

To a lot of NHL teams, that kind of contract would keep them away from pursuing Carter, but not the Blue Jackets.

General manager Scott Howson has vowed to bring in a player to make an immediate impact on the team, even if it means parting ways with top prospect Jakub Voracek, as well as the team's eighth overall pick in this year's draft.

Regardless of whether Howson and Flyers GM Paul Holmgren are still in discussions about a deal, each side's media seems to be thinking the opposite outcome for Carter.

Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch seems to be confident that a deal that would send the eighth pick as well as Voracek to Philadelphia for Carter could happen.

He mentions in the article that Howson and Holmgren had been talking about a possible deal back in January and that the talks had re-emerged at the NHL draft combine that occurred last month.

However, Tim Panaccio of CSNPhilly.com states that those talks were not about Carter and that the team is looking to hang on to the 26-year-old center:

"But the discussions that Holmgren had at the draft combine recently with Columbus GM Scott Howson weren’t about Carter or the pick.

"At that time, sources said, it was a dinner to discuss a deal that would have brought goalie Steve Mason to the Flyers."

Clearly, the Flyers are no longer interested in Mason with their attempts to sign Bryzgalov.

Now, this does not mean that these two are not going to be making a deal come draft day.

The Flyers will still have to clear some cap space to sign Bryzgalov and may do so by dealing lesser contracts of players such as wingers Kris Versteeg and Scott Hartnell, as well as defenseman Matt Carle.

So would Howson still be willing to make a deal for the eighth pick? According to Panaccio, it's not likely:

"Columbus is also seeking a power-play defenseman. Matt Carle ($3.43 million cap hit) would fit that bill, but Howson wants more than him for the eighth pick, we’re told.
 
"Would he take Scott Hartnell ($4.2 million) or Kris Versteeg ($3.083 million)? Not likely. Howson wants a proven, impact scorer for that pick, preferably a centerman."

Although one would applaud Howson for sticking to his guns and going with a "take it or leave it" attitude, a backup plan must be intact to still help the Blue Jackets improve.

Today, Bleacher Report's own Matthew Fairburn reported that, according to Philadelphia Sports Daily, Jeff Carter's agent has stated that he is not worried about the rumors that have arose about Carter being traded to Columbus:

“I’ve spoken with Paul [Holmgren] a number of times and am not concerned about the rumors,” Rick Curran said. “That’s just what they are.”

According to this report, if these two teams still make a deal come draft day, the player(s) coming to Columbus will not be wearing No. 17.

Acquiring players like Kris Versteeg and Matt Carle would fill some of the holes in the Blue Jackets lineup this offseason.

But if Howson does not approve, then it would be best to find another team to negotiate with. Chasing an unachievable goal will only hurt Columbus.