Columbus dumps salary and inks a defenseman

The Columbus Blue Jackets have dealt Rod Brind'Amour to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Kent Huskins and Montreal's 1st in 2011. This move for the Columbus Blue Jackets clears some salary off their books while acquiring a defenseman to meet league regulations. The team also acquired a 1st rounder in 2011. This allows Columbus to be more flexible with their cap in the future. The general manager had this to say.

"We were pleased with Rod Brind'Amour's performance and wouldn't have minded keeping him but we felt it was necessary to free some cap space and Rod Brind'Amour was the odd man out. We wish him luck with his new team and hope he finds success there. Meanwhile, we have to move on with our team."

There are rumors that dealing Rod Brind'Amour opened up a spot on the roster and Patrik Berglund, the prospect who has already played a good number of games to be created is expected to fill that spot. Even after Brind'Amour was dealt, there are some rumors that Jarret Stoll might be dealt and Brandon Sutter could be the 4th line center. If that happens, you can expect the team to fill the spot on the farm by acquiring a cheap farm guy for cash.

In other news today, the team signed defenseman Ken Klee to fill out the roster. He is back with the team for one more year. The financial aspect of the contract were not released but a very reliable report said that it was just under a million dollars.

That is all for today.