'It's a bad sign': Longtime NHL veteran sparks trade buzz after suddenly firing his agent
Boone Jenner and Rick Bowness are suddenly tied to the first real Blue Jackets offseason flashpoint.
Jenner just made a move that gets noticed around the league.
It all points to him being traded.
The Columbus captain has parted with his longtime agent and hired Pat Morris, which instantly changes the temperature around his future.
That alone doesn't confirm a trade.
But it does push this story out of the routine offseason file and into serious watch-list territory.
Elliotte Friedman raised that exact point on 32 Thoughts.
His read was simple: players don't usually turn to Morris when they're preparing to take less or make life easier on a team.
That matters in Columbus because Jenner isn't some fringe veteran trying to hang on.
He played 67 games this season, put up 13 goals and 38 points, and still handled hard minutes down the middle.
He also isn't on an expiring ticket.
Jenner carries a 3.75 million cap hit through 2025-26, which gives Don Waddell a movable contract if the Blue Jackets decide this core needs another shakeup.
This is where the Boone Jenner trade noise gets real
Columbus finished 40-30-12 with a 0 goal differential. That's the kind of season that leaves front offices stuck between patience and a harder reset.
Jenner's value goes beyond the box score.
He wins draws, plays straight-line hockey, gets to the blue paint, and brings the kind of bench presence contenders still pay for in June.
That's why the agent switch lands with force.
Around the NHL, those moves often signal one thing: a player is preparing for leverage, not comfort.
Bowness now walks into an offseason where leadership questions won't stay quiet.
When the captain's name starts circulating, the room feels it, and the front office does too.
There's also a timing element here.
Jenner turns 33 on June 15, and teams looking for a middle-six center with bite won't ignore a player who still fits playoff hockey.
None of this means a deal is done today.
It does mean the Blue Jackets have drifted into the part of the summer where calls get returned faster and scenarios get sharper.
If Columbus is listening, Jenner just became one of the more fascinating veteran names to watch.
And if they're not listening yet, this agent change may force that conversation onto the table anyway.
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MAY 22, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Ross Colton | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Brent Burns | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nazem Kadri | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | - | - | |
| Nick Blankenburg | - | - | - | |
| Dylan Coghlan | - | - | - | |
| Pavel Dorofeyev | - | - | - | |
| Nic Dowd | - | - | - | |
| Jack Drury | - | - | - | |
| Jack Eichel | - | - | - | |
| Noah Hanifin | - | - | - | |
| Carter Hart | - | - | - | |
| Tomas Hertl | - | - | - | |
| Brett Howden | - | - | - | |
| William Karlsson | - | - | - | |
| Parker Kelly | - | - | - | |
| Keegan Kolesar | - | - | - | |
| Kaedan Korczak | - | - | - | |
| Brett Kulak | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||