Mainly, the Blue Jackets will look to add a couple of puck-moving defenseman.

With all of Rostislav Klesla, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and Kris Russell signed through at least next season, the Blue Jackets have three spots to fill in their top-six.

Dick Tarnstrom is unlikely to return.

And then there’s restricted free agents Jan Hejda and Ron Hainsey, who may not be brought back if Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson finds their asking prices too costly. Hejda is likely to get a raise on his current $1 million salary, and it is thought that Hainsey may seek upwards of $3-4 million per season.

Staying in-house is an option for Howson. The Blue Jackets have Marc Methot and Aaron Rome in their system (both RFAs) who “are held in high” by the club. The Blue Jackets could also bring up Duvie Westcott, who is currently playing for the Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate team.

However, picking up reinforcements from the open market appears to be a more viable option for Howson if he really wants to give his club a stronger defense.

John-Michael Liles of the Colorado Avalanche, Wade Redden of the Ottawa Senators, Brian Campbell of the San Jose Sharks and Brad Stuart of the Detroit Red Wings are all set to become UFAs July 1st. A number of second tier defensemen could also become available.

Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson met with Westcott a couple of times in the last three days, and on Thursday the GM told the player he would be placed on waivers.

“I guess the writing’s been on the wall for a while now,” Westcott said yesterday after he cleared waivers and was sent to minor-league Syracuse.

With his trade value dwindling, the Blue Jackets are expected to place Westcott on re-entry waivers with the hopes that the blueliner gets claimed by another team.

Westcott would only cost teams “half his salary for the remaining years of his contract,” meaning the Blue Jackets would be on the hook for about roughly $2.08 million.

Westcott’s struggles are believed to be coming from his lack of play, which is partly due to concussion problems he suffered last season. The blueliner has only played 23 games this season, and is yet to dress up for more than eight consecutive games.

“I haven’t been the old Duvie,” Westcott said. “I don’t know if that’s the concussions or just because I haven’t been playing very much.”

“I’ve been pretty inconsistent,” Westcott said. “It’s the first year where I’ve been in and out of the lineup, so I’ve been trying to adjust my game so I can bring my best to the table. It’s been kind of tough.”

“I played a lot with (rookie) Kris Russell, and we just didn’t have a lot of chemistry, I don’t think.”

“We’re still looking, but I think everybody is looking for that,” Tallon said.

With news that Boston Bruins Patrice Bergeron is done for the season, The Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont reports that the club can now use his $5 million salary to acquire a replacement.

The Bruins also have goalie Manny Fernandez’s $4.5 million salary to work with. Fernandez is also out for the season due to injury.

Adding to the latest rumors involving Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mats Sundin and the Vancouver Canucks, Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun suggests that Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa, forward Mason Raymond and prospect Michael Grabner could be involved in a potential trade.

Koshan also reports that the San Jose Sharks would like to add a blueliner before the February 26 trade deadline, with Los Angeles Kings defenseman Rob Blake possibly being an option.

Still from Koshan, he reports that the Pittsburgh Penguins are interested in acquiring a defenseman and would be willing to part with forward Erik Christensen in return.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are said to be keen on Christensen, and might offer up defenseman Duvie Westcott.

Lastly from Koshan, he suggests that since it was announced forward Steve Sullivan is done for the season due to back problems, the Nashville Predators will try to bolster their offense before the trade deadline.

The Predators have plenty to offer in exchange for a scoring forward, including any number of their eight defensemen off their NHL roster and a number of “solid blue-line prospects.”

Scott Morrison of the Toronto Sun wonders if the New York Rangers will pick up the option on Jaromir Jagr’s contract for next season, or let him walk as an unrestricted free agent.

Should the struggling forward reach a number of predetermined targets, his option would automatically kick in and thus remove the Rangers from making any decision on that front.

Pending unrestricted free agent forward Sergei Fedorov and defenseman Adam Foote would grab more attention, though the Blue Jackets “would not be interested in dealing” either of them “until closer to the Feb. 26 trade deadline.”

Kulfan also suggests that Edmonton Oilers pending restricted free agent defenseman Tom Gilbert could be seeking upwards of $3 million per season. The Oilers would prefer to pay less than that.

Lastly from Kulfan, he wonders if the Toronto Maple Leafs fall out of playoff contention before the trade deadline would they shop pending UFA forward Mats Sundin?

Don’t ask Sundin for an answer, though. The Swedish Star remains intent on keeping his club in the chase.

“We have to keep the faith, but at the same time realize we have to play better,” he said. “We have to realize if we put a couple of good weeks together, we have a chance to be in the playoffs.”

While Montreal Canadiens pending UFA goalie Cristobal Huet remains the subject of trade rumors, he “appears to be an untouchable” according to Pat Hickey of The Montreal Gazette.