 In the off @-@ season the Blue Jackets ' approach to building their team changed , moving from a team of young developing players into one with established players . The first deal General Manager Scott Howson made was the acquisition of All @-@ Star forward Jeff Carter on June 23 , 2011 . The deal sent <unk> <unk> , Columbus ' first @-@ round draft choice , the eighth overall , and their third @-@ round pick in the 2011 Draft to the Philadelphia <unk> in exchange for Carter . The trade received a positive response in Columbus from fans and management who felt they finally had a number one center to play alongside of their best player , Rick Nash . Next , they traded for the negotiating rights of soon to be free agent James Wisniewski . Wisniewski scored a career high 51 points during the 2010 – 11 season , splitting time between the New York Islanders and Montreal Canadiens . The point total was fifth @-@ highest in the league for defenseman scoring , tying Tobias <unk> . The Blue Jackets came to terms with Wisniewski , just an hour prior to the start of free agency , signing him to a six @-@ year , $ 33 million deal . 
