Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell confirmed he won't be trading defenseman Ivan Provorov prior to Friday's deadline."It's different this year, for me, than probably other years as a GM,

The Columbus Blue Jackets are expected to keep most of their players together, as the NHL trade deadline approaches this season. Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell wants to give his team more time to gel and win.

As reported by The Athletic on Monday, the Blue Jackets are close to signing tough winger Mathieu Olivier to a long-term contract extension. Olivier, a pending unrestricted free agent, has emerged as perhaps the NHL’s top fighter, as well as a leader and a secondary scorer (12 goals) for Columbus this season.