The Columbus Blue Jackets were looking to bolster their defense this summer and feel they’ve addressed that need by signing Mike Commodore to a five-year, $18.75 million contract.

That’s $3.75 million against the Blue Jackets cap hit, but one wonders if the Jackets might’ve been better off re-signing Ron Hainsey to that kind of money. Perhaps there were some issues there.

Commodore doesn’t have the same offensive skills as Hainsey but is a better all-round blueliner, capable of playing a strong physical game in his own zone and able to chip in offensively.

He had his best seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes, including helping them win the 2006 Stanley Cup, but after being dealt to the Ottawa Senators last February looked lost in too many games, although that might’ve also had something to do with how the Sens were struggling down the stretch last season.

Considering some of the signings made today Commodore’s could turn out to be a good one if he regains his form in Columbus playing for Ken Hitchcock.

Just over two weeks from the NHL trade deadline the first major trade of the 2007-08 season has finally taken place.

The Ottawa Senators dealt forward Patrick Eaves and defenseman Joe Corvo to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forward Cory Stillman and defenseman Mike Commodore.

With this deal Senators GM Bryan Murray lands the scoring winger (Stillman) he’d been seeking since training camp, while Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford gets the puck-moving blueliner he’d been searching for since November.

What’s also significant about this trade is that Stillman agreed to waive his “no-trade” clause to facilitate the deal. He’s eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer and may have been told by Rutherford that he didn’t fit into their future plans. It’s also possible that Stillman could return to the Hurricanes this summer as an unrestricted free agent.

With the Hurricanes presently battling for their playoff lives Stillman obviously felt his best chance to play for another Cup champion this season lies with the Senators.

Stillman has proven himself to be a reliable top-six scorer in recent years, particularly in the playoffs, as he was a key factor in the Hurricanes’ 2006 Stanley Cup championship.

He’s currently on pace for 66 points this season, including a possible personal best of 30 goals, which should provide the Senators with that secondary scoring punch they’ve been lacking for some time.

What was surprising was that Rutherford agreed to part with Commodore, arguably his best defenseman over the last two seasons who was also quite popular with ‘Canes fans.

Still, the Hurricanes have had a dire need for a good offensive defenseman and as solid as Commodore has been defensively, he couldn’t address that offensive need, not as well as Corvo will be expected to.

Commodore should be a great fit on a Senators blueline that’s been in need of more defensive grit in recent weeks. His physical game should make him a welcome addition.

It’s been long rumored Rutherford was interested in Corvo, whose stats over the last three seasons have proven his offensive ability from the blueline. He should mesh well with Carolina’s offensive attack.

The one big fault against Corvo however is his defensive game, which can be average at best, and Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette must put him with a more defensively responsible partner.

Eaves is a gamble for the Hurricanes. He’s been projected as a potential top six forward but injuries over the past two years have hampered his development, the most significant being a nasty concussion suffered during the opening round of the 2007 playoffs and a separated shoulder that sidelined him for 24 games this season.

It was rumored Rutherford had interest in Antoine Vermette, who’s eligible for RFA status in July, but it appears the Senators are keen to retain him, at least for the rest of this season.

If Eaves can shake off the injury bug that has plagued most of his short NHL career he could blossom into that scoring forward he’s expected to become one day.

It’ll also be easier for Rutherford to absorb the salaries of Corvo and Eaves than it will for Murray to re-sign Commodore and Stillman after this season.

Rutherford had just over $32 million committed to 12 players for next season, making it easy to absorb the remaining $5.5 million left over the last two years of Corvo’s contract and to re-sign Eaves, who earned $942K this season and is a restricted free agent at season’s end.

Murray on the other hand may have dumped Corvo’s $2.75 million per season cap hit, but it’s going to take a lot more than that to retain Stillman and Commodore. The former earned $1.75 million per season on his current contract, the latter $1.25 million, and both will be seeking significant raises this summer, which they’re bound to get on the open market if the Senators fail to re-sign them.

Murray was already facing a potential cap squeeze for next season having to re-sign Vermette, Andrej Meszaros, and Chris Kelly plus perhaps find a replacement for Wade Redden, who’ll likely be departing via the UFA market in July.

Retaining Stillman and Commodore, especially if they play well, will only make things more challenging for Murray.