One of the things I love most about sports is when a big trade happens. A big trade happened yesterday in the world of hockey.

The Columbus Blue Jackets traded forward Marcus Johansen to the Nashville Predators for defenseman Seth Jones. The two-player trade itself doesn’t look too big, but it is for several reasons.

Both Johansen and Jones are former number 4 overall NHL Draft picks and are potential future superstars. Johansen is 23 years old and was expected to be the Blue Jackets number one center for years to come. Jones is 21 years old and was expected to be a future top two defenseman for the Predators. This trade changes the outlook for the future of both teams.

After this trade, the Blue Jackets are now officially in rebuilding mode. Expected to be a playoff contender before the season started, the Jackets lost their first seven games and fired their head coach, Todd Richards. They replaced him with John Tortarella, a former Stanley Cup winning coach who is known as a tough disciplinarian to his players. There were several reports that Johansen and Tortarella didn’t like each other and Johansen wanted out. Nashville got what they needed by acquiring Johansen. Struggling offensively for most of this season, the Predators now have the top line center they’ve been looking for and an offensive contributor that can help jumpstart the offense for a Predators team currently competing for a playoff spot.

In Seth Jones, the Blue Jackets are acquiring a future franchise defenseman that is just starting his career. Jones was expected to be a top two defenseman with the Predators, but got stuck behind Shea Weber and Roman Josi in the lineup. With the Blue Jackets, Jones can play a larger role and grow into the star defenseman everybody expected him to be with the Predators.

Trades like these add intrigue to the course of a season. Hopefully we see more of these types of trades as the season goes on.