Have stick, will travel.

While some of the Columbus Blue Jackets are away from the city playing for their respective national teams in the 2010 Winter Olympics, others are wondering how much longer they will be calling Columbus home.

Forward Raffi Torres is among them. Torres, who is slated to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, is a primary candidate to be moved before the March 3 trade deadline.

The Blue Jackets, who currently sit in 14th out of 15 places in the NHL Western Conference, have a near-impossible task ahead of them if they are to claw their way back into the playoff picture.

Anyone who has reached a position of influence with one of the four major American sports leagues has usually done so with the assistance of almost inhuman persistence. One does not attain a spot at the pinnacle of their chosen sport without a never-say-die attitude.

But even the most steadfast and optimistic in the Columbus front office understand that they have dug themselves a nearly insurmountable hole. Most in the organization agree that it will take 15 or 16 wins in the remaining 19 games to salvage a playoff spot.

They sit nine points behind eighth-place Calgary and would need to leap-frog six teams in the process of catching the flames.

So as the trade deadline approaches, teams are already beginning the self-evaluation process of deciding whether they are buyers or sellers.

Columbus almost certainly falls into the latter category.

“It is difficult for all of us, because we didn’t expect to be in this situation,” general manager Scott Howson said. “But that’s the reality. You have to make the most of it.”

In addition to Torres, the Blue Jackets have two other upcoming unrestricted free agents – defenseman Milan Jurcina and forward Fredrik Modin. Modin’s contract contains a no-trade clause and reports are unclear as to whether he or his agent, Don Meehan, will be willing to waive it.

While Modin, who has been injured for a significant portion of the season, may draw some interest as a “dressing room guy,” his two goals and four assists in 23 games this season are hardly eye popping. He does, however, have the Stanley Cup he won with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004 on his resume.

Jurcina figures to draw even less interest.

So if the Jackets decide to make a move, it will be Torres who will bring the most in return. He has 30 points in this year’s campaign, broken up between 19 goals and 11 assists. He is tied for second on the team in game winners, but those stats only tell part of Torres’ story.

Words like “gritty” and “grinder” are often bandied about in the vernacular of professional hockey, but rarely do they apply so well as they do with Torres. Time and again, Torres has shown a willingness to place himself in front of the net and do the dirty work for his team. He scores the kind of greasy goals that every true hockey fan knows are integral to a teams’ success.

While he may bring back some value to the Jackets in return for his services (most believe he would command a second, or late first-round pick), the intangibles he may impart to a young Jackets team if he were re-signed do not have a price tag.

But there is also a case against hanging on to Torres. Reports indicate that he could stand to make anywhere from $1.5 million to $2.5 million per season next year. For a team whose main priorities are a top flight center and a better blue line, that may be too much to pay.

“It’s been tough not knowing what’s going to happen,” Torres said of his situation.

Blue Jackets fans know exactly how he feels.