Blue Jackets left winger Raffi Torres is busy obtaining the proper documentation so that his infant daughter can visit her grandparents in Toronto during the Olympic break.

"Everybody in the family wants to see the baby," he said.

With the Jackets next-to-last in the Western Conference, Torres likely will be making more travel arrangements soon.

Torres, who will become an unrestricted free agent after the season, will almost certainly be shopped before the March 3 trade deadline. But Torres said yesterday that he would still be open to negotiating with the Jackets after July 1 even if he is traded.

"I would have to see how everything works out, but they are the ones who gave me another chance," said Torres, who scored his 18th goal of the season Friday in a 4-3 loss to Vancouver. "They have been good to me here."

It's likely that general manager Scott Howson will speak to Torres' agent, Eustace King, during the Olympic break if only out of courtesy to his client. The Olympic trade freeze ends Feb. 28.

Howson has been part of two management teams that acquired Torres -- first in Edmonton and then in Columbus -- and the winger has often said that he wants to remain with the Blue Jackets.

"It's been tough not knowing what's going to happen," said Torres, who seems resigned to being traded. "But I've played better recently because I was able to put it out of my mind."

The hard-hitting forward, with a penchant for scoring big goals, could command free-agent offers anywhere from $1.75 million to $2.25 million per season. That might be too rich for the Jackets as they try to rebuild their blue line and anticipate the return of left winger Nikita Filatov from Russia.

The Jackets like Torres and, if they traded him, would closely monitor his market value.

Last summer, former Jackets center Manny Malhotra didn't receive the kind of offer he had expected. He finally accepted a one-year deal with San Jose for $700,000, an amount believed to be considerably less than what the Jackets had offered him to stay.

A free agent's return to a team that traded him is rare but not unprecedented. Keith Tkachuk signed with St. Louis in the summer of 2007 after the Blues had dealt him to Atlanta several months earlier.

The Jackets are believed to be seeking at least a second-round pick for Torres. If they don't get it, they might decide to hold onto him for the balance of the season.

On Friday, Florida traded forward Dominic Moore, who has eight goals, to Montreal for a 2011 second-round choice. Forward Matt Cullen also went from Carolina to Ottawa for a second-round pick and defenseman Alexandre Picard.

The asking price for Torres will only increase with highlight-reel goals like the one he scored Friday. His game translates well to the playoffs, when grit and the ability to score greasy goals are valued.

Teams such as Toronto, Florida, Edmonton and Carolina are expected to be sellers at the deadline, as well.

treed@dispatch.com