The Cannon

The Cannon at SB Nation

2009-04-22T18:16:00.000-03:00

Join us at our new home.

To Elaborate...

2009-04-17T09:29:00.003-03:00

I just wanted to elabroate on Andy's "We're moved" post.

Thanks so much to all of the readers of The Cannon. I started this thing out as a way of expressing my thoughts to a broader audience, other than on message boards. It has developed to the point where we are now our own site, part of the SBNation.

If you follow NHL.com, you might recognize SBNation blogs. Keep checking under the Western Conference blogs section of the front page of NHL.com for potential Cannon articles!

Thanks again for making The Cannon what it is folks, and join us over at

The New Home of the Cannon!

Well, we've played in the playoffs.

2009-04-16T23:16:00.004-03:00

We lost the game 4-1, as simple as that.

The pregame festivities were crazy with Jackets fans around their bench. Being in the middle of that was one of best feelings, I've had as a Jackets fan...

Read the rest of our Game 1 Recap at The Cannon on SB Nation!

We've moved!

2009-04-16T15:46:00.000-03:00

The Cannon is proud to announce that we've joined the sports community over at SB Nation. Our new URL is http://jacketscannon.com. Bookmark that link and pass it on to all your friends!

Thanks for the support.

Blue Jackets vs. Red Wings: Game 1

2009-04-16T12:26:00.001-03:00

It begins tonight. The Blue Jackets and Red Wings will face off for Game 1 at the Joe Louis Arena tonight at 7. The game will be aired on Versus and FSOhio.

The keys to tonight's game:

- Weather the early storm. If Detroit truly has this "on" switch that so many believe, surviving the first ten minutes will be huge in terms of confidence and in regards to the scoreboard.

- Play good team defense. Support Mason. Mase will need to play his best hockey to shut down All-Stars like Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Hossa, and Lidstrom in a 7 game series. But he doesn't have to do it all alone. The success of Hejda and Commodore will be huge in helping the Jackets outplay the Wings.

- And most of all, just play their game. The Jackets have success no matter who the opponent is when they play according to Hitch's plan. Detroit, Boston, Pittsburgh, San Jose, Chicago... it doesn't matter who the opponent is, as long as the team plays the right way.

What are your keys to the game? Feel free to chat in the comments before and during the game.

Go Jackets!

Union of Blue

2009-04-15T21:44:00.001-03:00

To show our support next week, let's make Nationwide Arena a Union of Blue.

If you're not sure what I'm talking about, take a look at these photos...

Opposing teams already hate hearing the cannon go off when we score a goal, so let's make Nationwide a tough place to play in more than one way. Aside from being loud, crazy, and all over the Red Wings, let's be united. Everyone needs to WEAR BLUE. Whether you have a jersey, t-shirt, or you paint your chest blue, let's unite with a UNION OF BLUE.

Pass this on to everyone you know that will be attending a game. LET'S GO JACKETS!

Playoff Prediction Contest

2009-04-15T10:05:00.008-03:00

I figured we'd run a little competition on the Cannon, to see who the daddy is.

RULES: Put your picks in the comments. Deadline 7:00 pm tonight.

Scoring: LOW Score Wins

You get 4 points for picking the losing team AND 1 additional point for each game off

For Example:
Boston vs. Montreal.

If I take Montreal in 7 and Boston Sweeps in 4 then I would get 4+ 3(games off) 7 points.

LOW Score Wins

Slash's Picks

Montreal vs. Boston : Boston in 4
Boston is just way too good and Montreal has not played well

New York vs. Washington : Washington in 6
I don't like Theodore or their offensive depth, but the Rangers have a terrible offense. I'll probably knock the Caps out next round regardless who they play.

Carolina vs. New Jersey : New Jersey in 6
New Jersey is my sleeper East Team I like their offensive balance.

Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh : Philadelphia in 7.
This is definitely the best first round series and it was a tough pick for me. I like Richards and Carter. I think the Flyers will be able to ramp up the physical play.

Anaheim vs. San Jose : San Jose in 6.
San Jose gets a tough first round draw, but should beat the Ducks. The Ducks are the best 8 seed in a long time. I wouldn't be surprised to see an upset.

Columbus vs. Detroit : Columbus in 6
Not just the homer in me. I think the Jackets will come out blazing. I expect to see Umberger, Nash, and Torres to be a big time performers. I'd love to see us trot Brassard out there. If we play like we have at stretch this year, we could make a deep run.

St. Louis vs. Vancouver : Vancouver in 7.
St. Louis is the hottest team going into the playoffs and they have a chip on their shoulder. I expect them to make it a good series. I'm not as enamored with the Canucks offense as most. Vancouver will be pushed in this series.

Calgary vs. Chicago: Chicago in 6
If Regehr were healthy I would pick the Flames here. There defense is not good enough without him especially against the depth of the Hawks.

Case's Picks
BOS in 6
Boston is too much to handle for Montreal, one of the disappointments of this season. They'll make it a series though, simply because emotions will be on high.

WSH in 5
Lundqvist is the X factor, but New York's offense is just too... random to make a run. Too much elite scoring on the Capitals side.

NJ in 7
This is a tough pick for me. Carolina is my sleeper, and I think whatever team wins this series could go to the Finals. I'm picking New Jersey based on Marty Brodeur and the fact that guys like Parise really stepped up this season when the team needed him.

PHI in 6
Still not sold on the wingers Pittsburgh is putting out there with Crosby, Malkin, and Staal. Philly is just too balanced, but Malkin and Fleury will have a chance to carry their team.

SJ in 6
Anaheim will play them tough, but San Jose has too much balance. Elite players with experience at every position for the Sharks. This could really be their year.

CBJ in 6
I really think the Jackets will come out a lot stronger in Game 1 than most anticipate. 9 players on the roster have more than 20 playoff games under their belt. Nash seems to do his best when the pressure is on and he's on stage. They just need to win one game in Detroit and I think they can take this series.

CHI in 5
They swept Calgary in the season series, and I don't think the playoffs will be too much different, especially if Calgary can't get healthy.

VAN in 7
This was a tough pick for me. St. Louis is either going make an incredible run through the playoffs, or their going to fall flat and be exhausted from their run just to make the playoffs. I picked 7 games assuming the energy will still be there, but if one series could be a sweep, I would say this could be it.

Mac's Picks
Bruins over Habs in 5
Washington over Rangers in 5
Hurricanes over Devils in 6
Pens over Flyers in 7

Sharks over Ducks in 6
Wings over Jackets in 7
Canucks over Blues in 4
Hawks over Flames in 6

Flashback: Why This Is The Year

2009-04-15T00:01:00.000-03:00

Last August, I wrote a post why this year would be different, why this team would make the playoffs. Before the playoffs officially begin with the first games tonight, I think it's important to stop, take a moment, and be proud and thankful of the job Head Coach Ken Hitchcock and General Manager Scott Howson have done in Columbus, and remember where we came from.

The best part is -- this is only the beginning.

Much has been made about the Jackets moves in the past 6 months -- as far back as the trade deadline. I want to take a quick look at the faces we're seeing come in, and those we've seen go out, and why I believe this is the year.

Leaving Columbus for the 2008-09 season: Nikolai Zherdev, Sergei Fedorov, Adam Foote, David Vyborny, Gilbert Brule, Curtis Glencross, Dick Tarnstrom, Ron Hainsey, Jody Shelley, Dan Fritsche.

Coming to the Blue Jackets for the 2008-09 season: Derick Brassard, RJ Umberger, Kristian Huselius, Fedor Tyutin, Mike Commodore, Christian Backman, Raffi Torres, Jake Voracek. You could also put Fredrik Modin's name on this list, considering he played only a quarter of last season.

I'm not going to analyze every trade, signing, or non-signing in the past 6 months... it's been done before and we all know was has been going on in Columbus, OH. What I want to focus on is the overall picture. That of competitiveness and identity.

There are many possible explanations as to why the Blue Jackets have failed to qualify for the playoffs since entering the league in 2000. Most are probably true to some extent. I'll take a stab at what I believe Scott Howson sees as the biggest reason -- lack of an identity.

But what about poor drafting and depth, poor free agent signings, poor coaching, young franchise? All true, to an extent.

Howson has finally made some bold moves, shipping out two former first rounders, hoping to assemble a group of players that can muster up more than the franchise record 80 points last season. Whether one agrees with his moves or not, there's no denying this club finally has a personality. And it is my belief that is one of the differences of a team that will make the playoffs.

While the playoffs may lie on the shoulders of two rookies -- Derick Brassard and Jake Voracek -- there is one thing this team has never had -- something to fall back on. Ken Hitchcock has said, the team competed at a high level all year, but when the stakes were raised, they simply could not match skill levels. One may argue this team, as it stands, is no more skilled than last years. That may not be an incorrect statement. But what this team can do, when the going gets tough, is knock the opponent square in the mouth and tilt the ice back in their favor. The physical hockey is no longer up to one or two players, and because the team has so many that should be willing to step up each and every night, they should also have no problem holding each other accountable in the dressing room. The team re-signed Michael Peca, and in doing so they solidified a leadership group led by young Captain Rick Nash. Alongside Peca are Fredrik Modin, Rostislav Klesla, and Mike Commodore, all prime candidates for the role of alternate captains.

Whether you look to build a team like the big, bruising Anaheim Ducks of 2007, or the supremely skilled and smart Red Wings of 2008, one thing that holds true is that the entire operation is based on a group working together, not any one individual.

At the end of the day, this team always has something to rely on, and that's something they've never had.

Your call: Who will win?

2009-04-14T22:20:00.000-03:00

We've opened up a new poll to the right of your screen.

What team will win this series, and in how many games?

Polls close at 7:01 PM the night of Game 1.

Packing the Bags

2009-04-14T15:12:00.004-03:00

So I just made my most recent three purchases...

2 Tickets to 4/16 Columbus vs. Detroit........$88
2 Tickets to 4/18 Columbus vs. Detroit........$112

2 Night stay in the 2 star Milner Hotel...... $200.

Total... $400.

A chance to see the first playoff win for the Columbus Blue Jackets.... priceless.

Get on board. On both Stub Hub and the Red Wings Ticket Exchange you can get plenty of great tickets.

There is a Stub Hub station .1 miles from the Milner Hotel which is 1.1 miles to the Joe Louis Arena. You can pick up your tickets there.

On the Ticket Exchange you can print the tickets out of your email.

It doesn't matter how you get there, just get there. Flood the Joe. Carry the Flag.

Columbus vs. Detroit Preview

2009-04-14T09:04:00.011-03:00

Rick Nash could not be too upset to get the Red Wings in the first round. He has delievered goals against the Winged Wheel, including two hat tricks this year.

In our two most recent meetings, we pounded Detroit 8-2 in the Joe in what could be the best CBJ victory of all time. He mercilessly beat them. We created turnovers, we capitalized on our chances... they did not look like the Wings. Detroit answered back with a decisive 4-0 win in the Nat. They were playing to send a message and dominated the puck position as they tend to do.

Detroit is a great team, but not as great as teams past. Remember when they skated out Yzerman, Fedorov, Shanahan, Hull, and then young pups Zetterberg and Datysuk. They can make a push to challenge those top four, but they are without the youthful punch.

It doesn't need to be said that they are dangerous on offense, they are also a little fiestier than they used to be.

How do you beat them?

1) Get the first goal. I had my recent April viewing of "Miracle" when Brooks is describing the Red Army team, he says, "they know they are going to win." Detroit isn't that type of juggernaut, but they do have that type of confidence. We do not have that confidence, so this puts a lot of pressure for us to get the first goal of the game.

The one part of the Wings game that is vulnearable this year is their goaltending. We have to get to the goalie who is likely to be Chris Osgood. Through their goalie we might be able to puncture some of that confidence.

Playing from behind against the Wings is not what we need to do. We are one penalty away from being down 2 instead of down 1. This leads to number 2.

2) Stay out of the box. The Wings have had the best powerplay in the league for nearly a decade. Tomas Holmstrom has bought a nice house off of the Wings PP. They will trot out two units without much drop off. The first unit is complete skill, the second unit is hungry. There is no good solution to try to stop the unit. If I say key on Rafalski, then Datysuk is on the half wall... Positionally strong, and winning puck battles. Max effort.

Do not take penalties in the second period, because you are almost asking your PK guys to take a 2 minute shift.

3) Smart, physical play. We have to play religious Ken Hitchcock hockey and get the puck deep and check hard. Do not check for punishment, check for the puck, or both. If we can make the Wings carry the puck goal line to goal line, and backcheck strong, we will limit their scoring chances. We cannot afford neutral zone turnovers or bad dumps. The Wings defense will quickly move the puck up ice quickly if they can get to it. We have to go through the neutral zone with speed.

4) Buy a Powerplay. If they Wings turn up their team defense, goals may be harder to come by. We have to score on the Powerplay. I don't want to beat this drum any harder. The Wings do not have a great PK. Just a couple dirty, lucky goals can go a long way.

Here are the 4 Jacks we need to win.

Jack of Spades (Hard Work Jacket) - > Raffi Torres. He has played clutch this year, but we has more to offer. He has to be a strong player on the boards for us. He needs to create goals, not just finish nice passes.

Jack of Hearts (Clutch Jacket) - > Rick Nash. If we ever need a big series from him it is now. He has proven to be clutch in his short hockey career. He has to be our best player.

Jack of Clubs (Physical Jacket) - > Mike Commodore. He has to carry the club. He will be going into the corner with some of the best players in the world. He has to break them down. This does not mean wildly trying to take someone's head off and getting himself vastly out of position. He has to be smart about it.

Jack of Diamonds (Star Jacket) -> Steve Mason. This is not a surprise, if Mason has a bad series we will not win. If Mason had a bad season we would not be in the playoffs.

In your mind, who are the keys to success against Detroit? FIRE Away.

Official Schedule: Round 1

2009-04-13T00:39:00.003-03:00

Game 1: @ Detroit, Thursday, April 16, 7 PM

Game 2: @ Detroit, Saturday, April 18, 6 PM

Game 3: in Columbus, Tuesday, April 21, 7 PM

Game 4: in Columbus, Thursday, April 23, 7 PM

Game 5*: @ Detroit, Saturday, April 25, 6 PM

Game 6*: in Columbus, Monday, April 27, TBD

Game 7*: @ Detroit, Wednesday, April 29, TBD

*--If necessary

Detroit it is

2009-04-12T19:58:00.005-03:00

The dust has settled and we will face the Detroit Red Wings in the first round. This is truly a dream matchup for us.

The Cannon will be providing some analysis in the coming days, but for now I'm just going to let it sink in.

2008-09 Western Conference Playoff Match-ups

1 San Jose vs 8 Anaheim

2 Detroit vs 7 Columbus

3 Vancouver vs 6 St. Louis

4 Chicago vs 5 Calgary

I will update with more details such as dates and times as soon as they are released by the NHL.

There are still tickets available via TicketMaster for as low as $40 for Game 1 in Detroit. Let's fill up Joe Louis Arena with Jacket fans!

Sound off on the comment board. Do you like the matchup? Yay, Nay?

Not So Fantastic

2009-04-11T22:55:00.002-03:00

The first period was great. The third period was full of effort, but everything in between was not a great finale. The two quick goals got us a little too comfortable and the Wild stormed back on us tonight and we were caught on our heels. We have put our seed into the hands of the Ducks and Blues... at least we are in the playoffs, we all would have been happy with that at the beginning of the year.

I've never seen our team as aggressive as they were in the final 10 minutes. Dorsett, Boll, and Voracek had the most wheels tonight down the stretch and that directly created Dorse's beauty of a goal. The probably with being aggressive is that you are prone to counterattack, that is Lemaire's specialty and it got us tonight.

The start was great with the Captain getting us on the board early. Nasher was angry with himself on his 3rd period breakaway, but honestly he has carried us down the stretch. He has scored the big goals and that is what you hope for from your franchise player.

Russell is beautiful when he carries the puck up the ice until the point when he tries to make a play or shot. I can't understand why that is. His mobility is great, but he needs to work on a shot or something. Otherwise he'll just be a okay undersized puckmover.

Weight only played 3 minutes so I have to assume there is an injury. Hopefully we will get some bodies rested before the start of the playoffs. It would be nice to have a healthy Modin and *cough* Brassard *cough*.

The second line did not have a great night. They've been really good most nights but this was the quietest I've seen Vermette.

All in all, we are in the playoffs, we will have an attitude. We will be underdogs. I'd prefer the Nucks, but we have to go through San Jose or Detroit anyway.

Mancrush : Dorsett tonight. He was buzzing all night. The final goal was all effort. He gets it, he gets the intensity and I think he'll be great in the playoffs. We shall see.

Doghouse : Novotny. Hitch said he plays well and physical about 4-5 straight games and then he stops. He stopped tonight.

Do you think the stumbling finish will effect us in the first round? Fire Away.

Singing the Blues

2009-04-11T09:39:00.002-03:00

The Blues were hungry and they deserved this win. They were fighting for their playoff lives and they came through. With the roster they have had this year they must get congratulations for their success. They certainly have steamrolled us lately this year.

Why do we not play well against teams who play like us?

4 Minors in the first period? This buries a team. Especially when facing a powerplay like the Blues. They burned us for two, that is what happens. I won't bother questioning the officiating, there is no excuse to take four minors.

I want to keep this one short tonight because I didn't see all of this one.

We've put a great deal of pressure on us to get a point. With the way Anaheim and St. Louis have played lately, you have to assume they will win. We need a point. If we do not get one we will be looking at the Sharks in the first round. I think we can play with any team in a short series, but I'd rather save a potential opponent like that for round 2.

We need a point. Preferably 2.

Fire Away, fill in my blanks tonight.

Thank you, Mr. Mac

2009-04-09T00:22:00.001-03:00

We did it!

2009-04-08T23:39:00.000-03:00

The Blue Jackets defeated the Chicago Blackhawks tonight 4-3 in the shootout to clinch the first ever playoff birth in franchise history.

As all games have been with Chicago this year, it was a back and forth affair. The Blue Jackets were playing catch up most of the night, but they prevailed. The Hawks went up 2-0, 3-2, and controlled much of OT, but it didn't matter. Blue Jackets Captain Rick Nash netted the game-tying goal late in third when the game was on the line.

Fedor Tyutin had the shootout winner against Nikolai Khabibulin. Fedor Tyutin. Hitch seems to have some things up his sleeve for the post-season.

Steve Mason had another strong game. He made the saves when he had to, and that's all you can ask of your goalie.

Kris Russell had a very good game. He was flying all over the ice, and kept the puck in the zone in a few key situations. He played solid defense, and had great positioning to break up a few odd-man rushes and recovered well.

How about Manny Malhotra diving to keep the puck in the zone, along with help from Jan Hejda on that Nash goal? It's fitting that Nash scored the most important goal in Jackets history. Chimera with a nice assist on the play, too. It's great to see him have his speed back. I felt like he was truly a threat tonight with his speed and did a great job stretching the defense, something we've lacked since he and Brassard went down.

And I haven't even mentioned Antoine Vermette. Another excellent game. This guy is a Blue Jacket through and through. Hard working, gritty goal. And a sweet assist on the Williams goal. How good is Jason Williams? 12 goals, 17 assists, and 29 points in 37 games with the Jackets.

What brilliant acquisitions by GM Scott Howson.

How awesome is this?!

Tonight Could be the Night

2009-04-08T18:46:00.003-03:00

With a single point earned against the Chicago Blackhawks tonight, the Jackets could do something they have never done in the history of the franchise- clinch a playoff spot.

This could be a very special day for Jacket fans, so buckle up, and get ready for the biggest game in Blue Jackets history!

Well, We're Up to 90 Points

2009-04-05T21:26:00.002-03:00

This was a defensive chess match tonight against the Hawks.... except for overtime. We again were able to pull a point out of a game, but it would be nice to get on the winning side of some of these exchanges.

I thought Chimera was skating a lot better last night. I hit this point early since I dogged him out. He did have more burst, not the burst we are used to, but he'll need some time. I won't comment on his play.

The entire team was bobbling pucks all night. It was a puck control nightmare. We rarely created scoring opportunity, but on the other hand we didn't allow many either.

Mason got us the point tonight. There were a couple heart pounding sequences in the crease, but they didn't find the net. I'm sure he'd like to have the last one back, but he gave us plenty of chances to win.

Russell had a bipolar game. His giveaway in the first was awful, at least he dove back headfirst into the play. (Good think Commodore b****slapped it out of the zone). He had the game on his stick in OT and didn't get the net. I'm starting to understand why he is a defensemen instead of a forward. I'm also impressed with his durability this year because he gets smashed at least once a game.

Quiet night from all of our scoring line players.

Peca-Boll-Murray didn't see a lot of shifts late in the game.

Mancrush of the Game: Jake Voracek. He was our best player tonight. He made two amazing passes that lead to a couple of our scoring chances. He was solid along the boards. I would have much rather seen him up with Nash tonight. I would have left Umberger with Vermette, because the second line didn't have much punch.

Whippin on Lack of Physical play tonight. Peca laid one nice hit and Methot had a couple, but that was about it tonight. I'm not sure why Boll only got about 7 minutes of ice. I thought he was pretty good in the first period.

We did get to 90. 92 is pretty solid ground regardless what happens. Hopefully we don't OT Loss our way into the playoffs.

Hit the Comments. FIRE Away.

The One that Got Away

2009-04-04T23:18:00.007-03:00

Giving away leads is never fun, giving points to Nashville is annoying. We had our opportunity to bury our nemesis and we did not. A loss could have been devastating for Nashville's playoff hopes and a near clinch for ours. I thought we played a pretty good game overall, but we still need to develop the killer instinct to put games away early. When you allow teams to get back into games, you are asking for a roller coaster finish.

I was honestly shocked by the lack of jump and intensity from Nashville. They really didn't get their legs moving until we let them back into the game. A couple tough luck deflections cost us tonight, but that's the way it goes.

The 4 minute powerplay was an awful call by the officials, fortunately for the Preds we got nothing going during it.

Nash brought his bucket tonight. He has lead this team down the stretch and came up with two big goals tonight. These were old fashioned Nash goals. Going to the net. That's how he got 40 in his second year.

Json Williams does disappear for long stretches, but dude does score. It was an amazing pass from Vermette to knot it at 4. Vermette played huge minutes for us tonight. So many little plays. He has been amazing on the PK, especially in OT tonight. Hopefully we can sign him to a reasonable deal in the offseason, he's a fantastic fit for this team.

Who needs big deadline splashes or huge UFA contracts, when you can get this kind of productivity out of smaller deadline deals? These two players have transformed the offense of this team.

Hopefully the loss of Huselius is not a long term deal. It really through our lines into a frenzy. Perhaps we'll actually have a Filatov sighting tomorrow. I'd probably rather see Nash - Malhotra - Voracek/Williams and insert a Dorsett/Murray into the lineup... more on that later.

I did not like our bottom 6 tonight. They did not establish much puck control. The play made by Voracek on the Novotny goal was stellar, but that was the glimmer tonight.

Mason was victimized by his teammates tonight, but didn't play a bad game. 4 goals is unsightly, but he really could do much on any of them. He made big saves to keep us in.

Chimmer still didn't/wouldn't crank the wheels like he was pre injury. He made a great steal late in the third, but had no wheels to create a breakaway. A speedless Chimmer is a fringe NHL player. I'm not sure if it is a confidence issue, or still a nagging injury. He looked no better tonight than he did in his last return. I'll give him some slack for it being related to conditioning, but if that's the case let him air it out some more in practice and dress a healthy body like Dorse or Murray.

I didn't think our lineup was Weighty enough tonight. Murray is a forgettable, but valuable player. Having Peca, Chimmer, and Voracek all on the bottom six loses a lot of grit.

Mancrush: Nasher. I can't wait to see him in the playoffs. He has always played well under the spotlight. He thrives. He ties the franchise record in points for a season. Hopefully he adds 5-6 more to that total before the year is over.

Whippin on Rimer and Gare. These guys sucked tonight. I usually don't like to go that strongly, but they were awful. The homerism was off the charts. It is usually about a 9.5 on the 10 point homer scale, but tonight was about a 15. Whether it be the joking about getting a gift call on the Umberger high stick or the whining Tyutin call in the final minute. Just call the game guys. Educate the fans. You are getting all time high ratings, use that to help nurture those casual fans rather than bellyaching. Let the fans do the cheering. Do your job.

Steve Mason's Spring

2009-04-04T14:36:00.000-03:00

Steve Mason talks with Palestra.net about his Spring plans. At a time when most his age are returning from Spring Break, Mason is preparing for the playoffs.

Steve Mason interview at Palestra.net.

Nash 3rd Star Video.... AND VOTE

2009-04-02T22:33:00.002-03:00

Enjoy the vid. The captain had himself a pretty solid month.

VOTE in the POLL. Get your mom to vote in the poll. We need a lot more to create the wave.

Now is the Time to Vote

2009-04-01T17:02:00.004-03:00

For those of you who failed to vote or were ineligible to vote on the basis of age or immigration status, now is your chance.

Who should carry the flag for the First Playoff Game? The Poll has been posted with the opinions of the commenters represented.

Ryan Salmons has certainly been posted, but I do not believe he will be able to skate so he will need some accompanying support so I put a couple of options on the poll.

My Goal is for 500 votes in this poll. We can influence this. Yes We Can. Once we hit 500 I will mail it to the appropriate people.

Spread this Poll.

You MAY vote for MORE THAN ONE Candidate.

Hit the Comments for Any Write in Candidates.

Tilting the Ice and......Controversy?

2009-03-31T22:02:00.009-03:00

If Time of Possession decided hockey games, this could have been the biggest blowout in Blue Jackets history. The Jackets dominated possession and spent most of the time in the Nashville zone. Since when did Nashville got so docile? They use to check ferociously. Not much fire from them tonight. Especially after the Dumont hit.

The boys wanted it tonight, they wanted it bad. They earned it and got the well needed bubble room in the standings. The two losses shrunk up the cushion. A third would have caused the entire city of Columbus to menstrate. (No offense Lady Jackets)

Here comes the controversy. Prepare Yourself.

I believe there was unmentioned cheating by the Preds in the 3rd. Sullivan had matching minors with Vermette, and Hornqvist got goalie interference giving us the PP. Here's the problem: Sullivan left the box instead of Hornqvist at the expiration of the penalty. Sullivan then was able to carry in the zone and create offense. The officials BLEW this one. CORRECT me if I'm wrong. Good thing it didn't amount to anything. Vermette was stuck in the box for another 2 minutes waiting for a stoppage.

The PK was huge in the 3rd when they needed to be.

The Boll - Peca - Torres line was a very effective line tonight. All of our lines looked great tonight actually, but Peca's was probably the best one. They dominated possession. Raffi "Clutch" Torres has the magic stick. Boll took a bruising slapshot. He's a warrior. We needed the clear and it was a big day.

The reuniting of the Vermette - Umberger - Williams line gave each of the guys a little extra jump. I'm not sure I'd touch that line. They were great when they were together, but were separated to generate more scoring. Irony? Umberger's goal was huge. It would have been depressing to dominate the Preds and go into the locker room down 1-0.

The defense was superb tonight. The puck was moved out of our end swiftly at each opportunity. Nashville did not have much of a forecheck, but that could be a combination of strong puck movement. I'd at least expect a team of youngsters to be tough on the forecheck. It wasn't happening for them tonight.

Russell was amazing. He needs to get a goal.

Mason was great tonight and tacked on another highlight reel save. He made the saves when he needed to make them tonight. He won't make those saves every night, but it needs to be remembered that he can't be expected to make some of those all the time.

Mancrush: 4 high quality lines tonight. All four lines had at least 2 dominating shifts. That is rare. Every line created scoring chances. The pressure was constant. These lines should not be touched for the next game.

Whippin on the officials for that blown call. No way can Sullivan leave the box in that situation. He could have been sprung on a breakaway.

FIRE away at the comments. Let me know if I'm wrong.

Given Away

2009-03-29T22:21:00.002-03:00

This game will drive bi-polar fans into a frenzy. It does seem to hurt in the standings, but this speaks to the competitiveness of this race. St. Louis brought "it". They played our game better than we did in both games this weekend. We did have chances to win this game, we just didn't get the goals early.

When the game was 2-1 it had a next goal wins feel, and that's what happened. Perron capitilazed on a broken play against our top unit. That put us away tonight.

Mason did not play his best game. His giveaway was awful and unacceptable, but he knows this. I think it hung with him a little tonight. Our guys didn't respond like we have on other incidents with a goal.

Commodore and Hejda did not play a great game. I'm not sure what Hejda was trying to do on the first goal. He usually does a great job playing the puck, but he went for a check and totally whiffed at our blueline. Not a good sign.

Overall we didn't do a great job at our game. The last 10 minutes were pitiful. We didn't get the puck deep in the third period. We made bad giveaway late. Legs and energy cannot be an excuse at this time of the year. The Blues are tired too. Everyone is tired. The execution just wasn't there tonight. This is where an average PP would do wonders for us. Some night it just might not happen 5 on 5 without the legs.

Nash played a pretty solid game. He drew penalties, he scored. He got the worse of a contact from Oshie. He has been what we have need from our captain down the stretch. The challenge is now on Umberger, Huselius, and Voracek to pick up the scoring. Voracek plays solid games, but does not often find himself in great scoring chances.

Some offensive contribution from Boll, Dorsett, Peca, Murray would be welcomed.

Mancrush tonight was Nash. He is showing positive signs for us down the stretch, willing us into the playoffs, the team just didn't get it done tonight.

Whippin on Hejda and Commie tonight. These guys need to be the shutdown guys we've relied on all season. We can't afford bad nights from them and tonight was a rough night for them. There were many candidates for this tonight.

So how important is the Nashville game? FIRE Away

We'll See You Tomorrow

2009-03-28T23:51:00.004-03:00

I'm not sure what was on Oshie's mind as he left the penalty box. He ignored his left point responsiblity and went across the ice to line up Nash. It was a good hit, but I'm not sure what the point was. It sure woke us up. Good thing to so we could steal a point from them. I really was hoping after that hit we'd take two in regulation. A SO loss does leave me empty tonight. Each point matters. Especially this team of the year.

I can't wait until we pick the lines against Oshie tomorrow. Be ready for a healthy dose of punishment.

Nash responded with a goal. It was a one man stick handle exhibition. He continues to lead the team into the playoffs.

Huselius played his best game in some time. The puck was a cemented to his stick. He got 7 shots on net and popped one in. He has been as advertised. Some nights incredible, others invisible, but I think he's lived up to my expectations.

The Umberger-Vermette PK duo has been gold. We finally got to see Vermette's wheels on display. His first 5 steps are dynamite. He created a breakaway out of nothing. The pair has really been good. I hoped they would let them develop some chemistry and Hitch has. They both are straight line quick and creative players.

Klesla missed most all of the third period. I'm not sure if he was injured or if he was on punishment. Neither would be surprising because he did not play well to start the game. If it is indeed an injury this will be a year to forget for Rusty. He can't get himself if into any rhythem if he misses 5 for every 5 he plays.

Mason kept us in this one when we were down two. I'm sure he'd like the have the second goal back. Giving leads on goals like that never is fun.

Russell has turned into a little wolverine for better or worse. He follows up his 10 minute misconduct by being the first responder to the Oshie hit. It is nice to see a little fire from him, but he really needs to keep the gloves on.

We weren't able to roll four lines tonight, for whatever reason. Murray and Dorse barely got 5 minutes of ice time.

Mancrush tonight: Hejda's butt. That is by far the most valuable backside on the team. It separates, it hits, it just gets in the opponents way. I thought he played a pretty good game tonight and he made a lot of little plays that just never show up. He's also on a career high 3 game point streak.

Whippin' on Klesla tonight. He's my dude, but we need consistency. If it is an injury issue then that is one thing, but we need more.

Overall the two goal third period comeback earned us a point and you can't be too dissatisfied by that on the road. Hit the comments, FIRE away.

We at the Cannon Need Our Peeps

2009-03-27T16:30:00.007-03:00

We at the Cannon understand that with internet crazes can move mountains. With strong evidence of our internet CBJ faithful we have been given a re-imagined Civil War identity, the Cannon itself, and Antoine Vermette. Most recently we have gotten some louder music at the Nat... Thank you.

Here is the next task...

Who will carry the flag for the first home playoff game?

Now this may already have been decided. For those of you who may not have attended many games, a selected local fan/person will skate a lap around the rink carrying the flag before each game and then deposit it in the center. I think we need to have some special people carry the flag for our playoff games. We need to get the Crowd Pumped from Second 1. This is where you, the Cannonites, come in.

PLEASE hit the comments with your suggestions for our playoff flag carrier. The best suggestions will become a poll that we can move on. Give a reason for your suggestion.

My first suggestion to get the ball rolling is Tyler Wright. He was an original and fan favorite. He had a long tenure and truly has meant a lot to the team and local community through Hats for Heroes.

FIRE AWAY with your suggestions.

Unbeatable

2009-03-26T23:00:00.004-03:00

The Jackets team that iced tonight was unbeatable. We checked, we scored, we played stiffling defense. Calgary looked lost tonight. Chasing the Kipper sure was fun. The atmosphere in the Nat was top notch. I can't wait for a playoff game. It will bring a tear to my eye, no joke.

There were a lot of really great perfomances tonight.

Nash - He has turned into a great playmaker this year. He made two really nice passes that lead to goals. The first line played like a first line tonight. There were great. Malhotra got us on the board early and played a solid game. He looked healthy out there too. Juice and Nash both got 4 assists. That may be a first in franchise history. They made Robin and Dion look average all night.

The defense was great tonight. Hejda and Commodore were exceptional against their top players tonight. Iginla and Jokinen were pretty invisible.

Physicality. We answered the bell tonight. Klesla pounding on Bertuzzi's head was wonderful. Boll took some shots, but he delivered too. We have a team that will not back down to any team in the league. I was waiting for Dorse and Commie to drop them tonight too. We have a lot of guys that will scrap.

Honorable mentions for Kris Russell and Jakub Voracek for their 10 minute misconducts. Congratulations boys. I was waiting for Juice to throw down.

The PP was really good tonight. PP has a lot to do with confidence. We got one early and you could see the different. We got 2 tonight, (3 in Hitch's book). The movement was good and Json played big with two goals tonight. We have two solid units to roll out there, we need to get this sucker hot before the Playoffs.

Mason was big when needed tonight, especially on the PK. I've said it before, when he is playing really well, he doesn't look like he is playing hard at all. He is so quick and smooth. Personal favorite quote from the game tonight, "Mason's junk is so big he has no 5-hole."

Mancrush: Rusty Klesla. He played a fantastic game. His first tussle with Olli, was short, but I really want to see the video with Bertuzzi. I thought I saw him deliver a nice pop at the end. So nice to see Bertuzzi getting popped. He also is a human octopus when killing 5 on 3. Saucer pass or else.

Great game tonight. GREAT game tonight. This team wants it. I thought Calgary mailed it in. This team hasn't mailed on this year. This is a team to get on board with. They bring their hard hats every night.

I feel like we need new crowd chants. Perhaps individual player chants. I can't recall a good one since Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre. Hit the comments with your suggestions.

Whatever we do when need to make a statement in our home playoff crowd noise. We need to get recognized around the league. We need to be insane for 60. Get yourselves ready.

Meh...Struck by Lightning

2009-03-24T22:25:00.004-03:00

Well at least we got a point. Hopefully this will serve as a wakeup call for us. Tampa had no business being in this game. Until the final 10 minutes they didn't show a semblance of offense.

For years I have had an ongoing fight. When our team has not scored goals, I argued it was not a matter of having goal scoring, but we need to improve our play in transition and defense and that it would translate to offense. A game like this makes that obvious to me... after watching the Lightning. A team on home ice that has the offensive skill of Lecavalier, St. Louis, Stamkos, Prospal, Malone.... did not generate much offense.

Our 3rd period fire created our first goal. We were able to tip the ice, we really overwhelmed Tampa with our pressure, we would inevitably get one in. It sure does feel nice to be on the other side of this.

Who knows why we didn't continue this play. When we pressured Tampa we created chances, but we didn't do it enough. We paid for it.

I thought Kris Russell played his best game in a while. He had some jump and created a lot of offense. He made a lot of smart pinches.

I've actually liked what I have seen from the Nash - Williams - Huselius line. The past two games they have really given some offensive jump. I wouldn't be surprised to see us roll it out to start a game. We need consistency from our top line

I'll give some big props to our energy guys tonight. Dorsett, Boll, and Murray all threw their bodies around tonight. It is a lot to ask, but we need this from this every night. That is their role.

Mancrush of the Game: the D. Tampa was stiffled for most of the night. They could not get much of anything going 5 on 5 and this has to be a big credit to our d because they do have a ton of offensive player.

Whipping Boy: Inconsistent effort. We really came out strong in the third, but we didn't see this earlier and we didn't see it in the end. Once Tampa got the PP goal, they carried the play against us. We needed to be able to match that.

Hit the comments with the thoughts tonight. A let down? Lucky to get a point? I was happy with the play until the PP goal. While we didn't create a lot of chances we did stuff all of their offense through 50 minutes.

An Evil Comparison

2009-03-23T23:01:00.008-03:00

I often get in the habit of comparing ourselves to our expansion brethren which I consider to be Nashville, Atlanta, and Minnesota. Nashville, Atlanta, and Minnesota have all made the playoffs of course, but that is in the past. Here are the current depth charts:

Columbus

Centers
Vermette, Brassard, Malhotra, Novotny, Gratton
Wings
Nash, Huselius, Voracek, Umberger, Williams, Torres, Modin, Dorsett, Boll
D
Commodore, Hejda, Tyutin, Klesla, Russell, Rome, Methot, Backman
Goalies
Mason, Dubi
Top Prospects
Filatov, Mayorov, Picard, Goloubef, Ruth, Holden, Clitsome, Lacosta, Lalande

Nashville

Centers
Arnott, Legwand, Nichol, Bonk
Wings
Dumont, Sullivan, Fiddler, Erat, Jones, Ward, Tootoo
D
Weber, Suter, Hamhuis, Zanon, de Vries, Klein
Goalies
Rinne, Ellis
Top Prospects
Wilson, Pickard, Blum, Franson

Minnesota

Centers
Koivu, Belanger, Sheppard, Fritsche
Wings
Gaborik*, Bouchard, Nolan, Brunette, Clutterbuck, Veilleux, Miettinen, Olvecky
D
Burns, Schultz, Johnsson, Skoula, Bergeron, Zidlicky
Goalies
Backstrom, Harding
Top Prospects
Gillies, Pouliot, Cuma, Kalus

Atlanta

Centers
White, Peverly, Slater, Perrin
Wings
Kovalchuk, Little, Armstrong, Kozlov, Boulton, Crabb, Stuart, Thorburn
D
Hainsey, Enstrom, Bogosian, Valabik, Exelby, Salmela
Goalies
Lehtonen, Hedberg
Top Prospects
Pavelec, Holzapfel, Machecek, Esposito

I don't even feel this is a contest on paper at this time. Not only do we clearly have the best roster, but we have the best prospects.

IMO we would either rate best or 2nd best in every category C, W, D, G, Prosp.

It has been many painful years to get to this point, but we are beginning to see the rewards for our suffering. Sure Minnesota, Nashville, Atlanta have all made the playoffs, but are they going to this year.... next year? I don't like to give a lot of sympathy to the Preds, but their time was budgeted away from competitiveness. Minnesota and Atlanta have not attracted free agents and do not have the assets to trade to improve their teams.

Hit the Comments. How do we stack up? Is it close

Winning in Mud

2009-03-21T22:15:00.008-03:00

Have you ever watched two tortoises fight?

This was a very plodding, trudging, grinding game if there ever was one. Unless you are a fan of attempted cycles and blocked passes, this one was a tough one to watch. The entire game seemed to be played in mud. On either end of the ice there was not much happening. Outside of the Nash-Huselius (Huselius's 20th post of the year), and Williams on a rush, there wasn't much Jacket offense tonight.

I'm not sure we saw a player at top speed with the puck the entire game.

Thank god for Raffi Torres. Say what you will about Raffi, but he has scored some clutch goals for us this year. Huselius made a beautiful pass on the first one. Vokoum would probably like to have the second one back. I was on his case when he was coming back from injury. I'll gladly eat my crow because I was excited about him when we picked him up.

To be honest this was the first game I've seen the Panthers this year. All year I've wondered how in the world with their lineup they've contended. I figured out the answer. They play defense and the East can't handle it. It is the same reason we have dominated the East. Thankfully we have more offensive players than Florida.

I liken games like this to basketball and half court offense. As a team we have a very hard time creating scoring chances from the half court set. Raffi scored on our best chance from the half court. We can grind, we can cycle, we can control the puck, but rarely are we able to create meaningful scoring chances when our opponent is set up in half court defense. To our credit we don't give up many of these goals either.

This was the first subpar game from Vermette tonight, but of course he caps it with an empty netter. He didn't play badly, he just seemed invisible. Umberger as well.

Our defense did a great job of controlling their players all night long. Outside of one breakdown by Commodore and Hejda, there were not many chances allowed. Recent whipping boy Klesla lead all players in ice time. Give the guy a chance to get back into the game.

Mancrush: It has to be Raffi tonight. Not just one clutch goal, but two. The game was won on his stick. This could have easily been a frustrating, lulling loss. He pulled out the two points and will give us that much more breathing room.

Whipping Boy: Half Court Offense. We have a hard time with it 5 on 5 AND the powerplay. We've got to be able to get some players open in scoring areas. We have to generate some shots through from the points. Otherwise we might as well roll 45 seconds off of the clock. This would be my challenge to our coaches. Improve our offense when the d is set up.

They say a mark of a good team is winning games when you are not your best and we have won a few lately when we did not have a our "B" game. This is a great sign.

By my projects we need FOUR MORE WINS to grab a playoff spot. We are 7.5 points up on most of the field from the outside looking in. With the win we move only 3 points behind the fading Blackhawks. The Canucks are starting a 6 game roadie. I'd crap my pants if we finished in 4th.

In the spirit of the NCAA Tournament, only the last 3 minutes matter.

Hit the comments.

A Record Year

2009-03-19T14:15:00.001-03:00

Just a quick look at some of the new records that have been achieved, both individual and team records:

These numbers are based on the stats as of 3/19/09.

With the win last night over Chicago, the Blue Jackets reached 80 points on the season. The Jackets next point will be a new franchise record. The Jackets have a new high for wins in a season with 37 so far. With this, they are on pace to finish above .500 for the first time in franchise history. The Jackets’ current win percentage is .563. They are on track to set new highs both at home and on the road.

Rick Nash’s 33 assists are a new personal best. Nash's previous high was 31, which he achieved last year. He is three points away from establishing a personal best in points -- he currently has 67 points. He is also on track for his best +/- with +10, with his previous best of +2 in 2007-08. Nash has also surpassed David Vyborny as the career franchise leader in points. Vyborny’s record was 317 points, Nash is currently at 343.

Steve Mason, the rookie sensation in goal already has multiple Blue Jackets records at just 20 years of age. He is tied with former Jackets goalie Pascal Leclaire for most shutouts in a season with 9. He has the most wins in franchise history with 29. The longest shutout streak belongs to Mason with 199:19 of no goals against. He is currently tied with or very close to Jackets records in save percentage and goals against average(2.25 GAA, .918 Sv.%).

Jake Voracek is on pace to set a new CBJ record for most points by a rookie. The current record belongs to Nash with 39 points in his rookie year. Voracek has 9 goals and 26 assists for 35 points, and is on pace to end the season with 10-30-40.

RJ Umberger has a new personal best for goals with 24.

Fedor Tyutin has new career highs in goals, assists, points, power play assists and power play points. Tyutin’s totals check in at 8-24-32 with his previous best being 6-19-25. He has 4 goals and 12 assists for 16 points on the power play, with his previous best on the power play being 4-8-12.

And as we all know, the 19,167 fans that saw the Jackets top the Penguins in a shootout last Thursday is the largest crowd ever in Nationwide.

Any cool records I missed or that you’d like to point out? And which new or potential record is the most surprising to you?

Gotta Love the OT Cannon!

2009-03-18T22:26:00.005-03:00

I'll never complain about an entertaining hockey game. That was a good one. The OT Winner makes it even sweeter. I would have loved to have taken the point from the Hawks, but realistically we probably won't get up to match them. The win is clutch because a loss would freak out the scoreboard watchers.

A great ending to a pretty solid heavy game.

What are with these starts that we've had over the last month? We don't always give a goal like tonight, but it seems like our opponent has been able to hem us in the zone. I long for the days when we "felt each other out" for about 5 minutes. We have responded a whole lot better than any other time in our history. You used to be able to chalk up a goal like that in the loss column. We have proven we can score goals.

Nash was possessed tonight. He was buzzing all night long. This dude wants to bring the playoffs to Columbus. He had about 4 pretty good scoring chances, but scored on a whimpy, waffling wrister from a bad angle. Go figure.

A bad night for Tyutin. He spent as much time on ice as he did in the box for the first two periods. A lot of minors and he made a bad play on the first rush. I've really grown to like his play this year. He's been our best defender IMO. Tonight was an off-night.

What in the heck was the diving call on Boll? I appreciated the two straight minutes of booing from the Nat. That was a ridiculous call. You could take both of them I guess, but in no way only give him the dive. That was a bad call. In regards to Boll I felt he was pretty invisible. A player like him cannot be invisible because then he isn't adding much to the team. He HAS to play physical. No questions.

I liked Dorsett's game tonight. His goal was on a nice rebound and he really set up a nice chance for Murray in the third. He has made this play a few times when on the rush with a player, it is his quickness that lets him create the opportunity. He wants to stay in the lineup. I liked him over Boller.

Vermette was pretty quiet.... until he scores the GWG in OT. Umberger made a beautiful saucer pass. This was not a CBJ goal of the past. There is so much skill on display on that play on both parts. That is from our current second liners. Thank you Scott Howson.

This was a scrappy game. We didn't get great play out of a lot of our guys, but we got solid play. We stayed in it and was really competitive all night long.

Mancrush of the Game: The gutsy Third Period PK. Body were flying. A couple of our guys were diving face first to block shot attempts. These guys want to win so bad. If a puck went in, it could have been a loss. A frustrating loss. This is a team you can be proud of. This is a team that will wrap the city into a frenzy.

I would love to see the TV people hit the airwaves with some new commercials. One the Hawks feed from the other night, they had some pretty cool backlit spots with their players skating to a microphone. We need something.

A pretty cool setting with Rick Nash speaking to a camera, "I'm Rick Nash, Come see me play, I won't quit" would be freaking tight. Get a series of them set and blast the commercials. Columbus is craving to embrace this team. This is the time to get the CASUALS, not one dollar dog night against the Thrashers in October.

Whipping Boy: The start. We've got to fix this, before it becomes psychological. It might be already. At least we know we will score.

So what would you be willing to do for playoff tickets? Hit the comments, be creative. The most creative answer will receive a authentic ticket request endorsement from the Cannon.

Power Outage

2009-03-15T20:43:00.005-03:00

Scoring chances tonight were few and far between and it resulted in a 4-0 loss to Detroit.

Detroit played a good game. We were smoothered defensively and we could not stop their offensive pressure. It was not a pretty game, but at least it didn't reach blowout status. Detroit is a good team. One 8-2 win will not change that. The seemed to plug tonight rather than bedazzle with skill. They played more of our game.

We started this game about as badly as you could. We first got a gift on a no-goal call off of Holmstrom. That was a clean goal in my opinion. We then proceeded to give up a powerplay followed by a 2 minute 5 on 3. This is how Detroit wins so many games. They put teams down early with an effective Powerplay. We played right into their hands tonight and were playing from behind all night.

On one hand, we all knew the win streak would end soon. We beat four high quality opponents. Now it is time to start another streak.

I'll keep it short tonight. I didn't feel like we had players that necessarily stood out that much. It was truly a team effort.

Whipping Boy: The Powerplay. We had our chances to get back into the game with some early powerplays and it just didn't happen. We lost loose pucks. We were cleared out easily. We stood with the puck looking for something to happen... Not a good unit tonight.

Wednesday on the docket. Start a new streak.

Hit the comments, fire away.

My Email to Scott Howson

2009-03-14T11:21:00.004-03:00

For an amusing stroll down memory lane...

July 17th, 2008

Mr. Howson,

First let me make this clear. I like ALL of the moves you have made thus far. I think many holes have been plugged with younger talent than I expected (i.e. Tyutin and Umberger). I’d also like to thank you for being aggressive in the Redden, Richards, and Jokinen talks because it assures me you are in on the action.

So I 150% believe that you have sought out Antoine Vermette.

I think this guy is the absolute most perfect fit in the NHL for this team, in this system. To be honest going into the offseason, I was expecting an additional top six forward and now we seem settled into giving Brassard the reins. I was at the prospect camp, he was a man among boys, very impressive. Brule was impressive before, Fritsche was impressive before. Considering his 17 games of NHL experience, injury history, and lack of faceoff skills I am not sold on him solidifying our top 6. Let’s just say I am jaded counting on young players. If Brassard falters we are looking at Peca/Novotny/Malhotra as our second line center… this has been one of our major problems since our inception.

I think Umberger will make a good transition back to center, but even he hasn’t played much center lately and certainly not on a scoring line. This all leads me to Vermette.

I know I am not privy to much information, but it seems he is available because he wants a long term commitment the Sens do not want to give him. This guy would give us 2 top 6 centers. He’d also be a playmaking center we can count on to win faceoffs (not since Andrew Cassels have we had that). This would help our PP so much in my opinion. It seems like the first 15 seconds of every Rick Nash shift is Nasher on defense. We need offensive players on the ice with strong faceoff men. Vermette is both. He is young. He would fit into our building core and by reports, wouldn’t command an unrealistic salary.

By my count we’d have 7 million dollars off of next year’s payroll. This is the only year he’d break any kind of budget. Our 2009 1st rounder, is a player that may not help us until 2014 and I feel like our fanbase needs the playoffs now. With the current roster, there are a lot of ifs and it will be a dogfight for the 7th and 8th playoff spot. Rather than being in the mix… I want to be a clear cut team. An acquisition like this would help immensely in that regard. Then imagine Brassard asserts himself, Voracek asserts himself. We would have an enormous amount of scoring depth and plenty of “bullets” I’m sure you know all this and have done diligence to acquire him.

I want the best shot to make the playoffs and I don’t feel like we have that team right now. I understand the Sens may not want our picks and futures, but someone will. Three team trades are under utilized in the NHL. I hope you’ve sought out these options and I trust that you have. I understand high asking prices, but I know homeowners usually come down after awhile. Please stay on it.

If we get a top 6 center like Vermette send me a reply, I convince my wife to let me buy season tickets, I promise.

Thanks for reading my plea for Vermette,

Some Number Crunching

2009-03-14T00:45:00.001-03:00

We are currently:

20-13-4 against current playoff teams.

7-3-0 against the East

13-10-4 against the West.

Statement

2009-03-13T23:41:00.004-03:00

Who wants to play us right now?

Second night of a heart pounding back to back. The Jackets brought their game to Chicago. Outside of the first ten minutes to the second period, we owned the game.

Right now, roster for roster player for player, we are a better team than Chicago. Their blueline is more mobile, but count the odd man rushes we got in this game.

It should be noted we have PASSED our ENTIRE goal output from last season with 194 goals. The team still needs some offense and a PP, WHAT in the world did we have last year? While we have been critical of the offense at times this year, it is leaps and bounds better. Our skill level is just higher. If we were middle of the pack PP, we'd be past the Hawks in the standings.

Huselius, what a dirty goal. It put us up 2-0. He was buzzing all night, I thought he was one of our more visible offensive players.

The Vermette mancrush grows. He pots two for us tonight. The first of which has to make Hitch smile. Going to the dirty areas to find a rebound. This guy could be the missing piece for us. Imagine trotting out the Chimera - Brassard - Voracek line with the current top six we have going. Think about that offensive depth for a little bit.

Big salute to Dubie. We needed a big performance from him and he did not disappoint. He made the saves when he had to. His performance gave me a lot more confidence in our goaltending down the stretch.

Raffi, stop with the little cute blind back passes and you've won over my heart. He seriously made a drop pass from behind our own goal-line to a player on the blueline. Please never do that again. I can't argue with his touch around the net right now. I liked the Brule trade a lot when it happened. Didn't like it for a while. Starting to like it again.

Besides making it a little too interesting with a couple late penalties. I thought we played a pretty good game. I thought the PK was pretty good considering giving up two goals. It is funny how that works out sometimes.

Who can beat Rick Nash in a loose puck race with nobody in the way of the goalie?

Mancrush of the Game : Although I could probably put Vermette here for a fourth straight game, I'm giving the nod to Voracek. A brilliant game from the youngster. His vision on the Huselius goal was amazing, the pass was exactly where it had to be. He added two other helpers. His puck protection was great. You win with players like this. He'll only get better.

Whipping Boy: These Wild Momentum Swings. Hitch did put his foot on the throat of it tonight, with the TO, but they need to come to an end. Even if we play a great 55 minutes, a bad 5 can lose a game. Credit to the Hawks, they are a good team, but we still need to be able to get the puck deep and grind away a couple of shifts after a goal.

Detroit - check, Boston - check, Pittsburg - check, Chicago - check. We are for real boys. You genuine, 9 year addicts, please rest easily tonight.

Look at the pipeline, if we make it in the playoffs, we won't be leaving for a long time.

Target Vancouver

19,000 Saw a Show

2009-03-12T22:28:00.010-03:00

It is an absolute shame we don't play in the same division as the Penguins. The energy in the building was electrifying. Given the proximity, the rivalry could be huge.

On Hitch Night, we could have given the big guy a nice relaxing finish. What's the fun in that though? At least we gave daddy two points.

All things aside, that was a pretty entertaining game. MUCH more entertaining since we won. Although we gave up a 3 goal third period lead, it was fun to watch. Oh to feel something in March. I've waited so long. I cannot even give you a projected top 10 draft pick next year. Tavaras, Hedman... umm maybe another Schenn, another Staal?!?. I like that.

The loss of Mark Methot, put us into disarray with our defensive pairs. Not a good thing against an offensive team like Pittsburgh. Once the cracks began, it just got worse. We could not match up against the Crosby-Malkin combo when they were united. They were truly dominate. Pretty quiet when they were apart.

Antoine Vermette was our best player tonight. With two games worth of trust, Hitch played he, Umberger and Williams against Malkin all night long. He and Williams connected for two nice goals. The assist, he made was pure all-out hustle and skill. The pass from the knees was a new one in CBJ land. The slapper seemed to turn the game into a fun evening, until Pittsburgh poured on their comeback.

To their credit they poured it on. This is a scary team coast to coast. They made more tic-tac-toe passes than any team I've seen on the rush. I have no idea what there problem was earlier in the year, especially when their offense disappeared.

Mason was sick? Dude played out of his mind for us tonight. He made some very clutch saves for us early (another poor slow start) and kept us in it when the momentum had swung. Some huge saves in OT.

Json Williams continues to play very solid hockey for us. Clay and a 6th... um I'd do that one again. He has the scorer's touch. The first true Vyborny-esque backhand in quite some time. I like it.

Nash played real strong all night long, he was huge on the puck and did make plays, even though he didn't find the scoresheet tonight. I thought we were going to pot one in the final 15 seconds mostly off of the work of Nash.

The Juice came up big for us tonight on two nice wristers. He is 19 goals and 39 posts this year. We needed him in the shootout and he got the win for us. Leaving a game up to Malkin is not a good idea.

Mancrush of the Game: Vermette again, he continues to impress me. I was hoping to see him in the shootout, but our three guys have been doing well lately. I think I'll get over the recurring mancrush in a couple of games. Someone will need to unseat the king right now.

Whipping Boy: Klesla is my boy, but he did not play a very strong game. You can see the puck vibrate on his stick tonight. He made some very bad outlet passes and we need more than the default, weak, rims around the boards.

I feel for the older CBJ faithful, I can feel my heart palpitations already. This stretch drive might result in some deaths.

McConnell Heart Hospital <-> Playoff Blue Jacket Hockey... Coincidence or not?

Chant the Flag

2009-03-11T00:42:00.001-03:00

There's been some discussion among fans about organizing chants to take Nationwide to the next level and to blow the roof off the building.

Credit to Optimus Moo from HFboards.com for the amazing motivational poster.

Here's your chance. Leave some comments with ideas for chants, or whatever you want to suggest to get the fans in Nationwide rocking. If there's enough interest, we could roll out an entire section for fan interactivity, specifically planning and executing chants when we launch CBJCannon.com.

If you've ever been to a game in Nashville, you've seen "The Cell Block," Section 303. While I hate to give props to the Preds, that section of fans sets the tone for the Sommet Center and gets the rest of the crowd going. For a look at their site, visit section303.org.

Let's see what you've got!

A Case for the Calder

2009-03-10T23:48:00.004-03:00

There has been a lot of talk lately about who is most deserving of the Calder trophy, an award given each year to the best rookie in the NHL. There have been a few different names bandied about; early in the season it seemed to be a race between Derick Brassard and Kris Versteeg, before Brass' season ended early with a shoulder injury. Versteeg has cooled of late, and in their place players like Bobby Ryan and James Neal have moved to the forefront. However, the one player who has consistently been in the race for the Calder has been goaltender Steve Mason.

He didn't start the season with the Jackets, in fact he was injured to start the season. After recovering from off-season surgery, Mase played three games for Syracuse of the AHL, before earning a callup to the Jackets in place of the since-traded Pascal Leclaire. Since being recalled, Mase has been the undisputed number one goalie in Columbus. His rise to prominence allowed the Jackets' brass to trade Leclaire, a former first round pick.

Not only has Mase kept the Jackets in the hunt for their first playoff berth, he has been at or near the top of every goaltender statistical category. Just this evening, Mase defeated the NHL-leading Boston Bruins 2-0, to earn his league best 9th shutout. This was a huge statement, as the opposition goaltender was Tim Thomas, the only goalie in the league with a better goals-against average.

Steve Mason is one of the biggest reasons the Blue Jackets are currently in a playoff spot. Never in their existence have they made the playoffs, nor been in a playoff position this late in the season. If the Jackets can maintain their current level of play, one would think that Steve Mason's heroics between the pipes will get the recognition it deserves, and he is rewarded with the Calder trophy.

Hell, why not the Vezina?

Jackets Sting the B's

2009-03-10T22:25:00.005-03:00

Hopefully the title does not bring back repressed memories of team name confusion.

The Bruins are a great team. They do everything well. They play all three zones very well. They move the puck out of their zone quick, they pressure and create offense and get good goaltending. This is by far the best Eastern team I have seen. Fortunately Kessel came back after what appeared to be a possible shoulder dislocation. I was a B's fan before the Jackets came to town. I hope to see them in the Cup this year (Although the City of Boston is getting a little too annoyingly successful).

We beat them. We did not look overmatched. We shut them out.

To the positives:

Vermette got his second point in his second game. He really adds a lot to the team. He used his speed well and created offense tonight. I think he and Umberger can mesh really well for us. They play similar downhill styles and they both have offensive creativity. I hope that they are paired for a while to develop some chemistry.

Mase is back. When Mase is playing really well, it doesn't look like he is playing hard at all. He was on tonight. He saw all the pucks, he was positionally strong, he made all the saves. As Mase goes, so goes the Jackets. That's about the same story for most of the teams in the NHL.

Raffi has been on a shooting spree. We are finally able to see what type of player he can be for us. I'd actually like to see more physical play for us, but right now I'm satisfied. When he is scoring consistently that is good news because this team has struggled with secondary scoring for.... ever.

Voracek played a strong game tonight. His quality of ice time will be down, but he is a puck control hog. I can't imagine how much better his board play and puck control is when he puts on 15-20 pounds.

The defense played really strong, safe hockey tonight. Just the way Hitch likes it. I thought Klesla played another really strong game. Having two capable shutdown pairs really helps against teams with the type of offensive depth as the B's.

An honorable mention tonight to Jiri Novotny. He is a "get in the way" type of player. Good and bad. The last two nights have been very good. He has laid the body religiously and really has gotten under everyone's skin.

Mancrush of the Game: I really liked the Umberger-Vermette pair. I thought they threatened all night and played really sound defensive hockey. The best second line we've ever had. Better than most first lines of CBJ yesteryear.

Whipping Boy of the Game: There were no passengers tonight. Special Teams played solid. A near flawless Hitchcock game.

This was a huge win. That Nat sounded great tonight. I think we'll see the benefits of this one in the standings tomorrow. We might get some additional space with all the games on the docket tonight.

So excited yet?

Puck Daddy: Nash talks playoffs

2009-03-10T14:58:00.000-03:00

For fans of The Cannon, I have to take a quick moment for thanks and to pat ourselves on the back. We're big fans of the work done on the Puck Daddy blog for all news hockey, and we were excited to see Clint's last game recap was referenced in a recent article.

Greg Wyshynski wrote a great post yesterday regarding Nash's role as the team's leader heading down the stretch, and the great fan reaction to the Blue Jackets success.

"He's thriving under new pressure every game: Playing with his team's postseason destiny in its hands; beating teams like the Red Wings late in the season; and knowing that the weight of a city rests on the captain's shoulders, as the fans crave their first taste of the playoffs."

Puck Daddy on Yahoo!

If you're a fan of hockey, you'll find his blogs entertaining and informative -- and I just wanted to pass along this good article for Jackets fans and to say thanks for the mention.

Vermette = 8 Goals @ Detroit

2009-03-07T22:10:00.005-04:00

Cause and effect relationships.

If only we were able to add Antoinne Vermette 9 years ago... I'm kidding of course, but this was probably the most fun I've ever had watching a CBJ game. We simply thumped the Wings. We needed to.

All aspects of the game were strong. Special teams must be good when you play Detroit, and they were. You must capitalize on your scoring chances, we did. Our effort was in unison tonight. In the past few weeks we looked disjointed. Not so, tonight, everyone put it out there, everything flowed together.

The reality is this team is completely different when they get on the scoreboard first and early. When that happens we play very good, strong games. When that doesn't happen it seems we might grip the sticks to hard or get deflated after the opponent scores on us. We will not score first every night, we will need to get over this.

To the new guy. Vermette impressed me tonight. He made a lot of really solid plays. He will help us. He adds another threat on the ice for us. He adds scoring depth. He was a strong penalty killer tonight and strong in the circle. We didn't get to see the offensive flare tonight, but I'm sure we will. Very satisfied with his play today.

Another strong performer for me tonight was Chris Gratton. He seems to make strong keep ins. He continues possession and battles well along the boards. He will be the ideal fourth line center moving forward. I honestly thought we missed him in the lineup against Nashville. I like his game over Peca's to be honest.

Rick Nash's and his unassisted hat trick is the third player I'm mentioning. That signifies a great, great game. I'm not sure I've ever seen an unassisted hattie. When he gets blank ice in front of him, Nasher always finds that extra gear. All three of his goals were on pretty wicked shots. Sometimes they go in.

Klesla looked pretty strong in his return. I'm happy to have him back. I was growing tired of the Methot, Backman, Rome revolving door. None of these guys are consistent enough to play top 4 minutes. While he has his critics, Klesla plays a simple steady top four game. He is also beastly on the PK, which should really help us down the stretch.

Umberger continues his very strong play. He has really delivered what I hoped for. He has proven to be a consistent score, which was a concern of mine when we traded for him. I was skeptically if his numbers were inflated by playing with a lot of high quality guys in Philly. He has put up very strong night with a seemingly revolving door of linemates. I really like the Umberger - Vermette - Williams line tonight. That could be the best second line we've ever iced.

I should at least mention Mason and his 42 saves. He looked pretty strong tonight. He had no chance on the first goal and the second was a deflection. He was very good tonight.

Our defense played a really strong game against Detroit's best players. They got the second change so we always didn't get the matchups, but this is the value Klesla brings IMO, you can roll out either pair against the Z line and not see a difference.

Mancrush of the Night: Antoinne Vermette, this is a mancrush award 2 years in the making. I like the 50 too. Hopefully he owns that number so I can get it sown on my blank jersey.

Whipping Boy of the Night: Voracek, he was only even on the night and registered 0 shots. Bum. Boller and Dorse are going to make sure he hears about it. :-)

If we get into the playoffs you have to love our chances in the first round because we always tend to get up for games against the best teams. We will be the underdog in round one. I do not think there are many teams that would want to see us in round one.

So an 8-2 win against the Wings in the Joe.... did you ever think we would see the day. Somewhere Serge Aubin is smiling.

The Prophecy

2009-03-04T20:15:00.005-04:00

Finally Columbus teen-beat heart throb Antoine Vermette has come home. After years of prophecies, the Jackets acquired Vermette today at the expense of Pascal Leclaire and a 2nd round pick. The Goal Cannon, Chris Gratton, and now Vermette, who says message boarders can't run a professional sports team. :)

On a lot of levels this deal makes a ton of sense. Vermette is a scoring line player, who has untapped potential. He also will fit into the Hitch system which is a rare mix. On the bright side, this could be an amazing good fit. If there is downside, we have a year to make a decision to see if he is a longterm fit with this team. I think if he meshes well, we will have the pieces to make a darkhorse cup run. There are a lot of great teams in the west, but I think we can knock off a good one in round number one. I've been driving the Vermette train for about 3 years running now, and I'm really excited to have him in the fold now.

I've felt for a long time that you will win more games with more 4 million dollar players than a couple 8 million dollar players. Vermette will fit into that model. He won't be a cap buster, but he will be a great complementary player.

His versatility is the most attractive feature. He can play all situations and all forward positions at about the same level. Between he and Umberger we should have a very versatile top 6 for this year and next year.

The Price: Pascal and a 2nd. My first gut reaction was that I imagined what this trade would have been at the beginning of the year. I think it could have probably been Pazzy for Vermette straight up. We probably would have jumped all over that if we knew what Mason would walk in and due. We are selling Pazzy at low value, but I think the 2nd is more to even out the final year of Pazzy's deal. 4.8 is a lot of dough for Pazzy that we will now be able to reinvest. There are health concerns with Pazzy that I feel are overblown, but I do feel we did overpay for this deal. This is what happens at the deadline though, buyers will overpay. At the end of the day we got the player we wanted without touching the roster.

We will all miss Pazzy and his personality. I'll be rooting for him to be successful. With the talent on that Ottawa team, I'd expect them to make a quick turnaround next year.

Nash - Malhotra - Huselius
Umberger - Vermette - Voracek
Modin - Williams - Torres

is a pretty good healthy top 9 for us. Next year slide Malhotra down into Williams spot and put Brassard on the top line, yowza.

Not to be overlooked picking up Kevin Lalande for a 4th round pick seems at the surface to be interesting. I'm not going to pretend I know anything about Lalande, but we I can infer is that he's highly thought of in his limited playing time. For a backup AHL goalie to land a 4th round pick, there is obviously some buzz there. I trust our scouts on goalies, we've picked some good ones. Calgary has tremendous goaltending depth, so this could be a under the radar move that can certainly stabilize the net in Syracuse.

It sure is fun to be a buyer. Last year's deadline was the most depressing for me in history, because we went in with hopes of being a buyer and came out a seller. In the long run, it was probably the best move we could have made.

Grade Scottie Howson... What do you think?

Meet Your New Blue Jacket: Antoine Vermette

2009-03-04T17:47:00.002-04:00

After years of Jackets fans lusting over Antoine Vermette, he has finally arrived in Columbus. This morning, Scott Howson made the first trade of the day when he sent Pascal Leclaire and a 2nd round pick to the Ottawa Senators for Antoine Vermette.

First, a quick look at what is heading out of Columbus.

Pascal Leclaire, the first round pick from 2001 who last year looked like our franchise goaltender. He was signed to a 3-year extension and all looked to be well. But yet again, he was struck by injuries, which opened the way for Steve Mason. Mase has been outstanding all year. The Calder Trophy for best rookie is his to lose at this point in the season. When we learned Leclaire would be done for the year, the question for Scott Howson was simple: do we hang on to Leclaire and run the risk of having a high-priced back-up to Steve Mason? Or do we trade him and strengthen our depth up front?

Considering a pretty comparable goalie in Cristobal Huet, who was in the midst of a solid season last year, was traded to Washington for a 2nd round pick during the 2008 trade deadline, the return of Vermette for Leclaire seems pretty tremendous.

The 2nd round pick was minimal to give up, especially considering Ottawa accepted the deal without requiring Pazzy to pass a physical. Columbus still has plenty of picks left to add to the prospect pool at the draft this summer in Montreal.

And on to Antoine...

Antoine Vermette is a versatile forward, capable of playing center or wing. The Jackets will most certainly line him up at center on one of the top two lines. He has collected 21, 19, and 24 goals the past 3 seasons with a career-high 54 points last year. He was a key component to the Sens Stanley Cup run when they lost to Anaheim in the finals.

Here's my favorite stat of the day: Antoine was 14-0 in face-offs against Toronto last Saturday. He is 5th best in the NHL in FO%, behind the Blue Jackets own Manny Malhotra. The value of having another player you know can win you critical face-offs is huge, especially in the playoffs where a game of possession could lead to success for the Blue Jackets.

Vermette makes 2.525 million dollars this year, and 3 million next year. His cap hit is 2.763 million and he will be an unrestricted free agent when his contract expires. Vermette is 26 years old, the perfect age for a player the Blue Jackets hope can be a part of their young core for many more years. I wouldn't be surprised to see a contract extension worked on with him shortly after the contract of Rick Nash is taken care of, and be something that is done mid-season.

He will add a lot to our squad. He adds scoring depth and is a fast skater. Vermette is solid on defense and a great penalty killer. Much has been made by analysts today that he is the perfect Hitchcock player. And now Rick Nash isn't the only Blue Jacket to score a goal in the NHL between his legs:

Welcome to Columbus, Antoine.

Thoughts? Do you like the Jackets move today? Do you think this is enough to solidify the current 6th place standing?

Vermette to Columbus

2009-03-04T10:31:00.002-04:00

Goalie Pascal Leclaire and a 2nd round pick have been traded to Ottawa for forward Antoine Vermette.

UPDATE: 3:39 PM -- CBJ add goalie Kevin Lalande from Calgary for a 4th round pick.

I'll update with any additional trades throughout the afternoon and hope to add my thoughts later tonight.

A Solid 58 Minutes

2009-03-03T22:14:00.002-04:00

A pathetic two minute stretch really put a damper on this evening. The team has shown resilency this year... inconsistently. We had it tonight. We got a much needed two points, so at the end of the day... all is well.

Mason would love to have 2 or 3 of those goals back. As the season has moved on, he has started to look more and more human. He let in his first really bad one today on a backhanded bouncing puck. I know we have rode him for the last 5 months, but we do need more consistent play out of Mase. He usually can shake off goals, but for the first time I think we say him rattled.

Manny Malhotra played an amazing game. 2 goals on the books, Raffi made a soft tip on another. He could have had a hattie. Manny has shown he can be a solid player for stretches. Honestly isn't that about the same as Nash and Huselius? You could argue that Manny puts it out there every night though with his contribution. He's busting every shift, and always helping on the faceoff dot and on the PK. It will be interesting to see how we plays down the stretch for us.

I was on Raffi for a couple weeks, but he is really skating much better now. Injuries do take time to get back into it. He's making better plays and you can start to see the potential he brings to this team.

Voracek was pushing really hard all night long and was rewarded with an early dirty goal. When he is skating he looks so much like Forsberg that it is scary. After witnessing the one year improvement of Brassard this year, Voracek could be scary next year.

Aaron Rome has continued his solid play. If Methot didn't take his chance and run with it early this year, we would have seen Romer a lot earlier. He played a really solid positional game for me tonight.

The minutes were spread out a lot better tonight. This is a good thing for the team. I think Nash is a great 19 minute player, but he simply gets worn out when he has to play 21-22 a game. Spreading the minutes will certainly pay its dividends down the stretch, hopefully we continue to get consistent four line play.

In it's only appearance, the powerplay looked good. We needed it on the road.

Mancrush of the Game: Manny played beastly. That is why he is a former HF Mancrush Award Winner. Manny laying on the puck for the final 5 seconds was great.

Whipping Boy: Tonight it was Mase. He let in two really bad ones. He also made the game a little too interesting with a bad dealy of game penalty.

In other news it was announced that Chimmer would need surgery and he'd be down for 5 weeks. My take, it is better to get this guy healthy. He is a mediocre at best player without his speed. His speed creates space and pressures the defense. He needs to be healthy to play his game. Since this is his first groin injury part of it is probably psychological also. It is nice to hear that he'll be out for 5 weeks, because in Jackets seasons past this would have been termed "Out for the Season."

Mase gets 8

2009-02-26T23:40:00.000-04:00

Steve Mason just recorded his 8th shut out of the season against the Edmonton Oilers. But the bigger story tonight is Raffi Torres, who netted the only goal in the Blue Jackets 1-0 win over the 8th place Oilers. This goal was huge on many levels. I'll be blunt, Raffi hasn't played well lately. This goal may give him some confidence moving forward. If we're going to make noise in the playoffs, we need a guy like him chipping in goals from the 3rd line. Also, it was against his former mates, the Edmonton Oilers, who we traded with in the swap the send Brule to Edmonton.

The first period was fairly boring compared to the next two -- just 14 shots between both teams -- but the Jackets managed play well and didn't give up an early goal like they have the last few games. In the second, it was all-out assault on Roloson as the Jackets peppered him and outshot the Oilers 17-5. But, as seems to happen a lot against Roloson, the Jackets couldn't get one behind him.

On to the third, where Raffi was certainly cheating behind the Edmonton defense -- it looked like it was on an EDM line change -- and he took off on a breakaway, waited patiently for Roloson to open up the 5-hole and scored what would be the game-winning goal.

The new lines put in place by Coach Hitchcock looked pretty good, passing well, cycling the puck, and getting shots on goal. New Blue Jacket Chris Gratton was huge on the ice, throwing hits and creating havoc with Dorsett and Murray.

The only negative point of the night would be the Jackets inability to finish. This is a game that could have been 1-0 in the Oilers favor. Ultimately, the Jackets got that goal, and it's all it took, which boosts them up to 68 points, 3 points above 7th place Minnesota.

On to Vancouver!

The Albatross Part Tres

2009-02-24T07:47:00.002-04:00

Which teams are in the best shape from a cap perspective moving forward? This is part three of the series. Here are the last batch of 10.

Ottawa
Grade C: They are the new Tampa Lightning. They’ve lost Chara, Redden, and Meszaros because of the cap and you have to feel for them somewhat, however they did make bad choices. They should’ve kept Chara. With a lot of contracts coming off, they’ll have a chance to rebuild smartly. The problem will be their 1st rounders in the late 20’s have not netted any prime time prospects.

The Albatross: Mike Fisher is overpaid and playing terrible. 4.2 million for the next 4 years makes the stomach rumble. Alfie will be 36 and make 9.1 million next year. Not a misprint. He’ll have a cap hit of 4.4 million when he is 40.

Philadelphia
Grade B: This is another well built team, but they have a mix of good and mediocre contracts. Richards and Carter are signed for pretty good deal. However, Hartnell and Lupul will be overpaid. Gagne’s injuries make his number harder to swallow.

The Albatross: The Danny Briere signing looked needed last year, but he’s signed for 6 more years at a hit of 6.5 million a year. This is the biggest hiccup in the Holmgren administration. They may not have foreseen the development of Carter, Richards, and Umberger. I’m sure they’d love to trade Briere’s deal for Umberger’s deal right now. They will be bumping against the cap, it’s a good thing they don’t have any young players that need paid soon. Their situation will make it difficult to improve over the next few years.

Phoenix
Grade A: From a cap perspective they are in great shape, financially they are a mess. This is a team that has dodged most of the bad bullets. All of their commodities are still tradeable. It is a shame of the financial problems, because they are improving to be a top team in the west.

The Albatross: Jovo is their only huge deal that looks kinda bad. He’s not worth the 6 million he’ll get the next two years, but I think there are still plenty of teams who would take him.

Pittsburgh
Grade B: We’ll see the next version of the Lightning, and Senators coming soon. Crosby and Malkin are both worth their money, but can a team stay competitive with a top heavy payroll structure. They will soon be losing all those young cheap contracts. IMO trading Staal for a couple great prospects would have made more sense for their future budget. However it is hard to pull the trigger when you are icing a competitive team. Currently they are not in the playoffs, and not scoring, they won’t have any room for improvement in the future. The good news is Crosby and Malkin will ALWAYS have trade value if it ever comes to that.

The Albatross: I think Whitney and Fleury are both overpaid, but could probably be moved. We are witnessing the disadvantage of having a load of solid young players, they all want paid at about the same time. They’ll have a harder time developing young players with worse picks. This could be the Jackets in a few years.

San Jose
Grade A: This is a model structure for a consistently top team. The best organizational payroll chart in my opinion. They’ve gotten their best players signed to great deals. They continue to develop young cheap players to accent their superstars. They will continue to be great. This is probably the most well oiled machine right now in the league as far as building a roster.

The Albatross: Cheechoo has proven to be a bust with a one timer, but his deal will be up in 2 years. I feel like they jumped that gun re-upping Vlasic, but only time will tell. 4 years at 3.1 just seems a little early for such a strong team. I won’t question their move though, because they have proven to be great at personnel management. Continuing the youngsters pipeline will be the challenge. Resigning Marleau could potentially be interesting.

St. Louis
Grade C: Most of their players are hurt so it is really hard to say. Will Kariya ever earn his money again? Brewer? Their goaltending blows. They are spending 5+ million for AHL quality tenders. They are right up against the cap right now and they are far away from being a contender so there is some bad money management on display.

The Albatross: Next year Brewer, McKee, and Jackman will cost 12 million dollars. Pretty pricey in my opinion for a team far away from being a contender. Most of their contract will expire before they are legit contenders again, for know they’ll let their young player develop and continue adding to the farm.

Tampa Bay
Grade C: Coin was tossed around like a toy, but as far as the cap goes they are not in awful shape in the future. About half of their 20 forwards will be off the books next year. I am keeping Vinny for sure, because they will have the flexibility to build around him again in the future and the Southeast sucks. They just need to sit and hold

The Albatross: Ignoring the Vrbata deal; 3.5 million for year years for a 33 year old Vinny Prospal was a bad choice. In fairness, they thought they could contend this year. Who knows how much they are paying Barry Melrose.

Toronto
Grade D: Burkey jumped the boat at the wrong time. The Leafs have a few unmoveable bad contracts. They will look much different after the deadline. They would be better off shipping off Kaberle and Kubina for good young prospects because the Leafs are sitting with pretty dry cabinets and Luke Schenn

The Albatross: Blake’s got 3 more years at about 4 million on the worst contract in the league. Hagman at 3 million is overpaid and I’m not sure who though Jeff Finger at 3.5 million for 4 years was a good idea. This will be a full scale rebuild. By the time they are competitive Blake’s and Finger’s contract will probably be done. I would have stayed in Anaheim where he had some serious cash available to improve the team.

Vancouver
Grade A: As far as flexibility goes, they get an A. They only have 10 players signed to about 30 million dollars next year. However their 10 million dollar deal to Sundin signifies they are having a hard time luring UFAs. It’s cold up there. This is Burkey’s second team, he tends to have a pattern, good contracts and bad cupboards.

The Albatross: Hard to find one here, Salo is pricey at 3.5 million, but there are much worse. It will be interesting to see what this team looks like if they go twinless next year. They will be about 5 players short of a top 6.

Washington
Grade B: They have some flexibility in the future to build around Alex. With their play this year, they should attract some high profile UFAs, however there are some annoying little contracts that seems to just be high priced mediocre players which will halt their progress for a couple years (see Chris Clark).

The Albatross: Michal Nylander and his two more years of 5 million dollars are ugly. Imagine if they could slide a true 5 million dollar center next to Alex. This is a great team in the Southeast, but a mediocre team compared to the league IMO. Continuing to develop good cheap talent will be the challenge to make this team a Cup contender. If they spend wisely they can be good for a very long time.

The Cannon is Moving

2009-02-23T10:47:00.002-04:00

I have recently purchased the cbjcannon.com domain name, and I am in the process of acquiring a hosting service and transferring the data from the blog to the new site. I am hoping to have everything up and running by the middle to end of next week.

The format will be similar, with myself, Andy and Clint contributing game recaps, original content, and our takes on CBJ news.

'The depth chart will have it's own page, along with some other new features.

Stay Tuned!

Meet Your New Blue Jacket: Chris Gratton

2009-02-23T10:36:00.004-04:00

The Jackets have claimed center Chris Gratton off re-entry waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning. This is an extremely low-risk move, as the Jackets will only be on the hook for under $200,000.

Gratton is a big body, and is a good penalty killer. His greatest asset at this point in his career is his ability to win key faceoffs. He'll likely suit up as the fourth line center, and could see some time on the powerplay as a "mucker" in front of the opposition goaltender.

To me this spells the end of Jiri Novotny, who after returning from injury, has shown nothing in the way of offense, and hasn't been effective along the boards. Gratton won't supply any more offense, but he will work hard and win battles.

Dorsett mauls Mikkelson

2009-02-22T12:04:00.000-04:00

This may be the fight of the year for the CBJ.

Not a Good One

2009-02-21T22:16:00.004-04:00

We were fortunate to escape with some wins against teams like St. Louis and Toronto while playing our D game. It didn't happen tonight and it won't happen against good teams. I did feel our overall play was better than it has been recently, BUT we were let down in net tonight...

Mason has seen much better days. The first goal was a long shot, the second was a pass deflected off of Commie, which he still could have stopped. The killer was the wrister from Perry down the right wing to go up 3-1, just after we got on the scoreboard. Perry is a good shooter, but Mase has to make that save. He's won a lot of games for us. Games we shouldn't have won.

We had our chances on the powerplay, we did come away with two goals, but it still felt ineffective tonight. There was a long string of first period PPs that would have tightened it up right away. It just didn't happen.

A couple of the late goals, I felt were the result of aggresive plays from our blueliners in an effort to tighten the game. That will happen. Losing, but 4 or losing by 1, it doesn't matter it was a loss. All things equal I'd like to see us aggressively pushing for late goals, even if it means we surrender an extra tally.

Nash quietly has a 3 game goal scoring streak. He always sneaks up with these little hot streaks. He'll be quiet for 6-7 games, and then hit the sheet for 4-5 in a row. We'd all love more consistency, but I think we can all agree his play is miles better than it was when he seemed to score every game a few years ago. His goal tonight was an impossible angle.

The main disappointment for me was wasting the great Nationwide crowd tonight. I know a few people that got out to the Detroit game last weekend and came away loving the game and the atmosphere. There are few better feelings than a win with 19,000 in the stands, and few worse than a loss with 19,000.

Mancrush of the Game: I'll go with Boll and Dorsett who looked good in all three of their fights. Taking on Parros is not an easy job, but Boller held his own especially after already having one scrap on the night. These guys did mix it up right when it was needed, but the team just couldn't convert that energy.

Whipping Boy: I hat to put Mason here, but if he makes that save on Perry, it is a completely different game. It was the back breaker tonight and he makes that save 9.5/10 times. I'm sure he'd agree.

At the end of the day we've put together a great stretch of hockey. I think the legs were tired tonight, but we have to work through that. I think we got lucky in the past couple games, but we just didn't dodge the bullet tonight.

Two days off before we start our Western Canada Swing. If we can pull out two wins it will be a solid trip.

Congratulations to Hitchcock

2009-02-19T23:40:00.007-04:00

Head Coach Ken Hitchcock earned his 500th win tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images North America)

Hitch is the 13th coach to reach the 500 win mark in the NHL. He has the 3rd best winning percentage among coaches all-time, behind only Scotty Bowman and Toe Blake.

A Lucky, Dirty, Win

2009-02-19T23:14:00.002-04:00

The last 4 periods of CBJ hockey could be described as very very bad; it is hard to argue with the results though. Good teams are able to win games when they do not play well, so there is the positive spin. I'll throw the guys a bone with the workload lately, but every team is tired at this point of the year. We can't play 3 bad periods.

Toronto goaltending won this game for us. Pogge will melt under the Toronto Sun.

Rick Nash played very strong, he always tends to play strong in Canada. His juices ramp up to another level. His last second first period goal saved what was the worst period of hockey in months. He set up the Juice on a pretty pass to tie it up in the third. Finally he clinches the win in the SO. The solution, relocate Nasher's G-Ma to Columbus.

The defensive zone play was bad, some of the worst of the year. We could not make a breakout pass and we were penned in the zone for long periods of time. Mason deserves the big scoop of credit for this one. He kept us in the first, he kept us in the game. I can't count how many times I've said that.

Jason Blake was the best player on the ice. I'm happy for him. If he didn't have such a bad contract, I'd love to add him at the deadline. His contract makes him untradeable. He has a motor that keeps going. All heart.

RJ continues to stay hot. It was a tissue soft goal, but they all count the same at the negotiation table.

We need to get Klesla healthy again, because I do not feel we can march out two effective pairs right now. Backman's play cancels out Tyutin... Since Tyutin is our best defensemen, that says a lot. If Methot has plateau'ed and Backman has come back to earth, I'd consider giving Ole a look. Otherwise hold your breath until Klesla comes back. The lack of a second solid pair has hurt really bad in the last two games.

Mancrush of the Game: Rick Nash, he shows up when the spotlight is on. That is a good sign for the playoffs.

Whipping Boy: Raffi again. I expected a whole lot better from him. His game should be a north-south hard checking game, but he plays this cutsie, drop pass, neutral zone wiggle game that hurts more often than helps. I don't get this. Hitch preaches north-south, Raffi should be a north-south player... does he not listen? In the last couple nights he's had more than one horrible easy clear attempt that he's managed to pen us in the zone with. I digress.

4 points while playing four of our worst periods of hockey all year... sign of a good team or luck?

A Great 40 and Meh

2009-02-18T22:47:00.003-04:00

In the first two periods the Jackets were dominating everything, but the fights. The final twenty are better off forgotten. We may be better off with this ending because it will not allow the team to get relaxed (not that they would anyway). Hitch described the third as "getting casual." That about sums it up.

Fedor Tyutin was very solid tonight. His PP goal got the team off to the start we desperately needed. All "set-up" on an awful Backman keep in, in which he was tripped... way to contribute. I realized the thing about Tyutin I have had a hard time describing. He always passes the puck to a teammate with time and space. He rarely puts his teammates in a position where they have to make a difficult play.

I thought we saw a rare sub-par night from Hejda. There was a point midway through the third where we elected to play him the entire Penalty Kill. There were 3 faceoffs on the PP, not a lot of faith in Backman or Methot in that spot, I suppose.

Chances chances chances. Nash had 3 golden chances, Umberger was flying, as was Voracek. Howson is getting the right mix of players folks. Hard working guys who are good in the locker room. The top line played like a top line tonight. A very welcomed sighting.

Dap to Derek Dorsett. He fought well in the 2nd period of his fight, but got rocked in the bookends. He got busted hard. BUT the team responded strong. Nash had a great chance and then Murray pots one. That is the type of response you need.

Mancrush of the Game: Fedor Tyutin, I'm simply falling in love with his game. So smooth.

Whipping Boy: Backman, outside of giving us the first PP of the game, he did nothing for me. A lot of people are happy with our top 4 defenders, but when you play Hejda a whole two minute PK, that says something, that can't last. Klesla seems to get tossed into a lot of trade proposals, but without adding another element to our blueline, I don't like it's top four depth since Methot has come back down to earth.

2009 Spring Shopping List, Part 2

2009-02-18T02:42:00.001-04:00

Below is a breakdown of names that you may see changing sweaters on or before the March 4th trade deadline.

Note: This is not a commentary on who the Jackets are or should be targeting, just a list of rumored names on the move and a quick look at their numbers this season.

The contract status shown is their actual salary for this year and each remaining year on their contract. When relevant, cap hit will be included for players with multiple years left on their contract.

Olli Jokinen

Phoenix Coyotes

Position: C

Shoots: L

Age: 30

Contract Status: 5.25 million, 5.5 million, UFA 2010/11, 5.25 cap hit

Stats: 17-19-36, -4

Tomas Kaberle

(Currently on IR as of 1/31/09. Out approx. 4 weeks for broken bone in hand)

Toronto Maple Leafs

Position: D

Shoots: L

Age: 30

Contract Status: 4.25 million per year through 2010/11

Stats: 4-26-30, -12

Mike Comrie

New York Islanders

Position: C

Shoots: L

Age: 28

Contract Status: 4 million, UFA this off-season

Stats: 7-13-20, -5

Tom Preissing

(Currently on IR as of 2/1/09. Unspecified upper-body injury)

Los Angeles Kings

Position: D

Shoots: R

Age: 30

Contract Status: 2.75 million per year through 2010/11

Stats: 3-4-7, -7 (22 games played this season)

Kris Letang

Pittsburgh Penguins

Position: D

Shoots: R

Age: 21

Contract Status: .685 million, .625 million, RFA in 2010/11, .835 cap hit

Stats: 5-14-19, -4

Doug Weight

(IR as of 2/12/09. Out 6 weeks for sprained MCL)

New York Islanders

Position: C

Shoots: L

Age: 38

Contract Status: 1.75 million, UFA this off-season

Stats: 9-26-35, -12

Jay Bouwmeester

Florida Panthers

Position: D

Shoots: L

Age: 25

Contract Status: 4.875 million, UFA this off-season

Stats: 12-18-30, +8

Jason Spezza

Ottawa Senators

Position: C

Shoots: R

Age: 25

Contract Status: 7 million cap hit through 2014/15

Stats: 21-24-45, -9

Matt Stajan

Toronto Maple Leafs

Position: C

Shoots: L

Age: 25

Contract Status: 1.75 million, 1.75 million, UFA 2010/11, 1.75 cap hit

Stats: 13-26-39, -8

Michael Nylander

Washington Capitals

Position: C

Shoots: L

Age: 36

Contract Status: 5.5 million, 5.5 million, 3 million, UFA in 2011/12, 4.875 cap hit

Stats: 7-20-27, +5

Scott Gomez

New York Rangers

Position: C

Shoots: L

Age: 28

Contract Status: 7.357 million cap hit through 2013/14

Stats: 10-28-38, -9

Discuss: Any names here get you excited? Any glaring omissions? If you want to suggest someone for this list, leave a comment and I can compile more posts like this leading up to March 4th.

Kolumbus Kombat

2009-02-16T22:18:00.004-04:00

The Jackets pulled out every three button combo they had in the book tonight. It sucks that we lost in a SO in this one. I will not let that minor detail get in the way of a very positive game review.

A lot of days we talk about playing a heavy game. Tonight we played a heavy game. Even the crowd was heavy. Unquestionably the most consistently physical game I have ever seen the Jackets play. We wanted this game.

Also probably the most exciting final minute of regulation. It sure feels great to feel something in February.

40 shots and problem twice that many hits on the scoreboard tonight. Credit to Dallas for being game tonight. The Kolumbus Blue Jackets did dish one fatality tonight to Brad Richards, who left clutching his wrist in a great deal of pain.

Umberger has been on a sesame seed roll for about 3 weeks going now. He was hungry hungry hungry for the trick. Although he has not been the #1 center we pipedreamed him to be, he has been a very very good player. He is perhaps the most competitive person on the team.

Voracek has turned into a big boy. He just needs to score now. His play is rounding out nice and I would like to see him with more ice time. Once the kid puts it altogether he will be a total package. Of all the youngins he is my personal favorite. He reminds me a lot of a young Rick Nash. Neither one of them have a very good shot :-)

The Choo Choo Train has not left the station since he's come back from his groin injury.. I'm not sure if he isn't 100% or if he doesn't trust it yet. There were plenty of chances to see him crank the wheels tonight, but he elected not to.

Mason was again solid. He wasn't tested often and I'm sure would love to have that first goal back.

Mancrush: Crowd at the Nat: My God they were loud tonight. All game long, an incredible performance from the crowd. We need to pack the Nat every night because the guys do feel it.

Whipping Boy: Our 1st Minute: We gave up an awful goal tonight about 30 seconds in. A recurring problem for this team is their play right after the whistle. We don't often let it hit the scoreboard, but we seem to let the other team seize the tempo right away. That has to change. We've dodged too many bullets with our first shift antics.

Definitely the best lost in the history of the franchise. It is good to get a point of this effort, leaving empty handed would be a very empty feeling. Turco got very lucky on two of the SO attempt, but he tends to do that from time to time.

St. Louis and Toronto back to back midweek... whatcha think?

2009 Spring Shopping List, Part 1

2009-02-16T00:01:00.001-04:00

Below is a breakdown of names that you may see changing sweaters on or before the March 4th trade deadline.

Note: This is not a commentary on who the Jackets are or should be targeting, just a list of rumored names on the move and a quick look at their numbers this season.

Nik Antropov

Toronto Maple Leafs

Position: C/W

Shoots: L

Age: 28 (29 on Feb. 18)

Contract Status: 2.15 million, UFA this off-season

Stats: 18-24-42, -13

Filip Kuba

Ottawa Senators

Position: D

Shoots: L

Age: 32

Contract Status: 3 million, UFA this off-season

Stats: 1-26-27, +7

Matthew Lombardi

Calgary Flames

Position: C

Shoots: L

Age: 26

Contract Status: 1.55 million, 2.350 million, UFA 2010/11, 1.817 cap hit

Stats: 8-19-27, +10

Antoine Vermette

Ottawa Senators

Position: C/W

Shoots: L

Age: 26

Contract Status: 2.525 million, 3 million, UFA 2010/11. 2.763 cap hit

Stats: 9-14-23, -9

Ryan Whitney

Pittsburgh Penguins

Position: D

Shoots: L

Age: 25 (26 on Feb. 19)

Contract Status: 4.0 million per year through 2013/14

Stats: 1-10-11, -13 (24 games played due to injury)

Keith Tkachuk

St. Louis Blues

Position: LW/C

Shoots: L

Age: 36

Contract Status: 4.5 million, UFA this off-season

Stats: 17-17-34, -11

Pavel Kubina

Toronto Maple Leafs

Position: D

Shoots: R

Age: 31

Contract Status: 5 million, 5 million, UFA 2010/11, 5.0 cap hit

Stats: 8-19-27, -9

Jordan Staal

Pittsburgh Penguins

Position: C

Shoots: L

Age: 20

Contract Status: .850 million. Contract extension begins next year, 4 years, 16 million through 2012/13

Stats: 15-16-31, -7

Discuss: Like anyone on this list? Who do you think is destined for Columbus this trade deadline?

Trade Deadline Watch: 17 days

Part 2 coming Wednesday.

The Albatross Part Deux

2009-02-15T15:02:00.002-04:00

Which teams are in the best shape from a cap perspective moving forward? This is part two of the series. Here are the next batch of 10.

Detroit
Grade B: The 12 year signing of Zetterberg, could be genius or insanely bad if he develops any chronic injuries. Having he and Datsyuk signed long term is the key and both are priced under market value, at the present time. Signing Kronwall early is probably a smart move, but it will be challenging to fill Lidstrom’s void if decides to retire. The Wings continue to get by with cheap goaltending, we’ll see if that trend continues.

The Albatross: In retrospect, they may have wished to deal away Filppula rather than sign him for 5 years at 3 million per. Without that deal they could likely keep both Hossa and Franzen. They will be challenged to keep both of these players, but the Wings always get discounts.

Edmonton
Grade D: I don’t like what I see on their books. They have a lot of money tied up for a long time in players that you wouldn’t consider long term mainstays.

The Albatross: Pick one. Penner might be worth is 4 year 4.25 per. Sean Horcoff’s 6 year 6 million dollar extension kicks in next year… Yikes. That is franchise dollars for a good 2nd line center. Their d looks ugly to with Vishnovsky (4 more), Souray (3 more), and Tom Gilbert (5 more) signed for about 15 million between them. None of those guys strike me as a top pair guy. Poor cap management in my opinion. They also have no goalie.

Florida
Grade F: This is a team that just does not seem to catch a break. I would put a lot of money that says they will miss the playoffs. Just more bad luck. They have a ton of overpaid players on their books and not much coming off of the farm.

The Albatross: Many choices here. Cory Stillman makes 3.5 for two more. Olesz signed a 3.4 million dollar long term extension after he scored his first goal. Major major
bust potential on that one. Even though they pay him like one Stephen Weiss just is not going to be a top line center. He’s on the hook for 3.2, 4, 4.1 over the next 3. They’ve jumped the gun on their young players and it has stung them badly. They will lose JBo, the kick in the balls is, they can’t even really afford him.

Los Angeles
Grade C: They needed to make it to the floor, so they obviously have money left over. They’ve done a great job of signing their young players. The Dustin Brown contract may be the best in the league.

The Albatross: I don’t think anyone would touch Handzus which has been a cap filling bust for LA. Tom Preissing has also turned out to be a mess and I’m not sure anyone would touch his 2.75 deal for two more. Kopitar has a lot of living up to do to reach his 6.8 million dollar tag.

Minnesota
Grade B: In terms of cap they are not bad shape, but they will certainly be able to afford Gaborik and Backstrom both. They have also had a hard time developing top young players. Brent Burns is signed to a great deal, Nick Schultz’s deal cancels it out. I’ve never liked his game.

The Albatross: I personally would not touch Schultz and his 3.5 million dollars for 4 more years, I just don’t think he’s that good. If that’s their worst though, they are not in that bad of shape, they will just be short on talent.

Montreal
Grade A: Most of their contracts expire this year which means they will probably look very different next year. Their veteran core will be replaced at just about the right time and there is never a shortage of players (Russians) who want to play in Montreal. They need a Canadian star. They will need to replace a lot of talent, but will have the money to do it.

The Albatross: It has to be Roman Hamrlik and his 5.5 million for the next two years.

Nashville
Grade C: This is another budget team. They’ve committed to building a great blueline, but they simply do not have enough skill up front. The loss of Radulov killed their chances this year.

The Albatross: Legwands sentimental 4.5 million dollar 5 year deal look bad. I also did not like Dumont’s 4 year 4 million dollar deal, he’s just a little too old to get that type of deal, but it won’t kill them. They will benefit with a highly skilled draft pick this year. I guess that’s what you get for 9 straight years for 1st round defenders (sarcasm).

New Jersey
Grade D: Long considered the genius Lou Lam has not handled the cap era well. There isn’t a single long term deal that I think looks good. Parise was signed at a good price, but for some reason he didn’t go as long term as he went with DANIUS Zubrus. They can’t mess up on Zajac

The Albatross: I’ve always like Elias, so I’ll leave him out of this, most of his problems have been dealing with health (a word of the wise for a 12 year Zetterberg deal, I think Elias was a top 10 player at some point). The Brian Rolston 4 year 20 million dollar deal is one year in and will only look worse. He was a great player, but he is on the slide. Zubrus is signed for 4 more years at 3.4 million. Bad deal, IMO. New Jersey always seems to find a way though. If Brodeur doesn’t return to form, they will have problems.

New York Islanders
Grade B: They won’t be pushing against the cap, but is a long way away from success. Dipietro and Streit will be wasting some time before they are successful. They’ll have a lot of money to spend. Maybe they’ll take a couple bad contract dumps, but they’d be better off collecting some early draft picks and reaping those benefits.

The Albatross: I won’t even touch the Dipietro contract. When he hits the UFA market in 2021, we’ll see. That is a real contract, only trumped by Zetterberg for now. Overall the price is not bad given the current goalie market. The length is insane, I guess I touched the Dipetro contract. Streit is overpaid at 4.1 million for 3 more years, but they have to pay someone I guess.

New York Rangers
Grade F: They’ve been living in excess. They aren’t happy with just Gomez, they get Drury. Not just Redden, but he and Roszival. This really will hurt in the long run. Zherdev, Dubinsky, and Staal will make them regret these deals. They’ll have to trade Gomez or Roszival to keep a couple of these guys because they are the only ones that even movable.

The Albatross: Wade Redden saved the Jackets. His 6.5 million for the next 4 years will be one of the worst deals in the league. Drury is my favorite non-Jacket player, but he is a 3.5 million dollar player making 7 because of character. I don’t put it past them to make another terrible deal.

Click on back through our January Archives to read Part 1.

Back-to-Back, 2 for 2

2009-02-14T22:39:00.005-04:00

Back-to-backs for the Jackets of yesteryear was a deathwish. Although this was our first road win on the second half of a back-to-back for this season, our competitiveness level has been high all year. We beat a fully equipped Detroit team and a battling Hurricanes.

Steve "Mono-This" Mason is back to his old sexy self. Bad turnovers and deflections were his only let-ins. His movement post to post was back on top. Carolina came out on fire and came in blasts in the second, Mason kept the score in our favor. This is the benefit of the franchise goalie. If one goes in the momentum swings.

The Carolina game was the first one in a long time where I saw a true killer instinct. After we got the second goal, we were hungry for the third. It seems that this team believes it will play in tied or one-goal games. The powerplay came up big in this regard and it will need to continue that to win games down the stretch.

61 quietly got three points in Carolina, but was mostly absent in the Detroit game. His points do come in bunches. When he isn't scoring, I'd like to see him a little more physical, but I can deal. I think he, Juice, and Manny spent at least 3-4 minutes in their own zone in this one. I'd like to see Nash with Voracek for a while, spend some time apart from Juice. Their chemistry just hasn't been there recently.

Secondary Scoring. This Jackets team has the most depth of any team on record. When names like Torres, Chimera, Malhotra, and Commodore are hitting the scoresheet we will be winning. I thought Raffi and Chimera are both looking better and better. It takes time to recover from injuries, I'd like to see both of these guys more physical, because they can really punish someone with a check.

I need to give props to Christian Backman. He has continued to play high quality hockey. From the last couple of games it seems as if he was the rock for young Russ. I don't think we've seen nearly as good play with him paired with Methot. Backman may have been a little better than many were giving him credit for. His high salary and PP QB job turned fans sour on him quickly, but he has played pretty solid 5 on 5 this year. Backman is a +5, Russell is a -11, kind of strange.

Mancrush of the Game: RJ Umberger has been a man possessed lately. We seems to be winning every board battle and gasses past defenders at will. He has been the best player for the last two weeks. He got paid on the PP tonight, but has been a highly competitive player. The Torres-Umberger-Modin line was the best Jacket line of the night.

Whipping Boy: Nobody to whip on today. Russ had a bad night the other night, but is still in the middle of his best play in the NHL.

Dallas on Monday, St. Louis on Wednesday... Predictions?

A Closer Look: Fedor Tyutin

2009-02-13T16:01:00.001-04:00

Player: Fedor Tyutin
Birthplace: Izhevsk, Russia
Birthdate: July 19th, 1983 (age 25)
Height/Weight: 6'3" / 216lbs
Position: D
Number: 51
2007-08 Season Stats:
New York Rangers: 82 GP / 5 G / 15 A / 20 PTS / 43 PIM

Where he fits in the line-up: When Nikolai Zherdev was traded it was expected that Fedor would be a solid top four minute eater. He has been. He is relied upon to play in all situations of the game. For the most of the year Fedor has been paired with either Mark Methot or the oft-injured Rostislav Klesla. While the toughest assignments are drawn by Commodore and Hejda, Tyutin his partner routinely play against the team’s next best players.

Why you need to watch out for Tyutin: He is a soft and steady player. At only 25 his best years are ahead of him. He is already signed for three more seasons at a below market value rate. From the point he is the best defender at getting his shot through traffic and this has led to a career high in goals. For most of the year he has kept his lethal hipcheck quiet, he certainly has the ability to deliver a game changing check.

Scouting Report: After a terrible first few games, Tyutin has been arguably our best all-around defensemen. He is a tough guy who does not take shift or games off. At only 25, he has untapped offensive potential and reminds me of an upgraded Jaroslav Spacek. He makes subtle slight movements that allow him to move the puck up the ice stick to stick when many other defenders try to rim it out. He is certainly a top four fixture for the near future and may become a top pair defensemen with some further polish.

The Cannon's stats prediction:
80 GP / 10 G / 30 A / 40 PTS / 80 PIM

Blogs: NHL Snipers

2009-02-12T14:48:00.002-04:00

We're happy to announce that we're linking up with NHLSnipers.com.

NHLSnipers is an up and coming hockey blog featuring all things about the National Hockey League.

"Your #1 Source For Hockey!"

Injury bug bites again

2009-02-11T16:34:00.004-04:00

We learned today that Blue Jackets defenseman Rostislav Klesla will miss another 2-3 weeks with a slightly separated shoulder. This is just another injury to add to the long list he has faced this season.

It seems that every year, there is at least one player that cannot shake the injury bug, last year it was Fredrik Modin. Freddy was such a solid and healthy player throughout his career that it was a bit shocking at the time, and even more so in retrospect. Freddy is a guy that played 74 or more games in 8 of his first 10 seasons in the NHL. But now, doing a quick Google search of Freddy shows "Fredrik Modin injury" as the most popular search yielding over 28,000 results. Luckily, Modin is healthy again this year, even playing through significant injury such as multiple broken toes.

Unfortunately for Rusty, he doesn't quite have the iron-man past to fall back on. He did play 82 games last year, but the list of injuries is starting to pile up throughout his whole career, based on a quick look at TSN's injury tracker, found here.

What is most disappointing is that Rusty has been very effective in his 23 games played this year. He's tallied a goal, 5 assists, a +1 rating, 24 shots on goal, and 45 hits. Scott Howson and Ken Hitchcock both like the player Rusty can be, and I can see why.

All in all, we wish Rusty a speedy recovery and hope that he can be healthy the remainder of the season and help us in the push for the playoffs.

What a 3rd

2009-02-10T22:16:00.002-04:00

The legs were strong in the first, left in the second, and came back with a vengeance in the third. I've felt that this year we have played much better third period hockey than we ever had. Of course you won't hold every lead, but we do shut down and buckle down in crunch time. Tonight was a perfect example of that.

It was a total team effort in this one. Murray, JSon, and Freddy Mo hit the score sheet. Danny Lacosta has gotten his first of what we can expect to be 4-5 straight shutouts. Rookie of the Month in February is still up for grabs.

Let's not kid ourselves, this is the thinnest Avalanche team on record. Their offensive and defensive depth is not that strong. I'd be shocked if they can string enough wins together to get a playoff spot by the end of the year.

The top line was pretty quiet and we are seeing too many of these type of nights. It does not hurt so bad when the secondary scoring is coming. When we get the second change, this line should definitely be producing more. People may be quick to play Manny, but I think the real issue is that the chemistry between Nash and Huselius is way too streaky. I'd like to take an extended look at Nash - Malhotra - Voracek.

The defense held strong after Rusty suffered his third injury of the year. He can't catch a break. I honestly don't recall too many chances from the Avs offense. The team played very well.

Mancrush of the Game: Danny Lacosta gets a Shutout, gets the mancrush. When this team gets solid goaltending, they win games.

Whipping Boy of the Game: I still expect more from Raffi, I like his intensity from earlier in the year... back when his knee was jacked up.

How do you feel about the Wings coming to town on Friday?

It’s a wild ride

2009-02-08T19:43:00.001-04:00

Don’t count the Blue Jackets out. In the midst of a three game losing streak, there were rumblings around Columbus that the immediate future wasn’t looking too bright, but it’s not over yet.

The Blue Jackets are coming off of a huge win last night against San Jose to close out the season series at 2-2-0. It was in thrilling overtime fashion in front of a sold-out crowd at Nationwide Arena. Did we mention it was without key roster players like Steve Mason, Mike Commodore, Jake Voracek, and Marc Methot? And at this point, the lost seasons for Derick Brassard and Pascal Leclaire go unmentioned.

Late last summer, before the season began, I had a post titled, “Why This Is The Year.” In that post I talked about one key ingredient to the Jackets potential success this year - an identity. The reason they continued on with a winning streak in early January, while missing more regular players than you can count on one hand, is simple. It's because Ken Hitchcock has instilled a system that is not reliant on any one player, including Rick Nash, but rather based around responsibility and effort. They won games that featured names on your scorecard such as Craig MacDonald, Derek MacKenzie, and Alexandre Picard.

Scott Howson saw Hitchcock’s plan, and in turn developed a blueprint for the future. One that, after last night, has proven it can work. The Blue Jackets were laughed at when they signed defenseman Mike Commodore to a hefty off-season contract. However, he has been a rock defensively and is on pace for a career year in offensive production. Or Fedor Tyutin, who Friday night set a career high mark of 6 goals in a season, with 30 games left to go. The brilliant move to acquire Jason Williams mid-season is paying off so far. He has collected 3-3-6 and a +1 rating in 10 games with the Jackets.

And last night, an unlikely hero in Christian Backman sent the Sharks home losers as he scored the game-winning goal in OT. Backman has been subject to much scrutiny in Columbus and throughout his NHL career, but he had a monster effort in a night where he was asked to step into Mike Commodore’s spot, logging nearly 24 minutes of ice time on the top pairing. This is the perfect example of why having a system is a good thing. A player who was scratched just a couple games before stepped into the line-up and was one of the heroes of the night.

The other hero being Dan LaCosta. A Syracuse Crunch call-up on emergency basis to back up Wade Dubielewicz while Steve Mason recovers from mono. He held the San Jose Sharks to 2 goals, allowing the Jackets to have a chance to win in the end. In his first NHL start, he faces the best team in the league, and does what he needs to do to get the win.

Just 9 points separate the standings from 5th place Anaheim to 15th place St. Louis. Oh, but the Blues have 4 games in hand on the Ducks. This one won’t be over until the very end, and it is going to lead to very fun times around Nationwide Arena.

Figures

2009-02-07T22:40:00.004-04:00

With a third string goalie, two defenders out of the lineup, and a top six forward out, they defeat the best team in the conference.

This team is the most frustrating to figure out. It could be argued that our best hockey was played this year when 7 of our regulars were out of the lineup. What this tells me is we check and play a little harder when we are undermanned... Why don't we do it every night? With a full lineup?

However, we got a fortunate break and put a quick goal on the scoreboard. As we know this team has confidence issues in the goal scoring department. This team is simply different after we score in the first 10 minutes. These are mental gaps that must be bridged.

I should be more excited after a slump busting effort with a full house, so lets get to the positives.

Big congrats to Danny Lacosta on his first win. He is a goaltending draft pick which means he should rattle off about 4 straight shutouts now.

RJ had a tough night in Pittsburgh, but played a really strong game tonight.

Nash found his way back onto the scoreboard. He had a nice finish. I thought he looked a bit better away from the Juice (even though they did connect on the second goal tonight). I think we could try to split them up for a while. Their chemistry is awfully streaky. Give me some Nash - Malhotra - Voracek and Umberger - Williams - Huselius.

Derek Dorsett stepped up big with the body tonight. However this is the game I expect from Dorsett every night. That is his role on the team and I feel he has gotten soft since his injury. We need this from him every single night. He and Boll both.

I thought the D held it together without Commodore in the lineup.

The competitiveness level was much higher tonight. I think we have been relatively consistent with this, but when we give up a couple early goals we decide to play a different game.

Mancrush of the Weekend: Fedor Tyutin, I thought he played very strong over the weekend.

Whipping Boy of the Game: I'll put Hitch down here again and here is why. Peca made a very interesting comment the other night, "[after we get scored on] we get rattled from the coach out." It seems like we are seeing different combinations every other shift. Manny with Nash, Umberger with Nash, Williams with Nash. I assume he is looking for a spark and he wants better play. Shaking up all the lines is a knee jerk move and it seems to be a nightly routine. Sometimes you just have to trust the guys you are putting together. If they don't produce over a couple games, split them up.

Upended

2009-02-04T20:58:00.003-04:00

The majority of the game was played in the Blues end of the ice. Time of possession does not equal wins. The Jackets could not get a goal when they needed it and Mason didn't make a save when it was necessary.

The Jackets go as their goaltending goes. This goes all the way back to the franchises inception. A mono-infected Mason is an average at best goalie and we are playing average hockey. I believe this goes along with a weak psyche to put the puck in the net. Outside of the first week of this season I cannot recall a time when I felt we could score 4-5 goals a game. It is games like these that make our complimentary players all look like one dimensional stone hands men.

Mason was average in the little action he saw. He is playing through a disease the puts most people horizontal. That first rebound was a bad one. He has to keep that in.

The Powerplay desperately needs to have a left and right shooting point guy. We keep knocking in one lucky one a game though, so I don't expect to see changes soon. Williams needs to be on the point. He looks much more comfortable back there, although he did goof up the empty netter.

Russell took two awfully big hits in the first period and kept on going. I felt he played a pretty strong game.

Huselius CANNOT pass the puck there at 1:30 of the third. Everyone in the arena assumed he would shoot or make a move, including Rick Nash the recipient of his pass. It was a tough night for the Juice after taking the double minor also.

Mancrush of the Game: The 4 minute PK. It was an impressive kill. If Nash potted the break, we would have two points.

Whipping Boy of the Game: Raffi Torres needs to establish himself.He is a bigger guy who is not great on the boards, tries to make cute plays although he is not a skill guy, and watches his teammates make plays around him. We need more, a lot more. If you aren't adding offense, punish someone with a check.

Let's take a step back...

2009-02-03T01:51:00.002-04:00

Before the puck drops Tuesday night, when the Jackets and Blues face-off in a key Central Division battle for a playoff spot, let's take a moment to remember everything the Columbus Blue Jackets have done for our community.

Mr. Mac would be proud of the effort this team continues to display on and off the ice each and every day. Go Jackets!

A Closer Look: Mike Commodore

2009-02-02T22:40:00.008-04:00

Player: Mike Commodore

Birthplace: Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta

Birthdate: November 7, 1979 (age 29)

Height/Weight: 6'5" / 228lbs

Position: D

Number: 22

2007-08 Season Stats:
Carolina Hurricanes: 41 GP / 3 G / 9 A / 12 PTS / 74 PIM

Ottawa Senators: 26 GP / 0 G / 2 A / 2 PTS / 26 PIM

Totals: 67 GP / 3 G / 11 A / 14 PTS / 100 PIM

Where he fits in the line-up: Head Coach Ken Hitchcock and the Blue Jackets organization made it very clear to Commodore where he fit in the line-up prior to signing him last summer. A top “shut-down” pairing defenseman that will see a lot of minutes at even strength and on the penalty kill. What has been the biggest surprise to this point are his contributions offensively. Commodore is solid and steady at getting the puck out of his zone and protecting his goalie.

Why you need to watch out for Commodore: He’s got a big personality and a side of attitude and isn’t afraid to use it. As the season has progressed, Commodore’s role has increased not only on the ice but in the locker room. He has solidified an already solid leadership group and is able to back up his words with his performance on the ice. He has playoff experience and brings a Stanley Cup ring from his time in Carolina. His value to this team cannot be understated. You also need to look out for Commodore because he will level you like a truck if you don't keep your head up.

Scouting Report: Commodore has tremendous size and plays a physical game. His play at the end of last season had a lot of people questioning his value, but so far in Columbus, it appears the issues may have had more to do with Ottawa than any one player. I would argue he’s just now truly coming into his own and the best is yet to come with Mike.

The Cannon's stats prediction:

79 GP / 7 G / 28 A / 35 PTS / 105 PIM

Dust it Off

2009-01-31T22:52:00.003-04:00

Dallas played pretty strong, pretty hungry and they cashed in on their chances. After scoring two in the first the game swung after a great Manny Malhotra chance. The puck transitioned back up the ice and Dallas scored a dirty goal to take a 3 goal lead. That seems to happen all to often in the NHL.

I won't dwell too much on this one. Mason was not sharp. He probably needed a break. We just never got that clutch save to sustain momentum. The team did battle back strong, but Dallas got dirty and kept extending the lead.

I thought Huselius and Voracek played very strong games. I thought Torres and Peca both played (extra) poorly. Raffi has a lot more to offer us, we need to see it.

The good news is, I never felt like the team quit. In the past these games have often been farts in the wind.

Mancrush of the Game: Although nobody really stood out, Kris Russell made one play at the offensive blueline that I've never seen one of our players make. It was a strong sneaky keep in that instantly created a mini odd man chance.

Whipping Boy: I'll put Raffi here tonight. He's a lot better player than that. He looked no better than a Joe Motzko type call up.

January 30th, Your 5th Place CBJ

2009-01-31T08:39:00.002-04:00

What a ride this will be. In years past a 1-0 snoozer would have just been a frustrating game to watch. If we won maybe we would climb to 13th place. It was these types of games I wouldn't have minded if I skipped it. Now, I have to say that even though the hockey was meh, that was an exciting game. My, oh my, how playing in meaningful games makes everything exciting.

Where did the Senators go? They were a one line team... but they didn't really lose too many guys off of their offense... how did that happen? We out competed and outwilled them all night long.

Jakub Voracek was definitely the best player on the ice for us. He seemed to be the only one able to create opportunities tonight. He was buzzing around the net constantly. He'll need 7-8 goals against Dallas to get that Rookie of the Month so he can pass up Bobby Ryan.

Steve Mason was solid once again. His lateral quickness was back last night. Hopefully the slapper he took off of his knee doesn't tighten up. I know Hitch will want him in net against the Stars with them charging. Of all the western teams they are the one with the games in hand.

Mancrush(es) of the Game: Commodore and Hejda were stellar, especially down the stretch on the back to back PKs. They seemed to be on the ice for about 4 of the last 6 minutes. These guys play icy cold. If they didn't have strong stomachs for playing the key minutes in the big games, then they certainly will be ready now.

Whipping Boy of the Game: I'm putting Hitch back here because of the PP. I do not like his set up. Nasher flipped in a lucky one and Voracek scored a Hitch "PP" goal tonight and that might be enough to keep him trying it. IMO, Freddy-Nash-Huselius-Russell-Williams gives us our best first unit. Chimmer-Umberger-Voracek-Tyutin-Commodore as the second.

Lefties and Righties on the point.

RJ Umberger Interviews with Buckeye TV

2009-01-29T19:45:00.002-04:00

RJ answers some "interesting" questions. RJ cracks me up in this.

Enjoy!

A Closer Look: Jason Williams

2009-01-29T18:05:00.005-04:00

Player: Jason Williams

Birthplace: London, Ontario

Birthdate: 11 August, 1980 (28)

Height/Weight: 5'11" / 185lbs

Position: C

Number: 29

2007-08 Season Stats:
Chicago Blackhawks: 43 GP / 13 G / 23 A / 36 PTS / 22 PIM

Where he fits in the line-up: Williams started his tenure with the Jackets as the fourth line centre, paired with grinding wingers like Derek Dorsett and Jared Boll. He has worked his way up the lineup, and is now the second line centre playing with Jakub Voracek and RJ Umberger as his wingers. He initially played the point on the powerplay, but is now playing up front on the first PP unit.

Why you need to watch out for Williams: Williams is a shooter, plain and simple. He has a hard, accurate wrister and a decent slapshot. He has already scored a beauty one-timer on the PP. He is also a great passer, able to find guys through traffic. He is a boost to an anemic powerplay.

Scouting Report: Willy has decent size, but doesn't often use it. He isn't soft, he just doesn't play a physical style. His distribution skills are his best asset, hence his use on the PP point. He is a very good skater, and is an above average stick handler.

The Cannon's stats prediction:

79 GP / 13 G / 20 A / 33 PTS / 32 PIM

The Albatross Part 1

2009-01-28T13:24:00.003-04:00

Which teams are in the best shape from a cap perspective moving forward? I will go team by team, scouring over their current payroll structures in search for the biggest albatross. I'll grade them in the process. Here is the first batch of 10.

Anaheim
Grade: A , They have signed Getzlaf and Perry to a great deals, some of the best in the league. A lot of big deals will be coming off of the books. Cali will attract big names. They may have a down year this year, but will likely bounce back strong next year.
The Albatross - Kunitz is the only remotely close and his deal is not completely awful.

Atlanta
Grade: C, Todd White for 3 more years at 2.3, 2.45, 2.6 isn’t a cap buster, but is a bad deal. Their major problem will be attracting talent. They have no good young players to get established stars. They may take a couple dumps out of desperation.
The Albatross - A combined 8.25 million over the next 4 years on Hainsey and Enstrom… yea “puck moving defenders” have cashed in.

Boston
Shape: A, Boston is one of the most well constructed teams from a contract perspective IMO. They will pay Phil Kessel this year, but were probably not expecting the payday David Krejci will be earning. Tim Thomas will make Manny Fernandez’s money next year.
The Albatross - The only thing that hurts them is Patrice Bergeron’s deal at 5+ for 3 more years. He’s well worth it, but he has had the Duvies for a few years. I will be interesting to see if they have problems with Kessel + Krejci, but I think they are in good enough position to handle it.

Buffalo
Shape: C, Although they have lost Briere, Drury, and Campbell in recent years, they are currently in okay shape. Lydman and Tallinder got paid after their cup run. They should be able to resign Stafford and Connelly. Most their deals seem a little high, but overall, they need to keep the talent happy that they have since they have a hard time attractive UFAs
The Albatross - Jochan Hecht is 33 and is on the hook for 3.5 for the next 4 years.

Carolina
Shape: B, The Canes don’t have too many long term high money deals and are pretty well balanced. They signed their franchise player at a pretty reasonable rate. No money is coming off this summer so this will likely be the 09-10 Canes also.
The Albatross – Brind’Amour at 3 million for 2 more years is the least attractive thing I see and that is not that bad when he is healthy. He’s up in years though, at 37 it will be hard to earn that money.

Calgary
Shape: A, The Flames have locked up their core at a reasonable price. Iginla, Langcow, Phaneuf, Regehr and Kipper are all signed longterm and that is a pretty good core. If they want him they will be able to keep Cammaleri, or another UFA of a similar mold.
The Albatross – Cory Sarich at 3.6 for 4 more years looks pretty bad, but you’ll find worse on other teams.

Chicago
Shape: A, The Hawks need to make a big push in the next two years because this team will look different after they need to resign Kane and Toews. Havlat’s and Khabibulan’s departure will open up a lot of cash to sign their own. Duncan Keith is currently playing on one of the best deals in the league, but will want a new one in the same offseason as Toews and Kane.
The Albatross – Campbell at 7+ is an awful lot of cash for a mediocre defender. The next two years will be the best chance for a run, unless they can continue to develop young players. It would be interesting to see if they would consider trading Khabi in the middle of the race to replenish the farm system.

Columbus
Shape: A, In the short term the Jackets are in great shape. The influx of young cheap deals will mean our best window is within the next 3 years. With bigger deals rolling off, cash will free up for our own. Nash will be signed next offseason for a lifetime deal and if they are smart they will load the cash up in the first year, to free up budget space for Brassard, Voracek, Mason, and Filatov later on.
The Albatross – Even though he has played well I’m not sure how many people would touch Commodore for 4 more years of 3.5+.

Colorado
Shape: D, For a team that is not currently a playoff team, their current salary structure will make it difficult to move. They locked up Stasny, which will basically replace Sakic, but they will find it difficult to upgrade in goal. They would probably be very interested in Leclaire.
The Albatross- There are many to choose from. Ryan Smyth at 6.25 for the next 4 years is a bad one. He’ll be 36 at the end of that deal. Scott Hannan at 4.5 for 3 years is not ideal, neither is Foote, Clark and Salei at all over 3 million dollars. Yes that is 14 million for Hannan, Foote, Clark, and Salei, disgusting, most of that will be off in two years though and that is how they squeak up to a D.

Dallas
Shape: B, They have some very good offensive players signed for very good prices. They will be able to use Zubov and Sydor’s dollars to rework their blue line.
The Albatross – Who knows what will happen with the 4 year 16 million contract of Sean Avery. One of the single worst slip ups in recent memory.

Count the Hats, Rick Nash

2009-01-27T22:31:00.004-04:00

In a game of muddled legs, Rick Nash won it for the Jackets completing a hattie in OT. Any win over the Wings feels good, but if not for the captain, this would have migrated over to the VERY disappointing column. I did not feel like we played a very good game.

After the first 10 minutes, it seemed as if we lost our confidence or legs or both. The tide changed after the Hossa PP goal. We lost all of our spunk. Too many games against the Wings we stand around and watch them bring it to us. Tonight was no different. We were hung into our zone, holding our positions. We struggled to move the puck up ice and transition to offense. However, we won.

Rick Nash was amazing tonight. The breakaway was clutch, the powerplay goal was lucky, and the OT goal was opportunistic. Somedays you need your best players to win. Nasher stepped up in a big way. The big guy is streaky with points, but he's always a threat and right now he is on a tear. He was the only offensive player that seemed to stand out for us.

I should also give some props to Kris Russell, who also played fantastic. His play over the last 2 months has been stellar. When we were penned in our zone, Russ was able to carry the puck out and create some offense. He's the only blueliner on this team that could remotely do that.

Chimmer looked uncomfortable at center. He is not a puck carrier, he is a high flying wing. Putting Chimmer at center wastes his best asset IMO, his breakaway speed. This will be a shortlived experiment. We need Chimmer in first on the forecheck, NOT prying puck out behind our net and distributing. It's just not a good fit. I'd much rather have Murray in at center. He surprisingly won a few draws.

Hitch's powerplay plan is not what will work for us in my opinion. We struggled all year with two left handed units so he elects to pair Russ-Tyuts and Peca-Commie on the points. This is not a smart move in my opinion. Williams looked great on the point and Peca has never impressed me out there. He is way too conservative to play the point and he does not have a great slapshot. We need to have a mixed left and right handed point to allow better puck movement. Hopefully this is another short lived experiment. There is a reason we've been a bottom PP team all year long. I thought our PP before the break were the best we've had. Russell - Williams, Tyutin - Commie work really well for me. I'll have to agree with Claude on this one.

Mason looked much much better tonight. His lateral movement was a lot stronger. Outside of the giveaway gaffer, he played a very strong game.

Mancrush of the Game: Nasher - Individual chili, automatically earns a mancrush nod.

Whipping Boy of the Game: I'm getting on Hitch tonight. I did not like his two lineup changes (Chimmer and the PP) and we also struggled after the first 10 minutes. Detroit were without their best 3 players and they still skated around us. I don't think we made the necessary adjustments. So I'm putting this one on the big guy. No pun / yes pun, you decide.

Lucky Break

2009-01-24T17:05:00.004-04:00

Last year the All-Star break destroyed the momentum of the playoff push. This year the break cannot seem to come at a better time. The Jackets have played their best hockey of their existence over the past month of the season. On the latest Canadian road trip, fatigue was obvious.

Steve Mason, a few weeks ago could not give up a goal, now looks very mortal... and slow. He has been bothered by a back injury and has played through like a warrior. He is well aware that with Paz out for the year, any hopes of the playoffs rests on his shoulders. I think Dubie will see the net in the second half, and he needs to. A 20 year old rookie cannot be expected to play night after night, especially when he is injured.

Rick Nash who is recovering from a sprain knee, has looked very good in his return, but I'm sure there is still lingering soreness that a few days off the feet will help with. The All-Star game won't push him too hard. Hopefully it keeps his hands in shape.

Torres and Chimera should both be in the line up again after long term injuries. Both of these players can chip in more goals. The Picards and MacDonalds of the world have done well, but they do not find the net as often as these guys can. Chimmer especially is great on the forecheck and his wheels keeps any defender in check. Hopefully he recovers fully because Chimmer without wheels is a mediocre third line player and that is certainly not what we need out of our new first line center............(<- Joke).

Brassard, I know he's not coming back this regular season... I said regular. I think he will push his recovery and lobby very hard to return for the postseason. I know this is not something Howson would necessary want to risk, or count on, but he if Brass makes a full recovery and gets into game shape, I don't know how you could tell him no.

On the other hand, super rook Filatov and his injured leg could be a blessing in disguise for the team. It would save a year on his rookie contract if he doesn't suit in two more games. In the long term this would save a year of big dollars. In the short term, JSon Williams has come in and played very good hockey and fills our minimum quota of 1 right handed scorer.

Freddy Modin, I think Freddy feels like he cheated the team out of some money last year. He is doing everything he can to put himself on the ice this year. Hopefully a few days of rest will take away the aches and pains. Since he recently skated at practice, I think that is a good sign.

I have said repeatedly that this is a roster of a playoff team. We are currently showing the makeup and character of such a team. With a halfway decent powerplay we have shown that we can pot some goals. Even though we didn't play great (as the results would indicate) on the three game trip we did score 13 goals. This has traditionally been the problem for us. If our offense continues this pace and our defense remains steady, we are going to see a great second half of hockey and we deserve it. The good news is it seems as if the best is only yet to come.

Thank you personally Voracek, Mason, Filatov, Brassard, and Russell for coming in and playing like NHL players. In our history we have only been blessed with two other such players. The high picks are FINALLY paying off.

I know Howson will make a deal or two to make this team better. I do not think we are a team that a 1,2 or 3 seed would like to play against. We have shI think we also will be attractive to some UFAs in the offseason, as were the Hawks last year.

We are a team on the rise and we have done it with a bunch of good guys with big hearts. We need to finish.

Simply Amazing!

2009-01-19T15:46:00.002-04:00

The man does it again! CBJ video king Skraut has given us his latest masterpiece, entitled "Ladies and Gentlemen". It's a look at the first half for the CBJ, and in true Skraut fashion, it will give you chills! Look for a perfect sequence between the lyrics and our boy Boller!

Blue Jackets - Ladies and Gentlemen from Skraut on Vimeo.

We Give Up 5 and... Win?

2009-01-18T23:53:00.003-04:00

I'm Ron Burgundy?

7 pucks found the twine behind Roberto Luongo tonight and the Jackets win in a shootout 6-5. Yup 6-5. These aren't your grandmothers Blue Jackets.

Luongo did not look sharp, in fact I would say he is still bothered by his groin injury. He actually looked a lot like Pazzy in all of his starts this year (and he has needed ankle surgery since the preseason).

After getting down two midway through the second, the Jackets showed a tremendous amount of character. After Jason Williams first goal off of a one-timer into an empty net, the Jackets roared back from the dead. 4 goals in a 5 minute span and it shocked the Canucks.

Our lead was short lived after a perfectly timed time-out by the Nucks, but we took it home in the shootout.

Nash - I love you man, I do. He was a monster on the ice, a complete difference maker. A 3 point net and the clincher in the shootout. Huselius and he had one of their best games of the year. The passes were clicking. A great play by Juice and Peca lead to the Nash wraparound goal.

A little more about J-Will. Is he really the first guy in team history that can adequately one-time the puck? I think Zherdev is the only other guy I can think of that could do it. His right handed shot, adds a great dimension to the powerplay. The puck movement is better and now shot can truly come from anywhere. This could be the shrewdest Howson move to date. He undressed Luongo in the shootout. It was beautiful.

Another strong game from Manny. He continues to be a valuable utility guy. He is on a 4 game point streak and playing great defensive hockey (although he was -2 on this night).

The Umberger-Modin-Voracek line, while they didn't get on the scoreboard, played a great puck position game all night long. These three guys on the cycle is hard to knock off.

It is nice to see Raffi quickly get back onto the scoreboard, he is an emotional player and was snakebitten to start out the year. His goal was the product to a great hustle play from Jared Boll.

Mason beat Luongo. Forget the scores.

Mancrush of the Game: J-Will and the new PP. One-timers, oh my. Shootout goal, oh my. My true mancrush are these new Road Jackets. 5 years ago, a road game was a loss. I think there was a year we barely got the double digit road wins. We plays with great energy on the road. I fully expect to beat Edmonton. Keep it going.

Whipping Boy of the Game: OKT. I wasn't in love with the Russell-Tollie pair. Russ on the PP was great. Russ 4 on 4 was great, but Tollie didn't do anything to make us forget Backman, which I really would like him to do.

Meet Your New Blue Jacket: Wade Dubielewicz

2009-01-17T15:39:00.004-04:00

The Columbus Blue Jackets claimed goaltender Wade Dubielewicz off waivers from the New York Islanders.

Dubielewicz, known as "Dubie", spent this season playing in the KHL in Russia, until he and the team agreed to part, so he could return to sign a new contract with the Islanders. Due to the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Dubie had to pass through waivers before being officially added to the New York roster, and was claimed by GM Scott Howson.

Dubie is still a relatively young goalie at 29 years old. In 2003, he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Islanders. Although you may have not heard much about him, Dubie has had a pretty solid start to his professional career. He set and still holds many American Hockey League records and also won the award for best AHL rookie in 2003-04.

In the 06-07 season, he helped carry the Islanders into the playoffs, despite the loss of franchise goalie Rick DiPietro to injury.

Dubie has pretty good stats in the NHL, considering he has spent most of his time playing for an Islanders team that is pretty weak on defense, and is currently sitting in last place in the NHL. His stats stand at a 2.55 GAA, .920 Sv. %, with a record of 16-13-1 over a 4 year period.

Dubie fits the mold of the type of players Scott Howson has acquired. Relatively young with, hopefully, plenty of gas left in the tank. Regardless of what happens with Pascal Leclaire, Dubie could turn out to be a solid back up could be around Columbus for more than just the remainder of the season.

Meet Your New Blue Jacket: Jason Williams

2009-01-14T18:23:00.001-04:00

Jason Williams was acquired by the Blue Jackets from the Atlanta Thrashers for Clay Wilson and a 2009 6th round pick.

Williams comes to the Blue Jackets with 7 goals, 11 assists for 18 points in 41 games this season. He has spent time on the right wing, but can also play center. The most interesting thing about Williams, and likely why he will fit well with the Jackets is that he can play the point on the power play.

This is a low-risk, high-reward move by General Manager Scott Howson. He gave up a player who has 1 point in 5 NHL games this season, along with a pick, for a player with 18 points this season.

Another point to note about Williams is that he scored 58 points for the Detroit Red Wings in 05-06. He started his NHL career in Detroit when he signed as an undrafted free agent in 2000-01. In 01-02, he played in nine playoff games as the Red Wings went on to win the Stanley Cup that year.

Williams joins Mike Commodore and Fredrik Modin as the only current Blue Jackets with Stanley Cup rings.

His short term role will likely be limited to a majority of power play time with some 5-on-5 shifts, so he and Coach Ken Hitchcock can both get comfortable with his level of play on a new team. With Raffi Torres returning and Rick Nash probable to return to action this Friday against New Jersey, he will not be needed for a top 6 role. He could be seen as a replacement for Jiri Novotny who is currently on IR. But do not be surprised to see his role expanded as quickly as he can handle it, as he should be re-energized by his new teammates in their playoff push.

Williams was improving throughout his NHL career until injured from a clean hit from current Blue Jacket Raffi Torres. It ultimately resulted in his trade to Chicago. Last year, he posted 13-23-36 in 43 games for the Blackhawks, but his season was cut short due to injuries. Williams has been healthy this year, playing in 41 of Atlanta's 43 games.

Stepping up in the Clutch

2009-01-14T13:32:00.006-04:00

In previous years, the Jackets would not be talking playoffs under current circumstances. The team is absolutely decimated with injuries, yet they are playing the best hockey I've seen out of a Jacket team.

The reason? Well, there are a few. For starters, Stevie Mason. The guy is not only leading the Jackets between the pipes, but he's atop every statistical category for goaltenders, with the exception of wins. If he had been here since October, chances are he would be near the top of that category as well.

Also, the team is seemingly 100% on board with the coaching staff. They have a plan, and the team is executing perfectly. Coach Hitchcock's system is based on hard work, and defensive awareness. Contrary to popular belief, Hitch doesn't employ the trap. The proof is clear if you watch the games- if the Jackets have a lead, or are in a close game, they don't let off of the accelerator. They keep going after the opposition, regardless of the score. Trapping teams rely on opportunistic offense- turnovers etc. Another sign of this is that if an offensive rush by Columbus is broken up, you see the forwards immediatly return to the defensive zone and begin working to retrieve the puck. Jake Voracek is one of the best at doing this, hence is amazing plus/minus. Another example is Nik Filatov dropping down to block a shot, the same game he scored a hat trick.

Another big reason for the Jackets continuing to win regardless of the injuries, is through contributions from bottom six players who are thrust into a starring role. Mike Peca is a good example, he has really elevated his game in recent weeks, scoring a beauty of a goal last night and he would have had one against Detroit if not for an amazing save by Ty Conklin. This is easily the best stretch of play by Peca as a Jacket. Ditto for Freddy Modin. He was the best player on the ice during the Detroit game, and continues to be a workhorse in the offensive zone.

The combination of Derek Dorsett and Alex Picard has been fantastic. They are not only doing their job of hitting, irritating and generally creating havoc against the other team, but they are also contributing on the scoresheet. Dorsett had a beauty re-direct goal in the Minnesota game, off a great feed from Pic. The two are also great at keeping the other team stranded in their end. Manny is being Manny, solid as a rock. He does all of the little things right. Props for fellow Nova Scotian Craig MacDonald, who has worked his butt off since his callup. Boller seems to be regaining his confidence with the fists as well, duking it out in timely fights. He may not always win, but the boys always seem to come out flying after the gear is swept up. He was sucker punched by Donald Brashear, and immediatly went out and scored a powerplay goal.

The resilience this team is showing as a fantastic sign. There has been plenty of trade talk recently, but look at it this way- the team is on fire, and will be adding guys like Raffi Torres, Andrew Murray and superstar Rick Nash to the lineup as early as Friday. If the team is winning now, imagine what they are capable of when they have these players on the ice.

There are still some nagging issues though- as Clint alluded to in his game recap, the Jackets need a backup goaltender for Mase. Stevie looked very much human last night, and is due for a poor game here or there. There has been talk of Curtis Sanford being acquired, I think this is a great plan. Pascal Leclaire's health seems to be quite an issue.

Also, there is the question of whether a team with so many rookies and sophomores in the lineup can sustain such a high level of play. Personally, I think they can. The young guns that the Jackets possess are very high character, winner-types. They hate to lose, and have a fabulous work ethic.

That said, look out pundits, this year's Jacket team is for real.

Rock the Nat

2009-01-13T22:55:00.002-04:00

Big Ups to the Nationwide Arena Crowd Tonight. The number one star in my opinion. It was full on a Tuesday with miserable weather and came rocking.

A human, Steve Mason appeared once again and only emphasizes the need for a quality NHL backup. If Pazzy is out for a prolonged time, we need someone to give the kid a break. Hopefully a stop gap will take form soon. The missed glove save was the softest we've seen from Stevie.

The TEAM came to back him up tonight. After that softie, our forecheck was strong and we got two quick ones. After the first one, Mase took a quick little refocus skate. After the second we got a fist pump. Mason has one so many games for this team, it was great to see them bail him out after a bad goal.

I didn't see much of Filatov. I'm not sure he took a shift in the third. I know Hitch has to trust his players, but I'd like to see a little more of the kid. On the plus side, Voracek and Picard we on the ice in the final two minutes.

Huselius played his best game in a while. He, Umberger, Voracek, and Modin have really stepped up their play. It is truly a great sight to see.

I actually really liked Picard's game tonight. He, Boll, and Dorsett all effectively laid the body on the forecheck. Great checks which helped gain control. Dorsett was jawing with Darcy all night. He couldn't get him to dance. I'm sure Tucker didn't want his face smashed like last time.

Mancrush of the Game: Fedor Tyutin played an amazing game. His little quick plays all add up. He makes little saves at the offensive blue line that maintains the possession and it often goes unnoticed. Also watching him closely, he's body positioning is uncanny. He's able to make quick little turns with the puck in the corner that allow him to move the puck up ice effectively. Ghost of Blue Jackets of the past, would just rim the puck. Hopefully those days are gone. Methot was also very effective and very physical.

Whipping Boy of the Game: Adam Foote, Just because I can.

Chili for Filly

2009-01-11T15:18:00.002-04:00

If only Nikita Filatov could score three goals every game... I have a feeling he will let us down in that regard. In his 9 minutes of ice time, he played amazing. None of his three goals were sure things, in fact they were all lucky, but it takes some skill to be lucky three times, right? Howson will be put into a strange position. Losing a year of Filatov's contract will mean, in three years we won't get him for a pile of beans. In reality, keeping that year on his contract would be marvelous financially, it would also mean that we would be able to ice a pretty solid team for another year before we have to worry about finances.

I think Howson will do anything to help this team win, but with the way our roster is depleted, we need all the offense we can get. A very tough position.

Two consecutive wins with this ragtag squad is impressive. I don't even feel like we have been lucky, we have deserved to win these games.

When we first played Washington, their color guy came to our booth during intermission. We proceeded to say that Washington's young players were much farther along in their development compared to the Blue Jackets. I bit my thumb at him. That is a load of dung, IMHO. The difference between Washington and Columbus is that Washington plays in the crappy East. Outside of Boston, Philadelphia, and Montrael, I do not think there is a team in the East that is better than us.

I have said vehementally that for the last 3 years, we would have made the playoffs in the East.

Steve Mason continues to be amazing. He is simply solid and that is what you want out of your #1 goalie.

We still need to make a deal, but that problem is now, most of the pieces we could trade are on IR, or need to come off of IR to make other players tradeable. I'm sure there is some market for Pazzy, but not if he is injured. Waiting for more teams to fall out of the picture, will only increase supply and lower prices. Waiting will not hurt us.

In the post-game Hitch said that this will likely be the lineup for Tuesday. It would be nice to get a clearer report on Rick Nash. All the winning makes that less important though, but we need 61 in there for long term success. He takes on the best defenders and creates space for other players. He was playing his best hockey before the injury.

This is sizing up to be our first real playoff chase. My feeling (pre-Brassard injury) was that we were the 5th or 6th best team in the conference. We should be a playoff team and anything less is a bust. I'm sure H&H feel the same way.

ManCrush of the Weekend: The New Tricky Nikki. How can I not give major props to Filly. Hat tricks are rare in Columbus.

Whipping Boy of the Game: While I have seen some improvement. The whipping boy is Jared Boll. Firstly I think I might be able to take him in a fight this year and secondly the thunderous body checks of last year have become less frequent. If he doesn't win fights, he doesn't check hard, he doesn't score, what does he do? He did tally his first of the year, but we need a lot more from him.

Bull or Bear?

2009-01-04T17:14:00.003-04:00

I expect a lower open for the stock market on Monday. The Blue Jackets control the market, take a peek. After a solid close on Friday, the Jackets absolutely blitzed the Avs and Footer. The special teams lost the game against the Blues.

First he Avs game. After a bad first period. The Jackets dominated the play. By the middle of the third it looked like a video game. Peca making blind passes through two defenders to the stick of RJ Umberger is the stuff EA is made of. Two beautiful passing plays from the top line were impressive, but I found the most impressive play was from Voracek. Buzzing past all the defense, shoving the dagger through the heart. That is the type of play we can expect from Voracek as he gets better. He looked like mini-Nash.

The play of Nash was impressive again. A four point night was a nice little reward from a string of solid play.

Mason let in a goal = bum.

St. Louis brought their workpails. They have a fiesty mentality. They will not beat teams with skill so they need to bring hard work and effective special teams to win and they did.

Our PK looked disoriented. We took way too many in a row. A positive was Tyutin backing up a teammate with a fight. The negative was it took him off the ice for 15 minutes. Most of which were special teams and we missed him. Don't get me wrong, I'm not mad at the guy, but it certainly shows his value to the team. PKs when two of our top 4 our are in the box are frightening.

I like the first period comeback. We got down two quickly, but we did come back strong. It was still solid effort until the 4th Blues goal. Again on the PK.

We took too many penalty, (most of which were drawn off of St. Louis hardwork), and our PK was awful. Hopefully it is just a little hiccup. All things equal, I'd like to barf out all of the bad PK play in one game.

I think our awful start prompted Hitch to make more defensively responsible lines. He took Manny off the first line. I was not thrilled to see that because I thought they had reasonably decent chemistry. Plus Manny bopped Foote in the face.

For only the second time this year. Steve Mason looked ordinary. He kept them in the game. If we scored the fifth goal of the game, I bet we win.

Mancrush of the Weekend - It is actually tough to pick a guy that had a great night back to back. The only one that sticks out to me is Commodore. He scored twice and played really solid defense. He is still overpaid, but his value is improving.

Whipping Boy of the Weekend - I'll continue with Peca. He had 3 great chances to give us the lead, I think they were on the same shift. He has to score there. He has started to contribute more offensively, but we've all seen better from him. (Remember when he looked like gold on the top line to start last year?)

3 out of 4 road wins is still a great start. When it comes down to it, I'd rather give St. Louis the points than most teams in the WC. It hurts that we lost to a team we should beat, BUT maybe we'll knock off the Wings and balance it out.

Are you satisfied?

Avoiding Decapitation

2008-12-30T21:13:00.002-04:00

The fate of the season would be decided by a bad road trip. The good news is the guys really brought a big defensive effort to shutdown the Kings. If the Jackets are able to come out of the 6 game roadie with more wins than losses, it will be a success.

Rick Nash played a great game last night. Recently he's taken to a roll of set up man very nicely. He made a beauty pass to Manny against Philly and set up Russ for a powerplay goal. I've always preferred parked Nash in front of the net over perimeter Nash. I think this may be one of the most obvious criticisms of his recent play. I think fans want to see him drive the net. A great game none the less. He simply wanted that empty netter. He made up 3 steps on Dustin Brown to get the loose puck.

Steve Mason has been tremendous. Teams play better hockey when they trust the goaltender. He is firing on all cylinders at the moment.

I actually thought Alex Picard has looked very good in his recent callup.

I don't know if I like Tyutin as much when paired with Klesla. I'm not sure if there is a chemistry issue, but I think he looked better with Methot. Big props to Rusty for blocking a pass with his face. I do not think it damaged his soulful eyes.

We are watching the best special teams play out of the team this year. The PK has been stellar. They shutdown the Flyers top unit and kept the Kings quiet. PKs start with the net out so it shouldn't be a surprise that we are doing well.

The PP has had the best puck movement. I think pucks are going to the net more often and faster. When the points are pressured, usually what happens are they try to move the puck across the blueline. What has been happening recently are those pucks are quickly getting funnelled toward the net, (where we'll have more numbers). It create more frantic penalty killing and more chances. I think we have seen improved play out of our blueline keeping pucks in and getting pucks through.

Mancrush of the Game: Rick Nash tonight. Games like this should be much more frequent out of him, but it is games like this we also take for granted. He was great all night. The Juice-Manny-Nash line has been effective.

Whipping Boy of the Game: Mike Commodore. Weak penalties. He has the habit of taking the weak and needless penalty. Nothing like flinging it over the glass with one second on the clock. He's been solid this year, but he needs to understand that's a key Penalty Killer and he can't put the team down as often as he has been.

World Junior Update

2008-12-27T17:02:00.003-04:00

Hi folks, hope everybody is having a great holiday season so far. Speaking of the holidays- the World Junior Hockey Championship is underway. The Jackets have four prospects taking part in the tourny:

Nikita Filatov, Russia

Nik is the captain of the Russian team, and is easily their most talented player. He led the Russian team in scoring at last year's tournament, and will look to do the same this season. Leading up to the World Juniors, Filatov was struggling to score for Syracuse of the AHL, so a chance to play against peers and dominate will do wonders for his confidence.
Cody Goloubef, Canada

Goloubef is part of a very strong blueline group for Canada. He has been paired mostly with either Alex Pietrangelo, (the Blues first rounder) or Canadiens prospect P.K. Subban. Goloubef is the only college player on the team. In the tournament opener against the Czech Republic, Goloubef had some decent offensive chances off of big shots from the blueline. His size is also put to good use fighting for loose pucks in the defensive corners.

Teddy Ruth, USA

Ruth, like Goloubef, is part of a deep blueline for the Americans. He is steady and reliable on the backend, not flashy but effective. He'll allow the forwards to roam a bit more. You'll probably have a hard time noticing him because of his playing style.

Tomas Kubalik, Czech Republic

He's not a big part of the offense for the Czechs, but he is an important player nonetheless. He plays like a power forward, banging the body and doing good work in-tight. I noticed that his hands aren't the best, he's more comfortable playing the board game, crashing the net (although he didn't get many opportunities yesterday against the Canadians)

Report: Brassard Out for the Year

2008-12-21T19:11:00.003-04:00

According to Aaron Portzline, Derick Brassard may soon be facing season ending shoulder surgery. A quick glance on our lineup highlights how much this hurt this team. Even though Brassard had hit a wall, he was clearly the most skilled center on the team. Now our center corps looks very similar to last year's crew.

The center spot has plagued this team from its inception and continues to. Losing Brassard really puts pressure Howson to make a move to upgrade our top 6. But what does he have to trade? Could we deal our top pick, not knowing where we will end up?

Whatever happens, we need to improve our center depth for next year. The parity in the league will not make this an easy thing to do. Teams that are consistently good, develop their own centers.

If Howson upgrade at the center position our 09-10 roster may be our most complete to date, but that will not make the fanbase happy. We need the playoffs now. This is the first true test of Howson IMO. He had a honeymoon period to get the type of players he wanted. Now we have a competitive team that now has a huge hole.

Another consideration is with the salary cap, it may realistically fall next season. This could push some contract into play that usually would not be considered trade bait. However none of this will shuffle out until the deadline. Only the Isles and Thrashers should be looking at 09-10 right now and their depth at center is comparable to our current crew.

What needs to be done? Patience or Action? Is their a market for action?

A Costly, Much Needed, Victory

2008-12-18T17:48:00.002-04:00

Most of the adjectives in the dictionary could be used to describe some aspect of this game. I need to get this on paper fast.

The Sharks are good. By far the best team we have played this year and probably the best team I've seen in a few years. After the Peca goal to tie, they came back so hard and fast. Their team speed and aggressiveness is frightening. We gave up 48 shots which has to be a season high. They continually put pressure and fired pucks at the net. Mason was up to the challenge.

In all but about 3 of our games, I believe we have either matched or exceeded the effort of the other team. Last night our best was overmatched by the best of the Sharks for most of the night.

Although the win was great Chimera and Murray will both be out of the lineup. Chimmer likely for an extended period of time. The news of a groin injury is not good at all for him since much of his game is built on speed. He'll need to get a full recovery to get back and trust it again. I expect Chimmer to try to come back too early.

Rick Nash played a quietly solid game. I really would like to see more aggressiveness from him night in and night out. He made a great play off the boards to gain the second assist on Peca's goal (finally).

With a win tonight against Dallas, the Jackets will move to over .500 for December. Considering the start to December, that is an accomplishment.

Mancrush of the Game: Commodore - Hejda , Since Steve Mason is a permanent mancrush fixture, I'm tossing in the Commie - Hejda pair. They were matched up against San Jose's top players all night long and hung with it. They were also a critical PK pair against the Sharks's deadly unit.

Whipping Boy of the Game: Since this has been a good luck charm lately, I'll put Derick Brassard here. He has teased us with his tantalizing playmaking. For the first 10 games he was the best player on the ice. He has disappeared. I'm sure opposing defenses are much more aware of him, but he needs to adjust his game.

Ebb and Flow

2008-12-14T14:02:00.003-04:00

After a miserable three game road trip, with the season on the brink, the Jackets came up big with two necessary wins. The Predators looked slow, the Isles looked underskilled. An AHL All Star team would boast a serious talent upgrade over the current Islander squad. If the Jackets lost to the Preds or Isles the season and motivation could easily fall in the ultra competitive Western Conference.

Overall the chips will fall. I find it hard to believe all the teams in the West will continue this solid play. Some will inevitably fall out of our way, we just have to make sure it is not us. The talent is here to be a top 6-8 team in the conference. It would be the most frustrating disappointment to wilt away before the deadline.

Here is the deal. We outplay most teams for long stretches. Here is our problem. When we outplay teams, we do not necessarily score goals. When teams outplay us, it nearly always ends up in the back of the net. Watching the Isles powerplay gave me a goal for our roster. The Isles are also very left handed on the blueline, but two right handed players manned the left side boards, and left side of the goal crease. It simply allows for better puck movement, rotation, and rebound goals. This is the most significant difference between losing Zherdev. There are plenty of right shot forwards that make their living on the powerplay. I'd like to see how the addition of Filatov could round out a PP for us.

Thoughts on individual players:

Rick Nash - Still too inconsistent for my tastes. It is hard for me to tell the difference between conserving energy and coasting. There is an obvious second gear to his game that all Jackets fans see, the big question is why don't we see that every shift?

Steve Mason - Making a strong play as the best goalie in team history. I'm also loosening on my "never trade Pazzy" stance. If we could get a reliable backup, I'd have to entertain the thought, because that would also save 2 more years worth of cash we can use to fix the top 2 d or get a top 6 center.

Fedor Tyutin - He makes smooth easy plays to transition the puck up nice. Most of these moves are so subtle and natural that they aren't even noticed. He rarely rims the puck. He gets his nice slapper through. He has been the rock on the blueline. I expect to see him ascend to top pair status if we are able to pick up a compliment top pair player (from Toronto :) )

Russell and Backman - They both made terrible turnovers over the past two games. Not what you want from your 3rd pair. However, I have loved Russell's game. His skating sets him apart by a wide margin and he layed out a player with a check against the Isles. If he can develop a slapper (eat some beef) he would be a GREAT second unit QB. Backman still doesn't do anything for me. If he can't QB a PP or play on a PK reliably, we are better off without him. There shouldn't be a player in the league that can't play PP or PK. I hope we see Klesla take his spot upon his return. I think the loss of Klesla adversely effected our PK. He might not be the top pair guy Jackets fans hoped for, but he is solid on the PK.

Huselius, Chimera and Umberger are the players that will ultimately make us a playoff team or not. Chimera was great last night, but all three have been quiet for a while.

Modin, ever since I put him on the whipping boy list, he's really pick up his game. That's the point of the whipping boy list.

The Powerplay, it is hard to know if our PP looks better or if we have just run up against some weak PKs. We seem better with puck movement, but just adding one right shot on the left side boards, would be great.

Mancrush of the Week : Steve Mason, I never would have imagined I'd consider dealing Leclaire, but Mason is a hoss. If Mason is going to be the starter in 80% of the games, the thought has to be at least entertained. I do think solid goaltending is the backbone to any kind of run, but I also know that as the deadline approaches some teams will be looking for a goaltending upgrade and Leclaire will look very attractive.

Whipping Boy of the Week : Michael Peca, I put him on the list a while ago and his play has not improved. We saw his minutes reduced. I saw his comments like he didn't understand. Pecs is smarter than this. You have to contribute something offensively in the new NHL. His faceoffs have been weak and has looked (uncharacteristically) out of position recently. If you don't score, don't win most of your faceoffs and are out of position, what are you? He's a vet, he's smart enough to turn it around. I have faith.

The true test comes tonight against the hot Blackhawks on the road. I know we can play with this team. I like their blueline. If we can score goals, we can win, but recently we have had problems with that.

The Z Debate

2008-12-05T18:08:00.005-04:00

Many Jackets fans still believe that the Jackets got hosed on the Zherdev and Fritsche for Tyutin and Backman deal.

Currently:

Zherdev leads with Rangers with 9 Goals and 16 Assists and is a plus 7 in 29 Games.

Fritsche: 1 Goal 3 Assists in 15 Games.

Tyutin: 3 Goals 8 Assists in 25 Games

Backman: 1 Goal 3 Assists in 25 Games

and for argument sake

Huselius has 9 Goals and 10 Assists in 24 Games

Each point Zherdev puts up is a dagger in the hearts for some. However good decisions are made with brains, not hearts.

I will knock on one criticism early, taking Backman back in the deal. Honestly this is the one thing that is up for debate, BUT he is off the books next year. If he could have ran the powerplay, it would have been well worth it. Overall, Fritsche and Backman will never be the focus of this deal. It will be Zherdev vs. Tyutin, so lets compare this one.

First, The circumstances of the deal: Our #1 priority in the offseason was the upgrade our top 4 defensemen. Howson keyed early on Commodore and got him signed. He pressed long and hard after Redden, he refused to be outbid. Other defenders signed as Redden deliberated. We could not pursue until we had confirmation. Redden decided to sign (thankfully) his 7 million dollar contract with the Rangers. While it hurt on that day, it is best in the long term interest of the team. We did not sink more dollars into a declining vet. That contract will look bad in a couple year (it looks bad now).

So we miss on Redden. The best defender left on the board is Scott Lachance. Our top 4 defenders are Hejda, Klesla, Commodore, and Tollefson.

We had to make a move. We needed a player with top pair potential. We didn't have too many assets to deal that would be worth this item.

~Zherdev~ Which Z would show up this year? Would he be the solid player for the year before, or the trainwreck from two years. Would he be the holdout, slumper from 3 years ago? He has dazzled us many times, but not many fans would be sure what they would get from him.

Could you dare trade Zherdev?

He has charred some bridges with the some teammates (but by most accounts was getting better). Although this he still was the media whipping boy and the whipping boy of 50% of the Nat. His toe drag looked pretty, but every failed one in the Nat drew curses from every section (we saw it too many times before). Would Z benefit from a change of scenary to start with the a clean slate (YES! moreso than any player in CBJ history).

Honestly, I've worried a whole lot less about this team this year, probably because I put a lot of thought into Z's current feelings, his mood, his contract, worrying if he'd want to stay, yada yada. This is not relavent to the actual trade so I'll stop this ramble now.

How much money would he ask for in the offseason and is he the type of player you'd give it to? Is he reliable? Does he fit well into this system? Based on comparables, by not trading him this year you are committing to offering 6.5-7.5 million dollars next year. (He'd take it if wanted to continue to play in the stifling Hitchcock system). Perhaps the new KHL would be nice and warm with his good pal Radulov (although the KHL looks weak, it was still making big waves at the time). Is it worth waiting a year to deal with this, with a player you are not sure you want.

~Zherdev became tradeable. For all of his great plays, he hurt the team often. I really like Zherdev and I think for the most part he was misunderstood. He holds himself to incredibly high standards and wants to win.

So Zherdev for Tyutin?

The first thing Howson probably was thinking about was checking out the UFA forwards and Huselius is still on the list. His attitude was probably, if he could sign Juice, and make the trade, then it would be like he "signed" his other top 4 defender. He did this in backwards order, but once the trade was made, Juice was his ONLY priority. He wouldn't even let the guy go to bed without an answer. If he doesn't sign Juice, the trade fails. At the end of the day, you feel like you added Tyutin and lost nothing.

Is Tyutin worth it? First off, I've been pimping him ever since game 6. He was dreadful in the first 5. He has been incredibly solid since. He gets shots through, play the puck on the boards, and moves it up ice look nobody we've had since Spacek IMO.

He is also signed for THREE MORE years at an average of 2.8 million. He would have easily gotten twice as much if he was on the open market this year. When Jeff Finger is a $3.5 million dollar player. Tyutin is at least $5.0 million. Tyutin still has more untapped potential. He also looks like a #2 defender IMO. Something we did not have on the team.

Other variables:

If still in Columbus, would Z be playing this well? We'll never know.

Zherdev's low trade value. Other teams had the same iffy feelings we had. Why would they deal a nice young piece for a big, sexy question mark? We couldn't get Lupul two years ago and would have given him away for the late Luc Bourdon, but would have been rejected. It is amazing we got a top pair defender who is signed at 50% off for 4 years.

At the end of the day this trade improved the team, we have a better team and more defensive puck movement than any to date. I hope I have clearly stated this argument, because I am tired of restating facts. I've tried to refrain from much opinion in this. I've tried to keep it as a rational statement of facts. Support Z, cheer for him. Get a #13 Rags jersey. Enjoy the greatness without being a constant observer of the annoyances.

We have a GM that makes asset management decisions with his brain instead of his heart and that will keep us out of trouble more often than not.

Leave your comments on this analysis to continue the never ending debate :-)

Getting Mase'd

2008-12-03T18:26:00.002-04:00

http://bluejackets.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=702&id=27152

A High Quality Steve Mason highlight video is found at the link above.

Big Props to Mason for the Rookie of the Month Honors.

Monkeys off the back

2008-12-01T22:35:00.004-04:00

It was a night of banishing the monkeys. The Jackets secured a critical 3-2 in the ever competetive Western Conference. In games where the opposing team scores first, the Jackets were winless this season. That changed last night...finally. Usually you can fast forward your way through CBJ powerplays, we potted one. Hopefully these two statisics can be dusted under the rug.

The Jackets played another stellar game. 5 on 5 play was dominated all night as we have come to expect from this team. Our PK surrendered the only two tallies of the night, but they did kill the one with the game on the line.

The highlight of the night. SAVE of the YEAR from Steve Mason stonewalling Wellwood in the finally seconds with his mystical glove hand. Mason continues to play his way into more starts. Pazzy may not just be getting used to the bench, it may even be in a different city.

Freddy Modin got the powerplay of the snide off of a nice feed from Huselius. It was nice to see the PP get rewarded. The PP is like another player, it is streaky and right now the PP is moving the puck well, but is snakebitten. Hopefully we'll be able to tear off a few goals in a row. PP goals win games. If you told me we had the worst powerplay in the league at the quarterpole, I would have assumed we were in the Hedman sweepstakes.

My mancrush on Kevin Bieksa grows by the day. This guy is my type of player. A dream addition... in my dreams.

Murray's goal was very clutch. Maybe I'm a jaded Jackets fan, but I haven't gotten used to the concept of comeback. I always find "the comeback" as a reward rather than expectation.

On the negative side the Vorassard was invisible again tonight. It is the peaks and valleys of young players. Other teams adjust to them and they need to make the adjustments to get back on track.

Mancrush of the Game : Kristian Huselius. The guy is a hybrid Vyborny-Zherdev. He continues to get great scoring chances. I love his backchecking, I love his effort. When we signed him, I was expecting a lot more of a playmaker, but I've been pleasantly surprised with his tendency to shoot.

Whipping Boy of the Game : Fortunately there haven't been any sore thumbs for most of the games. I'll put Vorassard in here tonight. They need to catch another point rush. It will come.

A Tale of Two Cities

2008-11-29T22:17:00.002-04:00

The Jackets gave away points at the Joe on Friday Night, but decided they would not give them away against the Caps. The Jackets played hard in both, but in my opinion the difference was between the pipes. Pazzy will be playing himself out of starts in the near future.

This was probably the best I've seen this team play. They finally played the physical hockey that we have been told about. We laid more hits tonight. It was nice. Hits do lead to chances, that is Hitchcock hockey, you just have to consistently hit.

This shows again the weakness of the Eastern conference. I would have liked to have seen the Caps at full strength, but much of their hype is built out of an awfully weak division. What was with the play-by-play Caps guy saying, "They are much farther along with the development than the Blue Jackets." Umm I think that is a total load. Swap divisions and I think we could say the exact same thing.

Huselius has been a chance machine lately. He's cashed in on a few, but I'm sure he is not happy with his percent. He missed another breakaway tonight, but it is refereshing to see someone other than 61 getting these type of chances.

Nash potted 2 last night and has been playing some really great hockey.

Tonight we saw the reunification of the Goat line. I like it because I think it gives us more balanced scoring. Brass was put with Nash to get him going again, well Nash is going. I honestly thought the Goat was pretty invisible tonight, but hopefully they will be recapturing some of the early season magic.

Torres finally got his goal. He needed one. I would like to see better forechecking and less cute plays out of him. The little drop passes from him get on my nerves. He scored his goal in the dirty area, that is where he wil score his goals.

Tyutin has continued his stellar play. He has been the best defender on this team since *gasp* Jaroslav Spacek. He moves the puck up ice effectively. When he finally gets to be a second PP d or on the second unit, he'll blossom for points. He is just not a QB.

I haven't been in love with Commodore's play lately. He is taking way too many weak penalties.

The powerplay looked a lot better in this game. More chances, better movement. I think Russell really helps out back there. I really have loved his play since the recall. Smart positionally and calm. I think him and Tyutin on the top PP unit gives us the best chance for success.

Mancrush of the Game: Steve Mason; The Stonemason has thrown a wrench into the goaltending plans. I doubt anyone anticipated his great play then nearly removed from his knee surgery. He was perfect tonight.

Whipping Boy of the Weekend: I'm putting the pair of Modin and Peca down here for now. These guys are vets and they need to contribute something offensively.

So a weekend split, are you satisfied?

A Left-Handed Turkey

2008-11-27T09:50:00.004-04:00

Ken Hitchcock will open his oven to a surprise. His turkey will have two left legs and two left wings.

The Coyotes unworthily beat the Blue Jackets last night in a 3-2 contest. It is not that the Jackets didn't have chances. Huselius along went 1-8 on his golden opportunities last night. We hit posts, we simply couldn't score.

Our Powerplay lost this game. Whenever you let a team hang around in the game, the momentum slowly travels over to them and the Yotes got one after killing our 5 on 3.

I was watching that 5 on 3 and I don't ever remember seeing a puck travel so slowly. Pass, hold it for two seconds, look for a shot, pass... The penalty killers barely had to move. The absense of a strong offensive right handed defensemen is killing this team. Hell even Duvie Westcott could add a couple more wins to this team. In August I predicted this would be a future problem,

"I think more than not having a depth of true RW, our problem could become not having enough Right-shot players. Currently Peca, Boll, and Novo are the 3 right shot forwards we have, so basically none of our top 6 are right handed, unless Filatov surprises. We only have Commie on the blueline. This tends to make PP one-dimensional and may cause some problem with offense on the rush."

There were a lot of positives, but you have to put teams away. You have to score goals on the powerplay, THAT is the biggest enforcer you could have. Imagine we score 3 PP on Fedoruk's dumbass penalties. He wouldn't see the ice for the rest of the game.