Light the Lamp - a Columbus Blue Jackets blog

And then there was one..

noreply@blogger.com (LTL) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:07:00 +0000

With announcement that Aaron Rome has signed a 1 year 2-way deal that leaves just one key restricted free agent left to sign.

Yep you guessed it, Pascal Leclaire.

First to Rome. Rome got in 17 NHL games last season and for better or worse he was our best defensemen on some nights. That's not a knock on Rome per se but more of a statement in terms of exactly where this team was at with personnel with injuries, trades and under performing players.

It appears the Jackets may be willing to carry 8 defensemen next year. If that indeed ends up being the case that puts Rome right in the mix:

Locks: Commodore, Tyutin, Hejda, Klesla, Backman, Tollefsen * Russell (yes I don't see how Russell is not on this team next year - they absolutley need his ability to move the puck)

In The Running for 8th Spot: Rome, Methot, Clitsome

I think Rome has the inside track based on his performance last year as he played good solid smart hockey and wasn't afraid to mix it up. Methot is a big strong defensive d-man who doesn't shy away from contact but doesn't offer much offensively either. I know the coaches absolutely loved Clitsome in camp and are very interested to see what he can do against men -- remember he spent 4 years in college and he should stand out in prospect camp as he's older. I will say in his defense that he also stood out in camp last off season.

Unless Clitsome absolutely blows the other two out of the rink I think he starts in the year in the AHL -- 1. because he just turned pro and could use the seasoning and 2. he's waiver in-eligible. Where it gets really tricky is Methot and Rome -- both are waiver eligible so unless injuries start mounting up the Jackets could find themselves having to expose one on the wire as they send him down.

Certainly a storyline to follow in camp this year.

As far as Pascal the latest is that his agent Don Meehan has sent a counter-proposal back to Howson. The thought is that they have agreed to a 3 year term and now its a question of money.

I wouldn't panic on this one Jacket fans. Howson will match any offer that may come in and quite frankly this negotiation was always going to be a difficult one to work out. Not because both sides don't want it to work out but because of the complications.

To break it down Leclaire has had one good season which was last year yet he still battled injuries. The most he's ever played in an NHL season is 54 games.

From the Leclaire camp they are selling that he finished in the top 10 of every major statistical goaltending category other than starts and wins thus he should paid as such. From Howson's camp they are selling that Leclaire has only played at a top 10 goalie level once and still only managed to play in a career best 54 games.

You can't pay him like a top 10 goalie. You also can't pay him like a bottom 20.

So who are his comparables?

Leclaire is 26 who played in 54 games, had a 2.25GAA, .919 Save% and 24 wins.

Leclaire's camp is probably looking at a guy like Huet who signed a 5 year 22.5 million dollar deal. He's 32, had a 2.32 GAA, .920 Save%, 32 wins and played in 52 games. He has a total of 183 starts over 5 NHL seasons.

Howson and co. are probably looking at a guy like Dan Ellis who had one good season last year after spending 4 seasons in the minors. Ellis is 28 who played in 48 games had a 2.34 GAA, .924 Save% and 23 wins. He will make 1.5 million next year and 2 million the following.

Where does Leclaire slide between those two? That is exactly what they are trying to work out now.

By all accounts the negotiations are cordial and you have to think that the financial gap is closing every time one of these counter-proposals are made.

I have no doubt Leclaire will get done and will be a Blue Jacket this coming season.

More Filatov. According to TSN Nikita Filatov's contract is one of several under investigation by the IIFH:

The International Ice Hockey Federation has suspended Alexander Radulov while they investigate the details of his transfer to the newly formed Russian KHL.

As well, the transfer of five other players - Nikita Filatov, Thomas Mojzis, Jason Krog, Fedor Fedorov and Viktor Tikhonov - is also being investigated by the governing body.

"Until this investigation has come to its final conclusion and the IIHF has rendered its decisions, all concerned players will be suspended from international transfers and competitions," read a statement from the IIHF on Friday.

"We hope that this can be resolved amicably and in a timely manner," said IIHF President Rene Fasel. "It is unfortunate that we are already facing such difficulties after the progress that was made last week. I am hoping that all sides can come to a solution."

Filatov may have to sacrifice his eligibility for international competitions if he wants to make the jump to North America this season. Hopefully that isn't the case.

I certainly don't see this story going away anytime soon.

NHL.com takes a look at a much more competitive Western Conference from a fantasy perspective:

Columbus Blue Jackets – Signed forwards Kristian Huselius and Craig MacDonald, and traded for left wing Raffi Torres and defensemen Christian Backman and Fedor Tyutin. I like the addition of Huselius, an underappreciated scorer who is 59-84-143 the last two seasons. Just as he did in Calgary with Jarome Iginla, he'll probably line up next to a premier right wing, this time Rick Nash. Torres was beset with injuries in 2007-08 and limited to 11 points in 32 games. A two-time 20-goal scorer, he will be a project for coach Ken Hitchcock. MacDonald has no fantasy value, and Tyutin and Backman are useless in fantasy.

I think this writer is a little to quick to disregard both Backman and Tyutin. Both haven't had breakout years offensively but both haven't been given a "Hainsey" like role on the PP either. I easily see one of Tyutin/Backman/Russell emerging from this coming season with similar stats to Hollywood. I think all three will have career years offensively as well.

Update: Reports out of Buffalo are that Ryan Miller has signed a 5 year 31.25 million dollar deal. That averages out to 6.25 per season. That will most definitely have an impact on Leclair's negotiation although Miller has had fairly consistant back to back NHL seasons with over 63 games played in each.

Also I forgot to metion but Mike Commodore will be at the Tuttle Mall this Sunday from 3-4 signing autographs. Fans are gonna love this guy so if your in the area or looking for something to do lets make him feel welcome to our city!

Discuss - any worries out there that Leclaire won't get done?

-LTL

Deep dive

noreply@blogger.com (LTL) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:45:00 +0000

Some Jackets 2008-20090NHL schedule anlaysis for ya:

Monthly breakdown:
Oct - 10 games
4 - home
6 - away
3- b2b

Nov - 13 games
8 - home
5 - away
3 - b2b

Dec - 14 games
6 - home
8 - away
3 - b2b

Jan - 13 games
6 - home
7 - away
3 - b2b

Feb - 12 games
7 - home
5 - away
3 - b2b

Mar - 15 games
8 - home
7 - away
2 - b2b

Apr - 5 games
2 - home
3 - away
2 - b2b

Gameday breakdown:
Mon - 5
Tues - 15
Wed - 9
Thurs - 9
Fri - 14
Sat - 23
Sun - 7

Home gameday breakdown:
Mon - 3
Tues - 10
Wed - 6
Thurs - 3
Fri - 6
Sat - 10
Sun - 3

Eastern Conference Teams at home:
Rangers, Canadiens, Capitals, Islanders, Flyers, Devils, Senators, Bruins, Penguins

Eastern Conference Teams on the road:
Islanders, Sabres, Capitals, Hurricanes, Maple Leafs, Panthers, Lightning

Holiday Games:
Wed Nov 26th vs. Coyotes - day before Thanksgiving
Tue Dec 23rd vs. Kings - day before Christmas Eve
Mon Feb 16th vs. Star - President's Day

Road Trip Opportunities:
Sat Oct 18th @ Nashville
Fri Nov 14th @ Buffalo
Sun Dec 14th @ Chicago
Sat Mar 7th @ Detroit
Fri Mar 13th @ Chicago
Sat Mar 28th @ St. Louis

Sat Apr 4th @ Nashville

Some juicy road trip targets if flying is an option:
Fri Oct 10th @ Dallas (season opener)

Sat Nov 22nd @ Atlanta

Sat Dec 20th @ Phoenix

Sat Feb 14th @ Carolina
Sat Mar 21st @ Florida

General Comments:
* Great balance in this schedule. No single month is top heavy in home or away games.

* 10 home Saturday games - hell yes!

* Everyone wants weekend games but with 82 there has to be quite a few scheduled on weekdays. Out of the weekdays its kind of surprising that Tuesday is such a popular night for games but I'm sure the statistics have shown as such.

* Unfortunately no New Year's Eve game this season.

* 20 back to backs seems excessive. I wonder where that ranks over in the league?

* The final 7 of 8 games are against Central rivals.

* The longest road trip is 6 games from Dec 29th through Jan 9th.

* The longest home stand is 4 games from Nov 5th through Nov 7th.

* The longest break in the schedule looks to be 6 days from Jan 21 to the 27th (that may also be the All Star break).

* Oddly enough the Jackets will close out the year against Minnesota. Its a Saturday game and if the Jackets are still fighting for the playoffs that could be a memorable night at Nationwide.

* As mentioned earlier its hard not to get excited about Crosby and Ovechkin making
appearances in Natiowide this season.

* I won't miss the Wings fans an extra night at the Nat.

* October 17th will be our first live look at Huselius, Commodore, Tyutin, Torres,
Umberger and Backman in a CBJ regular season game.

* Jackets fans will have to wait until January 13th to give Adam Foote the first class treatment when the Avalanche come to town.

* Nik Zherdev and Dan Fritsche make their first appearance at Nationwide as Rangers on Friday October 24th.

* Hitch will get another crack as his former team the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday December 27th. It will also be the first time Umberger faces his former club.

* This is the first time in 3 years that the Jackets will open on the road. The last time was against Washington coming out of the lockout in 2005.

* Huselius runs into Calgary for the first time

All in all I'm pretty happy with the looks of this schedule. I think it gives the Jackets a fighting chance.

Discuss - thoughts on the schedule? Anything in particular dissapoint or excite you?

-LTL

Jackets Full NHL Schedule Available Now

noreply@blogger.com (LTL) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:24:00 +0000

Just a quick post but the Jackets full NHL schedule can be found here. I'll be back with my analysis a little later on today.

-LTL

Dalpe waivering and more...

noreply@blogger.com (LTL) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:03:00 +0000

Zac Dalpe's, a 2008 Carolina Hurricanes 2nd round draft pick, future at Ohio State grows less certain by the day.

If you recall the 6'1" center out of Paris Ontario had been committed to the Buckeyes since they were the first to show interest in him as a 15 year old. Then he was a highly skilled youngster but undersized. This past year Dalpe not only saw a tremendous growth spurt but he saw his stock grow in the eyes of NHL scouts....so much so that the Plymouth Whalers of the OHL selected him in the CHL draft.

From that point on the rumors have run rampet that Dalpe would sprun Ohio State to pursue the opportunity in the OHL.

To make matters worse, the owner of the Plymouth Whalers is the same guy who owns the Carolina Hurricanes which of course is the team that drafted him.

Talk about stacking the cards against head coach John Markell and his hockey Buckeyes.

Now as you may have guessed Dalpe is waivering:

“I think about it all the time,” Dalpe said. “Right now I’m going to Ohio State but if I got an offer I couldn’t refuse, that’s something I’d have to look at also and explore.”

“You think after the draft, things will kind of wind down a little bit, but not for me,” Dalpe said. “I had my nose to the grindstone and I have some tough decisions to make, but I’d rather have two teams wanting me to play for them than none.”

Those certainly aren't the kind of comments that inspire confidence if your wanting this kid in a Buckeye uniform this fall. It would certainly be a blow to a team that could desperately use him and in fact could ultimately decide the fate of Markell's future as a head coach in central ohio.

Markell has been head coach of the Buckeyes since the 1994-1995 season. In that span he has he has 5 NCAA Tournament appearances included making it to the Frozen Four in the 97-98 season. The last 3 seasons have been a struggle finishing under .500 each of those years including going 12-25-4 last season. He hasn't made the tournament since 2004-2005.

He's got a young team and Dalpe could make all the difference in getting that program pointed back in the right direction. Markell needs to catch this break.

Wes Goldstein of CBSSports.com had the following to say about the Jackets offseason:

The Jackets are the only one of the NHL's 30 teams to never make the playoffs, and second-year GM Scott Howson has moved aggressively this summer in an attempt to get rid of that dubious distinction. He started at the draft when used the sixth overall pick on a talented young Russian named Nikita Filatov, a player many teams were thought to be shying away from because there is no transfer agreement between his national federation and the NHL.

Columbus signed him though, and then continued the roster makeover with a series of free agents signings and trades. The upshot is that the Blue Jackets are a deeper and more balanced them, one that has strengthened its blue line by adding Mike Commodore, Fedor Tyutin and Christian Backman, added scoring power and skill with Kristian Huselius and R.J. Umberger and toughened up front with heavy hitting Raffi Torres. And as a final touch, Columbus extended the contract of coach Ken Hitchcock for three years. Grade: B+

He gave Detroit an A+, Chicago A, Nashville C and St. Louis a D.

The full NHL schedule to be released today at 2:30 EST. We know that they'll open on the road and then have their first home game Oct 17th. We also know they'll have home at homes with the Islanders, Penguins and Capitals. I'm thrilled about those. Who doesn't like to watch Crosby and Ovechkin? I also have a buddy who is a die hard Islanders fan so I'm even happy about that game especially when the Jackets beat em (har har).

It will be interesting to analyze how many back to backs, what the breakdown in road vs. homes is on a month to month basis and of course start planning out the all important road trips.

-LTL

Wednesday round up

noreply@blogger.com (LTL) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:40:00 +0000

According to the Jackets web site Marc Methot, Alexandre Picard and Steve Kelly have all been signed to 1 year 2-way contracts.

Both Methot and Picard were restricted free agents. Methot is a 2003 6th round pick while Picard is a 2004 1st round pick. Both should have another year or two of Restricted years.

In signing the 1 year deals it gives the Jackets flexibility in terms of contracts and payrolls and more importantly the players as they will look to have strong years and try to earn that 1-way contract the following season.

NHL.com leaked the Kelly signing yesterday and the Jackets made it official today. Crunch scribe Lindsay Kramer seems to like it:

"...if he winds up playing in Syracuse, this is another major jolt for the Crunch on behalf of the Blue Jackets. Kelly is both a scorer and a grinder, although at age 31 he probably doesn't bang as much any more."

He certainly sounds like the type of player Howson/Hitch covet.

Filatov is now officially signed according the Dispatch. Howson and co. got that technicality corrected quickly and now its time to move on to Filatov's visa and get his butt state side.

A friend of mine had a good point -- it may not be a bad idea to ship Filatov off to Canada where they are less stringent on allowing foreigners into their county and have him train there until his US work visa goes through. Anything to get him away from the Russian "influence".

Regarldess its obvious the Jackets are working dilligently to get Filatov over aqap (as quickly as poss..) and I think its only a matter of time before it happens.

Ohio native (just wouldn't sound right without that preface) Dan Fritsche agreed to a 1 year contract with the NY Rangers yesterday worth 875,000. Quite frankly I thought he'd demand and get a little more dough in the 1 mil+ range.

No word yet on the NHL schedule but they have made one thing official today and that the next site for the "Winter Classic". It will indeed be held at Wrigley Field on New Years Day and the teams will be the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings.

-LTL

Whose gonna make it

noreply@blogger.com (LTL) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:08:00 +0000

A few months ago I did a post on "Whose on the block" which was a look by percentage at who was likely to be on the move versus who was likely to stay this offseason.

Now I'd like to (at a reader's request) take a look by percentage at some of the more prominent names in the Jackets' prospect pool and see who is likely to see regular season time on the Jackets next season versus who isn't.

100% - Derick Brassard - Slam dunk here with the Jackets being unable to land another top 6 center thus far. Regardless of if they brought one in or not I think it was going to be really hard to keep this playmaker off the roster. He's a lock.

99% - Jakub Voracek - His percentage may be lower if he was old enough to play in the AHL but unfortunately he's not so its either the NHL or back to Major Junior for this blue chipper. I think he'll start lower in the lineup but unless he plays himself right off the team in camp he'll be a Blue Jacket next season.

98% - Aaron Rome - The Jackets wouldn't put this guy on waivers at the end of the season because they were afraid he would get claimed -- that should tell you all you need to know about Rome's chances of playing with the big boys this coming season. I don't know if he'll flat out make the team but unless he's dealt he'll see plenty of time in union blue.

95% - Steve Mason - He's turned pro and will be counted on in Syracuse to be their go to guy with Dan LaCosta backing him up. Mason won't get a lot of starts in Columbus but with Pascal's injury history and Norrena's inconsistent play expect Mason to get some cups of coffee next year.

94% - Derek Dorsett - I just think this kid is ready and has the kind of sandpaper in his game the Jackets can certainly utilize at the bottom of their lineup. Heck I think he's got a good chance of making the team in camp but should he not he'll get some looks next year.

90% - Tom Sestito - This kid is big and strong and willing to drop the gloves. He got a taste late last season against St. Louis and against certain opponents the Jackets will want his size and toughness in the lineup. I don't see him playing a lot for the Jackets but think he's pretty close to a sure thing in terms of getting a call up or two.

89% - Nikita Filatov - Oh the wild card. I've never seen him play so this projection is strictly off hype. If he's got near the offensive skill and defensive awareness we've heard about how does he not see time with the big team? A team that is desperate for offensive flair. It will all ride on whether or not he plays in the AHL versus the CHL. I don't think the Jackets can afford not to have him available. It will come down to camp for this kid. Unless he greatly disappointments he'll split time between the AHL/NHL.

82% - Jonathan Sigalet - Defensemen acquired in the trade for Matt Marquardt. Being an offensive defensemen Sigalet will probably see some time at some point next season on the big squad. If Russell and Backman struggle or get hurt the Jackets could turn to Sigalet to QB the PP in their stead.

81% - Clay Wilson - We didn't quite add the offensive flair on the backend that I had hoped which leaves Wilson in a better position to get a call up on the Jackets. Wilson is really in the same boat at Sigalet but I put him below him on the call up list due to size and defense although I think Wilson may be better offensively.

80% - Marc Methot - I think he's in danger a bit of getting passed over by more than just Rome on the depth chart. Still he's had plenty of time to develop and has shown he's capable at the next level. Injuries will mount and at the very least Methot should see a few games. I look for him to have a big camp.

77% - Alexander Picard - Pretty much a bust as far as justifying being selected #8 overall in the 2004 draft but I still think the organization likes him in terms of finding his niche as an energy/agitator guy on the 3rd or 4th line. He just doesn't seem to have the hands to be a scorer at the highest level. Unless traded I fully expect to see him get some call up time.

75% - Adam Pineault - This is a big year for Pineault. The kid seems to have all the tools to be an NHL player but where does he fit? He finally got a one game call up last year and if he keeps maturing he should also find himself with a couple of looks this coming season. He's more of a trigger man but plays a solid north/south style with decent wheels and fantastic shot. Pineault needs a big year.

54% - Maxim Mayorov - Turned plenty of heads in camp but can use a lot more polish which if he stays in North America he should get with Syracuse. He's a bit of a reach to reach the NHL this year but I think its a pretty safe bet he'll get the nod for at least a game or two at some point during the year - if he stays in North America.

51% - Andrei Plekhanov - Kid has a lot of pro talent including that NHL caliber shot. He really impressed last season to earn a 2-year 2-way deal. Can he keep it going? Does he have enough upstairs to keep up with the pace of the NHL game? Tough call on this kid - I give him a slightly better than 50% chance that he'll see some regular season NHL duty this year.

51% - Nick Holden - Loved this kid at prospect camp. NHL size, good attitude and has had a lot of time to develop in the Major Junior. A defensemen with some offensive upside he could make a push this year which may earn him a call up. The safe bet though is that he'll get loads of ice time in Syracuse and good time to development to make a hard push for the big team the following season. He will be an interesting player to watch in Syracuse this season. I just have a good feeling about him.

50% - Dan LaCosta - You know in this crazy game there is bound to be a scenario where LaCosta will at least see a game as a backup.

37% - Grant Clitsome - Another guy I absolutely loved at camp. Clitsome is similar to Holden in that he's had a lot of time to develop his game but unlike Nick he did so in NCAA D1 hockey. He's looks very polished and poised with the puck. I don't really see him getting a shot at the big team next year but if he can adjust to the AHL game quickly I wouldn't say its completely out of the question.

29% - Stephan Legein - This kid has a lot of mental maturing to do before Howson/Hitch give him a shot at the big time. The kid's got the skill but now he needs to learn how to be a pro. They'll let him figure that out in Syracuse -- be it the easy way or the hard way -- its up to him. I see him pretty far down the depth chart with guys like Filatov, Doresett, Sestito, Mayorov, Pinneault & Picard ahead of him.

20% - Kosmachev - Still no word on what the 2003 3rd round pick plans are. He came to North America for the first time ever for the prospect camp and showed well. I'm sure the organization would like to put the big Russian in Syracuse to see what he's got but that will all depend on Kosmachev and if he's willing to stay in NA for the year. If he does stick I doubt he gets a call up this season but I wouldn't close the door completely - the guy does have NHL size and has been baking for a while.

0% - Nick Sucharski & Jake Hansen - A couple 0f NCAA forwards who still have plenty of maturing to do in their games. Like the NCAA d-men they'll spend another year of development at college. This will be Sucharski's senior year so he'll most likely sign an entry level deal and may see some time at Syracuse or Elmira later this year.

0% - Ted Ruth, Cody Goloubef & Will Weber - These three very good defensive prospects (all 2nd round picks) will spend their entire years developing their games at their NCAA schools.

0% - Allen York - Had a real good camp (sans the scrimmage) and will be off to college himself for a few years of development. This kid is a project and should spend at minimum 3 years at the collegiate level.

I've left some names off the list including a lot of this year's later round picks but there you have the more higher profile guys. Even though we are certainly a much deeper team this year its a long season and injuries are bound to mount up. You've also got trades to consider. For those reasons and more I see quite a few of these names having better than average shots to see some time on the big club.

The only guys I see making the team out of camp are Brassard and Voracek. I see both Dorsett and Sestito with outside chances but will get plenty of time due to the sandpaper they have in their games.

Filatov of course is a wild card we'll all be keeping a close eye on.

The good news is that we have some quality talent below that top tier group of guys who have had some good development time and should be able to step in and fill a role without significantly hurting the team.

We also can't forget about the veteran call ups like MacDonald, MacKenzie and Kelly. Vigilate is another guy on that list. I see them hurting the chances of guys like Pineault, Legein and Picard instead of highly skilled guys like Filatov or willing combatants like Dorsett or Sestito.

Discuss - thoughts on the rankings? Am I over-estimating some guys while under-estimating others?

-LTL

Another one bites the dust

noreply@blogger.com (LTL) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:43:00 +0000

According to puck-rakers Joakim Lindstrom - a 2002 2nd round pick - has been dealt to the Anaheim Ducks for a conditional draft pick in 2009.

The pick will be determined by how many games Lindstrom plays with the Ducks during the 2008-09 season. It could be as high as a fourth-round pick or as low as a seventh-round pick.

Lindstrom is a 24 year old winger who has played in 23 NHL games notching 3g and 7p. According to Lindsay Kramer over on the Crunch blog Lindstrom was going to play in Europe this season -- with this news of the trade I'm sure that will change.

Lindstrom could never really find his permanent place in the Columbus lineup. In his 2 full years with the Crunch he put up solid numbers scoring 43p in 64g and last season notching 48p in 50g. Unfortunately he's been unable to translate his AHL success at the NHL level.

The problem to me is his skating. He just doesn't seem to have that extra step required to create offensively at the NHL level. In Anaheim he should get another opportunity to crack an NHL lineup and that all important change of scenery.

Obviously with the additions of MacDonald, Vigitlante and the re-signing of MacKenzie the Jackets were moving forward without Lindstrom. Now with his trade who knows they may go out and sign another AHL veteran to bolster that offense.

Good luck Joakim.

Howson continues to turnover this franchise. Lets take a quick look at the departed since he's taken over:

Adam Foote, Sergei Fedorov, Jody Shelley, David Vyborny, Curtis Glencross, Geoff Platt, Duvie Westcott, Nikolai Zherdev, Dan Fritsche, Gilbert Brule, Ron Hainsey, Joakim Lindstrom, Zenon Konopka

Whew - that is quite the body count.

According to my season ticket rep the NHL schedule will be released tomorrow. I've read in other places however that the NHL will just release the highlights on Wednesday and the full schedule on Thursday.

Update: According to NHL.com the Jackets have signed Steve Kelly. Kelly is a 31 year old 6'2" 210 lb center spent last season with the Minnesota Wild AHL affiliate Houston Aeros. He scored 10g 28p in 48g. Kelly had 2 NHL games last year with no point.

Sportsnet's take:

Assets
Has speed to burn and a wealth of experience at lower levels. Plays a sound game in the defensive zone and is a solid teammate.

Flaws
Never lived up to expectations, after being selected sixth overall in 1995. Lacks hockey sense and offensive creativity.

Career potential
Reserve center.

So the Lindstrom domino falls and the Jackets quickly replace him with Kelley. Interesting that he's a 6th overall pick who didn't quite pan out. We certainly have some experience with that.

I would imagine this is a 1 year 2-way deal but we should find out soon.

Kelly gives Syracuse more scoring punch and veteran presence while giving the Jackets some more depth to chose from when injuries strike.

Discuss - sad to Lindstrom go or just another step in the make over?

-LTL

Derek MacKenzie signed...still no official announcement on MacDonald

noreply@blogger.com (LTL) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:33:00 +0000

Lindsay Kramer over on the Syracuse Crunch blog site reported that center Derek MacKenzie has been re-signed by Columbus to a 2-year 2-way deal.

If you recall MacKenzie saw 17 games with the big club last season as injuried took their toll. He notched 2 goals in that span. In 65 games with the Crunch 25g for 49 points.

Sportsnet's take on him:

Assets
Has good face-off ability and two-way skills. Is an industrious center with a history of scoring ability in the junior ranks.

Flaws
Lacks ideal NHL size for the center position. Is limited in terms of offensive ability at the big-league level.

Career potential
Reserve center.

We all got a pretty good look at MacKenzie last year. Sportsnet pretty much nails his game. He brings good depth and didn't look out of place during his call ups last season and plays a solid north/south dependable game.

I like this signing for those reasons.

We know the Jackets will go through their rash of injuries and it never hurts to have some capable band aides in the minors who can fill a hole or two while the wounded heal. He also gives Syracuse some very much needed scoring in their top 6.

Now onto the other Mac. The Craig MacDonald signing has yet to become official but Kramer hints that its just a matter of time and that NHL.com jumped the gun by putting his name on the Columbus roster. I would think we'd learn about the terms sometime this week.

With both "Macs" in the fold Syracuse has some veteran depth down the middle but Kramer thinks they could use one more veteran scorer - especially since Lindstrom is going back to Europe. His reasoning is that with both "Macs" in the lineup Syracuse should be okay but chances are with injuries the way they are in Columbus that won't be the norm.

This is how Syracuse is shaping up:

Goal - Mason, LaCosta
Defense - Clitsome, Wilson, Plehkanov with Methot, Sigalet and Holden likely
Forwards - MacDonald, MacKenzie, Vigilante, Legein, Pineault, Frischmon, Dorsett, Mirasty, Sestito, Starkov with possibly Filatov and Mayorov

I also wouldn't rule out a guy like Dan Smith getting re-singed to anchor that defense with a veteran guy.

For those of you like me who dig this sort of thing - according to Bluejackets.nhl.com the following new players will wear the following nubmers:

5 - Christian Backman

14 - Raffi Torres

18 - RJ Umberger

20 - Kristan Huselius

22 - Mike Commodore

51 - Fedor Tyutin

Both Jackub Voracek and Derick Brassard have been added to the roster - can you say locks? Brassard is listed at 16 while Voracek does not have a number as of yet.

It looks like Andrew Murray lost out on the 51 to Tyutin and still needs to pick a new number. Also Umberger gave up the 20 to Huselius.

So unless your a Murray or Voracek fan you can now purchase your jerseys with confidence!

It will be interesting to see if the Pascal Leclaire talks get somewhere this week. Last we heard was that Howson made a counter offer and the Leclaire camp was considering it and they'd talk early this week. I'd like to see this one get wrapped.

My guess is that the term has been settled which we've heard the 3 year mark tossed around. The question now is cash. I'm guessing Howson wants 3 years at 9 and the Leclaire camp wants 3 years at 12. We'll probably see something in that 3.75 average range and it won't suprise me if its an escalating agreement (1st - 3 mil, 2nd - 4, 3rd - 4.25).

In other news today it looks like Ted Nolan and the New York Islanders are parting ways after just two years.

I'll have to ask my resident Islanders expert on how he feels about this but from an outsider view its seems to be Wang's way or the highway. I've read some articles where Nolan was kept out of the drafting process and did not know whom they were going to draft.

Obviously things have soured in that relationship.

I don't think it will take Nolan long to find a job. Afterall he led the Islanders to a playoff birth two seasons ago with a skeleton roster.

Its always silly season in the NHL coaching ranks and all it takes is for one team to get off to a bad start before Nolan could find himself in a new gig.

Update: Per usual just as I finish a post both on the subject the Jackets announce that both MacKenzie and MacDonald have been signed.

Update: The day could not be complete without a bit of Filatov news. Puck-rakers is reporting the following:

The NHL today rejected the contract signed by Nikita Filatov with the Blue Jackets late last week. But ...

It has nothing to do with Russian claims that Filatov is still property of his Russian club, CSKA Moscow, or that the Blue Jackets owe CSKA Moscow compensation. It has nothing to do with the Continental Hockey League.

It was rejected because of some wording in the "schedule A" bonuses section of Filatov's contract, wording the NHL found insufficient or not quite in line with the CBA. The wording was ammended, Filatov signed the ammendment and the contract was refiled with the NHL this afternoon.

The good news is that it appears to be a technicality and Howson and the brass have already resubmitted the paper work.

What I hope this is not is a stall tactic by the NHL to buy some time.

Filatov-gate goes on.

-LTL

KHL challenges Filatov signing

noreply@blogger.com (LTL) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 04:04:00 +0000

Here we go. You just knew it would get ugly.

Hockeybuzz's Bill Metzer is reporting the following:

On Friday, Continental Hockey League president Alexander Medvedev said that he believes Salavat Yulaev Ufa's signing of Alexander Radulov and the Columbus Blue Jackets' signing of 2008 first-round pick Nikita Filatov fell beyond the boundry lines of the NHL's verbal agreement with the various European Hockey Federations not to sign contracted players.

However, with the IIHF investigating the Radulov signing and requesting the KHL void Radulov's contract, the KHL has struck back. It has asked the IIHF to investigate Filatov's contractual status with CSKA Moscow.

So here's where things stand: Filatov and Columbus insist the player was a free agent, nothing was or is owed to CSKA and his signing was entirely legal. While the NHL has not made a statement specific to Filatov's situation, it's pretty clear the league believes the signing to have been legal under the terms of NHL rules, the no-poaching understanding and KHL rules.

If the IIHF rules that Filatov's signing was illegal, it will request the NHL to void his deal in lieu of CSKA agreeing to release the player. Otherwise, Filatov faces a ban from playing for Russia at the World Junior Championships. Things will also be extremely messy in getting Filatov cleared to play OHL hockey for Sudbury without an approved transfer. He could also play in the AHL for the Syracuse Crunch and accept a suspension from playing for the Russian national team.

Shades of the Zherdev situation right? This time though Filatov made it crystal clear to anyone who would listen he wanted to come over to North America as soon as possible. Unlike Zherdev who fell out of favor with his Russian team and decided to bolt mid-season.

Filatov is clearly being used as a pawn here. I have yet to hear anything on the Russian kid Phoenix drafted 28th overall in Tikhonov -- in fact Phoenix has even signed him.

So where to from here? I would imagine this thing is now in the NHL's legal departments hands. There is some obvious head-butting going on between the NHL and the KHL and I don't see that slowing down anytime soon.

The real shame in this whole mess is Filatov. The kid is stuck in this middle of this and all he wants to do is come and play in the best league in the world. Quite frankly if he's as dedicated as he says to coming over I'm not sure what can stop him. If the NHL (not IIHF) voids his contract that is probably the only thing but I doubt the threat of not playing in the WJCs will deter him.

This right here is why he fell to 6th overall. If the Jackets can navigate through it and get this kid over by August that will be a major hurdle cleared. If they can't then this picks starts looking a lot riskier. Lots or work and mud sligging to be done before then unfortunately.

Plent of more to come on this story I'm sure. Hey, it will give us plenty of fodder until training camp right?

-LTL

Jackets fans strike back

noreply@blogger.com (LTL) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:02:00 +0000

In case you missed it a reader of the Dispatch wrote in the following last week:

Mr. Stein: You people continue to show your financial interest in the Blue Jackets.

Do you really believe the sports masses in central Ohio are interested in names of hockey players, whom most of us could not pronounce, in a two-page spread (last Sunday)? Yawn. Also, there was an inordinate amount of space dedicated to the NHL draft when not too many folks are interested.

During the Ohio State football offseason, I'm sure you can find more compelling material to communicate to your sports readers. Thank God for the Internet and publications such as Buckeye Sports Bulletin, where I can find real entertainment and sporting information. I understand the desperation to keep hockey relevant in central Ohio, but your constant draft, post-draft, and free-agency material is way overdone.

I don't hear chatter about this sport around water coolers, at the grocery store, barbershop, car wash or bank. Guess what is on everyone's mind in Columbus?

-- Keith B. Whittington

These comments did not surprise me and are typical of some of the "traditional" sports fans in this market whom for some reason feel threatened in some strange way by the existence of a professional hockey team instead of recognizing all the benefits, even if they don't like the sport, a pro sports franchise brings to a city.

Well the good news is that many Jacket fans did not let these comments go unnoticed and fired back in this week's Dispatch with count em 8 published rebuttals to Keith B. Whittington. I liked this one the best:

Editor: I hope you guys listen to Whittington and provide more Buckeye coverage during the offseason. I'm confident readers will be at the edge of their seat when reading "Brutus Buckeye to Get New Pants Design" or "Tressel Ready to Give New Synthetic Football a Toss."

I've been a Buckeye fan all my life and have taken it to heart when non-Buckeye friends spoke of the "over-the-top" fans. I was having a hard time imagining what they were talking about. Thanks to Mr. Whittington, I now have a clear picture.

-- Tony Kopyar, Dublin

You can read the rest of the comments here. Way to make some noise Jackets fans!!

Speaking of the Dispatch -- have they done a tremendous job or what in covering the Jackets over the past few weeks? Remember it never hurts to send a little feedback and believe it or not feedback does not always have to be negative. So if you've got a few minutes and like their coverage shoot them an email at the following address: sports@dispatch.com

According to this Antoinne Vermette has asked to be traded from the Ottawa Senators. Vermette is an RFA looking for a long term deal and Ottawa may not be willing to give him what he'd like to due to having to sign another RFA in Mezzaros and filling some other roster holes. The recent signing of Jason Williams would seem to indicate Vermette's days in Ottawa could be numbered.

What is strange to me is why would Vermette file for arbitration if he wanted a long term deal? Wouldn't it make sense to keep yourself available to offer sheets?

Now its no secret how much I love this guy and what a great addition I think he would make to the core of the Jackets' lineup.

Vermette is a 25 year old forward who can lineup at any position including the all important center position. In 81 games last year he had 24g for 53 points.

How would this look?

Nash Vermette Huselius
Modin Umberger Torres

or

Nash Vermette Huselius
Modin Brassard Umberger
Chimera Peca Torres

I'm excited about what we've got thus far but adding a guy like Vermette would have me doing back flips in my living room.

The only problem is if Howson is interested and if so what do we have to give up?

Indications point towards the Sens wanting an inexpensive puck moving top 4 d-man in return. Aside from the "puck-moving" part the most obvious player on this roster that meets that description is Rusty Klesla.

Klesla is certainly a top 4 d-man but hasn't quite rounded out any area of his game. Still he can log big minutes and is very affordable signed at 1.65 million this season and 2.25 million the next.
Would Howson consider moving him and create a hole in a relatively solid top 4 at the expense of strengthening the offense? Would Ottawa be interested?

If not I really don't see any other assets we could consider parting with outside of guys like Rome/Tollefesen/Methot which I doubt Ottawa would be interested in. I don't see Howson moving his 1st or 2nd round picks. I'm sure they would consider Backman but his price tag is to big.

Also we have to consider Vermette's price tag. No doubt he would be looking for something similar to what Umberger signed for. His age and production are similar. Could the Jackets afford that? Yes they have plenty of cap space but as always in this market its not about the cap space -- its about the internal budget. Once Leclaire is signed the Jackets are looking at right around 48 million in payroll which would put them in that 48-50 million payroll range I expected them to be in.

At this point I wouldn't hold your breathe for a trade that would bring Vermette to cow town. I think Howson would most certainly be interested but I don't think we have the trade assets or the budget room to make it happen.

If there is a deal that makes sense Howson will make it.

-LTL

Jackets add depth in MacDonald

noreply@blogger.com (LTL) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 19:24:00 +0000

I haven't seen it officially announced but according to NHL.com 31 year old center Craig MacDonald is now listed as a Columbus Blue Jacket.

The move would make sense given losing out on Zenon Konopka to the Tampa Bay Lightning. MacDonald, like Konopka, is a very good AHL center but has yet been able to catch on full time at the NHL level.

MacDonald has been a pro for 10 years. In that span he has 225 career NHL games notching 10g and 23a and a -16. He played in 65 games last season for the Lightning scoring 2g 9a and a -10.

Sportsnet's take on him:

Assets
Is well rounded, versatile and a smart forward. Does the little things needed to win hockey games.

Flaws
Lacks offensive flair. Needs to bulk up more. Is limited to role-player status at the NHL level.

Career potential
Reserve forward.

From what I've read from Tampa fans they were very pleased with this guy's performance last year. Apparently he works hard every shift and plays through pain. He definitely sounds like the kind of player Howson/Hitch would be interested in for depth.

MacDonald should take Konopka's place as a center in Syracuse minus the leadership of course.

Right now the Jackets center depth looks as follows:

Umberger

Brassard

Peca

Malhotra

Novotny

MacDonald

Its to be seen where a guy like Filatov will play but I'm thinkin a wing for now until they can see how he measures up against the competition.

I think the Jackets will also continue to pursue a guy like Derek Mackenzie for more veteran depth and scoring presence for Syracuse.

Puck-rakers also has a little more on the Filatov situation and where the contract negotiations are at with Leclaire.

Nothing really new on Filatov besides what we already knows which is that they are waiting on the NHL to validate his contract and then get his work visa paperwork going. A waiting game at this point.

As far as Leclaire apparently Howson has made a counter on Leclaire and his camp is considering it. The gap appears to be closing but at a snails pace.

That's about all that's going on today.

-LTL

Blue biscuits

noreply@blogger.com (LTL) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:55:00 +0000

The Continental Hockey League scored a big name today signing Predators star Alexader Radulov to a three contract:

"I had a brilliant season in Nashville, so I don’t see any reasons to regret that I didn’t move to Ufa last summer."

"As for my choice I wanted to play in a strong club, which claim to hold the leading positions in the championship."

"Moreover they will perform in the Champions League, I heard about club’s powerful infrastructure, so it would be silly to reject their offer."

"I signed a three-year contract and I don’t think about my departure. My mind is occupied with thoughts about my career in Salavat Yulaev."

"First of all I wanted to play in my home country, and secondly the contract terms turned to be more attractive than in NHL."

"I told about that not once, and the NHL club made no attempts to keep me in the squad. It seems that they don't want me to stay or probably they didn't think i would quit the team."

"I will start pre-season preparations in Ufa next Wednesday."

This comes the same day as the report came that the NHL and the new KHL had reached an agreement not to poach players under contract from other leagues. The problem is there is no written agreement just an understanding at this point.

Of course Radulov is under contract with the Predators so he is basically doing what Svitov did last season and choosing to play elsewhere. The NHL is powerless to stop him as there is no written transfer agreement in place. Now how the KHL reacts to this signing (i.e. whether or not they void it to keep this peace) will be an interesting story to follow.

Now all that said I'm glad its happening to Nashville as that is a huge hit to their top 6 but I can sympothize because we have with Svitov and could quickly again find ourselves in a similar situation down the road with a Tyutin, Filatov or Mayorov.

Apparently Rene Fasel who is the President of the IIHF has said that any federation that violates an existing contract would be barred from the Olympics. In this case clearly that has happened but its yet to be seen if that will actually occur to Russia.

Until the NHL and Russia hammer out some kind of agreement its a risk any NHL team will take when they sign or draft Russian players and that risk only increases as/if they become a key memeber of your team.

For a team like the Jackets who have a real hard time mining top end talent that could eventually become a serious blow if say a Filatov does develop into a top line stud only to be offered millions by the KHL and leave at his own accord in a few years time.

Now if only Datsyuk would bolt for Russia.

Good read here on NHL.com about Umberger and his new contract. Some great quotes like:
"It's always a shock when a trade occurs and I knew there were problems with the salary cap situation in Philly, so something had to happen," Umberger said. "My family was pretty excited because they realize Columbus is actually two hours closer to Pittsburgh. So they'll have an opportunity to get to home games more often. I think the biggest adjustment for me will be the travel since it was pretty easy in Philly on the East Coast. I'll have to get used to going out west a lot more, so that'll be the biggest challenge for me, being physically and mentally prepared."

"There's definitely some upside in Columbus because the organization has made a lot of good acquisitions the past few weeks and is committed to winning and getting into the playoffs," Umberger said. "I'm excited to be a part of that."

"It doesn't really matter to me whether I'm wing or center, but, in the long run, I see myself playing center," Umberger said. "That's where I've been my entire career, so I'm excited to get the chance to play there, but I'm also capable of playing both wings with the left being a little easier.

"If given an opportunity to play with (Rick) Nash, that'll be something," he confessed. "He's a great player and, hopefully, we'll be able to jell together quickly."

The Vancouver Province had this to say about the Jackets offseason thus far:

The perennial doormats added top-nine forwards Kristian Huselius, R.J. Umberger and Torres, top prospect Nikita Filatov, and rebuilt their back end with Mike Commodore, Fydor Tyutin and Christian Backman. They lost top-four defenceman Ron Hainsey, perpetual headache Nikolai Zherdev and Dan Fritsche, but, overall, there is reason for optimism.

Also a good read here about Jackets moves:

Columbus traded maddeningly inconsistent yet talented right winger Nikolai Zherdev and center Dan Fritsche to the Rangers in exchange for defensemen Fedor Tyutin and Christian Backman. The Jackets also signed free agent left winger Kristian Huselius, who last suited up for the Flames.

In moving Zherdev, the Jackets rid themselves of a player whose numbers ping-ponged from good to bad every season and was a consistent threat to go home and play for a bigger Russian contract.

The right winger compiled a career-high 61 points this season, but his trend of scoring has been dizzying: He had just 32 points the year prior after notching 54 as a sophomore and 34 as a rookie.

With Gilbert Brule having been traded a couple of days ago, GM Scott Howson has now moved two of ex-GM Doug MacLean’s first round picks, both of whom have had troubling and disappointing careers to date.

In return for Zherdev and Fritsche, a solid third-liner, the Jackets beefed up their blueline with Tyutin and Backman. Tyutin can play major minutes and will likely be on the top pairing in Columbus. Backman was a disaster in his short time on Broadway after being acquired from St. Louis at the trade deadline, but has played well in the past, so Columbus offers him a fresh start.

The Jackets defense corps is now huge. Six of their top blueliners average 6-foot-3 and 212 pounds while the seventh, Kris Russell (5-foot-10, 177 pounds), is the puck-mover and power play specialist. Other than Russell, the ‘D’ isn’t going to win a lot of footraces, but they can sure put the hurt on opponents.

In Huselius, the Jackets get a player who comes with fewer headaches (assuming Mike Keenan isn’t around) and whose offensive numbers surpass Zherdev’s. Columbus is still without a first-line center right now, but with talent such as Huselius, Rick Nash, R.J. Umberger and Fredrik Modin on the wings and youngsters Jakub Voracek, Derrick Brassard and Nikita Filatov on the horizon, things are looking up in Ohio.

Of cousre we all know that RJ will be playing center for the Jackets but nice to read some positive spin (besides my own!) on Howson's moves this summer.

I thought this was a very interesting nugget from Bob Hunter's "rumblings" this morning:

The article also was accompanied by an NHL chart that showed last season's Blue Jackets with the second-largest payroll imbalance, behind only the New York Rangers. The Jackets spent 67.93 percent of payroll on offense, which seems hard to believe given how much trouble the team had scoring.

The Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings were one of only three NHL teams that spent more on defense (52.82 percent) than offense.

So of course this got me thinking. Looked at the "expected" lineup assuming no more major moves this is the breakdown from offense to defense:

Defense (inluding goalies) - 19.825
Offense - 28.51

*note* even though not signed I took a liberty and included Leclaire in the "Defense" for 4.0 mil.

So with a payroll of 48.335 the Jackets have 59% committed to offense and 41% committed to defense. That is a little better but its offset as they don't have a top end money maker back there.

Update: Even more on the Filatov situation here from the Globe & Mail:

The Filatov issue is the most intriguing, however, given how clear he made it at the draft that his priority was playing in the NHL as soon as possible. That, in turn, coaxed the Blue Jackets into selecting him with the sixth overall choice — this, a year after the NHL en masse shied away from Russian teenagers, fearing that they couldn't convince them to come to North America anytime in the near future and that they might be wasting a pick. In fact, just the opposite seems to be happening.

The really high-end young Russians all seem to want to come. In Columbus's case, it isn't just Filatov either. They also had Maxim Mayorov at their rookie camp this past week. On talent alone, Mayorov should have gone in the first round in 2007. The Blue Jackets got him at No. 94, a steal on the basis of his ability level, but the sort of gamble that only a few teams were prepared to make in a year when only eight Russians were selected in a 211-player draft.

Mayorov intends to stay in North America for the rest of the summer, so he can adjust to the lifestyle and the language — and if he doesn't make Columbus outright this fall, he will be prepared for a minor-league apprenticeship.

Geeeeze... how messy is this thing going to get is the question at this point? I'm convinced Filatov wants out and will do anything it takes to come to the NHL (now after his first rookie contract is up it could get intersting -- things change quickly remember that).

I am however not really interested in seeing this dragged out into another 'Z' type fiasco but I think this may be on a crash course to that.

Right now Filatov is a pawn for the Russians and the NHL. Stay tuned as this story won't be going away anytime soon.

-LTL

Thursday round up

noreply@blogger.com (LTL) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:32:00 +0000

First off is some reaction to the Filatov signing from the Globe & Mail:

Currently, the NHL does not have a transfer agreement with the International Ice Hockey Federation, but both sides have stated publicly that it is everyone's best interests to respect signed contracts. The strength of Columbus's position is that even CSKA, in a statement circulated Wednesday, said: "With specific regard to Filatov, he was dismissed from CSKA, but the club continues to own the rights to the sports activities of the specified player under laws relating to the activities of the professional athlete in the Russian Federation."

Whatever that means …

In an e-mail statement, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said he was convinced that Columbus had a strong legal position: "We're confident both Filatov and Columbus followed all the rules and that the signing of the player was both legal and appropriate."

This will probably get uglier before it gets better. Some good news thoug is that it appears that the NHL and the new Russian Continental Hockey League have come to a transfer agreement. I have no idea how this will affect the Filatov signing but one would think its a positive step although it may cost the Jackets some transfer money.

I'm sure we'll hear much more on this later from the boys at the Dispatch.

Mike Commodore was deamed one of the 5 worst UFA signings by THN - he came it at #4:

4. Mike Commodore, D, Columbus (Five years, $18.75 million) Holland’s rule about paying stay-at-home defensemen applies here as well. Commodore is a serviceable second-pair blueliner – and on a genuine Stanley Cup contender, his deal might not stand out as much as it does with Columbus.

Here’s what I’m getting at: as it stands right now, Commodore will be the third-highest-paid player on the Blue Jackets, trailing only Rick Nash and newly-signed Kristian Huselius. Third-highest! Mike! Commodore! And people are seriously debating whether or not this is a playoff team?

I don't think anyone's debating that Commodore was overpaid -- that's the name of the game in UFA especially when you are trying to attract players to a losing team. What's funny about this article is that Wade Redden was #2 and Ron Hainsey was #1 on the list. Two players that we made offers to.

At the end of the day you have to pay a big premium on defensemen regardless if you are an orginal 6 franchise or an expansion franchise trying to make a mark.

Finally some fans have dug up the home schedule for the Jackets. Apparently if your a season ticket holders they are listed. The schedule will become official on Wed July 16th so keep in mind these dates are subject to change:

Predators Fri September 26, 2008, 7:00 PM
Blackhawks Mon September 29, 2008, 7:00 PM
Sabres Thu October 2, 2008, 7:00 PM
Wild Fri October 3, 2008, 7:00 PM
Predators Fri October 17, 2008, 7:00 PM
Canucks Tue October 21, 2008, 7:00 PM
Rangers Fri October 24, 2008, 7:00 PM
Ducks Mon October 27, 2008, 7:00 PM
Blackhawks Sat November 1, 2008, 7:00 PM
Oilers Wed November 5, 2008, 7:00 PM
Canadiens Fri November 7, 2008, 7:00 PM
Flames Sat November 8, 2008, 7:00 PM
Coyotes Wed November 12, 2008, 7:00 PM
Oilers Tue November 18, 2008, 7:00 PM
Coyotes Wed November 26, 2008, 7:00 PM
Capitals Sat November 29, 2008, 7:00 PM
Canucks Mon December 1, 2008, 7:00 PM
Predators Thu December 11, 2008, 7:00 PM
Islanders Sat December 13, 2008, 7:00 PM
Sharks Wed December 17, 2008, 7:00 PM
Kings Tue December 23, 2008, 7:00 PM
Flyers Sat December 27, 2008, 7:00 PM
Red Wings Thu January 8, 2009, 7:00 PM
Wild Sat January 10, 2009, 7:00 PM
Avalanche Tue January 13, 2009, 7:00 PM
Blues Wed January 28, 2009, 7:00 PM
Senators Fri January 30, 2009, 7:00 PM
Stars Sat January 31, 2009, 7:00 PM
Bruins Wed February 4, 2009, 7:00 PM
Sharks Sat February 7, 2009, 7:00 PM
Avalanche Tue February 10, 2009, 7:00 PM
Red Wings Fri February 13, 2009, 7:00 PM
Stars Mon February 16, 2009, 7:00 PM
Blues Wed February 18, 2009, 7:00 PM
Ducks Sat February 21, 2009, 7:00 PM
Kings Tue March 3, 2009, 7:00 PM
Devils Tue March 10, 2009, 7:00 PM
Penguins Thu March 12, 2009, 7:00 PM
Red Wings Sun March 15, 2009, 7:00 PM
Blackhawks Wed March 18, 2009, 7:00 PM
Flames Thu March 26, 2009, 7:00 PM
Blues Sun March 29, 2009, 7:00 PM
Predators Tue March 31, 2009, 7:00 PM
Blackhawks Sun April 5, 2009, 7:00 PM
Wild Sat April 11, 2009, 7:00 PM

At first glance I see a few things.

First no New Year's Eve game. As a trade off though I count 10 Saturday games - that has to be some kind of record.

We also have home games against Washington, Pittsburgh, the Rangers, Bruins, Sens, Canadiens, Flyers and Islanders. Some nice Eastern Conference teams in the mix there.

I also see a total of 20 home games either on Fri, Sat or Sun. From what I'm told we will open the season on the road.

I'll have much more on the schedule once the full thing comes out on Wednesday of next week.

-LTL

Prospect Camp - Day 4 reaction

noreply@blogger.com (LTL) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:33:00 +0000

I did not get to see the practice portion of the last day of camp today but I did make it for the scrimmage.

First off -- way to represent Columbus!! Place was absolutely packed. Most people by far that I have ever seen at one of these deals and I have been to quite a bit of them over the years.

On to the scrimmage.

Lets start with the obvious.

Derick Brassard. Just echoing what a reader posted in the comments Brassard was beast out there today. Looked fantastic with and without the puck. Made things happen whenever he had the biscuit darting in and out of traffic. I know its just prospect camp but if we are counting on this kid to help out our top 6 he did nothing to show he isn't up for the challenge today.

Jakub Voracek. Really quiet during the scrimmage but he played with Brassard who had the puck a ton. Didn't really do anything good or bad but by all accounts this kid has been a stud this entire camp. Next stop for Voracek - NHL training camp.

Grant Clitsome - Continues to impress and word is the coaching staff feels the same way. He's just so calm and collected - no panic in his game. I have yet to see him get beat or lose a battle. I'll keep a close on his performance in camp but he's a lock at least for prime minutes in the AHL I think.

Adam Pineault - Pineault took part in the scrimmage although he's a pro whose been in town for off ice workouts. A friend of mine ran into him after the session and he said he was fried. He went onto explain that they have been concentrating on off ice workout and he hasn't been on the ice much and nothing can get you into game shape unless your out there skating. I was just wanting him to unleash that rocket he's got.

Andrei Plekhanov - Another player in town for workouts who participated today. Nothing fancy today out of Plekahnov just some solid defense. I think he took it pretty easy out there today not wanting to go 100% since I'm sure like Pinneault, he also hasn't had much time on the ice.

Maxim Mayorov - The hulking young Russian again flashed the skill and skating ability today. He started off the scrimmage and made some nice rushes and then tailed off a bit. No goals or points (heck no one on the red teams had goals or points) but again you saw the promise in his game.

Peter Pohl - As my buddy said "he's still in our system?" - sure enough there was the 2004 5th round pick mucking it up. He actually flashed some nice speed and had a couple of decent plays but will most likely be an ECHLr with some time in the AHL if he sticks.

Allen York - I've seen Christmas trees get lit up less than he did today. Whoa. Not all his fault of course as the ice was tilted in the white team's favor all game. He got stoned pretty good though. Stilll a big goaltender who needs to fill out and will get plenty of time to develop in the NCAAs.

Stepan Legein - Like Voracek he had a quiet scrimmage. Don't remember any plays that really stood out except for a poor shootout attempt -- remember though this is the guy who won the prospect shootout tourney last season.

Weber/Holden/Kosmachev - I group these three together as all just played solid defense and nothing spectacular. Tip from a friend was that a knock on Kosmachev is that he doesn't hold his stick with two hands enough so he'll need to work on that area. All three guys are huge with plenty of upside.

Matt Calvert - a little water bug out there who uses his speed well to create space for himself. He put up really good points in his first year of junior last year with 64p in 72g. He's certainly got some skill but how much will size be a factor? He'll be given plenty of time to develop.

Cody Goloubef - he had one play that made me think "wow" this kid has something. It was just a simple hard and quick tape to tape pass out of the zone. Exactly what we need more of.

Derek Dorsett - real hard for a kid like Dorsett to play his game in a scrimmage like that. Dorsett earns his keep by playing a rugged bang em up style. Kid showed a flash of that when he went straight to the net and bowled over York and the knocked the net off its moorings in the process. Moved well though. He'll get a long look in camp.

Johnathen Sigalet - for some reason I really like what he brough to the scrimmage today. You could tell he had more seasoning in his game and he made a few things happen offensively. Nothing spectacular but I liked him more today than I did on Monday. Plus you gotta love the fact this guy came on his own accord to get to know everyone within the org and get started on his career here.

Ryan Mior - the other goalie. Real small guy but had some amazing saves even playing behind the better white team.

Some other kids had their moments like Hughes and Kubalik as well.

Really the story was Brassard. Kid looked fantastic. There were also some pretty amazing shootout moves that had the crowd "oooohing" and "aaaahing".

Also had a quick chat with Jeff Rimer and told him how much I enjoyed him on the radio the past few weeks and not to let the blowhards Hooley and Riccordoti get to him. Not to worry of course as Rimer has been in this business long enough to know how to handle those clowns.

The Jackets staff also put on a nice event for some season ticket holders after the practice. Saw lots of smiles and happy fans out there today which is great to see.

This was with no doubt in my mind the greatest group of prospects Columbus has ever had at a camp. From the skill to the size to the competitive level Columbus is starting to get there.

Finally many thanks to "you know who" for the Hitch autos.

How many days til camp now? The appetite is now wet and I'm ready for the main course!!

Discuss - who stood out to you today? Who didn't?

-LTL

Russian invasion!

noreply@blogger.com (LTL) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:29:00 +0000

Out with the old - Zherdev, Fedorov

In with the new - Tyutin, Filatov, Mayorov, Plekhanov

For those that may have been worried that the Jackets were about to lose their Russian flavor, fret not as the Jackets will have plenty of new faces from the motherland.

The guy who is making noise right now surprisingly is the 19 year old 2007 4th round pick Maxim Mayorov - from the Dispatch:

"Maxim has NHL skill all over the place," Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock said. "I didn't know anything about him, but …"

"It's been really good for us to have him in this setting, to see how he plays against and interacts with players his own age," general manager Scott Howson said. "I saw him play in Russia last year, but the competition was not very good.

"What we're seeing here this week is a player with really good hands and a really strong skater. It's been really good."

Quite a heap of praise for the kid. It sounds like he'll have a place on the Crunch's roster next season and with the way injuries hit the Jackets I woulnd't be surprised if he gets a cup of coffee next year on the big club.

First thing's first though -- this kid needs to adjust to the North American game and make sure he plays at a high level without the puck as much as he does with it.

Of course we also have the highly touted recently drafted 6th overall forward Nikita Filatov. There is some scuttlebutt going around that the Russian Fedoration is giving Filatov some trouble regarding his status to play in North America. All indications from the Jackets is that Nikita has submitted all the proper paperwork and should be free to sign a contract with the Jackets sometime this week and should be stateside by August 1st.
Getting this kid over though may not be the lock we all hoped for when the Jackets drafted him. According to this article K.H.L. (Continental Hockey League) cheif Alexander Medvedev wants the Jackets to compensate his league $500,000 for the rights to bring Filatov over.

I can tell you right now that ain't happening. I fully expect this kid to still come over and *probably* play in the AHL and then see some time with the big club once injuries hit. He may have to sacrafice international play for a couple of years but eventually all will be forgiven and forgotten.

In fact judging from Howson's comments last night on the radio I think the Jackets may announce that he's been signed as early as today.

I know as a fan I'm really excited to see what this kid brings to the table in training camp. He's seems about as committed to play in North America as you can be and I truly hope he's Z without the baggage. If so we could truly have something special here.

Kid looks good in that jersey though eh?

Another Russian prospect who is in town and just signed a two-way contract is Andrei Plekhanov. Plekhanov is a 6'1" 187 pound d-man who spent 40 games with the Syracuse Crunch last season in his first season in North America and is said to have a powerful NHL caliber shot. He notched 9g and 16a in those games. As I've mentioned before the question with him is his hockey sense and ability to read the game at a fast pace. By signing him to a 2 year deal the Jackets are certainly going to find out.

Finally we have the Russian defensemen acquired in the Zherdev trade which is the 24 year old Fedor Tyutin. Tyutin is a hulking 6'3" 210 pounder who has 3 full NHL seasons under his belt. Tyutin is a bruising NHL defensemen who can log key in minutes in every situation. He is said to have some untapped offensive potention and has notched 25, 14 and 20 points in those 3 seasons.

I think Tyutin is going to be a huge acquisition for us. He is going to really get a chance to take his game to the next level and become a go to guy for this organizaiton. I'm super excited to see this guy in action in a CBJ sweater.

As far as the departed - well we all know the Zherdev story and he just did not fit in the long term plans of the organization.

Fedorov never really fit in either and of course was moved last year in a trade at the deadline. In fact yesterday it was announced that he signed a 1 year deal with Washington for 4 mil. Ouch - good luck with that Capitals. It will be very interesting to follow if you can keep up the level of play he gave them down the stretch after the deal for a full season.

So there you have it. The two headed Russian monster has quickly been replaced by the four headed monster and you know what they say -- four heads are better than one (not really -- I just made it up).

If you can make it down its the final day of the prospect camp. There will be a scrimmage which may even involve Derick Brassard. I'll have a full report later on for those that could not attend.

Update: Well wouldn't you know that as soon as I publish this post the announcement comes that Filatov has been signed. Thanks for the heads up Erik!

-LTL

Wednesday round up

noreply@blogger.com (LTL) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:06:00 +0000

A little bit of this and little bit of that for you today:

A blogger on Yahoo.com ranks the Jackets as one of the 10 least desirable places to play - in fact we came in at #5:

5. Columbus Blue Jackets: Huselius was a coup, but the Jackets' signing of Mike Commodore (5 years, $18.75 million) was the kind of massive overpayment that symbolizes how hard it is to get a player to come to Columbus. When Brendan Morrison rejects a reported $8 million over three years to center Rick Nash, what does that tell you? Like some of the other cities on the list, their best addition came via a trade: R.J. Umberger, a RFA.

For those dying to know the Atlanta Thrashers were #1 on this list.

Scott Burnside of ESPN.com says the Jackets are "trending sideways":

Oh, there were changes afoot in Columbus in recent days, we're certain of that. The problem is, we're just not sure this wasn't a case of shuffling the deck chairs as opposed to meaningful change. But one thing is certain: With Nikolai Zherdev and Dan Fritsche sent to the New York Rangers for two minute-eating defensemen in Fedor Tyutin and Christian Backman and Mike Commodore signed to a five-year deal (a deal likely three years too long), the Blue Jackets should be more physical along the blue line and may be better able to move the puck from their own zone.

Raffi Torres joins the forward core, hoping to get his career on track after an injury-plagued 2007-08 campaign. He had 27 goals in 2005-06 for Edmonton. The team still lacks a bona fide No. 1 center to play with Rick Nash, although R.J. Umberger, acquired from Philadelphia at the draft, will likely get a chance to fulfill the role while youngster Derick Brassard learns the ropes. Another free-agent addition, Kristian Huselius, will fill Zherdev's role on the top line and power play, although one wonders if he'll enjoy playing for Ken Hitchcock any more than he did for Mike Keenan in Calgary. Trending: Sideways

While St. Louis Today had this to say about the Jackets offseason thus far:

The Blue Jackets are having a huge off-season, too. Shipping Nikolai Zherdev to the Rangers was addition by subtraction. Signing Kristian Huselius (four years, $4.75 million per) adds speed and skill to a Columbus team trying to finally break out.

The addition of first-round pick Nikita Filatov, assuming he signs and makes the team, will have a similar impact. Raffi Torres and R.J. Umberger will solidify the front lines and old friend Christian Backman returned to the Central Division in the Zherdev deal.

Free-agent defenseman Mike Commodore Fedor Tyutin, another piece of the Zherdev deal, will also refresh the defensive corps. Interesting.

Also some minor signings announced today. Clay Wilson was signed to a 1 year 2-way deal. Word on the street is that he'll be moved to forward in camp to see how he looks. A guy by the name of John Vigilante (okay I'll stay the obvious - what a kick ass hockey name!) was also signed to a 1 year 2-way deal.

Vigilante is a left wing who played with Sestito and Boll in Plymouth of the OHL. He's spent the past two years in the AHL with the Milwaukee Admirals notching 15g and 46p in 73gp last season. Don't look for him to be as willing to mix it up as those two (only 12 PIMS last season) but he should help add scoring depth in Syracuse.

Also not sure who caught this but the Blues fired back at the Canucks with an offer sheet to newly acquired Stever Bernier. The Canucks quickly matched. If you recall the Cancuks came out firing in free agency with an offer sheet to the Blues David Backes. Clearly this was the Blues way of paying back the Canucks for their previous overture. It just goes to show that you aren't going to make friends in this offer sheet business.

Update: If you missed Hitch's presser today point your browsers over to http://bluejackets.nhl.tv -- its a must watch!!

Also Howson was interviewed this evening on 1460 The Fan. Not a whole lot new but a couple of nuggest I took away:

* Expect an annoucement for a contract signing of a "younger player". My money is on Filatov getting signed.

* Will talke again with Pascal Leclaire's agent tomorrow. Right now there is a gap on dollars and it sounds like there is agreement on the term.

* Steve Mason will be ready long before camp begins.

-LTL

Coaching stabilized

noreply@blogger.com (LTL) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:37:00 +0000

The Jackets have found their man behind the bench and they aren't planning on letting him go.

The Dispatch has just announced that head coach Ken Hitchcock has been extended for 3 years. That will make him the bench boss through the 2011-2012 season.

To me this is fantastic news. The Jackets have desperately needed stability behind the bench and now they have it in a proven winner with "Hitch".

Hitch led the Jackets to their best season ever last year with a 34-36-12 record good for 80 points. Yes they fell short of the playoffs and no it was not considered a good year but this team played its most competitive hockey by far to date. Hitch layed a foundation, created a team identify and exposed this roster for what it was which was a mess from top to bottom.

That said he got the best years to date out of cornerstones Rick Nash and Pascal Leclaire. He also led this team to the 8th best goals against average in the league. Unfortunately he just didn't have the horses offensively or the competitive level high enough to sustain the high level of play required to be successful for an entire season. The team really imploded down the stretch after the trade deadline and when a rash of injuries hit.

Last season was a neccessary step to get where we need to be -- unfortunately it should have happened a few years prior.

As painful as it was, last year was an evaluation year for new GM Scott Howson as he made some tough decisions, let bad contracts expire and made management changes. Obviously he liked what he saw with Hitch and values him greatly otherwise this extension never happens.

I wasn't as worried as much about Howson wanting Hitch back as I was Hitch wanting to come back. Lets face it this guy wants to win and win now. Enough of this building towards the future stuff. That doesn't mean he would want to sell off our young assets for a one year run it just means he wants to do what it takes to give this team a fighting chance. I'm sure before he signed this contract he wanted to see a commitment from ownership and management to bring a winner here....now.

By signing this contract its signals that he's seen that commitment this offseason.

....and it this extension makes sense on a lot of levels.

Hitch and Howson both have share the same philosophy on how to build a contender and it starts from the net out with competitive players. No "cheap skill" as both men would say. Together they know the holes in this roster and went to work this offseason to fill them.

The style they are building (which I've dubbed "Hitchockey") isn't sexy but its effective and it should translate into wins and boy could this franchise use a lot more of those.

Some fans will say "but he doesn't play the younger players". I say hogwash. How much did Rick Nash, Nik Zherdev and Pascal Leclaire play last year? What about Kris Russell and Jared Boll? I don't think Hitch cares how young, how old, how big, how small, black/white/red/purple or from what country -- if you can help this team win you'll play.

Or his teams "don't score and trap". Again bologne. Go back and look at his years with the Dallas Stars and Philly Flyers -- just about everyone of those teams was top 10 in goals scored.

This offseason they've let go and brought in players that meet their philosophy. Again not the sexiest of names but guys who will compete hard every night and work as a team in Tyutin, Commodore, Torres, Umberger and Huselius.

Howson is fully aware that we could use more high end skill but that is going to have to come from our draft picks with guys like Voracek, Brassard, Russell and Filatov.

I'm excited about this extension. To have that stability on the bench is a big big deal. For to long did the franchise take the route of the coaching carousel. With the transition year all but concluded I'm excited to see what this duo can accomplish with this new group of players.

Hitch will certainly have his work cut out for him b/c as a reader posted in the comments with this much turnover to a roster its a big job to bring them all together and mold them into a team quickly. The great news is that this is the kind of challenge Hitch drools at the opportunity to tackle.

..and besides I've always been a fan of calling the Blue Jackets bench "Hitch's Cockpit" so I'll get to use that phrase at least 4 more years.

Discuss - are you excited about Hitch getting extended?

-LTL

Peca signed to 1 year deal

noreply@blogger.com (LTL) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:07:00 +0000

As has been speculated for a while now Michael Peca has been signed to a 1 year deal according to the Dispatch. The deal is for 1.315 million.

I fully expect Hitch to limit Peca's minutes to that 12 - 15 range and slot him in the lineup where he's most effective and that is at the 3rd line center position playing against other teams top lines. He will also help with leadership and bring a solid veteran presence to the lineup who understands HitcHockey.

In fact Peca re-signing should send a solid message to the fan base out there that he likes the direction this team is headed otherwise why come back?

Hard to argue with this move after striking out on another top 6 center. The organization will gamble that Brassard is ready (although now the Dispatch is reporting Brassard hurt his back) and that Umberger can but solid - not flashy - reliable presence down the middle.

Quick numbers update:

Nash (6.5) Umberger (3.0) Huselius (4.75)
Modin (3.5) Brassard (.850) Torres (2.4)
Murray (.600) Peca (1.315) Boll (.570)
Chimera (1.875) Malhotra (1.5) Voracek (.850)
Extra: Novotny (.800)

Commodore (4.3) Hejda (2.0)
Tyutin (2.25) Klesla (1.65)
Russell (.575) Backman (3.4)
Extra: Tollefsen (.750)

Leclaire (?)
Norrena (.900)

Notes:
21 players signed for 44.335 million
Pascal Leclaire the lone notable player left to be re-signed

-LTL