Fire Sale 2007: The Aftermath

It's over- the trade deadline was yesterday at 3:00. As I watched TSN's tradecenter tracker, a few more trades trickled in after the deadline- more likely due to slow reporting, not illegitimate transactions. For the complete list of transactions, including waivers, call-ups and trades check it out TSN.

Arguably the biggest trade of the day came in right at the buzzer. Edmonton traded Ryan Smyth to the New York Islanders for Nilsson, Omara and their 2007 1st round pick. I was surprised and pleased by this transaction. Ryan Smyth was the star of the Oiler squad. After much of their defense departed following their Stanley Cup Finals run last year, Smyth was the dominant force on the team. Trading him truly demonstrates how far Edmonton has fallen since last season's playoffs. Covered in Oil expressed their woes for the departed Smyth in several posts. I can imagine that most fans feel the same way. I don't mind Smyth heading to the Eastern Conference though- he has done a number on our Jackets. It seems like every game he plays against Columbus he manages a point or two. With him securely on the east coast, he shouldn't give us any more problems for a while. After all, we play those teams what, once every third season?

As for the Jackets, only four transactions took place that were worth mentioning on national media. There was one or two moves by Syracuse (the CBJ AHL affiliate) but nothing substantial. For a great evaluation of what MacLean and crew were up against this trade deadline, check out Drew's take at End of the Bench.

Anson Carter - Traded to Carolina for a 2008 5th round pick.
Ty Conklin - Traded to Buffalo to back up Miller (Biron was traded to the Flyers earlier yesterday) for a 2007 5th round pick.
Brian Berard - Placed on waivers. Despite MacLean's best efforts, he can't seem to get rid of this defenseman. Anyone can claim him from waivers.
Brian Boucher - The Jackets grabbed this former Blackhawk goalie off of waivers to fill in the 3rd goalie spot. He's the only addition to the roster, and he's only here because the Jackets needed somebody to fill in Conklin's place.

So the Jackets opened up some salary room for what we can only hope to be some big signings this offseason. I'd really like to see the Jackets pick up a big time player or two- ideally a #1 center and a power #1 defenseman. I can dream, right? There's a bunch of players on waivers right now that have performed better than many CBJ skaters this season. Barring a plague of injuries, or an exceptional opportunity on waivers, I doubt we'll see the Jackets pick up anyone new before summer.

Rare Rout of the Rangers and Predator Problems

Isn't alliteration great?

So the Jackets went to what Danny Gare repeatedly called "the world's most famous arena" and took down the NY Rangers on Saturday, then returned to Nationwide to be beaten by Nashville for the umpteenth time this season.

The New York win was something special. The Rangers and their fans clearly expected a win on Saturday, which they needed to aid in securing their playoff berth. The Jackets weren't about to let that happen, thanks to some great PK effort by Rick Nash and Jason Chimera. Oddly enough, both of them came up with shorthanded goals to keep the game in the Columbus grasp. It was Nash's first ever NHL shortie, which only took so long because coaches previous to Hitch didn't give Nasher much in the way of PK ice time. The defense held tight to the end and the Jackets managed to defeat yet another Eastern Conference team that they seldom play against.

Sunday's game at home against Nashville pretty much went the way of the rest of the season series between the teams. The Jackets were able to take few penalties, which is a welcomed statistic, and even held on into overtime. Conklin was in net, which certainly led to problems in the shootout.

Shootouts are hard for any goalie, veteran or rookie. It's one of the most difficult plays in the game because all the goalie can do is react. It's pretty much a wait-and-see situation, where the shooter can choose from a number of different options and the goalie has to work accordingly. Conks, with his minimal NHL experience is rightfully underqualified for that sort of duty. Despite that, I give the whole team credit for hanging on against a division opponent. (one that is quite stacked, no less)

Ok, so another thing about the Anson Carter trade and why it makes me angry: I think most of us will agree that MacLean undervalued Carter for the trade. Dumping payroll or not, the GM could probably have arranged a warm body or at least a pick this season in exchange for Carter. Besides, if no one else wanted him, wouldn't it be possible to re-sign Carter at a lower salary? If no other team really valued him above a 5th round pick, who would spend more than $2.5 mil on him? What really irks me is that the Jackets received a 2008 5th round draft pick. The organization won't see any value from the trade for well over a year, and given that a 5th round guy probably isn't any sort of savior for our organization, he will certainly spend substantial time in Syracuse. At best, the player that we will have traded Carter for won't see ice time in Columbus until at least 2010, or 2011, if at all. I'm getting a little tired of this waiting game. I'm tired of the team putting so much faith, money, and focus into young players that will take years and years to become the skilled veterans that seem to be producing for every other NHL team. Blue Jacket fans have waited, as we all realize that patience in professional sports is a virtue. But it's been six seasons in the basement. Six seasons of signing young players who don't realize expectations. Six seasons of "maybe next year". The CBJ front office needs to start making decisions that will impact the success of the team now. Not six more seasons down the line.

Carter Traded

Well, the news we've all been expecting. Anson Carter was traded today to the Hurricanes for a 5th round pick in the '08 draft. Now, I expected Carter to be on the trading block, but that means that MacLean has made another boneheaded move...He paid $2.5 mil for 54 games from a 3rd line winger that scored 10 goals and 17 assists. Did I mention a fifth round pick in '08: "With the 165th pick in the draft, the Blue Jackets select some guy I've never heard of from some little ass town in Canada" What a deal! Tyler headlined a post earlier "All players 50% off" more like 75%.

And just like that the dude from Cool Runnings has come and gone, I guess it really was the Sedin twins making him look that good

Hot or Not?

With all this talk about hot players on the team right now, I thought I would reflect a bit on some of the personnel decisions that President and General Manager Doug MacLean made over the summer:

June:

Traded G Marc Denis for LW Fredrik Modin and G Fredrik Norrena. I originally thought that this was a trade mainly for Modin. I think we have all learned since then, yesterday in fact, that the trade also very much included Norrena. It started out rocky, with doubts of LeClaire being able to sustain the rigors of being the #1 goaltender, and with Modin's lackluster performance in the early season. Since then, Norrena has become the first Blue Jackets goalie to post back to back shutouts, let alone two away games, one of which involved the Avalanche peppering him with 42 shots. Great performance for a backup goaltender. Modin has since tied Rick Nash on the goal leaderboard with 7 goals. How about that, trading away one decent goaltender for a great goaltender and a great veteran forward, one of the best responders under new head coach Ken Hitchcock

July:

Signed D Anders Eriksson. At first, I thought this may have been a pretty stupid move. Basically, Radoslav Suchy was not re-signed, and Eriksson was signed in his place. Eriksson has a few spotted years of NHL experience after being drafted by the Red Wings, but has also played in Russia and Sweeden. The Blue Jackets got rid of him once, and now he's back, fortunately for us, he's the only player with a plus rating, +5. Way to go Anders!

Signed C Alexander Svitov. Originally acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay for D Daryl Sydor. He's another like Eriksson, who played in the European leagues before coming back into the NHL. He's a solid checking line center with some potential, but he's got to stop taking stupid penalties. I'm pretty neutral on this one, Alexander is still a young player, but if he doesn't start to show a little more jump in his step, it may be time to rethink this decision.

Signed G Ty Conklin. Give me a break, Ty Conklin is old, and not very good, he's 2-9 with Syracuse this year, has a 3.50 GAA, and what's more, the jackets pay him far too much. Conklin has a total of 60 games in the NHL over 6 years, and the Blue Jackets gave him a $1 mil contract. What are they thinking?

August

Signed C Eric Boguniecki. The move made sense over the summer as the Jackets were a bit short up the middle, but since then, he's been traded for Ryan Cadwell, a 25 year old defensive prospect. I'm okay with the move, sign for depth now, trade later.

September

Signed RW Anson Carter. This was the other big move that MacLean made, hoping that it was Anson Carter who sparked the Sedin twins in Vancouver, and not the Sedin twins who boosted Carter's numbers. Carter is another player sparked by Hitchcock's tenure as coach, he was brilliant on the top line in the Minnesota game with a goal and two assists, and he scored goals in the shut outs in Edmonton and Colorado. Another good acquisition by the GM


Of course there's that whole coaching issue that has been all over the news in Columbus. Hitchcock has already begun to transform Columbus into a winning organization, but like most things, it's going to take some time.

The playoffs are most likely out of the question again this year. Right now, we're 10 points out, again using the magic number of 95 points, the Jackets still need 77 points in 56 games...pretty difficult. On the bright side, if the Flames (currently 8th place) stay on the pace they are now, they will have amassed approximately 84 points. The Jackets can get to that mark if they average a point per game, which isn't quite so horrible (they're .500 with Hitchcock behind the bench).

Steady Freddy indeed!

It's a Tuesday night full of firsts for the Blue Jackets, who toppled the Colorado Avalanche 3-0 in Denver. I couldn't be more pleased by the play of our beloved Blue Jackets tonight. On game 4 of a 5 game road trip, the Blue Jackets got their first win at the Avs' Pepsi Center. In addition, it was the first time in franchise history that Columbus has beaten Colorado in regulation.

And if that wasn't enough, they got back-to-back shutouts for the first time too.

All Blue Jacket goals came at even strength, which was pretty much their only option. Colorado only gave up 4 minutes of power play time. The Jackets took four two-minute penalties, once causing a 5-3 advantage for the Avs. The penalty kill lines were up to the task, however.

The team was all around sharp. They played with confidence and flair, they made offensive opportunities and played a tight reliable defense that created a redundancy in front of the net that I've never seen before. As Norrena moved to stop shots, other players, forward and defense alike, stepped in to seal cracks and stop the Colorado offense from getting one past the line.

Norrena was a net minding machine- stopping shot after shot, 42 of them in all. Despite pitching a shutout away with 42 saves, Norrena was snubbed from being a star of the game. I can only explain that as an oversight by the star selection committee. With back to back shutouts, I'd say he's a contender for the the league-wide star of the week. Regardless of his star status, Norrena isn't playing like an NHL rookie. At the rate he's going, he's going to put a lot of pressure on Leclaire and there will be competition to be the starting tender for the Jackets.

Kudos to Carter, who played a hell of a game. 77 was on ice for all three goals and always seemed to be in exactly the right spot to make a play. Carter has made a serious impact on this Jackets team, especially since the signing of Ken Hitchcock. The Jackets staff needs to make sure he's given all the ice time he can handle, and that he's happy in central Ohio. I don't want Carter going anywhere.

Despite the win, the notice board is coming back:

ON NOTICE:

Adam Foote - You're the captain, Foote. Keep out of the penalty box. As an experience veteran, there is no reason you should be taking these penalties. Your first penalty came while you were already on the PK. That's the worst time to get sent to the box. You leave your team doubly vulnerable. Your other penalty came just as the team finished killing a tripping call against Klesla, too.

Jackets win! Again! 3-0
Box Score

Jackets' first win under Hitchcock

The Jackets got their first win with the new coach on Saturday on only their second try. The team was solid all around, making fewer mistakes and having better execution of fundamentals.

There was no magic to Saturday's win. Even though Fedorov had a 4 point night, it didn't seem like he had to carry the team to get the W. There was great contribution from all four lines, and the top line (Nash, Fedorov, Carter) was fantastic. Even Norrena, the 32 year old rookie played a good game and got his first NHL win.

The Wild had also been struggling, though not nearly as bad as the Jackets. They played hard but tired out faster than the home team, even as both teams were playing in the second of back-to-back games. Vyborny personally gave up the Wild's second goal. In a heartbreaking play, #9 turned the puck over just steps from Norrena's goal. The favor was returned in the third period however, as a Wild defenseman deflected the puck into his own net.

Jacket goals, which have been few and far between this season, flowed like water. An unprecedented five pucks hit the back of the net. That's 10% of all goals this season, believe it or not. Columbus has only 50 goals for this season, better than only Chicago. At the same time, the NHL leader is Buffalo at 105. The division leader, Nashville, has 78.

Hitchcock is already working on this team. Between what I've witnessed and read, his focus has been largely on fundamentals and basic strategy. The players have begun to function as a team- even Zherdev was making passes and playing aggressive defense. Hitchcock is doing away with the dump-and-chase strategy, which will be a first for the CBJ franchise.

Jackets are now on the biggest road trip of the season and won't be back at Nationwide until December 10 vs. Ottawa. In the mean time, Hitch should be able to spend some quality time with the team, reminding them how to play this crazy game on ice.

Anson Carter had this to say about the change since Hitch arrived- I think it sums up what we all think.

"I can’t tell you how many times I went home after a game and banged my head on the wall because we weren’t playing the game right (earlier in the season)," Carter said. "The important thing now is we’re all playing the same way. A funny thing happens when not everyone is doing their own thing..."

Jackets win 5-3
6-14-2, 14 pts
Last in the division, last in the NHL
Box Score

Photo by Adam Cairns via Dispatch online

(Update: Frederik Modin will not be traveling with the team this week due to a foot injury)

Oil Slick

Following last Thursday's victory in St. Louis, I thought I'd spend a few bucks and head down to Nationwide to see the Oilers game.

The joke is on me. CBJ is now 0-4 on games I've attended.

The jackets gave one away on Friday night. Despite beginning the first period on a long offensive streak with a very long possession, many shots and good cycling, the jackets couldn't get one in the back of the net.

The Oilers, being a solid all-around team, weren't about to let us keep that up. They quickly shut down any offense we would get the rest of the game, exempting only one power play goal by Anson Carter, which happened to be the 1000th goal in franchise history. Oh, and Fedorov went 80% on faceoffs.

About the only thing a Jackets fan could salvage from Friday night's game was the fighting, which yeilded 20 minutes in penalties, and another 20 in misconducts.

I'd love to put some of the team on notice right here, but the notice area isn't big enough. Instead:

ON NOTICE:

Gerard Gallant - Coach Gallant, you gotta get it together. You have the players, you have the fans, you have everything you need. Get these guys motivated and turn this season around or it will be your head!


Oilers win 4-1
Jackets 5-9-1, 11 pts. Last in Central Division

Box Score

Is that the guy from Cool Runnings? The one with the lucky egg?

Like every professional sports team, the Jackets' off season is spent signing new players and evaluating prospects already in the Columbus system. Perhaps the most notable signing for the 06-07 season was right winger, #77, Anson Carter.

The 6'1" 210 lbs Carter has spent his ten year career bouncing between clubs all around the league, following four years of play at Michigan State. Last season was spent in Vancouver where he scored a career high 33 goals. Blue Jackets management hopes he can repeat that success and anticipate a 50-60 point season for Carter, which would match seasons earlier in his career.

Carter will make a solid addition to our current forwards, bringing more of the much needed veteran leadership that the club has lacked. Like Foote, Berard, and Fedorov before him, Carter brings not only a physical ice presence, but also an NHL noteworthy presence to the Columbus team.

Carter is currently battling a case of plantar fasciitis, which is an inflammation of the ligaments under the arch of ones' foot. One of the causes of this condition is wearing shoes (or skates) that have too little arch support. Sounds like he should have called Dr. Scholls.

(UPDATE: Carter's alter-ego who appears in Cool Runnings is Doug E. Doug)