Peca, Foote, Modin Return to the Ice and Fedorov Loses PK Privileges

Tom Reed of the Dispatch reports that three of the Jackets' top veterans are returning to the ice following off-season injuries. All three will skate this week in preparation to play in Friday's opener.

Peca's practices this week will be of particular importance. Because he was acquired just this summer, he hasn't had the opportunity to play much with the team, and has not had true in-game experience since midway through last season. He is expected to center the second or third lines this season, pending the performance (and injury) of other centers.

In the same article, it is stated that while Fedorov will take the top line center position, he will not play on the Penalty Kill unit. This is an unfortunate consequence of the Jackets' failure to come up with a viable solution to the center problem. With an aging Fedorov needing to play more minutes at full-strength on the top line, he'll have to reduce his special teams play to conserve energy. This is unfortunate because Fedorov is an excellent defender. Simply recall his service late last season on the defensive lines, or his two Selke awards to understand what the special teams are sacrificing to leave Fedorov on the top line. With any luck, one of the younger centers will be able to step up their game to take that top spot and allow Fedorov to play the second line and serve on the PK unit.

Let's hope the veterans can be ready to rock on Friday night.

Fritsche's Out, Modin is In, and Berard in limbo

Jackets winger Dan Fritsche is in rough shape following an incident on Sunday night. Just a few minutes into the second period, #49 took a slash- and not the kind that yields two minutes. While digging for the puck in a corner, a skate slashed Fritsche's wrist, which immediately bled profusely. Fritsche quickly made his way off the ice, into the locker room, then to Grant Medical Center.

Aaron Portzline's report in today's Dispatch tells of Fritche's tendon-severing cut and his two hours of surgery. The wrist and hand is expected to recover fully, but it will be some three weeks or longer before Fritsche returns to the ice.

In other news, Modin has been officially re-signed to a three year deal. #33 will be paid $2.75 mil for next season, then $3.25 million for the next two seasons plus a $250,000 bonus for each of those seasons. The contract does include a no-trade clause, so Modin is pretty much assured to be around for a while, whether you think the Jackets are overpaying or not. Modin has 15 goals for 30 points this season, a -2 rating (+9 career) and 42 penalty minutes.

Brian Berard is being shopped around for anything the Jackets can get. According to a Dispatch article, MacLean is putting Berard up for sale via fax machine- just like those lunch specials we used to get everyday at my old job. There's less than three hours left until the deadline, and the CBJ front office will take anything for him. Wouldn't surprise me if they sent MacLean an Applebees gift card or a pair of socks for the defenseman... But wouldn't that be better than 'future considerations'? After all, they make pretty good quesadillas at Applebees.

Fire Sale 2007: All players 50% Off!

Today is February 19. That means there's hardly a week until the NHL trade deadline. We all know it's common for teams without hope of a post season to put on a fire sale of their roster. Columbus is certainly no exception. We at the Jacket Times are bracing ourselves for what could be some major changes in the CBJ roster.

Aaron Portzline's article in yesterday's dispatch discusses Modin, who has become an important player to the team, both on and off the ice. According to the dichotomized duo of Hitchcock and MacLean, they're really trying to hang on to #33, despite several other teams trying to make a deal. MacLean insisted that the deal is almost done on Modin, and he's confident he'll stay in Columbus.

More importantly, Portzline's account also includes a warning that there may be some surprise trades by CBJ administration. By trading away a chunk of the roster, the team may be able to free up some cash for free agents this offseason. They may also try to grab some more picks in this summer's NHL draft, which is going to be held in Nationwide. I've said this before, but I would rather see some solid trades and some offseason pickups than draft picks. Our only draft pick to really move this team forward has been Rick Nash, and he's having a pretty rough year to this point. A bunch more young guys isn't going to get this team moving right away, barring something of a Crosby-Ovechkin anomaly.

So who might be packing their bags that would constitute a 'surprise'?

• Fedorov, for one. He's the highest paid player on the team, making somewhere around six million per year. He has certainly helped our team this season, but has it been six million dollars worth of help? Hard to say. With only 35 points on the season, that's about $171,000 per point. Yeah, I know there's a lot of intangibles to consider with a talent like Sergei, and he's arguably my all-time favorite player, but that's a lot of cash.
• Carter is as good as gone. He'll be an unrestricted free agent at season's end anyways, and has not generated as much offense as expected this season. No surprise here.
  
• Berard, right now, is on the "damaged goods" rack. He has generated interest from other teams, but with his recent surgery is unlikely to fly off the shelves. No surprise here either, whether he stays or goes.
  
• Svitov has potential to move. He's not as tied into the franchise as some other players, and has a rough & tough attitude that bodes well in the playoffs. He would be a good 3rd or 4th line fill-in for any playoff-bound team
  
• I would hate to see the "energy line" broken up because they've been such a solid line for the last month or two, but what about Chimera or Malhotra? Chimera is arguably the fastest guy on the team, and speed is a key weapon of the new NHL. Who wouldn't want a guy who can fly from one goal line to the other in the blink of an eye?
  
• I'd like to see Chimera stay, but would be ok with Malhotra going. Manny's been in and out of the box too many times of late and hasn't been the biggest stick on the line. Frtische' work ethic and Chimera's speed completely overshadow Malhotra, and I don't see Manny as being the glue that holds that line, or the team, together. He could be on the block.
• Beyond Berard, none of the CBJ defensemen would add substantial value to another team. Klesla is becoming a franchise player, and Foote has attained captaincy and seems to be taking root in the Columbus community, thereby making neither of them likely to move out of state. Erikkson and Hainsey are good on the blue line, but wouldn't give a team any more advantage over their current lines.

So that's my take. Let's stay tuned to the trade wires and keep track of arrivals and departures at the ole' CMH.

For another player-by-player analysis at potential trades, check out Drew's take at End of the Bench.

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).