(Tyler's) Jacket Times Pick for Blue Jackets MVP

It's time for me to make a selection for this year's MVP. Selecting one player who is "most valuable" to the Blue Jackets is tough. After all, what does 'most valuable' even mean? Some would argue for the guy who scored the most points, others may vote for the hardest working player. But alas, I have made a few decisions for who I think deserves the top (and bottom) honors. Without further ado:

Least Valuable Player- Brian Berard is a solid choice for this (dis)honor. He spent the first half of the season injured and the second half on the bench or scratched. All that cost the Jackets $2.5 million, which makes it Doug's fault too. It's worth noting however, that in the 11 games he did play, Berard put up 3 assists. That puts him ahead of another LVP candidate, Jody "Two points" Shelley.

Most Improved Player- Dan Fritsche was outstanding. Despite having his season tragically cut (sorry) short, he put up more than double his point total from the previous season. This Parma native is turning into a clutch player for the Jackets. I'm happy to keep him in town and on the 'energy' line.

Most Valuable Player- A few other fans and the CBJ website itself posted a poll naming Fredrik Norrena as the MVP. I don't completely agree with that. Sure, Norrena played hard and managed an above .500 record, but he was often streaky, and was generally not a dominant force in why the Jackets were able to win a few. That said, I'm going to go with what some may say is a controversial pick and give the MVP to David Vyborny.

I've always thought that Vyborny is one of the most underrated, under appreciated players on the team. He's always in the corners coming up with a crafty play to either stimulate a scoring chance or stall on the penalty kill. And if you want numbers to support this award, look no further. Vyborny led the team in points (64), assists (48), and was second in plus/minus (+6). He was the only frequent starter to appear in the top 20 in the plus/minus category as well... a testament to the Jackets' struggles.

Vyborny is so often overlooked. He's quiet, doesn't fight, seldom talks to interviewers, and doesn't score a ton of goals. He simply goes out on the ice, does his thing, then waits on the bench for his next shift. #9 will continue to be a key player for this team as long as the front office can keep him around. There's been talk about Vyborny returning to the Czech Republic to raise his family, but I hope he sticks around Columbus as long as possible.

If you have an alternate selection for these honors, say so in the comments. I also invite my co-writers to post their selections.

CBJ 06-07 Stats on NHL.com

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)

Gallant Selects Brave New Lines for Jackets

According to a Dispatch article, Coach Gallant has made some serious changes to the Blue Jackets lines. The fans will get to see his experiment for the first time on Thursday when the Jackets take on the St. 'Most Dangerous City' Louis Blues.

The forwards are as follows:

Nikolai Zherdev-Sergei Fedorov-Anson Carter;

Fredrik Modin-David Vyborny-Rick Nash;

Jason Chimera-Manny Malhotra-Dan Fritsche.

Jody Shelley-Alexander Svitov/Gilbert Brule-Steven Goertzen.

The majority of these positions are unsurprising- Fedorov leading the top line, young guys at the tail end with Shelley. But there are some noteworthy exceptions:

Nash has been bumped to the second line and replaced by Anson Carter, who is more of an NHL veteran. This move may be in hopes of preventing the first line from having too many inexperienced youngsters. A veteran may be more able to adapt to Fedorov's mature play style. Also, Fedorov's bilingual abilities may quickly bring Zherdev into the game.

The second, and much more noteworthy, change is Vyborny playing Center on the second line. In my eye, Vyborny has never been seen as a center. But this fan is willing to recognize that Vyborny is a complete player (and one of my favorites) who can handle both sides of the puck adequately. Initially I would have expected #9 to play wing on the first line instead of taking center. But there's no way he's better at face-offs than Fedorov, so he moves down a line. Vyborny at center also moves Malhotra down, which is an acceptable option. Malhotra has a phyiscal play style that doesn't always gel well with the skilled finesse players on the first two lines. He is best suited to skate with Chimera, and Fritsche will have some guidance as a young player.

I look forward to seeing if these lines make a difference to our scoring woes. Our most skilled players are now spread evenly through two lines, so we're more likely to have solid offense at any given point during the game. Even though I consider these changes to be brave by Gallant, I think its a "so crazy it just might work" situation for the Jackets.