I know he has to earn his time on the ice, but I don’t feel like he is getting a chance. If they’re using the physical aspect of these games as the reason, then he may never play… The western teams are all physical games. Just means it could be a precursor to his thoughts about the KHL growing more. It looks as if they only way he gets time is if someone up front gets hurt.

And what about Modin?? This guy has not played a single game yet. When does he come back given conditioning and all the other healing. December? January? By that time the team will have developed some chemistry hopefully and I know the coaches will want to put him back in ASAP. I’m not sure about how this will work exactly…

Not sure how I feel about the Legein trade either. I liked the potential this guy had to possibly be a good addition to our checking lines. Now he is part of the Philadelphia organization… Not sure if we got anything better than him or comparable to him. Granted Ratchuk is a defenseman so we won’t really know for a while now… I can only hope it works out for the best for both teams and players…

The season is underway and the injuries have rolled in quite quickly… We have seen our two best defensemen go down already. The only thing we can hope for is that the depth steps up and our goal-tending holds strong as well as offensive support. Let’s hope they can hang on…

Commodore might start practicing soon and when they get him up to speed he will definitely help back there. Up to this point I’ve been very impressed with Mathieu Roy. This guy has really filled in well with some points and a good plus/minus.

We need the special teams to start to gel as well as some of the offensive combination in order to relieve some pressure off the guys back there.

The blue jackets have enjoyed a nice start to the season so far. But tough times are ahead…

I know I’ve been away from this for a while but I’ve been extremely busy. My goal is to find some more friends that might be willing to join in the fun discussions with me. It’s tough to do this stuff by yourself when you have alot going on.

I have some videos stored that I need to post as well… Anyway, I hope you all are enjoying the season so far. It’s amazing that it’s among us again. The off-season went so fast. Let’s go Jackets.

Patience has been a virtue possessed by Scott Howson since he became the general manger of the Blue Jackets. It seems to be a virtue that many CBJ fans have as well. 8 years to make the playoffs, 8 years to build a stable, competitive team. A work in process still…

What has become of the Blue Jackets through patience this summer.

1) Extending Rick Nash into 2018. Great move for Columbus, as he will continue to attract players here.

2) Adding Samuel Pahlsson. If we get him back to the 2006 form, this will be a huge pickup. It will totally mask the loss of Malhotra.

3) Mathieu Garon – He will help steady the horse that is Steve Mason.

4) Adding goaltending coach Dave Rook – See above.

5) Puck moving Dman – This is where the patience will matter most. It has not happened yet, but it will eventually. It would be great to have this hole filled before training camp.

Now onto some other thoughts as the off-season continues… We get a healthy Brassard back soon, and that will be very nice for us. I’m hoping Nik Filatov will be stronger, because I’d love to see this guy make the team. I’m actually happy to see the re-signing of Jon Sigalet (He could be the said Puck moving Dman… An interesting thought, but look at his AHL stats last season). We’ve got a heck of a guy out of the draft this year, Mr. John Moore. He will be a big part of the future D along with Teddy Ruth. I’m getting excited for September as training camp draws closer. I’m ready to get back to 113 Row F.

I would imagine that Howson will pick up either a defenseman or a center. I would like to grab a defenseman, but I won’t be surprised if Howson goes after the best guy they can get at one of those two positions.

I will be interested to see what kind of trades go on this weekend especially during the first 11 picks. I don’t think Columbus will be very active on the trade front during the draft, but we might see some minor activity over the summer.

It should be a good time to check out the locker room and see some of the players again. I’m pretty amazed at how fast the off-season is going so far.

Couple free agency bits… It seems as though Mister Malhotra may not be back with us next year. And there is nothing new on the Nash front. If Malhotra falls through I look for us to make a push to retain Williams. I would be fine with either guy, but Williams can finish better. Novotny is gone so that frees up a little bit of cap space, but not much. If anything it opens up a spot for someone to come up and fill. Personally I would like to see Picard make the team if he is resigned. I’d love to see a line of Dorsett, Murray, Picard. I think this line could create alot of energy for us with some toughness as well. I won’t take a way too much from this upcoming draft, but I’ll have some more as things come up this weekend.

Hopefully we can get a new Blue Jackets BuzzCast Podcast up soon enough. The first one went really well, and we’ll some more cool stuff to talk about for the next one.

Let’s see what happens in Montreal…

Columbus Blue Jackets | 2009 NHL Draft | Montreal

We’ll also be keep tabs on the playoffs to see how the rest unfolds and which team winds up skating with Stanley.

My only gripe about this game is that the play was sloppy from the CBJ perspective. I felt that they were playing to timid and trying to force plays. The better playoff teams keep the play smart, and simple. Know your system and make quick, smart decisions. I feel they need to further simplify their play in order to be successful. It’s nice to know that with 92 points they have a better chance of hanging on to the 6th spot. I feel like I’d rather play against Calgary at this point then anyone else up there. That being said we’ll now need to make sure Vancouver doesn’t win out the division. If that happens, then it’s going to be a tough battle against players like the Sedins, Sundin, and Luongo. Let’s hope for the best now into the post-season. But I must say it’s pretty nice to know that they’re guaranteed a spot. Now we need to start a new cheer in Nationwide Arena.

WE WANT THE CUP! WE WANT THE CUP.

Speaking of trades does anyone else think that Klesla should go? Personally I think we should get him off the books and use some of our money to sign a better D-man option for us. We will see about that in the off-season most likely. He just isn’t himself anymore. Last season he started to look stronger and more confident, playing a more simple, smarter game. Now he looks hesitant making nice plays every once in a while, and more often looking like a deer in headlights…

So as we get down the stretch here. 11 games left… We could potentially move up further in the standings. But 3 more vs. Chicago, 3 more against St. Louis… These inter-divisional games are looking even more important.

We will hopefully have some good updates after the Florida trip…

Quick must watches for CBJ fans.

Jake Voracek: CBJ’s highest scoring Rookie – 35 pts.
Steve Mason: Calder watch.

That being said, the Blue Jackets are about to play their most important road trip in franchise history. Don’t take this phrase lightly – I’ve never made such a claim before (this isn’t Puck Rakers after all!).

Tonight it’s 3rd place Calgary (76pts), then Thursday it’s 9th place Edmonton (63 pts, 23 games remaining) and finally on Sunday they finish with 5th place Vancouver (68 pts, 23 GR). After all this they’ll face the Kings at home on March 3rd… the day before the trade deadline. How they fare during this trip will GREATLY affect how the rest of the season plays out. In a perfect situation, the Jackets will nab 4 regulation wins that will vault them to 74 points (and probably 5th place). Call me crazy, but sitting at fifth place at the trade deadline screams HUGE SUCCESS! – Especially for our franchise.

The Jackets need to (as stupid as this sounds) play their game over the course of the next week. They are going to be facing 3 very weighty teams and a talented Kings club. If they play simple, check hard, and play a north and south game for 240 minutes then they’re all set! Ugh uh huh … anybody else queasy?

Other Tidbits

• Not that I feel sorry for them, but who’d have picked the Ave’s to be in last place in the Conference? True, they’ve been riddled with injuries: Sakic, Stastny, J-M Liles – and they didn’t exactly back the right horse with Andrew Raycroft did they…?
• It seems that the off-season trade with the Rangers may be leveling out. After a shotgun start, Nik Zherdev is back to his old self. Flashes in the pan, but still lacking consistency. He’s on pace now to finish the season with 59 points (2 pts under last season). Zherdev’s “replacement” on the other hand is set to finish with 60 points and is also the leading factor contributing to Nash’s potential 80 point season (previous high was 69 pts).
• Ovie seems to have shifted his feud from one Penguin (Geno) to another (Sid). In previous seasons, Sid and Ovie have spoken with respect about one another. Not so much any more – and it couldn’t be better for the fans! The two best* players in the league: enemies. That’s the stuff of dreams for a league desperate for new fans and headlines. Me? I’m taking Ovie’s side – I think Cindy is a punk that runs his mouth. Still, I wish nothing but good fortune for the guy, the NHL has decided to back him as the face of the league so…
• “And with the first pick of the 2009 NHL draft, the New York Islanders select: John Tavares!” At least he’ll be going to a good hockey market – would kind of suck for him to get swept into Atlanta or Nashville or something. Not that there aren’t die-hard, well educated fans in those market – I mean, I wouldn’t exactly call Columbus a hockey Mecca.

What you have to be aware of though is the number of games remaining at this point. The Jackets are in 6th, yes – but they’ve also played more games than the teams surrounding them. Scariest of all is the Stars, who sit 1 point back (from Columbus), but have played 2 less games. Their play since the departure of Sean Avery, and the resurgence of Marty Turco has been reminiscent of their juggernaut last year. Though, on the bright side (for Columbus fans) is that the second leading scorer for the Stars – Brad Richards – could be out for 6-8 weeks… that hurts.

Onto TRADE TALKS! – we keep creeping closer and closer to the March 4th trade deadline. Mathieu Schneider is already out of the picture – but with only a handful of points his only value was veteran experience. Here are the names that most intrigue me, and their potential suitors:

10. Doug Weight, New York – I’m starting off this party with some boring old farts. Guys that still have some production, and plenty of playoff experience. Currently Weight is out for about 5 more weeks – putting his return past the trade deadline. Could he still garner some interest? – Maybe. The only way a team takes a gamble on Weight though is gonna be for a bag of pucks. Let’s say Weight to Florida for a 3rd round pick.

9. Keith Tkachuk, St. Louis – The Blues are currently 7 points out of the playoff picture, and Tkachuk is a UFA come July. Tkachuk is having a decent season and could interest some playoff contending teams – he would of course have to waive his no-trade clause. Look for him to go to a team looking for 2nd or 3rd line depth – as well as leadership. For no particular reason, my gut says Washington.

8. Mark Recchi, Tampa Bay – Recchi is on pace for a 50+ point season. With his production and playoff experience (along with a cheap price tag and UFA status this summer) he could raise some eyebrows of clubs looking for veteran depth too. One team to me that screams a lack of veteran experience is Chicago. Yep, send Recchi to Chi-town.

7. Nik Antropov, Toronto – Leafs Overlord Brian Burke has made it well known that the asking price for this monster center/wing is a first round draft pick. That’s a pretty steep price for a guy that will be UFA come July. If Antropov is shipped it will be to a team that he’ll resign with in the off-season. I’m sure the prospect of Nik makes Hitch’s chops wet, but don’t expect to see him here – you know what would blow people away? How about a blockbuster deal involving swapping the Sedin twins (also UFA) to T.O. for Antropov and maybe some other goodies. Regardless, I’m saying that Antropov is heading to Vancouver or Montreal.

6. Jay Bouwmeester, Florida – Last summer it seemed almost a sure bet that Jay would be dealt at some point this season or the Panthers would risk losing him to free agency. Now… it’d be a tough pill for the fans to see Jay shipped out in the thick of a playoff race. There is still some time to sort out the standings, but don’t be shocked to see the deadline pass without seeing Jay’s name in the headlines. Since I’m on a role for crazy trade-mates though… I’ll send Bouwmeester to Edmonton for a pick and a player.

5. Ryan Smyth, Colorado – Word is that the Aves are looking to cut payroll and the GM is asking teams to submit bids. I honestly don’t see a deal being struck this year. Smyth’s production has been pretty good this season, but he’s making s crap-load of money – $16.5 mil over the next three years. Is there anyone looking for a scoring winger? Let’s say this has to go down, I put Smyth to Pittsburgh for Ryan Whitney. Yes, I just said that.

4. Chris Pronger, Anaheim – Seems crazy, but the Ducks could miss the playoffs this year. With 61 points and the fewest games remaining, it’s starting to look like a reality. If that’s the case Pronger could be moved for a longer-termed gain (he has only 1 year remaining on his contract). Pronger would be pretty enticing for a team looking to really beef up their blue line for the playoffs as well as the following season. Pronger to the Rangers in a deal involving Petr Prucha. Ha ha ha ha!

3. Alex Kovalev, Montreal – Boy, here’s a guy who’s had a seesaw ride the past two seasons. From being booed, to worshiped, and now benched – this high potential winger is likely done in Montreal after this season. If the Habs decide to ship Kovy at the deadline don’t expect it to be to the Pens, a team with a desperate need for talented wingers. No, I’m sending Kovy to Edmonton… maybe for Erik Cole?

2. Kari Lehtonen, Atlanta – The former no. 2 overall pick has not exactly performed as such. Still, Atlanta could find some use for Kari. The rumor I’ve heard is sending him to the Flyers in return for a prospect – maybe Van Riemsdyk or Claude Giroux. Seems like a win-win, the Flyers get the tending they need for a playoff push, and Atlanta continues a strong rebuilding campaign. Honestly, if there’s any team that scares me (in four years) it’s Atlanta – two first-rounders in ’08, a likely top-5 this year, as well as a slew of prospects (Angelo Esposito anyone?).

1. Olli Jokinen, Phoenix – The Yotes have seemingly put a for-sale sign on their prize take during last year’s draft-trade frenzy. A team looking to gobble up Jokinen is not doing so for his playoff experience though (zero games). Olli’s probably one of the more intriguing players on the block; only a year left on his contract at $5.5 mil – not bad for a true number one center. You’ll hear the boys at the Dispatch argue that he’s not on the radar, but they said the same thing at the draft (and we still made a push to acquire him). I’d wet myself, but don’t go into a comma if the Jackets end up as possible suitors. It’d be a multi-player deal on our end: let’s say Jokinen for this year’s number one pick, Rusty Klesla, and Maxim Mayorov.

So I’m curious to see the rumors start chugging with the trade deadline a few weeks away now. Let’s see what happens. Now check out some videos from the Colorado Avalanche shutout!!