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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: Columbus Blue Jackets

Sep 27

Posted by Eddie in Season Previews | No Comments

Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson (L) is banking the success of the team on the signing of Jeff Carter (R).

Offseason Losses: Jakub Voracek, Nikita Filatov, Scottie Upshall, Mathieu Garon, Jan Hejda, Mike Commodore, Sami Lepisto

Offseason Additions: Jeff Carter, Vinny Prospal, James Wisniewski, Radek Martinek

Last Season Ranking: 13th in the West

Offense: Jeff Carter coming to Columbus will give the Blue Jackets their first 1-2 offensive punch in franchise history Carter will join Rick Nash and R.J. Umberger on the top line. This will be the primary offense and special teams line as there isn’t much depth beyond the top six. With Carter and Nash, only players with the names of Ovechkin, Kovalchuk, Iginla and Heatley have scored more goals than Carter and Nash over the last four seasons. Pretty impressive to have two of the top six goal scorers during that span are on the same line playing together. They will be worth a look in the early rounds of your fantasy draft if you aren’t too concerned about plus-minus because of whom they have playing behind them.

19-year-old top prospect Ryan Johansen is expected to begin the season centering the third line, but could get bumped up to the second line should he perform well and Antoine Vermette struggle. Various preseason lines have different players playing different positions and on different lines, but the combination of Vermette, Kristian Huselius, Antoine Vermette and newcomer Vinny Prospal to compete on the second and third lines. They have to find a way to succeed and qualify for the playoffs in the difficult Central division with a warming seat underneath GM Scott Howson, and head coach Scott Arniel. Not to mention Nationwide Arena has had more empty seats than filled ones in the last couple seasons since making the playoffs in 2009. Last year they were 27th of 30 in attendance with an average attendance of 13,658.

Defense: The best signing they made this off-season besides bringing in Carter was signing James Wisniewski. He is a young, offensive-minded blue liner who will see time on the first power play unit to create offensive and scoring for a squad that was second from last on the power play last season. If they want to make the playoffs, a 14 percent success rate won’t cut it. They also signed Radek Martinek who didn’t do a whole lot on Long Island last season. Look for 20-year-old David Savard to contend for the third defensive pairing coming out of training camp. If you compare his stats with Springfield of the AHL last season to the rest of the team, he was second behind Wisniewski in goals and points.

Goaltending: With Mathieu Garon departing for Tampa Bay, it is all on the shoulders of Steve Mason. He won 33 games in 2009 before crashing back to Earth in 2010. He played better in 2011 and it could give him confidence going into this season. It could fall in a line of young goalies such as Carey Price and Cam Ward who struggled while they were young before coming around and being a solid No. 1 goalie after a few years of experience.

The Jackets left fans scratching their head when they not only handed Mason the starting job again, but decided against signing a proven backup and will hand the No. 2 reins to Mark Dekanich. They signed him to a 1-way contract despite having 50 minutes of NHL experience under his belt. It is a huge risk to take especially for a team that needs to win to keep the fan base interested.

Playoff Prediction: In the playoffs, but just barely. It all rides on the play of Mason in goal. They did enough up front with the addition of Carter and Prospal and bringing in Wisniewski to anchor the blue line. While Detroit and Chicago are clearly better than them in the division, they will have to contend with Nashville to finish third in the division and to fight for the last playoff spot.

 

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The Case of the Missing Mike Modano

May 6

Posted by EB in News, Soap Box | 3 Comments

The Detroit Red Wings, after sweeping the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round, are now one game away from a potential sweep at the hands of the San Jose Sharks. Déjà vu perhaps? A trending storyline though is the absence of Mike Modano from the Detroit roster. As a home town fan, I wonder why he is not playing.

Mike Modano signed with the Detroit Red Wings this year in attempt to not only avoid retirement, but to win the one and only, Lord Stanley’s Cup. Modano’s season though was cut short (no pun intended) due to a freak injury; his wrist cut accidently by the skate of Columbus forward R.J. Umberger.

Modano only saw 40 games throughout the season due to the injury, leaving him little time to mesh with the Detroit style of play. Already a competitive roster with Jiri Hudler, Patrick Eaves, Drew Miller and veteran Kris Draper competing for ice time, Modano never really received a chance.

Since returning to the roster from the injury, Modano played 20 games until the end of the season. In those games Modano contributed for 2 goals and 5 assists. To the untrained eye, you would think this is a low production for such a talented player. Modano averaged roughly around 11 minutes a game, not enough to really get the motor going. Still though, Modano was utilized on the power play, and to his talents, 4 of the 7 points since returning were all on the power play.

So the question still arises why isn’t Mike Modano playing in the playoffs? This is an answer only Head Coach Mike Babcock knows unfortunately. Modano did see one game in the first round against Phoenix, and yes, Modano reached the scoreboard with an assist on the first goal of the game. His ice time was second to lowest, barely edging out Drew Miller in the game, which in comparison only has 3 more points in 26 additional games.

Game 4 is tonight at 7:00 PM in Detroit at the Joe Louis arena and to be aired on Versus & TSN. It is still unknown if Modano will be playing, and even further down the road, if he will be returning next year to the Red Wings, any other team, or perhaps retiring. It is unfortunate Modano has not been given a chance to prove his worth this season and in the playoffs. Currently holding the record for most goals and points by an American born player, and having 175 playoff games under his belt, Modano surely would be an asset to a back-against-the-wall Detroit Red Wings.

Just my .02. Bench Jiri Hudler who left the Wings to go play oversees and has done nothing this series, let alone his lack of effort in the corners, and put Modano in to man the 3 for 12 (25.0%) power play this series.

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Hockey World Blog Season Previews 2010: Columbus Blue Jackets

Sep 27

Posted by Eddie in Season Previews | No Comments

Key Offseason Losses:Manny Malhotra, Michael Peca

Key Offseason Additions:Nate Guenin, Ethan Moreau, Kyle Wilson, Nikita Filatov

Last Season Ranking: 14th, West

Offense:It’s all about Rich Nash for the Blue Jackets. One of the most talented players in the league, he needs some help in order to succeed in Columbus. He had help when they made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history two years ago, but that’s slowly going further out the rear-view mirror. There’s signs of potential offensive talent surrounded around him this time around. Despite struggling last season, Antoine Vermette is coming off his career-best season when he scored 27 goals and 65 points. They have the potential to have a functional top six outside of Nash and Vermette, with R.J. Umberger playing on the right side of the top line and the second line of Kristian Huselius, Derick Brassard, and Jakub Voracek. If Brassard can get atleast 50 points (he had 36 last season), then the Blue Jackets finally will have depth at forward. Also look for additions Nikita Filatov and Ethan Moreau to provide depth in the third-fourth lines. The X-factor will be Chris Clark. Clark was captain of the Capitals when he was traded to the Blue Jackets last season. He helps provide veteran leadership in the locker room despite Nash wearing the C. The big question for him is, was he the benefit of playing on a good team (15 pts in 38 games in Washington, and 5 pts in 36 games with Columbus) or does he have the skill set to contribute on a less talented team with a full season with them?

 Defense:This is a defensive unit that doesn’t move the puck very well. They will get some points from time to time, but just about all of them are stay-at-home defenders. Anton Stralman was the top scoring defenseman with 34 points last season, but the downside to him and just about the rest of the team is the poor +/- rating. Stralman and Brassard had a team-worse -17 rating last season. Only third line defenseman Kris Russell had a plus-rating out of the top six defenseman and he only had a +3 rating in 70 games. Look for the team to make trades during the season to get someone who can possess and move the puck to help in the transition game.

Which Steve Mason will show up this season? If he's more like the one his rookie season, expect Columbus to be better than they were last season.

Which Steve Mason will show up this season? If he's more like the one his rookie season, expect Columbus to be better than they were last season.

Goaltending:There isn’t a player whose stock dropped further and faster last season than Steve Mason. Mason won the Calder Tophy and was a candidate for the Vezina Award in 2009 when he led Columbus to the playoffs. Last season, he was one of the worse goalies in the league. Opponents eventually figured him out and they lit the lamp a lot as he had a 3.04 GAA last season. He can only help the team if he can be half or two-thirds of the goalie he was his rookie season. He will carry majority of the playing load, and if he struggles they have one of the more reliable backups in the league in Mathieu Garon. Expect Mason to enter this season with better conditioning, focus and a sense of humility after falling back to Earth last season. Should he rebound and play better in goal, you heard it here first.

Season Outlook:It’s hard expecting this team to make the playoffs because they play in arguably the hardest division in the league. The division winner has advanced to the Western Conference Finals each of the last four seasons, producing two Stanley Cup champions in the process. With everyone else in the division getting better and the Blue Jackets being one of the lesser-spending teams in the league, the deck is stacked against them to begin with. They have the talent up front and in goal to compete, but the defense is what will doom them. Expect them to finish last in the division and maybe even the conference.

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Columbus Blue Jackets

Sep 27

Posted by Eddie in Season Previews | No Comments

Both Rick Nash (L) and Steve Mason will need to continue the career seasons each had in 2009 to keep Columbus a playoff contender.

Both Rick Nash (L) and Steve Mason need to continue career seasons each had in 2009 to keep Columbus a playoff contender.

Making progress is what the Blue Jackets did last season, and will be looking forward to do this season. It took them their 10th season in the NHL to make the playoffs. Their playoff run was short-lived as they took on the Detroit Red Wings and got swept in four games.

Columbus also made progress as it re-signed captain and superstar Rick Nash to an eight-year, 62.4 Million contract extension that will keep him in Ohio until 2017-18. It’s considered a major accomplishment as Nash had his pick in where he wanted to go.

Expectations are high from not only the fan base in central Ohio, but within the organization as well. They can only make more progress this season by not only making the playoffs, but winning a couple games and even winning a series.

The Blue Jackets do have the pieces to contend in the difficult Western Conference. The Blue Jackets also enter the season with their top-six forwards set in place. In addition to Nash, they have Kristian Huselius and Derick Brassard on the top line. It’s going to be interesting to see a healthy Brassard as he missed the last 50 games due to injury. The second line will feature R.J. Umberger, Antoine Vermette, and Jakub Voracek. A rookie last season, Voracek had a quiet but respectable season as he recorded 38 points. Look for top prospect Nikita Filatov and new addition Sami Pahlsson to make significant contributions to the third and fourth lines.

On defense, there may not be any big names you have heard before other than Mike Commodore, but management stayed the course during the trade deadline and the off-season. The unit is mostly a stay-at-home unit who isn’t overly aggressive on offense. They are missing a player who is multi-dimensional and with $7 Million of cap space left going into the season, they have the ability to make a move if they are in contention for the playoffs around the deadline. Having someone who can quarterback a power play is crucial for them as they were last in the NHL on the power play at 12.7 percent.

Columbus did find a gem in goal with Steve Mason. A player who didn’t play a full season because of injury, Mason was the reason the team made the playoffs. Winning the Calder Trophy as top rookie, Mason led the league in shutouts with 10 in only 61 games. It will be interesting to see how this season will be for him. Can he continue the hot streak or suffer the sophomore slump? To aid Mason, the team signed veteran Mathieu Garon as backup.

The outlook for Columbus is pretty good. The re-signing of Nash did create a buzz around the city and did sell a few more season tickets, but they need to continue to make progress to have Columbus become a free-agent destination. In the division, they will be more competitive. It won’t be the match ups against Detroit and Chicago that will determine its fate, but it will be how they play against Nashville and St. Louis as both teams got better in the off season while Columbus stayed the course. Will it pay off with a playoff appearance? Only time will tell.

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