Aaron Portzline at the Dispatch nails the current state of financial and contractual affairs with the Columbus Blue Jackets - the real ones, not the pretend ones suiting up for developmment camp today - in
this Puck Rakers piece:
Howson has committed himself and this franchise to this group of players. Not just verbally, but contractually. With the expected moves this summer, they'll be less than $9 million under next season's salary cap ($59.4), with goaltender Steve Mason and right winger Jake Voracek due new contracts by next summer.
Until it all fell apart this past season, Howson was lauded for the moves, both locally and nationally. It was held up as proof that players wanted to be in Columbus for the long haul, and a sign that the franchise was ready to be a perrenial playoff club. He freely acknowledged he was following the Cleveland Indians model from the 1990s under former Tribe general manager John Hart.
The point is, it is not possible for Howson to lock down his core into the distant future one summer, and then be a free agent gangbuster the next. It's one or the other, and he has staked the Blue Jackets' future -- and likely his own in Columbus -- on the club's young core.
Must read material. In fact, I had a blog post almost identical in style in me - now, I'll just suggest you read this and save me the heavy lifting!
As long as we do follow through with extending our young talent instead of letting them go free. I don't expect that we'll always be able to keep every player but more should stay than leave of those we've developed.
ReplyDeleteThis season we also won't have Rafi Torres and his "grit" and 19 goals. I can't see how Howson can be content with the defense and still expect to be better. I hope i'm wrong, but I see another very poor season unless changes are made. My only hope is this is all a ruse by Howson to disguise his true intentions. Unfortunately chances of this being true are less than 1%....
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