Part IV: The Dark Blue Jacket's Definitive History of the CBJ

The Hitchcock Restoration

A Columbus Blue Jackets Civil War Logo

Ken Hitchcock was coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets from November 22, 2006 to February 3, 2010.  He is the winningest coach in Blue Jackets history, compiling a record of 285 G, 126W, 123L, and 36OTL.  Depending on how you fall out on your view of the shootout, he is the only coach in CBJ history to have a winning record.

In my last post I made the assertion that although many names had changed, the talent level of the team plateaued at about the 2003-04 level.  As evidence for that, I point to Ken Hitchcock's coaching record.  Prior to coming to Columbus, as a head coach he had never coached a team in the NHL for the entire year and not made the playoffs.  That is, until he coached the 2007-08 CBJ squad.

Don't get me wrong.  I think he was kind of fond of that team, because he believed that the team had maxxed out.  That they had given him everything that they had.  But it wasn't enough, they simply lacked the talent to be a playoff team.  But I am jumping ahead.

Ken Hitchcock's coaching career for the CBJ served as a bridge between two General Managers, Doug MacLean and Scott Howson.  As such, Coach Hitchcock holds a very important place in CBJ history.

Game 74/Phoenix: My Take

In their last 10PM start of the 2010-2011 season, the Columbus Blue Jackets lost, 3-0, to the Phoenix Coyotes in front of 215 people at Jobing.com Arena.

Word is that Rick Nash and R.J. Umberger held a closed-door, players-only meeting after the game.  The DBJ blog had a mole in the room, and thus we offer:

THE TOP 10 COMMENTS OVERHEARD AT THE BLUE JACKETS' PLAYERS-ONLY MEETING

1. Rivet, Moreau, Clark, Murray, Hejda, Stralman - Out.  You're not going to be here next year anyway.

2. Guys, the season isn't over yet.  It's really OK to keep scoring.

Who stays? Who goes?

Interesting little tidbit from the Dispatch guys today on Twitter:

[The Columbus Blue Jackets] said the magic words to MacKenzie and Wilson: "Get a place." On 2-way contracts, but told they'll be staying w #CBJ.

First, and let's not minimize this, let's congratulate Derek Mackenzie and Kyle Wilson.  Both guys are former AHL lifers who have busted their tails off to stick in the NHL and, for both guys, it's the first times in their careers that they will actually do so.  I waxed (reasonably) eloquent about Wilson after his shootout winner on Monday night, and my "Time to Step Up" piece on MacKenzie says all I need to say on him.  Presuming that the two guys perform at an NHL level, more power to them.  It's great to see merit getting rewarded, something that both Scott Arniel and Scott Howson are doing despite the strange world of the NHL collective bargaining agreement, with issues involving waivers, one-way/two-way contracts, salary caps, etc.

Pleasantries aside, let's get to the heart of the matter.  Why is the front office telling these two guys to plan on sticking around for the season at this specific moment?

Game 3/Chicago: My Take

OK, so there apparently ARE days where it's better to be stuck in class than in Nationwide Arena.  When your beloved Columbus Blue Jackets get shellacked by a depleted Chicago Blackhawks squad, 5-2 on 40 (!) shots, this probably fits the bill.

I was only able to catch just a few minutes of actual action, so I can only go off what I've seen on Twitter and the scoresheet.  Perhaps that allows me a little necessary distance to discuss this rationally.  For had I been in the arena, I probably would get a tad strident.  So let's step gently through this minefield and try to understand what happened.

Time to step up: Jan Hejda

• Defenseman
• 32 years old, 5th year in National Hockey League
• $2,000,000 cap hit 
• 3.4% of Columbus Blue Jackets salary cap
• Contract expires at end of this season
• 2009-2010 numbers: 62 games played, 3 goal, 10 assists, 13 points, -14, 36 penalty minutes, 20:38 avg. time on ice

Can Jan Hejda return to pre-injury form...
and will he still be a Columbus Blue Jacket
after this season's trade deadline?

A late bloomer from an NHL perspective, Jan Hejda toiled over in Europe before joining the Edmonton Oilers (where Howson was assistant general manager) in 2006-2007, where he had a middling-to-poor season (39 games played, 1 goal, 8 assists, 9 points, -6 rating).  Howson must've seen something beyond the numbers when he signed Hejda as a free agent for 2007-2008, whereupon Hejda was off to the races.  

Hejda was an ironman in his first two seasons in Columbus, playing in 81 and 82 games, respectively.  While his point totals weren't anything to put on a billboard (13 and 21 points), his plus-minus was off-the-charts good - not just for the Columbus Blue Jackets but for the entire National Hockey League.  In 07-08, he was a +20.  In 08-09, he was a +23.  This, on a Ken Hitchcock team that played defense first, second and third, leaving scoring down on the list somewhere next to "air out the smelly skates."  

Game 59/Dallas: My Take

The Era of Square Pegs and Round Holes is gone. It has been replaced by the Era of Group Hugs.

They say that every sports coaching change is like a pendulum swing for a club, going back and forth between the harsh taskmaster and the players coach.  There's no question that Ken Hitchock was the former, and now Claude Noel is trying his hardest to be the latter.  He's chosen to play the nice guy, the cheerleader...and maybe that's what the Columbus Blue Jackets need right now.

Sure didn't hurt tonight, as the CBJ won, 2-1, over the contemptible Marc Crawford and the Dallas Stars (and, no, I'm not forgetting NHL-designated cheap shot artist James Neal, who was remarkably quiet tonight.  He must not have known that Derek Dorsett went on injured reserve.).

The team played a little ragged, which stands to reason when your (interim) head coach Noel proclaims that he's going to stop the over-thinking and ditch the X's and O's at the door.  Again, part of the post-Hitch decompression.

10 Thoughts about Game 17: Detroit

I don't have it in me to do a normal analysis of this pathetic excuse for a game.  Thus, I'll crowd-source these 10 Thoughts through the lively Twitter network of Columbus Blue Jackets fans, journalists and other folks:

1. BlueJackets_NHL FINAL SCORE: #RedWings 9, #CBJ 1. Abdelkader got his second of the game late.

1a. DarkBlueJacket Recap: #CBJ prove that they probably should be playing some defense in losing 9-1.  Sigh.

1b. jacketsrequired Jackets limit Detroit to three field goals. Well played.

1c. nhlcyclesophist You're wasting my time tonight, #CBJ

1d. arose213 Just saw the #cbj score, #threwup in my mouth a bit. #fb

2. Aportzline #CBJ suffers 9-1 loss to Detroit, tied for largest margin of defeat, matching 10-2 L in San Jose (3-30-02) and 8-0 L vs. Boston (2-4-02).

2a. techknowgn @Aportzline This is worse than both those games, because this team has the talent to not get beat like this. The 01-02 team didnt

2b. BethanyM85 I dub this game "The Worst Game in Franchise History" #cbj

2c. DarkBlueJacket If not the most brutal #CBJ game I've seen in the Hitchcock era, definitely in the top 3.  Ugh.


3. raycrawford shocked look on cbj faces in locker room.. hitch with rare meeting with players after he addressed the media.

3a. DarkBlueJacket @raycrawford Any paint left on the walls in the locker room?  Man, I'd hate to be in there...

3b. DarkBlueJacket Hitch: "This has been building for 3 games now."  Hmmmmm  #CBJ

3c. DarkBlueJacket Hitch: "We don't have the buy-in.  We aren't checking.  We look light and slow." True...   #CBJ

4. DaveSeaman94 RT: @BlueJacketsBuzz Steve Mason said he wasn't happy about the bronx cheers he was getting tonight from the fans. #CBJ  |  He deserved it.

4a. LoriSchmidt CBJ Captain Rick Nash on the fans who gave G Steve Mason the Bronx Cheer: "Those had to be Detroit fans. Our fans are more loyal than that."

4b. DarkBlueJacket And here I honestly thought that Mason was getting back in the groove.  Tonight was a big step backward. But where was the defense? #CBJ

4c. bcluxton Remember last year when Mason had 10 shutouts? Boy, those were the days. #CBJ

4d. hise Mason is horrible this eve. Why is Hitchcock keeping him in the net? Is there some point to make? #CBJ

4e. Aportzline No Garon injury. Hitchcock wanted Mason back in to absorb a beating w/ rest of club. RT @mirtle: @Aportzline Was Garon injured?

4f. DarkBlueJacket We really don't need for the #RedWings to be in Mason's gourd... #CBJ


5. BlueJacketsBuzz Don't know if it's safe to go outside. Jan Hejda was minus 4 tonight! Could be the end of times! #CBJ


6. thelaughlins Nice to see Hitchcock's team showed up for him for his 1000th game! #cbj #redwings


7. britjenna I'm sick and tired of wings having puck control oh and little important thing called scoring. #CBJ


8. DarkBlueJacket thinks Raffi Torres may haf lost a toof.  Ouch. #CBJ

8a. seventyeight @DarkBlueJacket He left a nice puddle of blood not far from Cam Ward's thigh muscle on the ice.


9. DarkBlueJacket I hear that there's plenty of time left... @FOXSportsOH #CBJ

9a. techknowgn @DarkBlueJacket LOL. And Pahlsson plays bigger than he is, Wings are defending western conf champs, and Rimer was just in Tronna

9b. DarkBlueJacket @techknowgn And start with the best!

9c. DarkBlueJacket Psst @FOXSportsOH - @DirecTV forgot to turn on our HD feed for the #CBJ game tonight AFTER telling me it would be on.  Epic #FAIL.      #NHL

9d. derdrache @DarkBlueJacket Dude, it wouldn't have been any better in HD.

10. DarkBlueJacket Live it up, #RedWings.  We'll be back.  And we don't forget.  #CBJ

10a. LeeAuer It could always be worse... We could live in Detroit #cbj


Next game: PuckeysMom Brutal night, #CBJ... learn quickly, shake it off, beat the #Ducks. [on Friday]

---

Bonus Thought 1: DarkBlueJacket is mining Twitter posts to cobble together 10 Thoughts for tonight.  #CBJ

Bonus Thought 1a. timwingfield @DarkBlueJacket Remember the 7 words you can't say on TV? There's 7 of the 10 thoughts you need...

[No editing was performed on the Tweets.  All photos from Yahoo! NHL except for the shot of Mason letting the beach ball through.  That's DamonChristen's work.]

10 Thoughts about Games 11 & 12: Pittsburgh and Washington

1. Following a rare film and team meeting day on Thursday (no practice time on the ice), the Columbus Blue Jackets appeared to return to early season form on home ice against the powder blue-uniformed (some would say "baby blue," but I'll be generous) Pittsburgh Penguins for the first 50-55 minutes of the game and then suffered a total collapse.  The Jackets regained a sense of composure in the overtime period and went to the shootout, missing all three shots and watching Sidney Crosby's shot, which Steve Mason initially blocked, dribble past the goalie into the goal.  Pittsburgh won, 4-3. Here are the highlights:



1a. Pittsburgh fans can crow all they want about their stylish powder blues, which made their debut at the Winter Classic in Buffalo, but the best powder blue jersey, bar none, is the third jersey of the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals:

Aye, mateys, I covets me a skeletal, peg-legged hockey jersey...

1b. The Hitch Speaketh, and he was pretty ticked at giving the game away to the defending Stanley Cup champs:

2. Smarting from the shootout loss, the Jackets boarded their plane for the nation's capital city on Saturday for a late afternoon Sunday game against the Washington Capitals.  The Jackets largely stuck to the game plan that kept them in control of the Pittsburgh game and, eerily, repeated their "50 Minute Men" performance  that let Washington seize control of the game with 3:30 left in the third period, 4-3.  Raffi Torres, however, dropped his 2nd goal of the game (6th goal of the season) in with :30 left in regulation to send the game into overtime.  The Jackets again held their ground in the overtime period, drawing a critical interference game at 1:33 of overtime.  Less than 15 seconds later, R.J. Umberger scored the game-winner with his 2nd of the game (4th of the season) on the Jackets' power play. Chew on these highlights for a few:



2a. In case you were curious, coach Ken Hitchcock appeared a little more pleased after the end of the Washington game but bristled at the "50 Minute Men" questions related to being unable to close the game out.  Paraphrasing, he said that "the bug guy" (Hejda, presumably) needed to come back to spread the on-ice minutes back down to reasonable levels that didn't wear out the defense as had happened the past four games.

3. Steve Mason, to be clear, has not yet returned to the 10-shutout Steve Mason of last season that won the Calder Cup.  He has, however, improved significantly since returning to Columbus from the most recent West Coast swing.   He blocked 29 of 32 against a Penguins club that was missing Evgeni Malkin and a few other starters.  He also turned away 32 of 36 shots against the Capitols.

3a. A rattled Alexander Ovechkin did not score for the 3rd straight game against Mason.  Never mind that Number 8 left the game after just under 6 minutes of ice time with an apparent shoulder injury early in the second period (Puck Rakers alludes to a punishing check from Raffi Torres) - AO is 0-for-19 on Mason.  PARTY NOW!

3b.  Anyone care to explain why Hitch temporarily pulled Mason from the Washington game for Mathieu Garon?  I have nothing against Garon, but Mase went back in within a minute of being pulled.  Must have had some strategic significance.

4. Rick Nash has picked up the pace once again as he is wont to do in big games against top-tier opponents. He had two goals on seven shots against Pittsburgh and a goal and 2 assists on 5 shots against Washington.

5. Personal note: I apologize for condensing the two games into one set of 10 Thoughts, but familial obligations got in the way of my full partaking of the Pittsburgh game, and schoolwork got in the way of parts of the Washington game.  First things first!

6. Post-Pittsburgh, Puck Rakers was filled with insane rantings suggesting that Hitchcock had lost the team and that he should be fired.

7. I think that the posters in question were just bitter that Nationwide Arena was about 40% filled with Pittsburgh fans.  What would you expect - between bandwagon jumpers for the reigning Stanley Cup champions and those who have loved NHL hockey since long before the Blue Jackets were a gleam in Mister Mac's eye...and couldn't bear to root for a team from Michigan, the team has reasonably healthy fan base in Ohio.

7a.  If there was a real Hockey God, he would create a division that included Pittsburgh and Columbus.  I honestly don't think the league recognized the level of natural rivalry between these two towns.  Detroit and Columbus, sure - the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry made that obvious - but gosh, those Blue Jackets-Penguins games are lively.

8. Two goals each for R.J. Umberger (who deserves every point he gets for being the consummate team player) and Raffi Torres against Washington....nice.  Strong secondary scoring from two of the team's hardest workers.

8a. When Raffi scored his first goal, the thought that we would automatically win crossed my mind.  When he scored the second goal with less than a minute to go, I figured it was fate.  I know, stupid, but I'm so conditioned to seeing the Jackets win when Raffi scores!

8b. Jake Voracek called Raffi Torres "Tico" in the post-game interview in Washington.  Excellent Bon Jovi reference by the pop culture-savvy young forward.

8c.  If I was a creative business person with something fun to sell, I'd hire Jake Voracek to do my ads. Dude's personality veers WAY off the awesome meter charts.

9. Greetings to our friends from Fox Sports Ohio and the Columbus Blue Jackets communications office. Are you guys reading this blog?

9a. After my griping that Bill Davidge was using too much coach-speak (meaning the 'repetive cycle of "compete"-"effort"-"toughness"-"high expectations"'), I am not sure that I have heard Davidge use any of those words in either of the last two telecasts. Bill still has to dial up the enjoyment/fun factor, but he's becoming much more listenable (Is that a word?).

9b. After my suggesting that the then-injured Mike Commodore would make an awesome 3rd announcer in the booth, the Fox guys shared the mike with injured Freddy Modin for the 2nd period of the Pittsburgh game.  Freddy wasn't quite the TV personality that Commie was, but I applaud the effort on Fox Sports' behalf for giving it a try. Actually, Freddy's presence - unique as it was - gave an already big game a little extra luster.  Freddy's a big boy, too!

9c. Since I appear to have an audience in the ones, let me offer another observation: The Washington game was as much about what was happening on the benches, in the hallways and in the locker rooms as on the ice. Ovechkin's injury, the many injuries referred to by Hitch in the post-game press conference...these things should be covered live. John Michael is a sharp character who, presuming that he has time considering his many other obligations, could be positioned a la Pierre McGuire between the glass or perhaps in the hallways or behind the benches. These injuries were huge developments for the game, and live coverage of them as they took place would further enhance the game broadcast.

10. Let's close this omnibus 10 Thoughts with a Hitchism: Weightiness.  The Blue Jackets went back to playing a weighty game against two of the top teams in the (weaker) Eastern Conference and emerged with 3 out of a possible 4 points. Lots of checking, lots of puck possession, a stifling penalty kill and (reasonably) strong defense. As long as the team can stick with Hitch's program and a player or two (read: Jan Hejda) comes back soon, things will be looking up.

Next up: San Jose and their brutal scoring line of Dany "Hat Trick" Heatley and Joe Thornton invade Nationwide on Wednesday night. It isn't Hockey Night in Canada, but the game WILL be broadcast across the USA on the NHL Network. Should be an enjoyable affair; let's hope the boys in Union Blue (not baby blue) are up to the challenge!