Reshaping, not rebuilding

I have no photo of Jared Boll.
As in, never have taken a photo of Jared Boll.

For those who were not among the half-million Central Ohio utility customers without power (and, I suppose, no means to recharge their mobile devices), news came down that the Columbus Blue Jackets signed forward Jared Boll to a two-year, $2.1 million contract extension.

A frequent on-ice pugilist (and occasional victor), Boll played in 54 games last year.  His playing time was limited due to broken thumb from slugging Carolina's Byron Allen in the preseason (out from October 1 through November 10th) and a broken foot from blocking a shot against Dallas (out from February 10th through March 11th).  He had two goals, one assist and 126 PIMs last season.  He now is on track to average over a million bucks a seasons.  Yup.

As I type, the Blue Jackets have 22 men on their roster.  Eight of those players (Boll included) have seen a whopping four different people serve as their head coach since the beginning of the 2009-10 season.  21 of the 22 experienced the 2011-12 season in Columbus first-hand.  As it stands, it's hard to see how this team isn't headed for anything meaningfully different than the 18-21-2 pace that we saw during the interim head coaching tenure of Todd Richards.

Hey graphic designers, about CannonFest...

Permit me to use to blog for some housekeeping this morning: 

Part of my role in co-organizing the 2012 edition of CannonFest involves - soo-prise, soo-prise - the creation of graphic content for the event.  At this point, that means the creation of a logo...something that needs to get done sooner than later.

It's been suggested that we might want to try creating some CannonFest logo gear - t-shirts at minimum - with proceeds going to the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation.  I like the idea.  And my co-organizers thought that crowd-sourcing this project as a contest would be a cool idea.  

Steve Mason and Spring Football

Ian Clark lecturing during 2011-12 training camp

You might ask yourself, 'what in 'tarnation does Steve Mason have to do with Spring Football?'  And I would say, 'the answer is obvious, Ian Clark'.  At which point the discerning reader might discreetly start punching in '911' to call the guys to bring the coat with the long sleeves.  And, as I write this, I gird myself for the firestorm of criticism.  But, I am one of those glass half full guys, admittedly.  But please keep in mind as a season ticket holder, I've seen A LOT of Steve Mason performances, in person.  I've shouted at a few of 'em on TV too.  I get it.  It would be best to have the goal tending situation be locked up solid.  The theory that Mason has been given plenty of rope is sound.  But there's 30 teams that need solid goal tending and only about 15 legit starting goal tenders, according to Vancouver's coach.  And there's that contract!  Eeesh!  What does Mason make this year, $3 million??  So we have to face up to the fact that it's entirely possible he will be here all year.  And that he is only 23 years old.  When did Tim Thomas bloom into a Vezina trophy winner?   And to throw in a rhetorical question, would you consider Tim Thomas to be a draft bust?  But I digress.

I have to get back into the importance of Spring Football.

Could Jack Johnson Be the Blue Jackets Rod Langway?

In 1982 the Washington Capitals were coming off yet another season where they failed to make the NHL postseason. The organization had been in existence for eight years and had yet to make the playoffs even once. This was at a time 16 of the league's 21 teams went to the postseason. The Capitals organization lacked leadership both off and on the ice and there was serious talk of relocating the struggling franchise. The Summer of 1982 helped turn things around for the Capitals, mostly due to two significant, gutsy moves. First the Capitals hired a young David Poile to fill their general manager opening. Poile was a former standout player at Northeastern University who joined the Atlanta Flames as an administrative assistant shortly after graduating and worked his way up to assistant general manager. Blue Jackets fans probably know Poile better as the man who has been the general manager of the Nashville Predators since their inception. Poile wasted no time making over the team and swung a huge trade within weeks of being hired. The Capitals sent team captain Ryan Walter and Rick Green to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Rod Langway, Brian Engblom, Doug Jarvis, and Craig Loughlin. The trade was instrumental in changing the face of the organization. Poile had this to say:

"This trade makes the Capitals competitive," David Poile, Washington's new general manager, said at a news conference at Capital Centre. "We've added four quality players. For the first time in Capitals history, we have a defense."

Sound familiar? How about this quote from Langway:

"Washington got a great deal. Here I know I'll have a chance to bloom."

My favorite quote belongs to Engblom, who was in the Blue Jackets television booth as a color analyst after his playing career ended before moving to OLN and now NBC Sports Network:

"Winning and losing are kind of trends," Engblom said. "You've got to break one to get into the other. It's time for the Capitals to break a trend."

This trade meant everything to the organization. They shipped out two very good players who went on to have success in Montreal (yes, both teams came out well in the trade) and received back the foundation they built their team on, namely defense. Langway was named captain before he had even played a game in a Capitals sweater. It didn't hurt that the team had also just drafted a young defenseman by the name of Scott Stevens who would make an impact as an 18 year-old rookie. The Capitals made the playoffs for the first time the next season, and didn't miss them again for another fourteen years. Although the team has still never hoisted the Stanley Cup, the Capitals shed their poor image and losing tradition in just one season.

I am not comparing Jack Johnson the player to Rod Langway, or Ryan Murray to Scott Stevens or Scott Howson to David Poile. Johnson's defense would have to improve quite a bit to reach Langway's level at his worst, Murray hasn't stepped foot on NHL ice yet, and Howson... tries hard. My point is the parallels are there. The Blue Jackets have a poor image around the league and the only way to turn that around is to start winning games. The team is ready to ship out its captain Rick Nash, and the players they bring in from that trade should help form the core of this team. This trade could be the turning point of this franchise, and right now it's on Scott Howson to get the best deal he can get. I was concerned the way this was dragging out until I read Elliote Friedman's must-read 30 Thoughts column today where he had this to say about the situation:

9. Have always believed Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson's best opportunity to deal Rick Nash will be after Parise's decision. Think some other teams hoped their first-round picks would really appeal to Columbus, but that wasn't the case. My guess is that Nash and Bobby Ryan, if Anaheim wants to do it, get dealt after Parise signs. If Pittsburgh doesn't get Parise, Nash makes sense -- assuming it has what the Blue Jackets want.

 I'm glad to see that Howson didn't value first-round picks in this draft. It was a shallow draft outside the top three, and neither the Oilers nor the Canadiens would have been potential trading partners for Nash. It seems Howson is hedging on either the Rangers or Penguins (or both) missing out on Zach Parise and then feeling pressure to up their firepower, thus overpaying for Nash. It's a sound strategy, unless the opposing team's GMs don't bite or they get their fix somewhere else, like Anaheim. I don't think this team can start training camp with Rick Nash as the captain and expect things to go smoothly, so Howson better hope his patience pays off. If it does the organization could reap the benefit for years to come and gain some respectability in the process. If not, the results could be messy.

2012 NHL Draft Party

On Friday night the Blue Jackets opened Nationwide Arena to the masses for a Draft Party to coincide with the first round of the NHL Entry Draft. I decided it would be a nice opportunity to take my three young sons down for some (free) fun. I also took my camera which means I am going to subject everyone to my questionable photography skills. Hopefully this isn't as boring as your uncle's slideshow about his vacation to North Dakota. The doors were set to open at 6 pm, we arrived around 5:40 and parked for free in the attached garage, nice! We weren't sure what sort of crowd to expect and were greeted with quite the line.

I was impressed by the turnout, I'm sure having the second pick in the draft, the possibility of a Nash trade, the free admission, and having three players on hand for autographs lured most of them. Being somewhere near the last of the admission line meant we missed out on the free shirts handed out to the first 500 fans. I'm not great at estimating crowds but I would put turnout well over a thousand. Once inside the arena we were funneled down to the arena floor where the event was set up. Highlights included a bounce house, floor hockey for the kids, photo-ops with the cannon, a zamboni, and inside one of the the penalty boxes. The highlight of the activities was a self-guided locker room tour.

In the locker room tour they also had a really neat area where they allowed people to try on hockey equipment. My kids got quite the kick out of it. Here is my son trying on the same size pants Rick Nash wears.

The highlight and lowlight of the evening involved Cam Atkinson. I was watching them play ball hockey when I realized one of the people helping to run the event was Atkinson himself.

It was really cool seeing Atkinson interacting with the kids at the event, mine had no idea who he was until they were done playing and I told them. Apparently my youngest son asked him to make sure nobody took his backpack! The lowlight however was the way the autograph sessions were handled. After playing ball hockey right next to him my kids decided they also wanted his autograph. To get his autograph we were herded into a section of seats where we sat and waited for his time-slot to begin. We were informed we were at the end of the line so there was a chance we might not get an autograph. My kids decided they wanted to wait anyway. Unfortunately we never got the opportunity to get the autograph and my kids were upset (even though I reminded them of their own decision to wait. Kids! Fun!). During our wait the draft commenced and with the second pick, as everyone knows, we took Everett Sivertips defenseman Ryan Murray.

The crowd cheered, some were probably disappointed we didn't get Yakupov, some were happy we got Murray, everyone was happy we didn't totally screw it up. The Blue Jackets did a nice job putting on a free party that had some nice elements and some poorly designed ones too. Hopefully next season the Blue Jackets will throw another party, and hopefully our pick won't be so high.

Hangover XII: Post Draft Musings

The draft is over and done.  In it's annual recruitment of strength, the CBJ appeared to be following a model that perhaps they should have adopted a while back, building the back end.  Ryan Murray, a defenseman was taken with the second pick.  I would characterize this as a relatively low risk move.  He's gonna turn out to be a fine NHL defenseman, the only real question being how good will he be.  At this point in his career, he doesn't appear to be an offensive power house, but that's ok.

The next two picks were quite a bit riskier, because we used relatively high picks to select goal tending.  If you read your homework assignments last weekend, you know that odds of success with a late round pick on a goal tender are about the same as a higher pick.  You just don't know with goal tenders.  But the two young men added, Oscar Dansk and Joonas Korpisalo with the 31st and 62nd picks will help bolster the position for quite some time.  Since it was an area of organizational  need, these will help over the long term.

In the next two round the CBJ came away with 2 Right Wings, another area of organizational need, by drafting Josh Anderson and Daniel Zaar.  These gents  will continue on a developmental path for several years, and we'll see where they end up.

The CBJ finished up the drafting part of the weekend by drafting Gianluca Curcuruto, a defenseman with a really great name.  He's already one of my favorite players.  Again, he will continue on the long slow path of a developing defenseman, and we'll see where he takes it.

With the final episode of the draft, the CBJ fired four scouts.  More turn over in the organization, with almost none of the originals left.  This seems like closing the barn door after the horse got out to me, but it is also an area that I feel Craig Patrick could influence a lot.  He likely has a wide  circle of people who he knows, and we may be able to draw some experienced scouting talent into the organization over time.  This is a move that has been a long time coming.

For more on these players, see the Cannon, which has excellent draft day coverage.

The shelves have been restocked with youth.  We have a brief respite, and then we are on to Free Agency, commencing July 1.

GO JACKETS!

The Blue Jackets Select: Ryan Murray

With the second pick of the NHL draft, the Columbus Blue Jackets Defenseman Ryan Murray of the Everett Silvertips of the WHL.  A solid, defenseman, Murray has a chance of making the squad next year.  Welcome to Columbus Ryan!

GO JACKETS!!

Dear Rick, Get Used to It

Nash at Practice in 2011-12

Rick, it's time we had a serious chat.  I follow things pretty close.  I know you asked for a trade and all that.  I can get my arms around that, and I'm at peace with watching you go.  And I will wish you well.  There is only one obstacle in this process at this point.  It's you ol' buddy.

You see, you command a pretty big salary.  In fact you got pretty uppity when the club didn't come through with what you thought was enough.  So they came through.  But now you're asking someone else to pick that up, and there's the rub.

Let's be blunt.  You didn't earn your salary last year.  You weren't in the all-star game because you didn't deserve to be.  You're not the only one that had a rotten year in 2011-12, but it can be truly said that you were the leader of those who had a rotten year.  So you were overpaid by a couple of million last year.  You did score your 30th goal in the last game of the season, so you did preserve that statistic.  But no GM wants to pay north of $7 million for a guy who scores his 30th goal on the last day of the season.

So get your arms around it Rick.  You're playing in Columbus in 2012-13, because no one will give us what you are worth to this franchise.  They want market value, and you are over priced versus your performance.  And there's only one person who can change that, Rick.  It's you.

A brief thought on the 2012 NHL Awards

Greetings from Las Vegas.  As you can see over at DBJ Plus, I had the opportunity to attend the 2012 NHL Awards.

It was an impressive night, filled with highlights and a gallery stuffed with the top NHL talent - players, coaches and management alike.

As a Columbus Blue Jackets fan, I also found the show invigorating.

For in this National Hockey League, there is absolutely no reason that my favorite team and its players can't perform at a level that would qualify them for future awards shows and the success that brings them to that stage.

The Blue Jackets can be the best.  It IS possible.

Mull that over.

Hitch wins the Jack Adams Award

Ken Hitchcock wins
Coach of the Year

Former Columbus Blue Jackets Coach Ken Hitchcock won the Jack Adams award for Coach of the Year tonight.  Coach Hitchcock, the winningest coach in CBJ history, won the award for the superlative job he did after taking over the St. Louis Blues this year.

A heartfelt congratulations coach, from a long time fan.  You probably should have won it in 2007-08 for doing so much with so little.  But you have it now.

This award likely salts Hitch's place in the Hall of Fame.  And for that I am extremely happy.

Well done Coach Hitchcock.  Well done indeed!