The emperor has some sweet threads

Courtesy of Fox Sports Ohio, here are some post-game comments from Columbus Blue Jackets coach Scott Arniel, captain Rick Nash and goalie Steve Mason.  Pay close attention starting at about the 1:25 mark:

 

Nash said it: The players appear to have thrown it all out on the ice for their embattled coach and general manager in the past two home games.  In many ways, the emotion (at least as perceived from the fan side) for the Anaheim game was similar to the win against Detroit: A) Heavy external stimulus hits the locker room - for Detroit, it was J.P. Mac's pregame locker room speech and general manager Scott Howson's "Bill Walsh" blog post; for Anaheim, it was the Dispatch blog post about a potential replacement of Howson and Arniel with Craig Button and Ken Hitchcock; B) Players rally and go kick some butt out on the ice, handily winning the game in the process.

DBJ's 5 thoughts on Game 12: Anaheim

Columbus 3 - Anaheim 1
2-9-1, 5th place in the Central Division, 15th place in the Western Conference

The Columbus Blue Jackets welcomed the Anaheim (once Mighty) Ducks to Nationwide Arena tonight and pounded their way to a 3-1 win, Columbus' second win of the 2011-12 season.

1. Let's get to the elephant in the room faster than Fox Sports Ohio did tonight: The rumored shakeup both behind the bench and in the front office clearly has shaken the roster.  Captain Rick Nash, never one to offer a meaningful quote after a game, shared that the team had a players-only meeting prior to the game prep meeting and also gave about as forceful a defense of Scott Arniel and Scott Howson that he could.  By my estimation (and Jeff Seaman's), someone (or someones) in that locker room REALLY doesn't want to play for Ken Hitchcock.

Do I want Scott Arniel to get fired?

I wrote this post back on October 21 and chose not to post it because the notion of firing the coach was, in my opinion, still far-fetched. That's not the case any more. So rather than rehash stuff that I've already written, I'll share what I wrote back then. The only big difference between then and now is that the Blue Jackets indeed did win a single game.

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"It's terrible news. It's terrible news, it's terrible we couldn't play better, and the coach had to be fired." 

-- Rick Nash,as quoted in the February 3, 2010 Columbus Dispatch

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Scott Arniel addresses the media after being
announced as the newest
Columbus Blue Jackets head coach 

Yesterday, I offered a simple comparison of the Columbus Blue Jackets coaching records of Scott Arniel and Ken Hitchcock that I found online.  For giggles, I tossed in the interim coaching record of Claude Noel.

An anonymous reader offered this reaction:

Great...fire coach. Next step, turnover roster to fit coaches system (2 years). Continue losing, fire GM, who then fires that coach, to get his guy, and turnover the roster.  

Wash
Rinse
Repeat

Honest to God, I didn't mean for that to be the logical conclusion.  My intention was to raise the spector that Arniel could expect Hitch's fate if he didn't get things back on the positive side of the ledger.   There's a big difference between "The numbers say that Arniel should be fired" and "The numbers aren't in Arniel's favor right now."

WWHD?

What Would Hitch Do?

Columbus Blue Jackets Civil War Logo

With the ominous sounding post over on Puck Rakers that big changes could be coming to Nationwide in reference to the terrible start, one could ask, what would a new coach 'cough' Hitch, do to get out of this mess?

Here are some thoughts on that:

• Put the best penalty killer in the NHL, Rick Nash back on the PK.  You play your best people on the PK.
• Team defense.  Everyone plays defense.  All defense, all the time.  We can only score two goals.
• Make the other D-men turn around, get the puck low in the o-zone and cycle the thing for a bit, instead of forwards launching shots from the top of the circle (its ok Wiz, you are supposed to launch those shots!).
• The veterans know how to play this game.  RyJo, its time to go back to juniors.  Unless you can really impress Hitch with your D.  (BTW RyJo, your task in juniors is to learn how to carry a team.  We may need it in the future)
• Hitch tried to play the up tempo game in the NHL when he first came up.  It didn't work.  So he adapted.  Coach Arniel hasn't really had a chance to adapt.
• There are those that say Hitch hockey is boring.  Reflecting on his status as winningest coach in franchise history, how boring is losing?

Don't think that I'm happy this is happening.  I'm not.  But you are your record.  This can't continue.  Perhaps this is a move of desperation.  If you are not desperate now, what are you?

GO JACKETS!!

DBJ's 5 thoughts on Game 11: Chicago

Chicago 5 - Columbus 2
1-9-1, 5th in Central Division, 15th in Western Conference

The Columbus Blue Jackets lost, 5-2, to the Chicago Blackhawks in regulation at the United Center.

1. Allen York got his first start in goal tonight (suggesting that at least the coaching staff is going 'all in' for Sunday's game against Anaheim.  York saw 37 shots tonight, stopping 33 of them.  Not embarrassing for a rookie start for a guy who probably thought he was going to spend the season backing up in  Springfield - never mind getting a start in Columbus - but obviously not good enough to steal a game.  Not that he had meaningful help from the CBJ defense at clutch moments, like the many Blackhawk breakaways.

The Purge of Youth is almost complete

Do you understand what's going on with the latest roster shuffle?
Me neither, but I'll take a stab at trying to decipher this one.

Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Scott Arniel mentioned last night that he shortened his bench in the middle of the second period to those who were "running."

Apparently "running" means allowed by law to run to the liquor store, as Ryan Johansen (19), John Moore (21 on November 19) and Max Mayorov (21 - OK, he could've survived getting carded...but play along now!) sat on the bench for much of the second half of the Buffalo game while David Savard (turned 21 last week) was munching hot dogs in the press box.

At the same time, "Veterans" (term used loosely, as many of those "veteran" seasons were spent in the AHL) like Aaron Johnson (28), Cody Bass (24), Alexander Giroux (30) and Derek Dorsett (24) were kept out on the ice in the losing cause.  Is it safe to say that none of these four distinguished themselves more than the four kids listed above?

It sure looks like Arniel has turned away from the kids.  Toss in that Cam Atkinson (who was producing a little in Columbus, along with his -4 plus/minus in four games) and Matt Calvert (who wasn't producing) were shipped off to Springfield earlier.

(Non-CBJ) Post-game presser goodness

I caught a couple of terrific post-game comments from last night and had to share.

First, Ilya Bryzgalov of the Philadelphia Flyers, who let in four goals on ten shots in contributing to a 9-8 Flyers loss to Claude Noel's Winnipeg Jets:



Keep in mind, Bryz was perhaps THE free agent signing of the off-season, dropping his John Hancock (or Nicholas II, Boris Yeltsin, or whomever the Russians consider important) on a nine-year, $51 million contract. After 8 games played, Bryz has a 3-4-1 record and a 3.45 Goals Against Average. YOW.  And you thought that the Blue Jackets had goalie issues...

That's the negative.  Who to offer the positive, you ask?

DBJ's 5 thoughts on Game 10: Buffalo

Buffalo 4 - Columbus 2
1-8-1, 5th in the Central Division, 15th in the Western Conference

The Columbus Blue Jackets went up to Buffalo hoping to create a two-game winning streak and came up short, 4-2, against the Sabres in regulation.

1. With the exception of the second period Vinny Prospal goal and a period of time immediately following, there just didn't seem to be any spring in the CBJ's step once again tonight.  Chemistry looked off, the team looked a step slow once again.  How long will it take for this team to get its groove?

A brief conversation

There is No Such Thing as Bad Publicity

Is Community Awareness at an All Time High?

How many people mentioned the BlueJackets win to you today?  Let's face it.  They know you are a die hard fan.  I would say more than a dozen mentioned something to me at work today.  A solid third of those were people who were only tangentially aware that I was a fan, but they were aware.

In a totally different environment, Mrs. Gallos encountered the same thing.  People who might not ordinarily take notice, took notice, and said something, especially after last nights improbable win.

With the Arena deal moving through government, the amazing moves that management pulled off over the off season, and the absolutely brutal start (followed by a captivating win!), I think its fair to say that community awareness of the Columbus Blue Jackets is at an all time high.

Do you agree?  How many people said something to you today?