Canaries in the coal mine

The National Hockey League world is shocked - shocked, I tell you - that the Columbus Blue Jackets season ticket sales are off by 24.5% against last season's figure.

[Permit this brief digression: THIS IS NOT NEW NEWS.  Does the fact that the Dispatch reported it yesterday, with a story in today's edition - only eight weeks after Matt Wagner shared the information on July 14, including a quote from CBJ president Mike Priest - make it newsworthy?  Or does it demonstrate that the hockey world really doesn't pay close attention to what's happening in Columbus?]

What surprises me about the whole matter is the way in which it is reported.  In most every report/Tweet I've read from "mainstream" hockey media, the loss of 2,000-ish season ticket equivalents is the responsibility of the team - that their disappointing dip in 2009-2010 is totally on their shoulders.

I cry foul.

Training camp is just days away

The Columbus Blue Jackets posted training camp schedules, rosters and other information on their website today.  Camp opens on Saturday, and the intrasquad "owners" scrimmages are on Sunday.

If you're thinking of going down to Nationwide Arena to check out the team before they ship off to Stockholm, this link has pretty much every thing you need.

Time to step up: Steve Mason

• Goalie
• 22 years old, 3rd year in National Hockey League
• $905,000 cap hit 
• 1.5% of Columbus Blue Jackets salary cap
• Contract expires at end of this season
• 2009-2010 numbers: 58 games played, 20 wins, 26 losses, 9 OT losses, 163 goals against, 1,653 shots against, .901 save percentage, 3.06 goals against average

Watch out for the glove side high, Steve.
Everyone's aiming for it!

I've read all of the other season previews about Steve Mason, and I respectfully disagree with them.  And by that, I mean pretty much all of them.

You see, I firmly believe that Steve Mason already IS back.  

In fact, I'll take it a step further.  He started his comeback last year...probably around late October when Columbus Blue Jackets goalie consultant Dave Rook started talking to the media on the record about Mase's shortcomings.  But mid-season turnarounds take time and don't always work great.  Ask Mike Commodore.  

Then, on December 1, 2009 (December!  Two months BEFORE the Olympic break!), Mason gave this amazing gem of a performance: An eleven-round shootout against the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Chicago Blackhawks:



You watch that, and two things come immediately to mind:

1. Mase has it.  He never lost it.  He may have been out of shape coming into last season - and it clearly took some time for that to get rectified - but he's got the acumen to play goal in the National Hockey League for a long time.  
2. Catch the tail-end of that video and tell me that he is not a ferocious competitor.  Then tell the goal pipes.  And then tell the dasher boards.  In this case, he was let down by his team, having made save after save (many of them downright incredible).  But he stood out there, turning away shot after shot, exhorting his teammates to give him just one goal.

Time to step up: Mathieu Garon

• Goalie
• 32 years old, 10th year in National Hockey League
• $1,200,000 cap hit 
• 2.0% of Columbus Blue Jackets salary cap
• Contract expires at end of this season
• 2009-2010 numbers: 35 games played, 12 wins, 9 losses, 83 goals against, 858 shots against, .903 save percentage, 2.81 goals against average

The Columbus Blue Jackets relied on Mathieu Garon at
clutch moments last season, and he responded under pressure

There is legitimate cause to label Mathieu Garon the Columbus Blue Jackets' 2009-2010 Most Valuable Player.  Think about it, as a backup goaltender, he was pressed into service at the most inconvenient of times.  He then was asked to stop the bleeding on a team that was suffering from one of the more impressive sophomore goalie slumps in recent National Hockey League history.  That "Mr. Wolf" (link is NSFW, FYI) quality to Garon is what makes him so incredibly valuable.

And, for a veteran backup, Garon performed OK.  What more do you want from a backup goalie?  If he meets the following criteria, I suggest that he's a decent role player:

1. Spell the starting goalie and start a handful of nights - and grab a handful of wins in the process
2. Come in off the bench for a starting goalie who's not on their game on any given night, perhaps pulling a win or two out of your hat
3. Provide counsel and support for your starting goalie
4. Not cost a lot against the salary cap

Time to step up: The goalies

THE GOALIES

While Scott Howson didn't give the Columbus Blue Jackets defense a shakeup in the offseason prior to the 2010-2011 season, the countless injuries (and rent-a-player replacements like Nathan Paetsch and Milan Jurcina, both of whom are no longer with the CBJ) make it feel like we're going to see a new defensive corps in the upcoming season while likely not seeing any new faces outside of John Moore.  And the forwards are getting a bit of a new look with the return of Nikita Filatov from Russia, not to mention the possible (unlikely, but possible) ascension of the likes of Matt Calvert from the prospect ranks.

Barring injury, though, don't expect any new faces in the crease for the Blue Jackets.  Yes, Steve Mason and Mathieu Garon will be back as Columbus' goaltenders in 2010-2011.  And, as you'll see, I don't consider that a bad thing.

Time to step up: Fedor Tyutin

• Defenseman
• 27 years old, 7th year in National Hockey League
• $2,843,750 cap hit 
• 4.8% of Columbus Blue Jackets salary cap
• Contract expires at end of 2011-2012
• 2009-2010 numbers: 80 games played, 6 goals, 26 assists, 32 points, -7, 49 penalty minutes, 22:31 avg. time on ice

Less fatigue means more shutdown play from Fedor Tyutin

How can my 2009-2010 Columbus Blue Jackets Most Valuable Player step up in 2010-2011?

Simple.  Play less.

It seems counterintuitive to say that the way your best player can be better is to play less, but remember what I said:

He took the hard assignments on a near-permanent basis (perhaps most notably playing a significant role in shutting down Alexander Ovechkin in the closing days of the season) and logged minutes at a pace that surely put him past the point of fatigue. That fatigue led to his making the occasional painful mistake that would elicit howls from the CBJ faithful. But can you blame him when he's playing nearly a third of every game? At least he was healthy enough to be in a position to take blame!

So here's my logic: Fewer minutes = less fatigue = more effective.

CBJ blogger offers live Traverse City coverage

I'm a game late in suggesting this, but I've been in school all day and couldn't blog, so let's quickly catch up.

Former CBJ guest blogger En4cer45 made the trek up to northern Michigan for the Traverse City NHL Prospects Tournament, which runs from today through Wednesday, September 15.  To the best of my knowledge, he's the only CBJ-related media type (mainstream or emerging) to actually be there, live, offering first-person information in real time on the on-ice exploits of Ryan Johansen, John Moore, Matt Calvert and the rest of the CBJ prospects.

Two must-links for you:

1. En4cer45's blog: He's been analyzing the prospects up to the tournament, providing tournament previews and also is promising additional blog posts from Traverse City as the tournament progresses.  Let's hope he offers some game recaps, maybe with a little local flavor!
2. En4cer45's Twitter account: If live coverage is your thing, you can catch up on the games as they're happening by following his Twitter.

The New York Rangers' prospects beat the "junior" Blue Jackets, 5-4, on a last second Rangers goal in the opener.  The Jackets play Minnesota Wild's prospects tomorrow at 2:00PM, so you have a little time to add those links to your bookmarks.  

Training camp is just around the corner...follow your Blue Jackets prospects to see the future -- today!

Time to step up: Anton Stralman

• Defenseman
• 24 years old, 4th year in National Hockey League
• $1,950,000 cap hit 
• 3.3% of Columbus Blue Jackets salary cap
• Contract expires at the end of this season
• 2009-2010 numbers: 73 games played, 6 goals, 28 assists, 34 points, -17, 37 penalty minutes, 20:29 avg. time on ice

Anton Stralman once again gets to prove that he's worthy of the
big money that goes to high-scoring NHL defensemen

On July 28, we had no idea whether Anton Stralman was going to remain a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets.  He was coming up to his arbitration hearing and, at the eleventh hour, chose to avoid the ego-bruising  process and took nearly $2 million in the process.

He also gets to go through it all again next off-season.  Stralman only signed a one-year deal and is a restricted free agent once again.  That means he negotiates with the Blue Jackets, accepts a tender offer from a team that's willing to compensate the CBJ for losing him, or he goes back to arbitration.  Makes for an interesting season to come, don't you think?

Time to step up: Kris Russell

• Defenseman
• 23 years old, 4th year in National Hockey League
• $1,300,000 cap hit 
• 2.2% of Columbus Blue Jackets salary cap
• Contract expires at 2012-2013
• 2009-2010 numbers: 70 games played, 7 goals, 15 assists, 22 points, +3, 32 penalty minutes, 18:35 avg. time on ice

The stars are aligned for Kris Russell this season.

Largely as a reflection on the lousy past season, most every player profiled up to this point has a challenge to step up according to one of two themes: 1) Correct last season's errors or 2) Earn a new/better contract.    Kris Russell is one of the very few members of the Columbus Blue Jackets where this is not the case.

Russell is an offensive defenseman, perhaps the only true "puck-moving defenseman" on the CBJ roster.  Having spent the last three seasons in a Ken Hitchcock "weighty" system that rewarded the stay-at-home defender, he is now poised to be the poster child of an attacking system in Columbus that supposedly will press the puck up the ice like so many other young, successful teams are doing these days.

No NHL Network on Insight cable? Blasphemy!

Mark at The View from 210 highlights something that's been bugging me since I switched from DirecTV to Insight Communications cable: No NHL Network.  At all.

I'm not saying, "NHL Network is on some higher-priced tier and I don't want to pay for it."  No, I'm saying, "Even if I wanted to pay for it, Insight Communications doesn't carry the NHL Network."

What's the deal?  Why would the local cable company not help promote a local economic engine like the Columbus Blue Jackets through broadcasting their league's network?  Especially when the NHL Network, as I understand it, is a reasonably cheap channel for Insight to carry.  Do they not understand the local market in Columbus?  Do they not care?

Mark lays out the argument succinctly:

We are truly blessed here in Columbus. We are one of only 30 cities in North America to have an NHL team. The best hockey league in the world plays right here in our city. We root for our hometown team, we buy tickets to see them at Nationwide Arena. We watch them on Fox Sports Net. We are junkies. We love hockey. What we can’t do, however, is watch the NHL network if we live in an area that is serviced by Insight.