Johansen Needs to Earn His Spot

A lot has been made of Columbus Blue Jackets rookie Ryan Johansen being benched for a handful of games down the stretch.  Much has also been made of him playing on the bottom six of the roster while he is in the lineup.  A quick comparison could easily be made for Johansen and Richards versus Derick Brassard under former coach Scott Arniel.  I thought it would be a good opportunity to really consider what factors are coming into play.

To begin, let me point out that I was strongly against the under utilization of Brassard early in the season.  While Brass was left gasping for air on the fourth line, the playmaking center made good use of his time there learning to play a more physical role and becoming a more complete player.  Despite countless games full of effort, he was left watching from the press box.  This is where I believe he and Johansen stand apart.

The Johan does not appear to be pouring out effort during his games on the ice.  When I think about the top rookies in the league, or even watch the play of a rookie like Cam Atkinson, I watch a feverish style of hockey with great speed and effort.  I recognize that Johansen and Atkinson have different traits, with Atkinson being the smaller, speedier of the two, but that should not justify the level of difference as I have seen.  In fact, there have been a number of games this year where Johansen has played with a great deal of tenacity and speed, only to seemingly fall back on a similarly sluggish style of play games later.  I can also cite his time with Team Canada in the U20 World Junior Championship or a number of his highlights from his junior days with Portland, where he shows a great deal of speed and tenacity on and off the puck.

2/27-3/4 CBJ Prospect Week in Review

Hello all back again for the week in review and back on schedule after least week so lets get to it. It was the usual three in three grind for the Falcons with all of them being on the road. It was a rough as the Falcons went 0-3 while being outscored 12-4. Friday and Saturday were spent in Norfolk for a series with the Admirals, Friday was a 5-2 loss with Matt Calvert and AHL signee Wade MacLeod scoring the goals. The game was a testy affair that had David Savard recieveing a game misconduct for boarding and two more coincidental minors for roughing. Tempers flared up again the next night...during warmups!!! In the game it was another rough one as the Falcons as the Falcons took a 5-1 loss with Brent Regner scoring the only goal helping his season long point streak. Saturday was a little closer as the Falcons lost in overtime to the Hershey Bears with Alexandre Giroux scoring his 21st of the season and his 100th goal at the Giant Center(counting regular season, playoffs and All Star games). Paul Dainton took all three losses even though he only played the first period on Saturday. Leading the way was Brent Regner with a goal and two assists in the three games giving him points in five straight.

WHAT!!! a whole paragraph about the Chicago Express you betcha. The picture to the left features two of the three Jacket's prospects that played for the Express. Taylor Ellington made his Express debut and played in all four games last week scoring a goal in the the team's loss to Cincinnati. On the 3rd the Express lost goalie Peter Mannino to the AHL when he was called up by the Portland Pirates meaning that after 22 games the Express would have a new starting goalie and that goalie was Allen York. York started the team's last two games going 0-1-1 stopping 42 of 46 shots for a .913 save percentage and a 1.94 GAA. Also rejoining the Chicago lineup was Steven Delisle who'd been out of the lineup since January 25 with the dreaded "lower body injury" according to the team's broadcaster. Steven played in two games scoring no points with a even rating and no penalty minutes.

February 20-26 CBJ Prospect Week in Review

Greetings Jacket fans sorry for the delay but with the trade deadline and the game last night my normal schedule is all out of wack.Starting off the in Springfield with a normal 3 in 3 weekend the Falcons went 3-0 including two wins over the top teams in its division. While not being a Blue Jacket's prospect goalie Paul Dainton was in net for all three games being the first Falcons goalie since Scott Langkow in 1998 to win three games in three nights. Dainton was named the Reebok/AHL Player of the week the first time since Devan Dubnyk in April 2008. Dainton went 3-0 with a .964 save percentage and .975 GAA picking up his first AHL shutout on Saturday against Connecticut. On the weekend leading the way in scoring was Maksim Mayorov with three goals and three assists including two goals and two assists in a 6-2 win. Other Falcons with multiple points were Dane Byers(1-2-3) and Brent Regner(0-3-3) with three points. Alexandre Giroux had two goals helping him climb the AHL goal and scoring ranks his 359 goals rank him ninth only a goal out of eight and the two points moved him into 23rd place, Martin St. Pierre had two assists to move him into ninth in the AHL with 50 points(10-40-50) in 54 games. Hopefully with the addition of Taylor Ellington I can start updating you guys on the Express. Ellington was picked up in the Sammy Pahlsson trade with Vancouver, Eliington was third among Wings defenseman in scoring with seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points in 55 games.

A Follow-up on the Nash Saga

Two days ago I wrote a pretty scathing piece upon hearing that it was Rick Nash, not the Columbus Blue Jackets management who decided that it was time for him to be traded.  It was received with very mixed emotions and I had anticipated that, but I do want to clarify a number of things that brought me to my opinion and why I was as bothered as I was.

To begin, I have followed Nash for over a decade. To say I have been a Rick Nash fan is a pretty heavy understatement.  I have watched him in juniors, playing for Team Canada in a number of different age groups as well as an Olympic team, and I have watched the better part of his career with the Blue Jackets.  I have watched him play some absolutely incredible hockey, and I have watched him play some pretty terrible hockey.  What I believe we have been watching this year, is something right in the middle, and to find out that he has even considered the idea of leaving Columbus in some form or another truly rocked me to my core.

I signed on for Nash's contract extension just like everyone else did.  I wanted him here making brilliant plays and leading this team back to the playoffs, and two days ago, I went from thinking the club was simply doing everything they could to better position themselves, to realizing that it was generated by Nash himself.  Now, I get the argument that Nash didn't 'demand' a trade (he offered it), but when something like this happens, there is no going back.  You can't dangle a player of Nash's caliber on the trade market and then shrug it off if a deal isn't made.  The moment his availability became public was the moment I knew his time in Columbus had an expiry date.

The Rick Nash Mess

The trade deadline completed this afternoon without the Blue Jackets finding a quality suitor for current captain and franchise winger Rick Nash.  In a post deadline interview, General Manager Scott Howson acknowledged the origin of the Rick Nash trade was brought upon by the captain himself, not the team.  Some would argue the decision by Howson would lead to diminished value for Nash on the trade market, but I am under the impression this will force Nash's hand, causing him to increase the number of teams he would be willing to be traded to.  The revelation of Nash wanting out however, leaves confusion and dissatisfaction among the fan base, and at least in my case, a serious concern as to how Rick Nash should be managed from this point of the season until the day he is traded.

First, I want to discuss what this bit of information means to me, mostly as a fan, but simply as a viewer of the team trying to exist in a league full of history and tradition.  I believe the decision by Rick Nash to demand (or I suppose 'ask') for a trade is an act of quitting on his part, and a very selfish one at that.  He signed an eight year 62.4 million dollar contract extension (making him the 5th highest cap hit in the NHL) with most of the current management group in place less than two seasons ago.  He committed himself to eight years of Columbus Blue Jackets with the understanding that it would be a process, and I believe fans should be furious with him for not honouring that deal.  Some will argue that he 'deserves better' and has 'given the team enough' but I think he had every chance to make his luck during the last couple years with this team.

As much as I can understand the secrecy of the situation at hand, I believe that fans deserved to know that Nash was not willing to play out the contract he signed, and lead this team back to the playoffs.  I found his captaincy to be seriously lacking recently, and CTF has posted a number of pieces this year acknowledging the feeling that Nash was playing well below his true potential.  These pieces were not designed to spit venom on him as a person, but simply point out that his best games could still be ahead of him, pending a serious amount of effort on his part.  It is that early season acknowledgement of mediocrity  that solidifies my opinion that he has given up on this team.

Johnson Acquisition Adds Confusion to Defensive Structure

In one of the worst kept secrets of Scott Howson's trading career, Jeff Carter was dealt to the Los Angeles Kings last night for defenseman Jack Johnson and a conditional first round pick.  If the Kings make the playoffs this year, the Blue Jackets have the option of taking Los Angeles' first round pick for either the 2012 or 2013 draft.  If the Kings fail to make the playoffs, Columbus will receive the 2013 first round pick.

In terms of player value, it is reasonably close to fair market value, especially when you factor in the supposed problems between Columbus and Carter.  Johnson is signed through the 2017/2018 season at a cap hit of 4.357 million, which is comparable to Fedor Tyutin's extension at 4.5 million during the same time period.  He has a strong offensive upside and shows quality puck possession skills.  His numbers also give him the appearance of a solid powerplay quarterback. Here are some quick stats from this year:

Games Played :: 61
Goals :: 8
Assists :: 16
Points :: 24
Plus/Minus :: -12
Penalty Minutes :: 24
Shots on Goal :: 120
Shooting Percentage :: 6.7
Powerplay Goals :: 5
Powerplay Assists :: 9
Average TOI :: 22:31

Back Up Goalies: A Risky Proposition

Trade talk has been the focal point of all things Blue Jackets lately. In nearly every rumored deal a goaltender is seen coming back to Columbus. In the Vermette trade there were a few brief moments where some people thought Curtis McElhinney was actually going to tend goal for the Blue Jackets. Obviously Rick Nash is the big fish being dangled, and nearly every trade possibility floated has a goaltender being brought back. The three goalies most often mentioned have been Cory Schneider, Jon Bernier and Tuuka Rask. While all three have been very good in net with their current teams, I hesitate to think any one of them would be the answer for the Blue Jackets. Historically speaking, it has been a very risky move to bring in a career back-up netminder to be a starter. Numbers drop dramatically and in many cases the goalie flames out horribly. I took a look back at all goaltenders who went from a primarily back-up role to being a starter elsewhere, and this is what I found: