Fire That Cannon - A Columbus Blue Jackets blog

As we approach the deadline for trades and of course an open season this summer, I thought it might be interesting to recount which players have a value that is higher now then at the start of the year. Only players at the Blue Jacket club level are considered. I am not saying these players should be traded , what I am trying to project is that these players have increased in value. If they should be traded, the Jackets would get more now then at the start of the year.

In this disastrous year, it great that there are actually some players whose value have gone up. [That is in my estimation, but I am trying to view this as other teams in the league might.] The players not mentioned below have either decreased in value or stayed the same as the start of the year. An example would be Ryan Johansen, he was viewed as a good prospect and is still viewed as a good prospect. developing, but still a rookie and about the same value. Continue reading this post »

I hope everyone in Columbus Land and the Blue Jacket fan base noted the Dispatch coverage of the news that Columbus was awarded the NHL “All Star” game for 2013. There was a great story by Aaron Portzline. BUT it was an” also” on the front of the Sports Section. It was not even the lead article of that section. You would think an event that is expected to bring $12-$25 MILLION unexpected dollars of revenue into Columbus would have earned some sort of page 1 notice. But no, nada. Nada, NADA!!!
It was not as if the announcement was unexpected, the announcement Saturday simply confirmed the rumors that were widely circulated. But the Dispatch chose to not even list it in the interior feature headlines. If you want to protest, I suggest protesting how the “Dispatch” manipulates news.

Well, the “protest” is over. As Allison said [Heart of a Jacket] a lot has been written and visit the blogs to review all the points both for and against. My only thought is “6 months ago, Scott Howson was thought to be great after pulling off deals that apparently filled the Blue Jackets needs with only a questionable issue of a goalie” Now is it fire him and Mike Priest and blow up the present team. Lost in all this, is something Claude Noel said, Continue reading this post »

Jan 20, 2012; London, ON, Canada; London Knights former player and current Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Rick Nash (61) acknowledges the crowd during a pre-game ceremony in which his number 61 was retired before the game against the Owen Sound Attack at the John Labatt Centre. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-US PRESSWIRE

I can live with clueless ownership. I can shake my head and grumble at management that makes the same mistakes over and over again. See Rangers, above.

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Just a thought on the Blue Jackets moves prior to the trade deadline. If you had need of a veteran blue liner and were a contending team, wouldn’t you like to see possible acquisitions play? Enter Brett Lebda. Although there is no question that the Jackets need defense men, remember David Sevard was sent back to Springfield and now Lebda is playing NHL hockey again. Good move by the CBJ. If they can interest any teams in him by the trade deadline, they can possibly trade the 30 year old for something, a draft pick of some sort probably and inch their way into obtaining another prospect. It’s a good deal for Lebda, a win-win as he gets an opportunity to get back into the NHL. Again we have to face the fact that the players the Blue Jackets would like to trade, most teams do not want. Here is a twist to try to create a possible desirable tradeable player from the stockpile.

The Columbus Blue Jackets’ slow and steady change will be put to the test once again on Monday night as they face off once again with division rivals, Nashville, for the second time in a mere four days. This will be the final game between the teams this season as well.

The games between Columbus and Nashville are usually very entertaining, even if the Jackets lose, mostly because the rivalry brings out the physical in both teams. The last game wasn’t too pretty for the Blue Jackets with a 3-0 loss, and there were only ten PIM for the whole game, on both benches.

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The original meaning of this term was, ” a slow steady change that was almost imperceptible, like the movement of a glacier”. Today, there are some that claim that this term should be banned from the language, as glacier movement is so swift that it can be seen within several years, not decades like it used to be. The point is, we are seeing a very slow but perceptible change in the play of the Columbus Blue Jackets team play. The first and an obvious change was: Continue reading this post »

D Brassard vs Pekka Rinne Photo Courtesy NHL Photoes

Last night I sat behind the Nashville Goal, Section 109 to be exact. I had never sat in this location before and I enjoyed it. One of the reasons I enjoyed it was Derick Brassard’s play around and behind the goal. In the first period he was awesome. Side to side and in the slot he moved all over the ice. He was by far the most active player. As far as I know the NHL does not have a standard time/distance measurement like the NFL and their 40 yard times. Therefore I do not know if he is the fastest or how he ranks among the Blue Jackets, but I would sure like to know. In the 3rd period, he was switched from the top line to the 2nd line, but he continued to impress. I also noted that he was the 6th man on the end of game power play with Mason pulled. I don’t think he is unnoticed by the coaching staff or the rest of the NHL. Continue reading this post »