At 1:30 in the afternoon today, I already had a post percolating with all sorts of excuses reasons why the Columbus Blue Jackets didn’t do anything at the 2013 NHL trade deadline.  Granted, nothing else of substance was happening around the league, but Columbus at least had a plausible reason in that they had a brand new general manager in Jarmo Kekäläinen and an expressed desire to avoid mortgaging the future for a shot at the playoffs this season.

And then the 2:00 hour struck…and so did the Blue Jackets.

In fact, so much happened that I thought that a “Glass Bangers” was appropriate.  Here we go…

 

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TRADE NUMBER ONE

Steve Mason to Philadelphia for goaltender Michael Leighton and the Flyers third-round pick in 2015

The trade yielded probably the most sentimentality from me, for I still vividly remember Mason’s magical rookie season of 2008-09.  He came out of nowhere and backstopped the Blue Jackets to the team’s only playoff appearance in their history.

That run is what hooked me on hockey, the National Hockey League and the Columbus Blue Jackets.  And Mason impressed me so much that season!  I remember him stoning Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in the shootout on March 12, 2009 en route to a 4-3 shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins (part of what at least a few of us refer to as the Best Week Ever in CBJ history).  He was the Stone Mason, a wall in front of the net for so much of his Calder Trophy (NHL rookie of the year) season.

Then things got difficult, and the tough goaltender mentality began to crack. Mason’s frustration was palpable on December 1, 2009 on the ice in Chicago’s United Center as he was literally screaming at his teammates to give him some goal support as he carried the Blue Jackets through ten (TEN) shootout rounds before succumbing in the eleventh round.  He shattered his stick on the boards as he left the ice.  Blue Jackets fans everywhere shared his pain.  And while he had moments that reminded us of 2008-09 after that point, I’ll suggest that he never really was the same.  He lost his faith in his team…they lost their faith in him…end scene.

Still, 2008-09 was magical to those of us who experienced it.  I loaded up on CBJ playoff paraphernalia after they went out, and my playoff ball cap sports the one player autograph that I own: Steve Mason’s.  I’ve had plenty of opportunities to get autographs, but Mason’s signature on that hat pretty much says it all to me.  It’s a shame things didn’t end up better here in Columbus for Mase.

With Mason gone, Michael Leighton comes in to assume the backup role.  Leighton hit his high-water mark in the NHL in 2009-10, when he compiled a 16-5-2 record over 27 games and manned the goal through playoffs for the Flyers – all the way to the six-game Stanley Cup Finals loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.  Leighton was replaced in 2010-11 by a rookie goaltender, Sergei Bobrovsky.  He went back to the minors and has been biding his time since.

I don’t see Leighton being anything more than a backup to Bobrovsky, but that’s what Steve Mason ended up being prior to the trade.  So, from a functionality perspective, I’d say it’s a wash.  Salary-wise, Mason’s expiring contract and it’s $2.9 million salary cap hit is replaced by Leighton’s expiring $900,000 salary cap cost…so the CBJ saved a few bucks, which helped clear the financial decks for…

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TRADE NUMBER TWO

Derick Brassard, Derek Dorsett, John Moore and Columbus’ 2014 sixth-round pick to the New York Rangers for right winger Marian Gaborik and defensemen Steven Delisle and Blake Partlett

As you can see, Gaborik had to waive his no-trade clause.  This apparently wasn’t an issue; I guess Gaborik was ready to high-tail it with his $7.5 million salary cap hit out of Manhattan!

Drafted one spot ahead of the original Blue Jacket, Rusty Klesla, the 31-year-old Gaborik has logged eight seasons with the Minnesota Wild and three-plus with the New York Rangers.  When healthy, he’s worth somewhere between 75-85 points per full 82-game season.  Thing is, he’s had four truncated seasons (65 games or less) since the 2004-05 NHL lockout.  If he can stay healthy, Marian Gaborik has the potential to be an elite scorer for at least a few more years.

I’m genuinely excited to see how Gaborik does in Columbus.  He’s a big-time scorer on a team that’s had a devil of a time finding the back of the net, so much so that the scheme that has resulted in the most wins involves minimal offensive effort and four or five men dropping back for smothering team defense.  Can CBJ coach Todd Richards rework the scheme to allow for a scorer to score while not abandoning the defense that got the team to the cusp of playoff qualification?

As for the rest of the Rangers’ assets, Delisle and Partlett are minor leaguers.  Delisle was in the CBJ system before, having been traded to the Rangers as part of the Rick Nash trade.

I’m going to keep the post-mortem on the three now-ex Blue Jackets short.  Derick Brassard never approached his potential in Columbus, and his shredded post-fight shoulder in Dallas from December 18, 2008 had a lot to do with it.  Derek Dorsett was fun to watch, but his hard-hitting style of play is unsustainable.  You simply cannot count on Dorsett to stay healthy, and I worry that concussions will get the best of him.  John Moore might actually have a future, but he was getting lost in Columbus and spent way too much time munching nachos in the press box rather than spending time on the ice.

That said, it looks like Brassard and Moore had impressive debuts on Broadway.

 

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TRADE NUMBER THREE

Columbus’ 2013 fifth-round pick to the Calgary Flames for left winger Blake Comeau

With the departure of two forwards to the Rangers, the Blue Jackets needed another NHL-level talent to fill out the roster.  Enter 27 year old Blake Comeau, who’s been in the league since 2006 and appears to be a 20-point player in the vein of the departed Derek Dorsett.  In 33 games with the Flames this season, Comeau has four goals and three assists.

I appreciate that the Blue Jackets weren’t looking to pick up rental players at this trade deadline, but how else can you look at Comeau’s $1.25 million contract (which expires at the end of the season)?  Perhaps a rental is OK when it’s for a bottom six forward.

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WHEW!

How is that for a hectic hour of trading?  I’m exhausted!

The Gaborik era kicks off Thursday night in Nashville against the Erat-less Predators at 8:00.  Dave and Dan (with Natalie) will get things started at 7:30, and I have to guess that they will have plenty to add about these moves.   After that, Jeff and Bill will have the call.  It should be an exciting night.

Whomever it was that said this morning that the National Hockey League was crazy to put the Wednesday trade deadline within a few days of April 1st was probably right.  You have to look at everything with a skeptical eye, but when the big names of hockey media talk…well, you know that they’re probably serious.  Like this guy:

CBJ will be a buyer. Columbus would be willing to part with 1 of their 3 first rnd draft picks for a scoring forward. #tradecentre

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) April 1, 2013

Then ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun verified it:

My TSN colleague Darren Dreger was first to report this, but I can also confirm that . (In today’s edition, the Columbus Post Dispatch also reported that the Jackets would be willing to move one of their picks.) Mind you, they wouldn’t do that for a rental player; it has to be a player with term past this season, a source told ESPN.com. 

I think it safe to say that the game is afoot on Nationwide Boulevard.  And I’ll say, “Bravo!”

I’m not saying that the Blue Jackets should just trade away a top 30 draft pick for just anyone.  But to get a scorer, with some time left on his contract, that makes sense.  For whether it impacts this season or next, the Blue Jackets – as constructed right now – simply cannot score enough goals.  We knew it to be the case going into this season, and it’s proven to be true.  The goals simply aren’t coming.

That being said, why wouldn’t you explore grabbing some scoring help right now?  The team is deep into a playoff chase with less than a month to go in the regular season.  The franchise has only sniffed the playoffs this late in the season – what, twice?  And they made the playoffs once.  If you can help address a longer-term need with an immediate action that could get the Blue Jackets back to the playoffs in what would be considered an improbable season, why not?  It sends the right message to the ticket-buying fans, the hard-working roster and the league: The Columbus Blue Jackets are serious (but not stupid) about winning.

So bring it on, NHL teams.  Let John Davidson and Jarmo Kekäläinen know what you’re willing to give up.  Don’t play them for patsies, because they’re not.  These gentlemen are in the process of riding this team to the cusp of the playoffs without your help, so give it your best shot.

The NHL trade deadline is Wednesday, April 3.  The Blue Jackets don’t play again until Thursday night.  Will we see a new shooter in the lineup then?

The NHL General Managers have been meeting in Toronto this week, which more or less kicks off the league’s trade deadline season.  With the trade deadline on April 3rd, that gives us just under two weeks to see whether the Columbus Blue Jackets new management team of John Davidson and Jarmo Kekäläinen will work aggressively to either make a playoff push or nudge the team toward a lottery pick in the upcoming NHL draft…or stand pat and see where the chips fall.  Three scenarios, each worthy of consideration.

GO FOR IT

Conventional wisdom from people much smarter than I suggests that the Western Conference playoff cutoff will be something like 53 or 55 points.  Considering that the Blue Jackets have 30 points in 30 games right now, that means that they will need to accumulate another 25 points in the remaining 18 games to be reasonably safe in securing the number eight seed and make the playoffs.

How does 11-4-3 (or better) down the stretch sound?  Do you think that the Blue Jackets can do it?  Does it matter that 12 of those last 18 games are on the road?

GREATEST TANK BATTLES

To “tank” means to essentially give up on the season, sell off assets and position the team for a terrific draft pick.  And while there’s plenty of conversation over what it will take to reach up and snag a playoff spot, I have not heard word one of the opposite end of the spectrum.  So what will it take for the Blue Jackets to really tank this season and butt the inhabitants of the NHL’s sub-basement out of a prime draft slot? Read More »

“They’re tough. They play a tough style. They dump the puck in and then they all fall back in their own zone. All five of them are just standing there in front of the net, and it’s tough to get pucks through.” – Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings, March 10, 2013

Watch this brief recap, and pay close attention to the times when Detroit has the puck:

By my count, this Detroit-centric highlight video showed a whopping single Red Wings breakaway, one where Fedor Tyutin helped tip the shot that was turned away by Sergei Bobrovsky.  Other than that one play, what did you see from the Blue Jackets?  That’s right, lots and lots of guys in union blue making life difficult for Red Wings forwards – just like Howard said after the game.

I think we’ve got our answer to the “How?” question that I set aside when applauding the Blue Jackets’ win streak (which has expanded into an eight-game point streak since that point).  It’s sixty minutes of team defense.

Sure, Sergei Bobrovsky has played well over this streak.  As in, real well – perhaps above his pay grade in posting a .972 save percentage and 0.77 goals against average last week en route to garnering his NHL First Star of the Week.   Streaks of this nature can’t happen if the goalie is playing even mediocre.  He has to be good, and Bobrovsky has been just that…with a lot of help.

Tell me that having three and four guys back to clog up passing lanes and stymie good shots hasn’t made Bob’s life so much easier.  Rather than getting peppered with undefended shot after shot like we’ve seen in recent seasons, Bob only needs to make a few key saves and brush aside a whole bunch of poorly-angled shots.

I’ve wondered for years what a team filled with average-to-good players would look like (most notably in my 2010 rant over how no single player – not even Rick Nash – could be worth 13.1 percent of a team’s total salary cap), and it appears to be one with relentless defense first, offense later.  Of course, this model makes for a lot of one-goal games, overtimes, shootouts and antacids because the offense largely is being sacrificed in the name of defensive support, but it brought the team back into the playoff discussion when many (including me) thought that the first overall draft pick was all but a certainty.

So when you’re watching tonight’s game – a tough one, to be sure, against the Chicago Blackhawks – watch how quickly the Blue Jackets collapse back to their own goal as soon as a Chicago player touches the puck.  Watch how good the Blackhawks’ shots are, and where the Blue Jackets players are positioning themselves when those shots are made.  And count how many highlight reel stops Bob has to make.

It’s a different way to watch a game, one where you pay closer attention to the defense than the offense, but this team appears to be one where that’s the way to go.  It’s posted standings points in eight consecutive games, so there has to be something to it…right?

Hi everyone, I’m back after a week largely off the grid.  In my time off, I didn’t get to see enough of the Blue Jackets to count for actual viewing…so when I got home last night to see the team pull out an overtime win against the Vancouver Canucks, you can add me to the list of impressed.  Then, Dave and Dan from “Blue Jackets Live” added that the team had some ridiculous (at least for a team that was sitting in 30th place when I skipped town) point streak going.  Then, the Plain-Dealer’s Tom Reed tweeted that the team was four points out of a playoff spot!

What in the wide world of sports happened to the Columbus Blue Jackets?

When in doubt, look to the stats.  And when I started to compile the league’s activity since I bailed out on the last day of February, an impressive picture formed.  Permit me to share:

1. Chicago – 5 games played, 10 points (continuing their historic run)

2. New York Rangers – 4 GP, 8 pts

2a. Carolina – 5 GP, 8 pts

4. Columbus – 4 GP, 7 pts

4. Detroit – 4 GP, 7 pts

4a. Boston – 5 GP, 7 pts

7.  Washington – 3 GP, 6 pts

7a. Anaheim – 4 GP, 6 pts

7a. New York Islanders – 4 GP, 6 pts

7a. Pittsburgh – 4 GP, 6 pts

7a. Toronto – 4 GP, 6 pts

7a. Buffalo – 5 GP, 6 pts

7b. San Jose – 4 GP, 5 pts

14. Calgary – 3 GP, 4 pts

14. Dallas – 3 GP, 4 pts

14. Montreal – 3 GP, 4 pts

14a. Los Angeles – 4 GP, 4 pts

14a. Minnesota – 4 GP, 4 pts

14a. Vancouver – 4 GP, 4 pts

14a. Winnipeg – 4 GP, 4 pts

14b. Phoenix – 5 GP, 4 pts

14b. St. Louis – 5 GP, 4 pts

23. Colorado – 4 GP, 3 pts

23a. Edmonton – 5 GP, 3 pts

23a. Florida – 5 GP, 3 pts

23a. New Jersey – 5 GP, 3 pts

27. Philadephia – 3 GP, 2 pts

27. Ottawa – 4 GP, 2 pts

27b. Tampa Bay – 5 GP, 2 pts

30. Nashville – 2 GP, 0 pts  (Yes, I double-checked both the numbers for games played and points.  Incredible.)

So…putting aside all of the “how it got done” questions – but I’d love to hear your opinions on what’s changed to make the Blue Jackets into world-beaters over the past week or so –  it appears that the Blue Jackets were performing at the fourth-best pace in the entire National Hockey League while I was gone.

Teams ebb and flow in an NHL season – even one that is condensed to 48 games.  Clearly, the Blue Jackets had all sorts of issues coming out of the lockout related to chemistry (as predicted here, here and here), something that appears to be resolved as the team is figuring out how to win close games.  And how many one-goal games has this team been a part of in 2013?

Not having seen enough of the team of late to know why the CBJ have been winning, all I can say is: Impressive.

At the halfway point of the season, one has to like what they’re seeing of the Blue Jackets and believe that they might have a shot at the playoffs if they can keep this up.