April 24, 20187 yr GAME 6 & SEASON OVER: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/4/23/17273714/season-over-capitals-best-blue-jackets-in-game-6 The Caps finished off the CBJ last night in Nationwide Arena in a game where the Caps took everything the Jackets had and gave it back double. The Caps started the scoring in the first period. Nick Foligno tied it up in the second with his first goal of the series. But then Ovechkin scored two goals later in the period to give the Caps a 3-1 lead going into the second intermission. The Jackets narrowed that lead with a Dubois goal early in the third period. But then the Caps scored two more goals on breakaways to build the lead back up to 5-2. The Jackets kept fighting and Foligno got his second goal of the night with just under 12 minutes remaining. But that was as close the CBJ would get. The Caps added an empty-netter for the 6-3 final score to eliminate the Jackets.
April 24, 20187 yr Now for the inevitable post-mortem: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/4/24/17274142/what-went-right-and-what-went-wrong-columbus-blue-jackets-washington-capitals For my less in-depth look, I think the playoff loss came down to three things: 1) Holtby - After the Caps lost the first two games with Grubauer in net, they made the change to former Vezina-winning Braden Holtby and didn't lose another game. Holtby stopped some strong CBJ efforts with 33 saves (.943) in Game 3, 39 saves (.929) in Game 5, and 35 saves (.921) in Game 6. 2) Penalties - The Jackets needed to stay out of the penalty-box against the dangerous Caps power-play. And they couldn't. Going into Game 6, 8 of the Caps 18 goals were on the power-play. Washington ended up scoring a power-play goal in every game of the series for a total of 9 goals on 27 opportunities. And on the other side of the penalty coin, the Jackets power-play scoring dried up after the first two games. In the final four games with Holtby in the net, the Jackets’ power play went 0 for 16. 3) Bob - I hate to criticize Bob, because he's a primary reason why the Jackets reach the playoffs. But the team needs Bob to be better in the playoffs. Bobrovsky did show improvement over his previous two playoff appearances with the CBJ. He stole Game 2 with 54 saves in that overtime win. His save percentage was .921 through the first four games of the series. But then he posted .862 in Game 5 and .815 in Game 6, leaving him with a .900 save percentage for the entire six-game series. The Jackets needed Bob to be Vezina-Bob in some key situations - like in the third period of Game 6. The Jackets were making a push to force a Game 7, but gave up two breakaways that Bob couldn't stop. That's not all on Bob, but if he stops those breakaways, the series might still be going. In CBJ playoff history, Bob has yet to allow fewer than 3 goals in a game. And that's just not good enough.
April 27, 20187 yr Jackets fans need some cheering up. This should help: http://www.thehockeynews.com/news/article/why-2018-19-could-finally-bring-the-blue-jackets-a-deep-playoff-run
May 4, 20187 yr https://www.nhl.com/bluejackets/news/zach-werenski-undergoes-successful-shoulder-surgery/c-298424490 One of the worst-kept secrets in the 2017-18 season was that 20-year-old phenom defenseman Zach Werenski was carrying some kind of shoulder injury throughout this season. This was confirmed in exit interviews with Z and Torts. Yesterday, the team announced that Werenski underwent successful surgery to repair that injured shoulder (I always like how the team adds "successful" to these announcements). The only bit of concerning news was that they expect full recovery to take five to six months. That would take Z's recovery into missing training camp at best, or missing some games to begin the 2018-19 season at worst. Despite being hampered by the shoulder injury, Werenski still had 16 goals and 21 assists in 77 games this season. Those 16 goals set a team record for goals by a defenseman, tied with his defensive linemate Seth Jones, and ranked fourth among all NHL d-men in 2017-18.
May 23, 20187 yr Some prospect news for the CBJ: -- https://www.1stohiobattery.com/columbus-blue-jackets-news/2018/05/2300/blue-jackets-sign-alexandre-texier-their-2017-second-round-pick-to-an-entry-level-contract -- http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180522/blue-jackets--alexandre-texier-signs-three-year-entry-level-contract The CBJ announced they signed their highest pick from last year's draft (2nd-round, #45 overall) center Alexandre Texier to a three-year, entry-level contract. The surprise selection from France played last season in the top Finnish league. Texier was impressive as an 18-year-old against older pros, getting 22 points in 53 games. Texier also played for France at the recently finished World Championships, getting 3 assists in 6 games. The Jackets top goalie prospect, 24-year-old Elvis Merzlikins, also played in the recent finished World Championships. Merzlikins, whom the Jackets drafted in the third round in 2014, was 4-0-1-0 with a 1.19 goals-against average for Latvia in group play and had 31 saves in Latvia’s 3-2 quarterfinal loss to Sweden (the eventual tournament champs). After the tournament, there were reports that Merzlikins was considering attempting to get out of the final year of his contract with his Swiss pro team to join the Jackets for the 2018-19 season. However, his Swiss team issued a statement saying they plan to keep him for 2018-19 and then Merzlikins tweeted that he will be staying with his Swiss team next season: -- https://www.1stohiobattery.com/columbus-blue-jackets-news/2018/05/2298/report-blue-jackets-goalie-prospect-elvis-merzlikins-is-considering-leaving-his-club-team-in-switzerland -- http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180522/blue-jackets--swiss-team-says-no-plans-to-let-goalie-elvis-merzlikins-leave -- http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180523/blue-jackets--goalie-elvis-merzlikins-says-hell-play-for-swiss-team-next-season
June 23, 20186 yr 2018 CBJ DRAFT RECAP Kekäläinen and his draft gurus played this draft pretty conventionally with no big trades to move up or gain extra picks (except for a minor trade to acquire an additional 6th-round pick). Here are the picks: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/6/22/17496002/columbus-blue-jackets-select-ohl-center-liam-foudy-in-first-round -- With their first-round 18th-overall pick, the Jackets selected 6’0, 182 lb Canadian center Liam Foudy. Foudy plays for the London Knights (same junior team that Rick Nash played for) and possesses speed, a solid two-way game and an athletic pedigree (his father played in the Canadian Football League and his mother won a silver medal for Canada at the 1984 Olympics in track). He says he models his play on his childhood idol, Pavel Datsyuk (if only he could be that good!). https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/6/23/17496924/2018-nhl-draft-round-2-columbus-blue-jackets-select-kirill-marchenko -- Russian RW Kirill Marchenko was selected with the 2nd-round 49th-overall pick. At 6’3” 188 lbs, Marchenko is a large player who will need to fill out his frame for the NHL. Said to be inconsistent but with a high upside. He currently plays in the Russian junior league. https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/6/23/17497088/2018-nhl-draft-round-3-blue-jackets-select-winger-marcus-karlberg -- Swedish LW Marcus Karlberg was selected with the 3rd-round 80th-overall pick. At 5’8” 165 lbs, Karlberg is a smaller skater, but put up 47 points in 39 games for his Swedish U20 league team last season. https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/6/23/17497384/2018-nhl-draft-round-6-blue-jackets-select-defenseman-tim-berni -- The CBJ previously traded away their 2018 4th and 5th round picks. The CBJ then made a trade today for this 6th-round 159th-overall pick with Detroit in exchange for next year's 5th-round pick. With this newly acquired pick, the Jackets selected Tim Berni, a 5’11” 175 lb Swiss defenseman. Maybe a smaller version of Dean Kukan? https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/6/23/17497442/2018-nhl-draft-round-6-blue-jackets-select-goalie-veini-vehvilainen -- With their second 6th-round pick at the #173 spot, the Jackets selected Finnish goaltender Veini Vehvilainen. This is an intriguing pick because he's an overage pick at 21 years old and posted some good looking numbers in the top Finnish league last season. He is also slightly undersized at 6’0” compared to most current NHL goaltenders. His older age and pro experience could see him playing in the AHL sooner rather than later to see what he has to offer against North American skaters. -- Update on Veini Vehvilainen from http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180623/blue-jackets--jackets-see-gem-in-overlooked-goalie: He was the starting goaltender for the team that won the Finnish league title last season and is signed to play there next season. After that he could make the jump to North America; “He could play North American hockey right now,” Kekalainen said. https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/6/23/17497518/2018-nhl-draft-round-7-blue-jackets-select-rw-trey-fix-wolansky -- With the 204th pick of the 2018 NHL Draft, the CBJ selected RW Trey Fix-Wolansky. In addition to having a cool sounding name, he's a 5'8" winger who had a great season with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL junior league, scoring 32 goals and 57 assists in 71 games.
June 27, 20186 yr While we wait for some bigger off-season news, here's a couple bits of small news: https://www.nhl.com/bluejackets/news/columbus-blue-jackets-acquire-jean-francois-berube/c-299302050 -- The Jackets traded 27-year-old forward Jordan Schroeder to Chicago for 26-year-old goaltender Jean-François Bérubé. A very minor deal, but somewhat perplexing. Although Schroeder did virtually nothing at the NHL-level last season, he was quite productive and a veteran presence in Cleveland last season, which had some value to the organization. I'm not sure I see the value that adding Bérubé brings to the organization, unless he is replacing Brad Thiessen as the veteran backup to the two goalie prospects in Cleveland. https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2018/06/27/the-penguins-reported-interest-in-jack-johnson-is-baffling/ -- Report out of Pittsburgh that the Penguins intend to sign UFA defenseman Jack Johnson to a five-year contract in the $3-3.5 million/year range. Normally CBJ fans would be outraged that one our players would want to leave Columbus for our division rival. But considering that JJ will turn 32 next season, is coming off of a career-worst year offensively, and whose season ended with him being a healthy scratch in all 6 CBJ playoff games - nobody is mourning his departure. In fact, most knowledgeable CBJ fans are looking forward to JJ committing turnovers and being out of position defensively against the CBJ instead of for the CBJ!!!
July 1, 20186 yr NHL free-agency opened today and the CBJ lost some players and gained some players: -- Johnson signed with Pittsburgh and Calvert signed with Colorado. The Jackets didn't try and resign these players. Calvert was the longest tenured Blue Jacket player (now Cam Atinkson is longest tenured). -- D-man Ian Cole also signed with Colorado. This is a player the Jackets would have liked to retain. But the Avs gave him a 3-year, 4.25-mil AAV deal, which was a little too rich on the AAV side for the CBJ. -- The biggest player signed by the Jackets today was Nash. No, not that Nash. Riley Nash from Boston. Nash was given a 3-year, 2.75-mil AAV deal. A good value for a 29-year-old third-line center who scored 41 points in 76 games last year for Boston. And it fills a pressing need for the CBJ. https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/7/1/17523472/blue-jackets-and-riley-nash-agree-on-three-year-deal
July 2, 20186 yr A little more about yesterday's free-agent signings: -- Riley Nash - in addition to filling a pressing need for a third-line center with the ability to fill-in on the top lines - was declared one of the best free-agent bargains: https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2018/07/01/best-bargains-on-day-one-of-nhl-free-agency/ -- The other FA acquisitions were three veteran AHL defensemen (Tommy Cross, Adam Clendening, Dillon Simpson) and resigning veteran AHL goalie Brad Thiessen. All three d-men have some NHL experience but have mostly played at the AHL-level and were signed to short-term, two-way contracts. This means they will likely play next season for the Cleveland Monsters, unless called-up to Columbus for injury replacement roles: - https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/7/1/17522952/jackets-sign-defender-tommy-cross-boston-college-providence-bruins https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/7/1/17523152/adam-clendening-signs-with-columbus-blue-jackets-defense-rockford-icehogs-ahl-nhl https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/7/1/17523198/dillon-simpson-becomes-third-defender-signed-by-jackets-during-2018-free-agency -- The re-signing of Thiessen is interesting because the Jackets acquired veteran goalie Bérubé in a trade before yesterday's FA opening. This now gives the Cleveland Monsters two veteran goalies going into 2018-19. Thiessen was injured for most of 2017-18 and the Monsters had to rely on two young prospects (which didn't go well). These veteran goalie additions and the bolstering of the d-lines with veteran players should bode well for the Monsters 2018-19 AHL season: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/7/1/17523462/brad-thiessen-returns-to-backstop-the-monsters-for-the-2018-19-season
July 2, 20186 yr But the two biggest off-season roster decisions remain ahead for the Blue Jackets. Both Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky are entering the last season of their current contracts. They will both be UFA's at the end of their current contracts. The bigger of the two is likely Panarin. The team has previously gone through contract negotiations with Bob and there's some confidence that Bob will re-sign at some point. Panarin is more of a wild-card. He's only been with the CBJ for one season and its unclear if he wants to stay in Columbus long-term. Because of that, the CBJ would like to sign Panarin to a long-term extension over this summer. However, Panarin and his agent expressed to the CBJ that they are not willing to negotiate a contract extension “at this time.” What does that truly mean? That he would never sign an extension? Or that he would be willing during or after next season? This was always a risk in acquiring Panarin from Chicago last year (and a reason Chicago dealt him). Just the fact that Panarin expressed this to the CBJ has put a ton of pressure on the team. They have a big decision to make this offseason - a big franchise altering decision. Here's the three options on how that could play out: 1) The Blue Jackets retain Panarin this season and treat 2018-19 as an all-in for the Cup season. 2) The Blue Jackets retain Panarin this season but trade him by the trade deadline if team is too far out of it. 3) The Blue Jackets trade Panarin for an acceptable return this summer. This article looks at and breaks down each of those options: https://thehockeywriters.com/columbus-blue-jackets-big-decision/
July 5, 20186 yr The CBJ signed RFA forward (and perennial best beard) Boone Jenner to a four-year contract extension. The contract runs through 2021-22, is worth a total of $15 million, for a $3.75 million AAV/cap hit: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/7/5/17536386/official-boone-jenner-signs-extension-with-columbus-blue-jackets Jenner is still only 25 and this contract buys out his first three UFA years at a reasonable cap hit. He's a rugged top 9 forward that is punishing on the forecheck and along the boards. But he has had some injury history and been up-and-down from season to season (likely due to those injuries). And there is some concern that he can't keep up with the faster pace of today's NHL. Personally, I like Jenner as a complimentary player to less physical faster players and this seems like fair deal to both sides.
July 5, 20186 yr Another CBJ roster move - this one a UFA signing of the "low risk, potential high reward" variety. Forward Anthony Duclair signed a one-year, $650,000 deal - a "show me" contract for a young player who has shown some potential, but much more inconsistency in his NHL career thus far. Duclair had 20 goals in his first full season with Arizona in 2015-16. But only 16 in 114 games after that. Still, Duclair will only be 23 during next season - and the Jackets found success in a similar "show me" contract with Sam Gagner two seasons ago: - https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/7/5/17537874/report-blue-jackets-sign-anthony-duclair https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2018/07/05/anthony-duclair-signs-with-blue-jackets-as-search-for-consistency-continues/
July 14, 20186 yr Defenseman Ryan Murray has accepted his RFA qualifying offer from the team. This qualifying offer was a one-year deal for $2.825 million. Which means Murray (who turns 25 in September) will be under contract for the 2018-19 season and will be an RFA next summer with arbitration rights. The only remaining unsigned RFA player is Oliver Bjorkstrand, who was also given a qualifying offer, along with Murray and Jenner, by the team: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/7/14/17571464/ryan-murray-accepts-blue-jackets-qualifying-offer https://www.nhl.com/bluejackets/news/blue-jackets-defenseman-ryan-murray-accepts-club-qualifying-offer/c-299488700
July 16, 20186 yr The Blue Jackets signed their remaining RFA Oliver Bjorkstrand (or as he's referred to at the Jackets Cannon, BJORKSTRAND) to a three-year, $2.5 million AAV contract. The 23-year-old forward was MVP of the 2016 AHL Calder Cup Champion Lake Erie Monsters and completed his first full NHL season in 2017-18, where he tallied 40 points in 82 regular season games and 3 points in six playoff games. Bjorkstrand is coming off his entry-level contract and will be an RFA at the end of this three-year deal: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/7/15/17573520/nhl-free-agency-columbus-blue-jackets-re-sign-oliver-bjorkstrand https://www.nhl.com/bluejackets/news/blue-jackets-sign-forward-oliver-bjorkstrand-to-three-year-contract/c-299492076
July 16, 20186 yr In a normal CBJ summer, signing two new forwards (Riley Nash & Anthony Duclair) and re-signing all three of their RFA players (Jenner, Murray & Bjorkstrand) would likely be the extent of their off-season roster moves. But there's a couple of wild-cards still remaining. Both franchise goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and potential franchise forward Artemi Panarin are entering the final season of their current contracts. Both will be UFA's after next season. Normally, the team would like to sign both players with a long-term extension before they become free-agents: - With Bobrovsky, its unclear if the team wants a long-term deal. A two-time Vezina winner will command a huge salary - and despite Bob's stellar regular season numbers, his playoff play has been unspectacular. That and some intriguing goalies in the pipeline might give the CBJ pause on signing a huge-cap-hit long-term-deal with Bob. Bob's current contract also has a no-movement clause, so he's also unlikely to be traded during the off-season. So Bob may or may not be with the CBJ long-term, but he should definitely be the starting goaltender in 2018-19. - With Panarin, its clear that the team wants a long-term deal with the elite-scoring forward. But its much less clear if Panarin wants a long-term deal with the CBJ. Panarin's agent has said he's "not ready" to sign a contract extension - which could be code for "I don't want to re-sign with the CBJ" or "I want to test the free-agent market next summer". Add into the mix rumors that the 26-year-old Russian yearns for a bigger spotlight on a coastal city or that his girlfriend sees herself as an aspiring model/actress and a NYC or LA destination come into play. However, those are just rumors - and he's never been a bad teammate or said anything negative about the team or city of Columbus. So its just unclear what Panarin really wants to do. Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen met with Panarin and his agent today in Nice, France (where Panarin is vacationing) in hopes off clearing up just what Panarin does want. Apparently there has been no resolution and Panarin remains non-committal to the CBJ. Given what happened with John Tavares leaving the Islanders, the Jackets would be taking a huge risk that Panarin would similarly walk away for nothing next summer. Also, Panarin's current contract doesn't have any no-movement or no-trade restrictions - so the Jackets could trade him anywhere for the best available return if they don't think he'll re-sign. Unfortunately, that return is not likely to be for Panarin's full current value. So the team is in a tough spot figuring out whether to trade or not trade Panarin. https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2018/07/15/blue-jackets-get-nice-value-with-bjorkstrand-panarin-meeting-looms/ https://unionandblue.com/2018/07/15/columbus-blue-jackets-keys-consider-jarmo-panarin-contract-talks/ https://www.1stohiobattery.com/columbus-blue-jackets-news/2018/07/2418/artemi-panarin-is-still-not-ready-to-commit-long-term-to-the-blue-jackets-after-meeting-with-jarmo-kekalainen
September 15, 20186 yr It might be hard to believe on a day when the high reached 86 - but today is the first day of on-ice training camp for the Columbus Blue Jackets 2018-19 season. Yesterday was the team's media availability day along with physicals and fitness training. Below is the CBJ training camp schedule: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/9/13/17853378/columbus-blue-jackets-training-camp-rosters-and-schedule The Jackets first preseason game is on Monday. Their opening regular season game is Thursday, October 4th at Detroit - followed by the home opener on Friday, October 5th against Carolina.
September 15, 20186 yr For an overview of the upcoming 2018-19 season, here's a bunch of preview articles about the CBJ. These nbcsports (aka ProHockeyTalk) articles are from August 9th - when it was Columbus Blue Jackets day at PHT - and was their turn to be examined by that site. The first article also gives a review of last season: -- https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2018/08/09/its-columbus-blue-jackets-day-at-pht-4/ -- https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2018/08/09/three-questions-facing-columbus-blue-jackets/ -- https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2018/08/09/building-off-a-breakthrough-pierre-luc-dubois/ -- https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2018/08/09/under-pressure-jarmo-kekalainen/ These are some more recent and more detailed positional previews for the 2018-19 season from the excellent Jackets Cannon website: -- https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/9/11/17844368/2018-columbus-blue-jackets-training-camp-battles-centers -- https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/9/12/17830254/training-camp-battles-wingers-columbus-blue-jackets-vitaly-abramov -- https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/9/13/17853690/training-camp-battles-defense-columbus-blue-jackets-kukan-harrington-carlsson-jones-werenski-nuti
September 19, 20186 yr The CBJ (and the rest of the NHL) is getting back their third/alternate jerseys back for 2018-19 - after last season's hiatus. Below is an article about the 2018-19 version of Blue Jackets "cannon" jersey, which includes a schedule of the 12 games they’ll wear the jersey at Nationwide Arena: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/9/17/17870204/columbus-blue-jackets-unveil-new-adidas-third-jerseys
September 25, 20186 yr The introduction of those third jerseys was the 2nd-best PR move the CBJ ever made. (The best was installing the civil war-era cannon in Nationwide Arena). But I can still remember the unveiling of those alternate jerseys. That unveiling also featured the worst PR move the CBJ ever made - the introduction of a CBJ alternate mascot: Boomer! Management thought it would be a great idea introduce an alternate mascot to go along with the alternate jersey. And so they created Boomer - phallic shaped mascot with a face that scared little children. Although my favorite part is that he has legs and wheels! Because, he's a cannon? CBJ management quickly realized they spawned a real turkey and I'm not sure Boomer was ever seen again after that alternate jersey unveiling. Now Boomer lives only in Blue Jacket memory.
September 25, 20186 yr Training camp and preseason games are rolling along for the CBJ and the rest of the NHL. Most of the preseason games are not worth noting. But the Jackets have a preseason game tonight that is notable: https://unionandblue.com/2018/09/25/columbus-blue-jackets-participate-kraft-hockeyville/ The CBJ will face Buffalo in the Kraft Hockeyville preseason game tonight in Clinton, NY. The game is being broadcast at 7PM on NBCSN. Kraft and the NHL sponsored a nationwide vote to choose which small town arena would get $150,000 in upgrades. The small town of Clinton in central New York won the vote and its arena received the upgrades and gets to host an NHL preseason game. Although Clinton has a population of just 2,000, it has a rich hockey history. The arena is on the National Register of Historic Places and portions of the movie Slapshot were filmed at the rink.
September 26, 20186 yr ^ That Hockeyville game in the 2,000-seat Clinton arena was pretty cool. What was not cool was Seth Jones getting a sprained MCL in that game and being expected to miss four to six weeks! https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/9/26/17906972/seth-jones-out-four-to-six-weeks-with-knee-injury
October 4, 20186 yr Opening night for the CBJ is here. The opening game is tonight at Detroit - followed by the opening home game against Carolina tomorrow night at Nationwide Arena. Here are the projected starting lineups for the opening games: Artemi Panarin — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Cam Atkinson Nick Foligno — Alexander Wennberg — Oliver Bjorkstrand Boone Jenner — Brandon Dubinsky — Josh Anderson Anthony Duclair — Riley Nash — Sonny Milano Extra Forwards: Lukas Sedlak, Markus Hannikainen Markus Nutivaara — Zach Werenski Ryan Murray — David Savard Dean Kukan — Adam Clendening Extra Defenseman: Gabriel Carlsson Injured Defenseman: Seth Jones Sergei Bobrovsky Joonas Korpisalo
October 4, 20186 yr Here is my take on the State of the CBJ heading into the 2018-19 season: The Jackets lineup is mostly unchanged going into this season. They did lose longtime defenseman Jack Johnson to Pittsburgh (which I think is an addition by subtraction for the CBJ) and longtime depth forward Matt Calvert. They also didn't retain two of the three trade deadline pickups - Thomas Vanek and Ian Cole. They did keep Mark Letestu - sort of. The Test Tube signed a two-way AHL/NHL contract and will start the season in Cleveland. New acquisitions are Riley Nash and Anthony Duclair. Nash solves the center depth issues that dogged the CBJ last season. Duclair is an intriguing 23-year-old signed to a "show me" contract. With a mostly unchanged lineup from a team that's reached the playoffs the last two seasons, Columbus looks like a favorite to again reach the Eastern Conference playoffs. However, there's a two-headed dark cloud hovering over this season - the future status of Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky. Both players are on the final year of their current contracts and will be UFA's at the end of this season. The Jackets would like to sign the soon-to-be 27-year old Panarin to a long-term deal. The Bread Man adds a dose of elite playmaking and scoring (82 pts in 81 games last season) to an offensive lineup that has alot of good-but-not-quite-great talent. Panarin elevates the rest of the CBJ lineup. However, it appears that Panarin will only sign a long-term deal with a "really big city" - think NYC or LA, maybe a Florida team because they have beaches. Given that situation, CBJ management has decided to retain Panarin and see how the season plays out. If the Jackets are in playoff position come the February 2019 trade deadline, they'll likely keep him for the Stanley Cup Playoff run. If the Jackets are out of playoff position, they'll likely trade him for picks/prospects. If they're on the playoff bubble, who knows? The Bobrosky situation is a little different. Bob is 30-years-old and is also looking for a big-money 8-year deal. Think Carey Price's recent 8x10.5M deal. As great as Bob has been (and he has been great in the regular season) that kind of deal for a 30-year-old goaltender is scary. Much can go wrong with an older goaltender - like injuries and/or downgrade of play. So CBJ management looks like they might allow Bobrosky to walk after this season. It is possible they could trade him during the season or at the trade deadline. But Bob will be much more difficult to move then Panarin. Unlike Panarin, Bob has a complete no-movement/no-trade contract. So basically Bob would need to sign off on any trade the CBJ made and could veto it. Also, if the Jackets traded Bob, they would fall from "favorites to make the playoffs" to "bubble team". So he might be a Blue Jacket for the entire year. Artemi Panarin — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Cam Atkinson: This top line is great. Panarin's elite - PLD emerged as a #1 center in his rookie year - Atkinson also brings scoring punch and quick skating. The dangers are a sophomore slump from PLD or injuries to Panarin or Atkinson. Atkinson missed 17 games with a mid-season injury last year. Panarin came into training camp with a neck strain, but looked great in his preseason games. Nick Foligno — Alexander Wennberg — Oliver Bjorkstrand: The second line also looks good. An injury-riddled season hampered Wennberg and saw PLD go past him in the depth chart. But when healthy, Wennberg is a legit 1C/2C center. Foligno should benefit from playing wing and not having to fill in at center like he had to much of last year. 23-year-old Bjorkstrand made good development progress with 40 points in his first full NHL season last year and has the makings of a talented scorer. Boone Jenner — Brandon Dubinsky — Josh Anderson: A bruising third line, if this holds together. 24-year-old Anderson had a dynamite first half and a slower second half last season. 25-year-old Jenner regressed a bit, coming into last season with a back injury and never really getting on track. But it was 32-year-old Dubinsky who has the most to prove after an injury-riddled down season. This was some talk about Dubi possibly getting his contract bought out over the off-season. But he is healthy going into this season, lost weight and is trying to skate faster to keep up with today's NHL. So we'll see. Anthony Duclair — Riley Nash — Sonny Milano: The two new off-season pickups - Duclair and Nash - show up on this fourth line. 29-year-old Nash is a key addition. He had a career-high 41 points in 76 games last year with Boston, sometimes playing on the Bruins top two lines because of injuries. Duclair is low-risk/higher-reward addition - showing glimpses of top 6 talent but also inconsistent overall play. The same could also be said for former 1st-round pick Milano. Extra Forwards: Lukas Sedlak, Markus Hannikainen, Kevin Stenlund, Mark Letestu: Sedlak was last year's 4th-line center, until an injury sidelined him. He finds himself as an extra forward/center to start 2018. Hannikainen (aka Beer Man) was the healthy-scratch du jour last season and probably will be this season as well. 22-year-old Stenlund looked quite impressive in preseason. But this is his first season in North America after playing in the Swedish leagues, so he'll start in Cleveland, but might work his way into the CBJ lineup during this season. 33-year-old Letestu will provide some wiley veteran experience in Cleveland, but would be available for some fill-in CBJ duty if needed. Markus Nutivaara — Zach Werenski: The missing name on this top defensive line is Seth Jones. Jones and Werenski (at 24 and 21) form probably the top under-25 defensive pairing in the NHL. But Jones is out for the first month with an MCL knee sprain. So 24-year-old Finnish defenseman Nutivaara should slot into this top line while Jones is out. Nuti has been a pleasant surprise for the CBJ over the past two seasons - taking a step forward last season to be the team's #3 d-man. Werenski (aka The Phenom) had a very good sophomore season with 16 goals and 37 points in 77 games. But those number look even better when you know that Werenski suffered a severe shoulder injury during game 12 last season. After that, he played with a shoulder harness that restricted his range of movement to prevent further injury. So Z's potent wind-up slap-shot was non-existent after the game 12 injury, which lowered his scoring numbers, and he still finished 4th-best in the entire NHL for goals scored by defensemen. Ryan Murray — David Savard: Without the Jones injury, this line would feature Nutivaara and Murray. With Nuti moved up, Savard also moves up from the bottom d-line. Savard is a slow-skating but still good all-around defender. At 27, Savard now qualifies the old vet of the d-corps! Former #2 overall pick Murray had another injury-riddled year, only playing in 44 games last season. When healthy, Murray is a top-4 all-around defender. Its the "when healthy" part that has eluded him. His snake-bitten injury-ness struck again in this preseason. In his second preseason game, a Chicago player fell forward and the back of his skate struck Murray in the "man-zone". Although it could have been much much worse - it was bad enough to shut down his preseason until he recovered. He did play in the final CBJ preseason game and looked okay. Dean Kukan — Adam Clendening/Gabriel Carlsson: Once again, because of the Jones injury, this bottom d-line looks a little different then planned. 25-year-old Swiss defenseman Kukan was expected to make the opening roster as a 6/7 d-man. This final spot could alternate between 21-year-old first-round pick Carlsson and 25-year-old Adam Clendening. A classic youth vs. experience choice. And Clendering's "experience" is pretty interesting. He has played 86 NHL games for 6 different NHL teams over the past 5 seasons. He has also played for 5 AHL teams over the past 7 seasons. To say Clendening is well-traveled is an understatement! Injured Defenseman: Seth Jones: Tough to see Jones on the IR to begin this season. Last season Jones emerged as a legit Norris-level defenseman with career high totals of 16 goals and 57 points in 78 games. The 24-year-old also emerged as a team leader and was named an alternate captain. His pairing with Werenski is a key asset for the CBJ lineup. Jones is expected to be out another 3-5 weeks, which would mean he could miss up to 15 games. Sergei Bobrovsky: I talked about Bob's expiring contract situation earlier. One aspect of it that is particularly troubling is if it starts to affect Bob mentally. Goaltenders are a different breed. To paraphase Yogi Berra, 90 percent of their game is half-mental. And Bob had a particularly awful preseason - allowed 13 goals on 72 shots this preseason (5.15 GAA, .819 sv%). Now that was in very limited duty and with defenders in front of him that won't be playing for the CBJ. And preseason is preseason, so it might mean nothing. But then again, Bob seems rather down in his interviews when asked about his contract situation: https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2018/09/29/blue-jackets-bobrovsky-talks-contract-distraction-says-hes-human/ Joonas Korpisalo: If Bob is "Vezina Bob", then we shouldn't see Korpi starting too many games. Last season's net breakdown was 65 GP for Bob and 18 GP for Korpi. The trick for the 24-year-old Korpi is to stay sharp between starts. Because, unlike last year, he can't be sent to Cleveland for spot starts. Korpi now needs to clear waivers (which he wouldn't) and another NHL team would claim him. One additional breakdown is the status of the head coach and management. Head Coach John Tortorella, President of Hockey Operations John Davidson and General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen were all entering this season on the final year of their team contracts. Before preseason began, they all were given multi-year extensions (thus preventing a lame-duck year). Tororella was given a two-year extension. Davdson and Kekalainen were given "multi-year extensions" of an undisclosed length. Which theoretically could be 2-years or 20-years - but probably is more like 2-years. In some way-down-the-organizational-depth-chart-but-still-interesting news. Former Blue Jackets Jared Boll and Fedor Tyutin joined the CBJ hockey operations staff. Boll was named an assistant development coach, while Tyutin joined team's scouting staff. Kind of nice to see them re-join the team in a non-playing role. And since both former players still maintained their Central Ohio residences, a good deal for them as well.
October 9, 20186 yr One of the main CBJ storylines going into this season was veteran center Brandon Dubinsky. We're only two games in, but Dubi looked really good in those two games. It looked like he was making good on his promises to lose weight over the summer and become a leaner quicker version of himself. Unfortunately it looks like that's on hold. Dubi suffered a strained oblique in Sunday's practice and has been placed on IR. Dubi is expected to miss 4-6 weeks: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/10/8/17951196/brandon-dubinsky-columbus-blue-jackets-to-miss-4-6-weeks-due-to-strained-oblique Riley Nash will move up into Dubi's 3C spot, while Sedlak graduates from a healthy-scratch into Nash's 4C spot.
October 18, 20186 yr https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/10/16/17958492/what-can-we-really-make-of-five-games The Jackets are 3-2-0 after their opening five games. Not too bad considering key d-man Seth Jones is out and they lost Dubinsky after two games. They've had some really good periods of play. And they've had some really bad periods of play. Just kind of inconsistent. The CBJ are playing tonight after a five-day break since a blowout loss at Tampa last Saturday. This would be a good time for the Jackets to start playing better - five of the next six games are in Nationwide to finish out the month of October. Then they go on their three-game California road swing.
October 23, 20186 yr https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/10/22/18009586/seth-jones-to-return-for-tuesdays-columbus-blue-jackets-game-against-arizona All-Star d-man Seth Jones is returning to the CBJ lineup after suffering a knee sprain in preseason. He is returning four weeks to the day of his injury and will only miss 7 regular-season games. The Jackets certainly welcome his return. Although they weathered his absence pretty well going 4-3-0 at 3rd in Metro - they've been wildly inconsistent from game to game. Last Thursday they beat Philly 6-3, then followed it Saturday with a 4-1 loss to Chicago. Having Jones anchor the top d-line with Werenski should help bring more consistency to the team.
November 1, 20186 yr https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/10/31/18046866/october-2018-month-in-review-columbus-blue-jackets The Jackets month of October can be summed as good-bad-good-good-bad-good-bad-bad-good-good-bad --- which translates to a 6-5-0 record. Bad enough to not be good, but good enough to not be bad. And above all - inconsistent. The offense had been a bright spot with 39 goals (good enough for 8th in the league). However, the defense has allowed 43 goals (which is bad enough for 29th in the league) When the offense isn't scoring 5+ goals (as it did in 5 of the 6 wins) the goaltending isn't stopping enough pucks to win. Bobrovsky has been woeful with a 3.58 GAA and .882 save percentage and the Jackets have gone 2-5-0 in his 7 starts. Although the CBJ are 4-0-0 in Korpisalo's five starts, he stats are just as bad as Bob's with a 3.99 GAA and .881 save percentage. And Korpi got pulled in the first period of Tuesday's loss to Detroit after giving up 3 goals in 7 shots. Without better goaltending, this Jackets team is not going to have a successful season - despite an otherwise talented roster. The Jackets start their 3-game California trip tonight at San Jose. Injured center Dubinsky has been skating with the team in practice and might return to the roster during the California road swing.
November 6, 20186 yr More not-too-good but not-too-bad for the CBJ on their California road trip. They went 1-1-1 in those three games (how's that for being all over the board). Started with a quality win over a quality San Jose team. Then followed with an ugly loss against an ugly LA Kings team (who fired their head coach after beating the Jackets!) and a gusty come-from-behind overtime loss at Anaheim. The CBJ really need to get their power play going. They're riding an 0 for 20 streak - and went 0 for 5 and 0 for 6 in the last two losses. At least Bob seems to be back on track - he had 44 saves in the San Jose win. Dubinsky is also back in the lineup. This week the Jackets return to Nationwide to face Dallas tonight, travel to Washington on Friday, and return home to face the Rangers on Saturday.
November 13, 20186 yr At only 18 games into the 82-game 2018-19 season, a little over 75 percent of the season remains. Typically, not many teams have either pulled away from the pack or played themselves out of playoff contention this early in the season. Most teams still have hopes of a successful season, and this season is no different. But it is interesting that we haven't seen any teams open up super-strong or fall down super-bad in these opening games. Much like the CBJ, most teams have had good and bad stretches in the first quarter of this season. The Jackets have had a mini-run of late - winning 3 of their last 4 - and riding a five-game point streak (3-0-2) after last night's win at Dallas. That has vaulted Columbus into first-place in the Metro Division with a 10-6-2 record: http://www.espn.com/nhl/standings
November 18, 20186 yr Thursday night the CBJ had an impressive 7-3 victory over Florida at Nationwide Arena. This despite Bob, Panarin and Nash being out of the lineup due to an illness going around the team. Korpi got 40 saves and seven different players scored the seven goals. Plus, 14 of the 18 skaters got at least one point. How's that for balanced scoring? The win extends the Jackets point streak to six games - and they've won 4 of their last 5 games: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/11/15/18097693/minus-key-regulars-jackets-overcome-early-deficit-rout-panthers
November 18, 20186 yr Saturday night the Jackets traveled to Carolina and got an impressive 4-1 win. Instead of balanced scoring, this time the Jackets did it with a hat-trick from Atkinson and three assists from Panarin (back in the lineup after missing Thursday's game). Also back was Bob, who had 30 saves. This marks the fourth straight game where Bob has allowed only one goal - a complete turnaround from his rocky start to this season. The win extends the Jackets point streak to seven games - and now they've won 5 of their last 6 games. Going into tomorrow's match at Toronto, Columbus is first in the Metro Division with a 12-6-2 record: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/11/17/18100711/game-20-recap-cam-atkinson-hat-trick-lifts-columbus-blue-jackets-over-carolina-hurricanes-4-1
November 21, 20186 yr The Blue Jackets seven game point streak got snapped in a close loss at Toronto on Monday. It was a really tense playoff-like game (zero penalties and zero fights) against two teams that are leading their Eastern divisions. But it was Toronto that edged out the CBJ on Monday. TOR & C-BUS play again on Friday in a post-Thanksgiving match at Nationwide. That game at Toronto was the 21st of the season for the CBJ (just passing the 1/4 mark). At 12-7-2 and 26 points, Columbus is first in the Metro Division - two points ahead of NYR and WAS going into today's games. Surprisingly, PIT sits in last place with 18 points. (Indeed there is much to be thankful for tomorrow!) Despite the up-and-down first quarter of this season, the recent point streak saw the Jackets surge forward. Bob's last seven starts have been what we should expect from a two-time Vezina winner. The power-play scored in five straight games before the penalty-free Toronto game. And the early season awkwardness of Panarin and Bob's contact situation seems to have gone away for now. It's still early in the 2018-19 season, but the CBJ are in a good spot at the Thanksgiving break.
November 29, 20186 yr Going into tonight's game, the Jackets are only one point behind Washington for first in the Metro. The CBJ avenged a pre-Thanksgiving 4-2 loss at Toronto with a 4-2 win over Toronto at Nationwide on Friday. That was followed by frustrating 4-2 loss at Pittsburgh on Saturday and a wild 7-5 win at Detroit on Monday. The CBJ and the Minnesota Wild sport identical 14-8-2 records tonight in Nationwide - followed by a Saturday trip to NYC to face a surprisingly good Islanders team.
December 10, 20186 yr https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/11/30/18119113/november-2018-month-in-review-columbus-blue-jackets-cam-atkinson-sergei-bobrovsky-josh-anderson Above is the November CBJ review from the Jackets Cannon website. At 9-3-2, it was a very good November for the CBJ that saw them pay their way into the top two spots in the Metro. During November the team turned around some ugly PP and PK numbers from October and got some Vezina-quality starts from Bob to go along with some better-than-league-average scoring. However, since then, the Jackets have been in a short slump. In December so far, they've gone 1-3-0. This includes a wild 9-6 loss to Calgary last Tuesday and an ugly 4-0 loss to Washington at a sold-out Nationwide Arena on Saturday. In both of those losses, Bob got pulled from the net - after giving up 8 goals to Calgary and after giving 3 goals in the first period to Washington. The CBJ have their next five games at home between tomorrow and 12/20. This is the longest home stretch of the season for the CBJ and a great opportunity to bank away some points in the standings. But that opportunity will go unfulfilled if Bob (or Korpi) can't keep it together in the net and if the team can't stem this current December slump.
December 21, 20186 yr The CBJ ended their season-high six-game homestand last night. This homestand seems like a microcosm of the 2018-19 season so far. Up-and-down, sometimes frustrating, but ultimately productive. The six-game homestand started with two straight losses to Washington (bad loss) and Vancouver (somewhat unlucky loss). Then the Jackets got a convincing 4-1 win over LA, followed by a tough OT-loss to Anaheim. Then finished with two straight low-scoring one-goal wins over Vegas (1-0) and New Jersey (2-1). Now the CBJ are riding a four-game point streak and stand at 2nd in the Metro going into this weekend's final two games before the NHL's Christmas Break.
January 29, 20196 yr https://www.dispatch.com/sports/20190126/blue-jackets-in-good-spot-to-begin-final-push The CBJ are entering their second-half of the 2018-19 season tonight when they host Buffalo at NWA tonight. The Jackets have finished up an extended break from NHL play with their league mandated bye week leading into the league-wide All-Star Game break of this past weekend. Now, its not a true second-half because Game #41 was played on January 5th - in which the CBJ were 24-14-3 with 51 points. After that, the CBJ badly lost 4-0 to league-leading Tampa Bay (more about that later) but then reeled off four straight wins before dropping back-to-back games going into this extended mid-season break. That gives Columbus a 28-17-3 record with 59 points in 48 games coming out of the ASG break - currently a playoff spot at 3rd in the Metro Division. The CBJ are 4 points behind the Metro-leading Islanders and only 1 point behind 2nd-place Washington. But only 1 point ahead of 4th-place Pittsburgh (who is also currently holding the 8th-place Eastern Conference wild-card spot). However, because of the CBJ bye week, Columbus also holds 1 game-in-hand over NYI and PIT - and 2 games-in-hand over WASH. As the Dispatch headline states, the Blue Jackets are in a good spot to begin a push of the 2019 playoffs. This season, the Jackets are actually in better shape after the ASG break then last season. Last season the Jackets struggled coming out of their break, but heated up at the end of February and blitzed through March into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Jackets two main Metro rivals - Washington and Pittsburgh - are currently struggling with the Caps 0-5-2 in their past seven games and the Pens 1-4-0 in their past five. No time like the present to pick up some points against them with a win over the similarly reeling Buffalo Sabres tonight (Buffalo is 1-4-0 in their last five; 3-6-1 over their last ten). The team is rested (with the exception of Seth Jones and Cam Atkinson - who both played in the All-Star Game) and healthy (with the exception of Seth Jones who crashed his left knee into a goalpost during the All-Star game and didn't practice with the team on Sunday or Monday as a precaution).
January 29, 20196 yr In my previous post I mentioned an ugly 4-0 loss to the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning. That occurred on January 8th. Sergei Bobrovsky was in goal for the CBJ. Bob and the team had a poor first-period and were down 2-0 at the first intermission. Bob and the team had a much better second-period but were still down 2-0 going into the second intermission. If the Jackets could come out in the third and get a goal to make it 2-1, and then tie it up, they could get into OT (salvaged a road point) with the chance of an OT or SO win. But instead, Bob and the team gave up two goals in a 3 minute stretch with 13:55 and then 11:07 remaining in the game. After that fourth goal, Bob got pulled from the game. Although all four goals weren't "Bob's fault", he did have a poor game with 4 GA on only 19 shots. However, there was an incident after Bob was pulled. Instead of staying on the bench or waiting in the locker room, apparently Bob removed his equipment and showered before the game was finished. Although it turned out that Bob wasn't needed for the remaining 11 minutes of that game - it was a violation of team rules. It's also a bad idea because Bob was the backup goalie after being pulled - so if Korpisalo had gotten injured in that final 11 minutes, Bob would have been unavailable to re-enter the game. Because of that incident, the team decided to suspend Bob for the next game. During that one-game suspension period, it was reported that general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen and Bob met and had a "meeting of the minds" or an "airing out of expectations" depending on the media source. Bob did talk to reporters after his suspension and apologized for his actions. And the CBJ did go on a four-game winning streak after that incident. However, three of those four wins were with Korpisalo in the net, not Bob. And in the one "Bob win" - the CBJ needed a 7-5 effort to get it. Bob did follow that 7-5 game with a 2-1 loss at Minnesota on January 19th -- the last CBJ game played until tonight's match hosting Buffalo. If the 7-5 win was a "ugly win" for Bob, the 2-1 loss was a "good loss" for Bob because he stopped 29 of 31 shots he faced. However, looming over anything Bob-related this season is the expiring contract for the 30-year-old goaltender and the lack of a contract extension being negotiated on both sides. There's already been drama associated with this during this season. This Tampa Bay incident and follow-up suspension is one more log on the drama bonfire. The CBJ are making a push for the 2019 playoffs -- and the trading deadline is February 25. BUCKLE UP!!!
January 31, 20196 yr https://www.dispatch.com/sports/20190125/michael-arace--john-davidson-happy-with-state-of-blue-jackets I've been wanting to post this interview that Dispatch sports columnist Michael Arace had with the CBJ President of Hockey Operations John Davidson since it was published just prior to the NHL All-Star Game last weekend. So here it is, with some excerpts below for those unable to read the full interview at the Dispatch website. Although I do wish I had posted this prior to Tuesday's 5-4 loss to Buffalo - https://www.dispatch.com/sports/20190130/blue-jackets--coach-john-tortorella-irked-by-loss-to-sabres (and I don't blame Torts for being irked!) Intro: Quote The Blue Jackets named John Davidson their president of hockey operations on Oct. 24, 2012. At the time, the Jackets were ranked among the worst professional sports franchises of the 21st century. They asked J.D. to help lead them to respectability. ... During this time, he has hired Jarmo Kekalainen to be general manager, lent support to Kekalainen’s hiring of coach John Tortorella and tested our patience with “brick-by-brick” and “curveballs” rhetoric. During this time, too, the Jackets have gone 266-195-45 (.535, this season included), recorded five of the best six seasons in their history and thrice made the playoffs. Things have improved to a point where there are real expectations — like, come on already, win a playoff series. (Arace) caught up with J.D. while he was taking a little R&R and we talked CBJ SOTU. The Jackets (28-17-3) are on a nine-day break. They are in third place in the Metropolitan Division and, by and large, performing like a team that is playoff-bound. They are also facing a critical month leading up to the Feb. 25 trade deadline and must decide what to do with star goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, 30, and game-breaking left wing Artemi Panarin, 27. Both players are in the final years of their contracts, and neither has been negotiating an extension with the Jackets. Curveballs, people. About the Bob & Bread situation: Quote “We have the trade deadline coming up,” Davidson said. “We have some things that are going to be taken care of, one way or another, by then. ... We’ll know a lot about Panarin’s situation and Bob’s situation (as the deadline approaches). There’s asterisks to Bob’s situation that I don’t want to talk about. It’ll resolve itself by the trade deadline or by July 1.” July 1 is when both players can become free agents. As for the “asterisks,” one presumes Davidson is referring to Bobrovsky’s no-movement clause. It may well be that Bobrovsky is unwilling to waive the clause or provide a list of teams to whom he’d accept a trade. There is a shred of hope that Panarin will opt to stay with one of the three youngest teams in the league, at a time when the window for contending is just beginning to open. The Jackets can put Pierre-Luc Dubois and Cam Atkinson on Panarin’s right side and Seth Jones and Zach Werenski at his back. It’s a good situation. Arace's comment about Panarin was before Bread's agent issued a statement that Panarin won't talk about any contract extension until after this season is over: http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/25873070/artemi-panarin-talk-contract-season Quote (Davdison) identified a few things he and Kekalainen are watching closely. They’d like to see more offense from the bottom-six forwards (and maybe they look for a boost at the trade deadline). They’d like to see a further ratcheting down of the team’s goals-against average (3.02, ranked 19th in the league). And, oh, that awful power play (14.6 percent, ranked 27th). They recently hired Martin St. Louis - former Torts Stanley Cup winning star at TB and future NHL HOF'er - as a consultant to help improve the power play: https://www.dispatch.com/sports/20190121/blue-jackets-martin-st-louis-will-try-to-pump-up-power-play “It has got to get better, not so much for the playoffs — when there are not a lot of power plays — but to help you get to the playoffs,” Davidson said. In conclusion, Davidson said, “I think things are going to be really interesting between now and the deadline, for a lot of reasons. If things fall in place, outstanding. Per usual, we’re going to do what’s right for the Blue Jackets long term. That’s just how it is.”
January 31, 20196 yr Here was Arace's take on the Bob & Bread contract situation from his interview with J.D.: https://www.dispatch.com/sports/20190125/michael-arace--john-davidson-happy-with-state-of-blue-jackets Quote The Jackets will hang on to Bobrovsky through the deadline and then lose him to free agency. There is a good chance Panarin goes the same way. There remains a lesser chance that Panarin signs an extension and stays. In any scenario, the Jackets are a good bet to make the playoffs. They might get dented at the deadline, but they’ll probably add some parts, as well. But that was before Panarin's agent issued this statement on Monday: “We have informed the team that we are willing to discuss Artemi’s future after the season. Our priority now is to focus on the rest of the season, trying to win a Stanley Cup for the CBJ & their fans. No additional comments will be made.” After that Arace wrote this column: https://www.dispatch.com/sports/20190129/michael-arace--blue-jackets-artemi-panarin-should-come-clean-say-he-wants-out Meanwhile, CBJ GM Jarmo Kekalainen is playing it cool: https://www.dispatch.com/sports/20190129/blue-jackets-trying-to-stay-focused-despite-contract-impasse-with-artemi-panarin Quote “You know, we’ve said all along that we’re going to make hard decisions if we have to, but our focus is on getting our team better and making it as competitive as possible for this spring, but also into the future,” Kekalainen told reporters Tuesday after the team’s morning skate at Nationwide Arena. “If we have to make a hard decision, we will. We like Artemi and we’d like to keep him, and it’s his right to go to the free agency. And if he chooses to do so, we’ll be knocking on his door July 1, but we’re going to go about our business here and try to win hockey games, make the playoffs and go as deep as possible this spring, too.” For Panarin's part, he's giving the CBJ some outstanding on-ice production this season. Through 47 games played, Bread has 19 goals and 36 assists for a team-leading 55 points. Over a point-a-game production, while working hard off the puck and being a fine teammate by all accounts.
February 6, 20196 yr This has been a weird season for the CBJ. The Bob & Bread situation continues ... but that's not all of it. After posting four straight wins to briefly hold 1st in the Metro in the middle of January -- the Jackets are in the midst of a five-game losing streak. But its a weird five-game losing streak. It consists of a two-game losing skid, going into a 10-day break in play, followed by a three-game losing skid after the break. Center Boone Jenner is out with an "infected ankle laceration". How do you get this weird injury? You cut your ankle blocking a shot in the 1/12 game at Washington - then you play four more games going into a 10-day break - then you return to practice on 1/28 and they determine your cut ankle got infected - then you're on the IR for 1 to 3 weeks(!) Defenseman Markus Nutivaara gets healthy scratched for the 1/31 game at Winnipeg after being out of position during the 5th (and GW) goal in the previous game against Buffalo. During the Winnipeg game, forward Anthony Duclair makes an error during his first shift that leads to a Jets goal. Coach Torts then sits Duclair on the bench FOR THE REST OF THE GAME!!!! Duclair finishes with 24 seconds(!) of ice time!
February 6, 20196 yr However, with all that said -- February will be a make or break month for the 2018-19 CBJ season. So also says this excellent Jackets Cannon opinion piece linked below: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/2/3/18208754/february-will-be-a-defining-month-for-the-columbus-blue-jackets-artemi-panarin-sergei-bobrovsky The Jackets are also entering a key five-game stretch of games that could make, break or clarify the rest of this season. Beginning tonight, the Jackets start a three-game Western U.S. road swing. Tonight they face an equally struggling Colorado team. On Thursday, its off to Arizona - who is once again having a struggling Arizona-type season. They finish Saturday at Vegas, who is playing very well. After this road swing, its back to C-BUS for two home games on 2/12 and 2/14 against Washington and the Islanders. Two of these three road games are "winnable". But only if the Jackets play better than in their recent losing matches. The two home games following the road swing are against Metro rivals currently above them in the standings. With a productive road swing (points-wise) and two wins over Metro opponents, the CBJ could be back in excellent playoff position. With an unproductive road swing and losses to those Metro opponents, the CBJ could be below the playoff line on Valentine's Day and looking to pull the ripcord on this season.
February 12, 20196 yr The CBJ made a trade yesterday(!) . . . no, it didn't involve Bob or Bread - that situation continues. ? The CBJ traded 22-year-old AHL defender Blake Siebenaler to the Pens for a conditional 7th-round draft pick: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/2/11/18220834/jackets-trade-blake-siebenaler-to-penguins And that condition was Siebenaler must play 10 games at the NHL level with the Penguins for the Jackets to receive that 7th-round pick. So basically, this was a give-away to open up roster space for any trade deadline deals by moving an AHL player on an expiring contract who wasn't even playing for the AHL's Monsters. According to Cap Friendly at https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/bluejackets the CBJ are now at 47/50 in total team contracts allowed.
February 12, 20196 yr Meanwhile, the CBJ had a very successful Western U.S. Road Trip - winning all three games: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/2/10/18218814/blue-jackets-sweep-road-trip-season-series-from-golden-knights After taking the first two "winnable" road games at Colorado and Arizona, the Jackets played a whale of a game against a hot Vegas team on Saturday night -- a come-from-behind 4-3 victory on a pair of Cam Atkinson goals (his 30th & 31st of the season!). Those victories broke a five-game losing streak Columbus had going into this road trip and vaulted them into 3rd in the Metro. They face Washington tonight (who is 2nd in the Metro) and the NY Islanders Thursday (who is 1st in the Metro). Obviously, both of these home games will be huge in the Metro standings for Columbus. The CBJ holds games-in-hand over NYI, WASH and 4th-place PIT. But games-in-hand are nothing if you can't cash them in for points. These next two games could vastly help or hurt the CBJ playoff position!
February 13, 20196 yr Really good 3-0 win over the Caps last night in Nationwide. Although, it wasn't as easy as the final score. The Jackets were up only one goal for most of it (after Duclair scored in the middle of the second period). But Foligno scored with just under 4 minutes remaining (on a nice give-and-go with Jones) and then Panarin potted an empty-netter with 10 seconds remaining for the 3-0 final: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/2/13/18222820/game-55-recap-columbus-blue-jackets-shutout-washington-capitals-3-0 Below are the Metro standings after last night's NHL action. The CBJ are still in third, but in excellent shape. Only two points behind the Caps, but with two games-in-hand. Two points above the Pens, but with one game-in-hand (Pittsburgh plays Edmonton on NBCSN tonight - so go oilers!) Columbus hosts the Metro-leading Islanders tomorrow:
February 14, 20196 yr A wide-ranging NHL.com interview with Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen prior to tonight's Valentine's Day matchup with first-place NY Islanders. In this interview, Kekalainen discusses his approach to the upcoming Feb. 25 trade deadline and Columbus' hopes for the playoffs and the future of franchise: https://www.nhl.com/news/columbus-gm-jarmo-kekalainen-talks-trade-deadline-strategy/c-304797360?tid=278542340
February 18, 20196 yr One terrible game (3-0 loss to Isles on Thursday) and one terrific game (5-2 win at Chicago on Saturday) leaves the Jackets third in the Metro going into this week's games: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/2/16/18227338/bob-bread-blue-jackets-win-at-chicago Here is the Eastern Conference playoff situation going into tonight's games: Four teams are within one point of each other - CBJ 69; PIT 69; MON 69; CAR 68. Three playoff spots are available for those four teams. Columbus has a two games-in-hand advantage over the other three teams to rise above that cluster. But, of course, the CBJ need to harvest points from those extra games-in-hand to do so. Tonight's game hosting TB will be nationally televised on NBCSN. This would be a good time for the CBJ to have an impressive game - and they'll need it against this year's best NHL team. There are only four games remaining until next Monday's NHL Trade Deadline on 2/25: Mon, Feb 18 -- Tampa Bay (NBCSN) Tue, Feb 19 -- @ Montreal Fri, Feb 22 -- @ Ottawa Sat, Feb 23 -- San Jose
February 19, 20196 yr Welp - that Tampa Bay Lightning team is good(!) Going into last night's game TBL had 92 points (which put them 15 points ahead of the second-best team in the NHL) and had a +73 goal differential (next highest GD is +42). TBL leads the NHL in goals-per-game, is 5th in goals-allowed-per-game, has the #1 power play and the #2 penalty kill. Plus, their starting goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy had shutouts in his last starts. Plus the previous two CBJ games against TBL went 8-2 and 4-0 in their favor. So-no-problem-lets-get-two-points-boys! Actually, Columbus came out strong in the first period - outshooting TBL 20 to 6. Despite that, TBL led 2-0 at the first break because of two open runaway goals by TBL's leading point scorer Nikita Kucherov. Then the Jackets held TBL scoreless thru the second period, until two penalties late in the period led to a 5-on-3 power play goal from TBL's leading goal scorer Steven Stamkos - giving them a 3-0 lead. Another PP goal 12 seconds into the third period and another goal only 34 seconds later gave TBL a 5-0 lead. Only a CBJ goal with 1:45 remaining prevented Vasilevskiy from a third straight shutout: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/2/18/18230651/game-58-recap-tampa-bay-lightnin-cheat-code-columbus-blue-jackets-nikita-kucherov-brayden-point This win gives Tampa Bay 45 wins in their first 60 games of this season (tying an NHL record). Its not like TBL hasn't done this to every other NHL team this season - and its not like CBJ fans didn't expect an outcome like this last night. But despite the CBJ's best efforts, Tampa Bay is "Golden-State-73-win-season" good right now. The only consolation is that backup Korpi started instead of Bob (who is starting tonight at Montreal). With Bob on a hot streak, saving him for a game with greater playoff implications gives the Jackets a chance to get back on the right track at Montreal tonight. And a chance to forget the 0-3 season series against TBL where the CBJ were outscored 17-3 by the best team in the NHL.
February 19, 20196 yr One more tidbit from last night's nationally televised game. NBC color analyst Pierre McGuire was between the benches during the game. Or "inside the glass" as NBCSN calls it. Which is great for getting an up close feel of the game. But it comes with some danger - as McGuire was lucky not to get beaned by the puck late in the first period(!)
February 20, 20196 yr The Jackets went down 2-0 in first period last night at Montreal - and CBJ fans thought "here we go again". But Montreal - although a good team currently above the playoff line - is not the super-team that Tampa Bay is. The Jackets scored early in the second and midway in the third to tie it up 2-2. Unfortunately, Montreal got the game-winning goal later in the third to win 3-2: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/2/19/18232683/game-59-recap-montreal-canadiens-hold-off-columbus-blue-jackets Despite the loss, it was a well-played game by the CBJ - a very even match on the road that could have gone either way. Plus Panarin didn't play last night due to an unspecified pre-game illness. Well, mostly unspecified, as HC Torts said before the Montreal game in https://www.dispatch.com/sports/20190219/blue-jackets--illness-not-trade-keeps-artemi-panarin-off-ice: Quote --“He’s sick,” Tortorella said during a pregame news conference. “He’s sick as a dog. He’s very sick. That’s why he’s out.” -- Tortorella was asked whether Panarin might have been sick Monday, when the Blue Jackets lost 5-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Nationwide Arena. “I didn’t ask him last night,” he said. “Today, I was told that he’s sick, not eating. He’s puking. You want me to go into the whole entire (thing), as far as what happened with him, so we can get that speculation done with, as far as that he’s going to be moved?” -- Before anybody could answer, Tortorella went into it — largely with tongue implanted in cheek. “He (messed) his pants,” Tortorella said. “He was puking, he was doing everything. So, enough.” And although it didn't change the score of the game, seeing team captain Nick Foligno pummel Habs irritant Max Domi was pretty great. Below is a video of the lead-up to the fight and the one-sided battle - erroneously labeled as Marcus Foligno by SportsNet(!) Hey, SN fixed the title!
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