>:(
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Murray bows out of GM consideration
... ... ...
As of this moment, I'm frustrated. And angry. I spent much of yesterday afternoon and evening wrapping my brain around this news when the story was first broke. A whole 15 hours or so later, I find myself unable to come up with any reasonable thoughts on this matter.
The only thing I can really say with absolute certainty pertains to my disdain for the steel curtain which has enveloped Nationwide Arena and the Blue Jackets front office. In short, it is that very shroud of secrecy which has backfired on President Mike Priest and the rest of the team management, as they have not come forward to try to alleviate any concerns that the Blue Jackets' fan base might have ... and believe me, there are a lot of concerns out there now that the top candidate, with no more than a week to go before the finals will be ending at the very latest, bowed out at the last minute.
We don't want trade secrets, nor do we want every last aspect of this search to be revealed to us, as it is understandable that many things need to be kept under wraps to ensure a fair and efficient GM search happens. But now that the lid's been blown off of this, we need answers. We need something to help us fans feel like this search isn't jumping off of the railroad tracks and spinning violently down the proverbial mountain.
Cut the damage control talk about how you're in no rush to find your GM before the draft begins in 17 days, alright? As it stands, this front office needs that outside influence, and it needs it in time to make some sort of difference at the draft.
... ... ...
As of this moment, I'm frustrated. And angry. I spent much of yesterday afternoon and evening wrapping my brain around this news when the story was first broke. A whole 15 hours or so later, I find myself unable to come up with any reasonable thoughts on this matter.
The only thing I can really say with absolute certainty pertains to my disdain for the steel curtain which has enveloped Nationwide Arena and the Blue Jackets front office. In short, it is that very shroud of secrecy which has backfired on President Mike Priest and the rest of the team management, as they have not come forward to try to alleviate any concerns that the Blue Jackets' fan base might have ... and believe me, there are a lot of concerns out there now that the top candidate, with no more than a week to go before the finals will be ending at the very latest, bowed out at the last minute.
We don't want trade secrets, nor do we want every last aspect of this search to be revealed to us, as it is understandable that many things need to be kept under wraps to ensure a fair and efficient GM search happens. But now that the lid's been blown off of this, we need answers. We need something to help us fans feel like this search isn't jumping off of the railroad tracks and spinning violently down the proverbial mountain.
Cut the damage control talk about how you're in no rush to find your GM before the draft begins in 17 days, alright? As it stands, this front office needs that outside influence, and it needs it in time to make some sort of difference at the draft.
Labels: Dis or Dat, GM search, ranting
Still ranting, and ranting, and RANTING ... and stop!
Friday, June 01, 2007
You know, I'm actually a little surprised. No sooner did I berate the fact that ESPN had the obligatory "American hockey ratings suck" headline near the top, did it vanished not only from the front page, but from the page devoted entirely to headlines as well. Given, it's still in existence, as noted by the link in my previous post still working.
Not that I'm taking any sort of responsibility whatsoever for this. Who do you think I am, George Bodenheimer? No, this is surely just an amusing, coincidental happenstance.
Before I move on, I want to add one last thought on my rant yesterday. To many people, including myself, the notion of simply sending letters or making an individual effort to make a difference can seem both a waste of time and downright silly. After all, what is a metric ton of vitriol-filled letters going to make the NHL do? Apologize for moving to Versus and promise to get right to work on a new deal with ESPN? Doubtful.
But being the most wired, the most intelligent, and for the most part the most learned fans in all of mainstream sports in North America, it's all about quality over quantity when trying to make our case to organizations, whom pretty much control whether the NHL ever will come back to any inkling of notability like it had during the mid-1990s, which most people love to point to as the point at which the league took its nosedive.
And it's also about letting organizations like ESPN know that believe it or not, we're not oblivious to just what the Hell they're doing each and every day when they let their "dogs" loose (see: your "friendly neighborhood" sports analysts) on hockey. I don't know about anyone else, but it insults my intelligence, as well as my very being, when I see Tony Kornheiser guffaw and mockingly say "Nashville!? I didn't know Nashville had a hockey team!" when asked about the possible relocation of the Predators to Canada.
I've probably wasted enough energy over yesterday and today going on about this, so I'll stop here. Just remember that doing nothing means nothing happens. And even if the odds dictate that even doing something won't lead to anything either, they still give us a better chance at some -- any -- sort of response or reaction than sitting on our hands.
With a bit of a long day ahead of me -- I have to call Ohio Dominican and see about doing a little class shuffling before it's too late, among other things -- I'm just going to quickly toss out the newest Dispatch article on the GM search, which has Aaron Portzline reporting that Bob Murray should be in Columbus at some point today for his interview with Mike Priest and the McConnells before he continues on his way up to Ottawa for the continuation of the Stanley Cup Finals. 1460 The Fan had earlier indicated that Murray was in town for the interview the other day, but from the looks of it they may have meant to say Neil Smith, who was in on Wednesday.
And with that, I am off! Enjoy your daily Dis or Dat!
Not that I'm taking any sort of responsibility whatsoever for this. Who do you think I am, George Bodenheimer? No, this is surely just an amusing, coincidental happenstance.
Before I move on, I want to add one last thought on my rant yesterday. To many people, including myself, the notion of simply sending letters or making an individual effort to make a difference can seem both a waste of time and downright silly. After all, what is a metric ton of vitriol-filled letters going to make the NHL do? Apologize for moving to Versus and promise to get right to work on a new deal with ESPN? Doubtful.
But being the most wired, the most intelligent, and for the most part the most learned fans in all of mainstream sports in North America, it's all about quality over quantity when trying to make our case to organizations, whom pretty much control whether the NHL ever will come back to any inkling of notability like it had during the mid-1990s, which most people love to point to as the point at which the league took its nosedive.
And it's also about letting organizations like ESPN know that believe it or not, we're not oblivious to just what the Hell they're doing each and every day when they let their "dogs" loose (see: your "friendly neighborhood" sports analysts) on hockey. I don't know about anyone else, but it insults my intelligence, as well as my very being, when I see Tony Kornheiser guffaw and mockingly say "Nashville!? I didn't know Nashville had a hockey team!" when asked about the possible relocation of the Predators to Canada.
I've probably wasted enough energy over yesterday and today going on about this, so I'll stop here. Just remember that doing nothing means nothing happens. And even if the odds dictate that even doing something won't lead to anything either, they still give us a better chance at some -- any -- sort of response or reaction than sitting on our hands.
With a bit of a long day ahead of me -- I have to call Ohio Dominican and see about doing a little class shuffling before it's too late, among other things -- I'm just going to quickly toss out the newest Dispatch article on the GM search, which has Aaron Portzline reporting that Bob Murray should be in Columbus at some point today for his interview with Mike Priest and the McConnells before he continues on his way up to Ottawa for the continuation of the Stanley Cup Finals. 1460 The Fan had earlier indicated that Murray was in town for the interview the other day, but from the looks of it they may have meant to say Neil Smith, who was in on Wednesday.
And with that, I am off! Enjoy your daily Dis or Dat!
Labels: america hates hockey, Dis or Dat, GM search, ranting
Never giving up, even when you really should.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
You ever notice how it's always the little things that make you snap? It's never, for example, the traumatic experience that sends you over the edge, but that tiny, pea-sized anecdote in your life sometime after the traumatic or emotional experience that makes you finally lose it, one way or the other.
So as I was going through Kukla's Korner over the past several days like I always do, seeing the loud and venomous editorials and articles by "mainstream" American sportswriters left and right about hockey being a dud, the Stanley Cup Finals having no buzz at all, and the sport probably only barely within the Top 10 list of sports in the United States, I just sort of shrugged it off. I mean, as a hockey fan, you learn to grow a thick outer shell to much of what is said about the sport. And if you don't, you just burn yourself out with frustration and stress at what you see nearly each and every day.
You roll with the punches, to put things succinctly.
But there's always that one thing that will set someone off; and oftentimes it will be something so inconsequential, so small, that it seems like such a worthless thing to get riled up by. Like last year, when I snapped at seeing Ian O'Connor's article on MSN.com about hockey and why hockey is "given the cold shoulder," in his own words. Back then I said I was sick of smiling and nodding, and just brushing aside articles like this, let alone the regular commentary made about how pathetic of a sports product hockey is in the United States.
This morning, the 2nd biggest headline on ESPN.com's NHL section was Stanley Cup finals Game 1 ratings plummet in U.S.. That's right, they plummeted. And it's important enough to mention that it is right near the top of the headlines, too. People tend to dismiss the placement of things on websites as trivial, but everything -- everything -- is done for a reason. The place of the NHL link at SI.com, for example, all the way behind college football, basketball, and even golf. Or the placement of the NHL link so far at the bottom of ESPN's "Sports" tab that it ranks behind the generic Auto category, and ... wait for it ... woman's basketball. You know, the one that teaches fundamentals.
I'm not about to get in to an argument with anyone about the definition of words or the talented use of semantics and link/name placement to sensationalize and/or sway readers one way or the other. It'd be a waste of time, as well as a waste of my energy. Suffice it to say, it's been the little things I've seen over the past week that drove me to vent like this today.
Paul, in his NHL.com blog, wrote just a couple days ago that we just don't care about what the mainstream media thinks anymore. To an extent, he's right; like I said, many hockey fans have had to grow a thick skin to handle the daily berating and mockery we receive for being fans of a sport so low on the food chain that "hockey mockery" has become a sport in and of itself.
But I was never one for peaceful protest, let alone turning the other cheek. Sorry, but Christian morals of giving your shirt to your enemy, or letting your foe give you a black eye to match the first one he gave you aren't going to work here.
With that said, while we don't care, I'll be damned if I believe hockey fans should sit on their asses and say or do nothing. Back in my entry that I linked to, I said I was sick of taking things in stride, because there was no other recourse or action that could be taken. I didn't think there was anything that could be done.
But the thing is, we hockey fans have always been considered the more superior fans of all major sports in America. Go ahead, say I'm being unabashedly cocky for proclaiming such a thing ... but it's been researched, time and again, that we're the most educated and most affluent. Besides, what are you going to do, NASCAR fan? Southern accent-talk me to death? "Git r done" and whatnot, right?
The thing is, hockey fans need to stop just quietly moping to just one another about being disrespected. We need to start harassing and contacting people in the NHL, at ESPN, at Versus, at NBC ... in essence, we need to be heard. Phone calls, e-mails, snail mail ... whatever. The fact of the matter is that no one in these organizations is actively seeking enlightenment outside of their own, insulated environments where they believe that "hockey is dead", or "NBC/Versus gives the NHL the respect it needs". Maybe it's simple-minded, and who knows? Maybe it's also futile ... but it's something. And frankly, we -- as hockey fans -- are the very reason that the NHL is still alive today. So we might not be front office big wigs or even Gary Bettman, but we can make some kind of difference.
I didn't start blogging for the sake of an NHL team, despite the fact that this blog has had and always will have a predominant focus on the Columbus Blue Jackets. I did it because I love hockey. And I do it because by the time I finally graduate from college with a major in Sports Management in 2009, I intend to spend every waking hour trying to get involved with the NHL in some way or another, so that I can actually try and make a difference with a league that is so discombobulated that it makes the abstract art of Jackson Pollock look neat, orderly, and purposeful.
I must have missed the realist bus or something, because I'm reminded time and again that such an idealistic and naive view, especially when you're 24 years old, is not only silly, but also pretty depressing to see from someone who should just grow up and face reality. Then again, I never really was that quick on the uptake.
I'm off to see Hot Fuzz. Here's your daily Dis or Dat, folks:
So as I was going through Kukla's Korner over the past several days like I always do, seeing the loud and venomous editorials and articles by "mainstream" American sportswriters left and right about hockey being a dud, the Stanley Cup Finals having no buzz at all, and the sport probably only barely within the Top 10 list of sports in the United States, I just sort of shrugged it off. I mean, as a hockey fan, you learn to grow a thick outer shell to much of what is said about the sport. And if you don't, you just burn yourself out with frustration and stress at what you see nearly each and every day.
You roll with the punches, to put things succinctly.
But there's always that one thing that will set someone off; and oftentimes it will be something so inconsequential, so small, that it seems like such a worthless thing to get riled up by. Like last year, when I snapped at seeing Ian O'Connor's article on MSN.com about hockey and why hockey is "given the cold shoulder," in his own words. Back then I said I was sick of smiling and nodding, and just brushing aside articles like this, let alone the regular commentary made about how pathetic of a sports product hockey is in the United States.
This morning, the 2nd biggest headline on ESPN.com's NHL section was Stanley Cup finals Game 1 ratings plummet in U.S.. That's right, they plummeted. And it's important enough to mention that it is right near the top of the headlines, too. People tend to dismiss the placement of things on websites as trivial, but everything -- everything -- is done for a reason. The place of the NHL link at SI.com, for example, all the way behind college football, basketball, and even golf. Or the placement of the NHL link so far at the bottom of ESPN's "Sports" tab that it ranks behind the generic Auto category, and ... wait for it ... woman's basketball. You know, the one that teaches fundamentals.
I'm not about to get in to an argument with anyone about the definition of words or the talented use of semantics and link/name placement to sensationalize and/or sway readers one way or the other. It'd be a waste of time, as well as a waste of my energy. Suffice it to say, it's been the little things I've seen over the past week that drove me to vent like this today.
Paul, in his NHL.com blog, wrote just a couple days ago that we just don't care about what the mainstream media thinks anymore. To an extent, he's right; like I said, many hockey fans have had to grow a thick skin to handle the daily berating and mockery we receive for being fans of a sport so low on the food chain that "hockey mockery" has become a sport in and of itself.
But I was never one for peaceful protest, let alone turning the other cheek. Sorry, but Christian morals of giving your shirt to your enemy, or letting your foe give you a black eye to match the first one he gave you aren't going to work here.
With that said, while we don't care, I'll be damned if I believe hockey fans should sit on their asses and say or do nothing. Back in my entry that I linked to, I said I was sick of taking things in stride, because there was no other recourse or action that could be taken. I didn't think there was anything that could be done.
But the thing is, we hockey fans have always been considered the more superior fans of all major sports in America. Go ahead, say I'm being unabashedly cocky for proclaiming such a thing ... but it's been researched, time and again, that we're the most educated and most affluent. Besides, what are you going to do, NASCAR fan? Southern accent-talk me to death? "Git r done" and whatnot, right?
The thing is, hockey fans need to stop just quietly moping to just one another about being disrespected. We need to start harassing and contacting people in the NHL, at ESPN, at Versus, at NBC ... in essence, we need to be heard. Phone calls, e-mails, snail mail ... whatever. The fact of the matter is that no one in these organizations is actively seeking enlightenment outside of their own, insulated environments where they believe that "hockey is dead", or "NBC/Versus gives the NHL the respect it needs". Maybe it's simple-minded, and who knows? Maybe it's also futile ... but it's something. And frankly, we -- as hockey fans -- are the very reason that the NHL is still alive today. So we might not be front office big wigs or even Gary Bettman, but we can make some kind of difference.
I didn't start blogging for the sake of an NHL team, despite the fact that this blog has had and always will have a predominant focus on the Columbus Blue Jackets. I did it because I love hockey. And I do it because by the time I finally graduate from college with a major in Sports Management in 2009, I intend to spend every waking hour trying to get involved with the NHL in some way or another, so that I can actually try and make a difference with a league that is so discombobulated that it makes the abstract art of Jackson Pollock look neat, orderly, and purposeful.
I must have missed the realist bus or something, because I'm reminded time and again that such an idealistic and naive view, especially when you're 24 years old, is not only silly, but also pretty depressing to see from someone who should just grow up and face reality. Then again, I never really was that quick on the uptake.
I'm off to see Hot Fuzz. Here's your daily Dis or Dat, folks:
Labels: america hates hockey, Dis or Dat, ranting
ARE YOU READY TO UNLEASH THE F'ING FURY!?
Monday, May 21, 2007
Wow. Well ... where to start. How about with the numerous, numerous comments by both mainstream media and bloggers alike on what happened Saturday:
- Off Wing Opinion
- James Mirtle
- Spector
- Kukla's Korner
- HockeyNation
- Gorilla Crouch
- Keith Russell
- Inside the Panthers
- Deadspin
- Hockey Ladies of Greatness
- Allen Muir (SI.com)
- Miami Herald
- Globe and Mail
- Toronto Star
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. There's many, many other reactions out there, but I get the feeling that most people would prefer I don't turn this post in to nothing more than an archive for every single reaction to Saturday.
For those without any idea to what I am talking about when I refer to what happened on Saturday (and if you don't know, you probably shouldn't be reading this blog in the first place), I am referring to NBC's decision to drop the NHL Eastern Conference Finals Game 5 between Ottawa and Buffalo after regulation. Why? Because of The Preakness, of course. Or rather, the 90 minute pre-Preakness pomp and commentary, chalk full of big advertising money and banter about if this is the year that we finally see a Triple Crown winner.
By the way, we won't see a Triple Crown winner this year, if anyone's curious.
I decided to hold back on posting for the length of the weekend, despite the fact that I had several opportunities to post. And believe me, I was really tempted to. I was ready to fly to the computer and launch into a blathering, blithering, mad rant and rave without regard or care for what I said.
But like I said, I held back. I figured that it'd be best to wait and see how other people react first, and take a look at the many different pieces of information that would be put together concerning this decision by NBC. After all, sometimes it's best to let the dust settle -- or at least stop whipping around as much as it was in the past 40 or so hours -- before you make any sorts of declarations.
There's really no real way for me to put in to text how I feel about this. I'm sort of at a loss for how to lay out what I want to say in the text medium of communication. As a result, I'm going to finally make a podcast again. A mini-podcast, but a podcast nonetheless. Sometimes expressing an opinion through verbal methods is the only way to make a more powerful point, and this seems to be one of those times where it's all but required.
You know the drill for downloading these for consumption. And if not, simply type in the three-letter code at the top right, wait 45 seconds, then click to download.
>> Podcast of the Ohio #3 <<
It's ranty, and it tends to jump from one thought to another. And it's also over 7 minutes in length. But I just couldn't find a better way to express exactly the type of response I wanted to convey.
I'm out for the day. Here's your weekly You Don't Know Jack!
Labels: nbc hates hockey, podcasting, ranting, You Don't Know Jack
Shooting for the best position in the standings ever?
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Remember; objects in rear view mirror are further than they appear.
10th place, hoooo~!
Edit (3:55 PM EST): Oh, you know, I had something of a scenario that I thought I would ask people to chew on for a little, after some thought concerning the Blues and the Blue Jackets season series "split" after last night.
Obviously when it comes to winning and losing, this was a split series. Both teams won four games apiece out of a total eight. But in a sport like hockey, where we have a point system depending on who wins, when they win, or when someone loses in a game, it doesn't seem right to just simplify season series like that.
Three of the Blues' four wins came in the shootout against the Jackets. As a result, the Blue Jackets notched an additional 3 points from OT/SO losses, which is then added on to the 8 points they received from their own 4 wins. So the total standing points each team grabbed in the series?
Blue Jackets: 11
Blues: 8
Of course this also goes both ways. The Jackets and the Red Wings are tied at 3 wins apiece right now, but because one of Detroits' losses was in the shootout, they still hold the advantage in the season series.
I understand that for the sake of the average fan, explaining such intricacies of the point system can be a bit of a task. But is it not fair to be more accurate when describing a season series' results, to help fans better understand the system, and possibly also make them realize that a split series is, in reality, not always a split series?
Okay. I'm done.
I could really go for a coffee right about now ...
Sunday, March 18, 2007
I would have preferred that we went out of the playoff hunt (the mathematical one) with a roar and not a whimper. But apparently asking for that was just too much.
Going in to the game back on Friday against San Jose, the Jackets had to either lose two game, or the Flames had to win two games (or a combination of the two) to be mathematically and 100% eliminated from the playoffs. Even though Mirtle's "95 points or bust" standings guide says the Jackets were "eliminated" ages ago, just keep in mind that we may very well see both conferences have #8 seeds that either just barely make the point total, or even end up below it due to a combination of reasons. Not that that would've been enough for the Jackets, or anything.
But I'm straying off topic. The Blue Jackets have now been officially eliminated from the playoff hunt as of last night, when the Jackets were backhanded like a backtalking woman by a misogynous man by the Kings. Brian Boucher was, unfortunately, very poor in net. A soft goal to start things off, followed by a power play goal while the Jackets were reeling from a 5-on-3 due to some rather suspicious penalty calling by the referees, who dolled out the minutes to Alex Svitov as though he'd just won the penalty lottery.
Maybe my opinion can be changed about giving him 19 minutes in penalties if one thing is clarified for me. Svitov wasn't simply given an instigator penalty coupled with an unsportsmanlike, but the scoresheet labels it as Instigator - face shield. I'm going out on a limb here and assuming that this means he picked a fight with someone who had a face shield on, or ripped off the guy's helmet despite their having a face shield. Would I be correct or not?
(Thanks, Sarah and Drew. You can't really argue with something as clean cut as "you can't pick a fight unless you drop the visored helmet." Though, still, 19 minutes all at once ... something seems off about that. In fact something about the reffing the whole game seemed off.)
To an extent, I don't blame Svitov for going at Dustin Brown the way he did, especially as I watched the end result of Brown's hit on Rusty Klesla, wherein Klesla all but writhed and threw himself around on the ice for several seconds after that board check given to him, before finally laying motionless. But to go flying across the ice like that just begged some sort of additional penalty beyond just fighting.
While Fredrik Norrena can be given some slack for coming in cold after a long game against San Jose the night prior, he still has to play hard, and play smart. Both goals against Norrena were shoddy, and that's even keeping in mind that one of them was on the 5-on-3.
It's unfortunate, but this is the first Blue Jackets' game since early in the season that I actually just turned off after a certain point. It became evident that this wasn't going to end with any miracles, or any kinds of amazing comebacks. I really felt like it was for sanity's sake that I turned off the TV, put on some music, and simply went to bed after seeing this team go from a rousing (but still futile effort) against a 'better' team like the Sharks, to something so bush league against the Kings. Something so ... undisciplined. So wretched, to say the least.
There was only one silver lining to be found last night, and that was in the play of the Nash/Platt/Zherdev line. After finally relegating Svitov somewhere else thanks to the slew of injuries causing regular line mash-ups due to Sergei Fedorov now playing both defense, Platt was again given a chance with some high quality forwards. He didn't disappoint, potting two of the team's three goals, along with an assist on Nash's goal. Zherdev didn't notch any goals, but assisted on all three, the last goal with about a minute left in the game a very pretty back pass to Platt, who came flying in to the zone from the left of the net.
Well, make that two 'silver linings', actually. For all the hemming, hawing, and slack-jawed calling for Anders Eriksson (note: if you ever see me being snarky about comments towards Eriksson, nine times out of ten it's a direct response to the "Bubba hate" I almost religiously see of him at the CBJ HFBoards) not to be with the team next year, he continues to pad his +/- and prove that he isn't a washed up "Bubba" just yet, now sporting a +8; ahead of the next best rated players (David Vyborny and Platt), who are just +3. While everyone is enamored with first round picks such as Klesla, or young guys like Marc Methot and O.K. Tollefsen, Eriksson just quietly has done his job.
Feh. I shouldn't be up this early on a Sunday. I need to go find something constructive to do.
Going in to the game back on Friday against San Jose, the Jackets had to either lose two game, or the Flames had to win two games (or a combination of the two) to be mathematically and 100% eliminated from the playoffs. Even though Mirtle's "95 points or bust" standings guide says the Jackets were "eliminated" ages ago, just keep in mind that we may very well see both conferences have #8 seeds that either just barely make the point total, or even end up below it due to a combination of reasons. Not that that would've been enough for the Jackets, or anything.
But I'm straying off topic. The Blue Jackets have now been officially eliminated from the playoff hunt as of last night, when the Jackets were backhanded like a backtalking woman by a misogynous man by the Kings. Brian Boucher was, unfortunately, very poor in net. A soft goal to start things off, followed by a power play goal while the Jackets were reeling from a 5-on-3 due to some rather suspicious penalty calling by the referees, who dolled out the minutes to Alex Svitov as though he'd just won the penalty lottery.
(Thanks, Sarah and Drew. You can't really argue with something as clean cut as "you can't pick a fight unless you drop the visored helmet." Though, still, 19 minutes all at once ... something seems off about that. In fact something about the reffing the whole game seemed off.)
To an extent, I don't blame Svitov for going at Dustin Brown the way he did, especially as I watched the end result of Brown's hit on Rusty Klesla, wherein Klesla all but writhed and threw himself around on the ice for several seconds after that board check given to him, before finally laying motionless. But to go flying across the ice like that just begged some sort of additional penalty beyond just fighting.
While Fredrik Norrena can be given some slack for coming in cold after a long game against San Jose the night prior, he still has to play hard, and play smart. Both goals against Norrena were shoddy, and that's even keeping in mind that one of them was on the 5-on-3.
It's unfortunate, but this is the first Blue Jackets' game since early in the season that I actually just turned off after a certain point. It became evident that this wasn't going to end with any miracles, or any kinds of amazing comebacks. I really felt like it was for sanity's sake that I turned off the TV, put on some music, and simply went to bed after seeing this team go from a rousing (but still futile effort) against a 'better' team like the Sharks, to something so bush league against the Kings. Something so ... undisciplined. So wretched, to say the least.
There was only one silver lining to be found last night, and that was in the play of the Nash/Platt/Zherdev line. After finally relegating Svitov somewhere else thanks to the slew of injuries causing regular line mash-ups due to Sergei Fedorov now playing both defense, Platt was again given a chance with some high quality forwards. He didn't disappoint, potting two of the team's three goals, along with an assist on Nash's goal. Zherdev didn't notch any goals, but assisted on all three, the last goal with about a minute left in the game a very pretty back pass to Platt, who came flying in to the zone from the left of the net.
Well, make that two 'silver linings', actually. For all the hemming, hawing, and slack-jawed calling for Anders Eriksson (note: if you ever see me being snarky about comments towards Eriksson, nine times out of ten it's a direct response to the "Bubba hate" I almost religiously see of him at the CBJ HFBoards) not to be with the team next year, he continues to pad his +/- and prove that he isn't a washed up "Bubba" just yet, now sporting a +8; ahead of the next best rated players (David Vyborny and Platt), who are just +3. While everyone is enamored with first round picks such as Klesla, or young guys like Marc Methot and O.K. Tollefsen, Eriksson just quietly has done his job.
Feh. I shouldn't be up this early on a Sunday. I need to go find something constructive to do.
Labels: Blue Jackets, Kings, post-game, ranting
[Insert random title here]
Sunday, March 11, 2007
I found myself further vexed, as I watched last night's game, at the fact that Geoff Platt continued to be relegated to fourth line duty ever since Alex Svitov returned.
There's really only so much I can say about that situation before I go in to the blame game, or start to question who is responsible for this decision. While last night I did say that this was Hitchcock's move, I have to consider the possibility that other powers in the organization might be behind giving Svitov more time.
Remember earlier this year, when Joe Motzko started to receive a lot of praise from Hitch after being called up. It was only a little bit later that Motzko was traded away, along with Mark Hartigan, to the Ducks for Zenon Konopka and Curtis Glencross.
Remember that Svitov is a draft pick ... a high one at that, even if he was picked by another team (Tampa Bay). More is expected of Svitov, and so he might be given more opportunities to shine. I won't discount the possibility that this may all very well be a matter of Hitch's decisions, but I can't help but question whether Doug MacLean had a hand in this. This is all just presumptions and theories, of course ... so don't this all too seriously.
The point is that leading up to the Stars game, that top line was working so well. Why try to fix something that wasn't broken? And more suspicious is the fact that not only was Platt dropped from the top line, but that he was dropped to the fourth line, alongside Jody Shelley. That makes this whole situation even more curious. If he's scoring a goal and getting assists, why do that? Why not put him with some other scorers like Nikolai Zherdev or Fredrik Modin?
Well, there isn't much else to say about that, I guess. I can only hope that there's some method to this madness.
As for the game? I don't know. To tell you the truth, half of my attention was elsewhere, but the other half was on watching the game. And what I saw when it came to the two goals against the Jackets was frustrating. The first goal by Paul Kariya was a direct result of more than one miscue by Fredrik Modin, both in coughing up the puck, then not properly playing the puck in his own zone.
The other goal annoys me more, though. The one that David Legwand got. Legwand was all but left totally unmolested in front of the net. Admittedly, Legwand all but came streaking right in to the zone, and in less than five seconds of flashing across the screen from the neutral zone, he looped around the net, and knocked a rebound in past Fredrik Norrena. But even factoring in Legwand's speed, no one even tried to pick him up. Marc Methot was too busy diving to the ice to block a close shot, and so he never had a prayer when it came to getting up, and doing anything about the rebound.
Other than that, well ... it's already painful enough that the Predators, the hated expansion rivals, have swept the Blue Jackets this year. If anything, you could say that this is the most perfect, most prime example of the gap between the two teams in their development over the years. Where the Predators are threatening for a Stanley Cup, the Blue Jackets are threatening to take over Jack Niclaus' golf course here in Columbus yet again.
A couple of one-timers before I set to work trying to better update the draft post, and then watch tonight's NBC game.
-I was mistaken about FSN Ohio picking up the game against the Blues on March 25th just to be nice and help out. Or rather, they're still doing it to be nice and help out, but contractual obligations require FSN to now drop a game so that they continue to air only 75 games this season. The game they're dropping? This Wednesday's game at Anaheim.
I don't know. I don't really like that decision, to not air an away game, but pick up the home game. Now CBJ fans are stuck having to listen to 1460 The Fan or CD101 if they want to hear anything on the game. And while George Matthews and Bill Davidge are one-of-a-kind when it comes to their coverage of games, it's still not enough for the visual aspect that we'll be missing.
-On Friday, we happened to get some new types of memorabilia sticks in to sell at The Blueline! A month or so ago we'd run out of our other sticks, which were two CBJ sticks and two NHL Draft sticks (wooden, and a goalie stick and forward stick for each type). I'm not trying to advertise them, but I really like these sticks. Why? Because they have the Union Army cap logo on them now. There's also this new font used to write out "Columbus Blue Jackets" on the shaft of each stick, which I find really appealing. Which brings me to my final comment today ...
-With the retiring of the Jackets' "CBJ" logo at the end of this season (and the switch to the third jersey logo), what happens with the font that is used when writing out the team's name on things such as the jerseys, and on their helmets, and the like? For those not sure about what I'm talking about, I'm referring to this:
If the "CBJ" is being retired, it only stands to reason that this way of writing out the name would also be retired ... maybe. I know I'd like to hear about whether or not there'll be a change in the team's font use when writing out the name, just because I really liked what I saw on our new wooden sticks.
But that's it for me. With no games until Wednesday (and then no games I can even watch until Friday), things might be a little quiet. But that also means an opportunity to finally work on my draft post. Hurrah!
There's really only so much I can say about that situation before I go in to the blame game, or start to question who is responsible for this decision. While last night I did say that this was Hitchcock's move, I have to consider the possibility that other powers in the organization might be behind giving Svitov more time.
Remember earlier this year, when Joe Motzko started to receive a lot of praise from Hitch after being called up. It was only a little bit later that Motzko was traded away, along with Mark Hartigan, to the Ducks for Zenon Konopka and Curtis Glencross.
Remember that Svitov is a draft pick ... a high one at that, even if he was picked by another team (Tampa Bay). More is expected of Svitov, and so he might be given more opportunities to shine. I won't discount the possibility that this may all very well be a matter of Hitch's decisions, but I can't help but question whether Doug MacLean had a hand in this. This is all just presumptions and theories, of course ... so don't this all too seriously.
The point is that leading up to the Stars game, that top line was working so well. Why try to fix something that wasn't broken? And more suspicious is the fact that not only was Platt dropped from the top line, but that he was dropped to the fourth line, alongside Jody Shelley. That makes this whole situation even more curious. If he's scoring a goal and getting assists, why do that? Why not put him with some other scorers like Nikolai Zherdev or Fredrik Modin?
Well, there isn't much else to say about that, I guess. I can only hope that there's some method to this madness.
As for the game? I don't know. To tell you the truth, half of my attention was elsewhere, but the other half was on watching the game. And what I saw when it came to the two goals against the Jackets was frustrating. The first goal by Paul Kariya was a direct result of more than one miscue by Fredrik Modin, both in coughing up the puck, then not properly playing the puck in his own zone.
The other goal annoys me more, though. The one that David Legwand got. Legwand was all but left totally unmolested in front of the net. Admittedly, Legwand all but came streaking right in to the zone, and in less than five seconds of flashing across the screen from the neutral zone, he looped around the net, and knocked a rebound in past Fredrik Norrena. But even factoring in Legwand's speed, no one even tried to pick him up. Marc Methot was too busy diving to the ice to block a close shot, and so he never had a prayer when it came to getting up, and doing anything about the rebound.
Other than that, well ... it's already painful enough that the Predators, the hated expansion rivals, have swept the Blue Jackets this year. If anything, you could say that this is the most perfect, most prime example of the gap between the two teams in their development over the years. Where the Predators are threatening for a Stanley Cup, the Blue Jackets are threatening to take over Jack Niclaus' golf course here in Columbus yet again.
A couple of one-timers before I set to work trying to better update the draft post, and then watch tonight's NBC game.
-I was mistaken about FSN Ohio picking up the game against the Blues on March 25th just to be nice and help out. Or rather, they're still doing it to be nice and help out, but contractual obligations require FSN to now drop a game so that they continue to air only 75 games this season. The game they're dropping? This Wednesday's game at Anaheim.
I don't know. I don't really like that decision, to not air an away game, but pick up the home game. Now CBJ fans are stuck having to listen to 1460 The Fan or CD101 if they want to hear anything on the game. And while George Matthews and Bill Davidge are one-of-a-kind when it comes to their coverage of games, it's still not enough for the visual aspect that we'll be missing.
-On Friday, we happened to get some new types of memorabilia sticks in to sell at The Blueline! A month or so ago we'd run out of our other sticks, which were two CBJ sticks and two NHL Draft sticks (wooden, and a goalie stick and forward stick for each type). I'm not trying to advertise them, but I really like these sticks. Why? Because they have the Union Army cap logo on them now. There's also this new font used to write out "Columbus Blue Jackets" on the shaft of each stick, which I find really appealing. Which brings me to my final comment today ...
-With the retiring of the Jackets' "CBJ" logo at the end of this season (and the switch to the third jersey logo), what happens with the font that is used when writing out the team's name on things such as the jerseys, and on their helmets, and the like? For those not sure about what I'm talking about, I'm referring to this:
If the "CBJ" is being retired, it only stands to reason that this way of writing out the name would also be retired ... maybe. I know I'd like to hear about whether or not there'll be a change in the team's font use when writing out the name, just because I really liked what I saw on our new wooden sticks.But that's it for me. With no games until Wednesday (and then no games I can even watch until Friday), things might be a little quiet. But that also means an opportunity to finally work on my draft post. Hurrah!
Labels: Blue Jackets, coaches, post-game, Predators, ranting
CoyotOWNED!
Sunday, March 04, 2007
So I'm talking with my best friend's ex-girlfriend as I type this, just to see how she's doing. She recently moved to Canada, and she's going on and on with the giddiness of a schoolgirl about how hockey is so accessible there, and how now even she's getting in to hockey thanks to that. Additionally, apparently Tim Horton's is the Dunkin' Donuts of the North, except better ... by a mile.
Sigh.
But I shouldn't be so morose! I should be happy! The Blue Jackets finally beat a team that isn't in the playoff hunt for the first time since January 16th, when they managed to take down the Blackhawks in overtime on VERSUS ... since then, they had gone 0-6-1 against teams equal to, only slightly better then, or worse than them. Talk about your miserable droughts of miserably misery. In that same span, the Jackets proceeded to go 8-3-2 against teams that are in the playoff hunt or currently holding down a spot. I mean, wow ... that's insanity off the charts. That's just plain inconceivable, in the words of one favorite character from The Princess Bride.
Because in the grand scheme of things ... and I hate to rain on the parade of last night's hard-fought win against the Coyotes, if the Jackets had won just five of those games? They'd be 2 games under .500, and 9 points out of the playoff picture. Not that I would have expected them to make the playoffs even if they were within that distance of the 8th spot, but it puts some serious perspective on what could have been if the team hadn't thrown all these games against equally awful teams.
... I'm sad now. :-(
Ah well. Let's give a round of applause to Brian Boucher, who notched his first win since he, in an ironic twist, shut out the Jackets in November 1-0, and by affiliation sent Gerard Gallant on a one-way trip to the press box, where he now comfortably sits alongside Doug MacLean and 'scouts' the team. Although Boucher showed some real shakiness at times -- in particular when he flubbed on an only slightly screened shot from the blue line during a Jackets' penalty kill -- he managed to keep the ship steady for the most part. By the way, props on the "red tape" mask. I wouldn't be against him keeping that instead of re-painting the thing, if he decides to during a possibly short stint with the team until the end of the season.
Besides goaltending, it looks like we've finally found a bit of chemistry between some players. With Alexander Svitov out with what is apparently a mild concussion, feisty yet spritely Geoff Platt was nudged right up to the top line between Rick Nash and David Vyborny, starting with the game against Dallas on Friday. The results have been near-immediate, with Nash grabbing two goals in the 'Yotes game while Platt and Vyborny got assists on both goals. Prior to that, the line showed some energetic promise against the Stars, even though they came up empty.
Meanwhile, Manny Malhotra and Jason Chimera are once again clicking with one another, with Gilbert Brule thrown in as well. Brule now has two assists in two games, and both Manny and Chimmer have a goal and an assist in the same span. Also, Fredrik Modin has 5 points in 5 games, starting around just prior to the official public announcement of his re-signing. As long as Modin doesn't just pack it in now that the season's a wash and he has his money, he's O.K. in my book. But he needs to continue to prove that he's worth every penny he's now been signed to for the next three years.
On one final note of interest, there was an interesting note made in a recent article in the Edmonton Sun, where Bruce Garrioch muses aloud (thanks for posting that on your blog, Paul!) about the possibility of former Philadelphia Flyer's GM Bob Clarke coming to Columbus next season in the event that the trigger is pulled on the gun pointed at GMDM.
It's a little early to be making any judgments about such an out-of-left field comment, but maybe if more talk comes up about it in the near future, I might have to take some time to weigh and pros and cons of Mr. Clarke bringing his style of general management to the Blue Jackets, and whether it'd be a smart idea or not.
Before I go, I want to let everyone know that I should have an update to my NHL Draft post up sometime within the next ... 30 hours, I'd say. So stay tuned, as I'd like to continue laying things out and giving better information.
Sigh.
But I shouldn't be so morose! I should be happy! The Blue Jackets finally beat a team that isn't in the playoff hunt for the first time since January 16th, when they managed to take down the Blackhawks in overtime on VERSUS ... since then, they had gone 0-6-1 against teams equal to, only slightly better then, or worse than them. Talk about your miserable droughts of miserably misery. In that same span, the Jackets proceeded to go 8-3-2 against teams that are in the playoff hunt or currently holding down a spot. I mean, wow ... that's insanity off the charts. That's just plain inconceivable, in the words of one favorite character from The Princess Bride.
Because in the grand scheme of things ... and I hate to rain on the parade of last night's hard-fought win against the Coyotes, if the Jackets had won just five of those games? They'd be 2 games under .500, and 9 points out of the playoff picture. Not that I would have expected them to make the playoffs even if they were within that distance of the 8th spot, but it puts some serious perspective on what could have been if the team hadn't thrown all these games against equally awful teams.
... I'm sad now. :-(
Ah well. Let's give a round of applause to Brian Boucher, who notched his first win since he, in an ironic twist, shut out the Jackets in November 1-0, and by affiliation sent Gerard Gallant on a one-way trip to the press box, where he now comfortably sits alongside Doug MacLean and 'scouts' the team. Although Boucher showed some real shakiness at times -- in particular when he flubbed on an only slightly screened shot from the blue line during a Jackets' penalty kill -- he managed to keep the ship steady for the most part. By the way, props on the "red tape" mask. I wouldn't be against him keeping that instead of re-painting the thing, if he decides to during a possibly short stint with the team until the end of the season.
Besides goaltending, it looks like we've finally found a bit of chemistry between some players. With Alexander Svitov out with what is apparently a mild concussion, feisty yet spritely Geoff Platt was nudged right up to the top line between Rick Nash and David Vyborny, starting with the game against Dallas on Friday. The results have been near-immediate, with Nash grabbing two goals in the 'Yotes game while Platt and Vyborny got assists on both goals. Prior to that, the line showed some energetic promise against the Stars, even though they came up empty.
Meanwhile, Manny Malhotra and Jason Chimera are once again clicking with one another, with Gilbert Brule thrown in as well. Brule now has two assists in two games, and both Manny and Chimmer have a goal and an assist in the same span. Also, Fredrik Modin has 5 points in 5 games, starting around just prior to the official public announcement of his re-signing. As long as Modin doesn't just pack it in now that the season's a wash and he has his money, he's O.K. in my book. But he needs to continue to prove that he's worth every penny he's now been signed to for the next three years.
On one final note of interest, there was an interesting note made in a recent article in the Edmonton Sun, where Bruce Garrioch muses aloud (thanks for posting that on your blog, Paul!) about the possibility of former Philadelphia Flyer's GM Bob Clarke coming to Columbus next season in the event that the trigger is pulled on the gun pointed at GMDM.
It's a little early to be making any judgments about such an out-of-left field comment, but maybe if more talk comes up about it in the near future, I might have to take some time to weigh and pros and cons of Mr. Clarke bringing his style of general management to the Blue Jackets, and whether it'd be a smart idea or not.
Before I go, I want to let everyone know that I should have an update to my NHL Draft post up sometime within the next ... 30 hours, I'd say. So stay tuned, as I'd like to continue laying things out and giving better information.
Labels: Blue Jackets, Coyotes, post-game, ranting
Scouting, done Army of the Ohio style.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
(Writer's note (2/16): Everything up to the analysis of Ron Hainsey was done before the game on Friday against the Sharks, and so a stat or two might be out of date, but the point remains the same.)
(Writer's note #2 (2/18): The positives of Foote are where I left off before Sunday's game.)
(Writer's note #3 (2/20): Some things may be in the tense of my talking or writing as if I was writing last week. The thing is, I was. So please keep that in mind when reading this entry.)
I'm going to level with you, my awesome readers. This past week has been a veritable pile of "sick" and "insane" for me, with issues ranging from a bad case of a stomach flu and head cold-like feeling, cold sweats, and rage directed at Chase Bank due to financial issues, coupled with an unexpected shutdown of my Internet connection (Time Warner Digital) tied in with said financial quandary. Even now, my head is still spinning like it was on some sort of axis. Alas, Advil has failed me and left me for dead.
Coupled with a five day work week this week and a pretty crazy Blue Jackets' home schedule, I've not really had much time to soak in the games and watch during my breaks, leaving me with little motivation to only be able to watch the 2-3 minute long video recaps on NHL.com or YouTube when they're put up, and Google Video taking half a month to post the most recent Blue Jackets' game.
With this in mind, I'll just have to rely on some other way to add content to this blog. And last night I decided that something I've been wanting to do is churn out something of a scouting report for each of the players on the Blue Jackets who have at least spent a majority of the season up with the team, in some capacity or another. And no, this has nothing to do with Drew's own trade analysis of each player. Sorry.
Pull up a chair, grab a snack and a drink, and get ready for something of an extremely long-winded post, folks. We'll be going in no particular order, save for the dividing up of Defensemen, Forwards, and Goaltenders.
Defensemen:
Anders "Bubba" Eriksson
Positives: One of the more obvious upsides this season to Eriksson's play has not been in the defensive zone, but instead the offensive zone. He ranks 2nd on defense in assists, only behind Ron Hainsey.
This isn't to say his defense is bad. On the contrary, his type of defense is of the sound variety, and Eriksson prefers to avoid taking risks more often than not, parking himself right near his goalie. Blue Jackets' fans will recall during the two game shutout streak that Fredrik Norrena had that it was Eriksson who, thanks to his positioning, was able to stop two impossibly unstoppable pucks from going in to the net. Additionally, Eriksson is the only defensemen on the team with a plus/minus rating in the green at +3, the other being Ole-Kristian Tollefsen.
Negative: There's a few problems in Eriksson's game from a defensive standpoint, and at least from what I am able to watch. Although Eriksson has a strong body and the weight and height to throw it around, he generally avoids full-on confrontation with opposing players in the defensive zone. This could be partly because of his staying near the net most of the time, and maybe even just a desire to not get caught out of place with his hockey pants between his legs. Ironically this inactive approach can prove costlier than a more proactive approach.
Ron Hainsey
Positives: Regularly cited as a great example of endurance and ability to play great amounts of time during games, Hainsey continues to eat up minutes whenever he's given the opportunity to get on the ice. He also is the leading scorer on defense with 24 points, seven points ahead of Eriksson.
Negatives: Unfortunately at this time, his endurance and his point scoring touch are all that are positives for him this season. Hainsey has had the same problem as Eriksson where he just hasn't been able to efficiently use his large body, even though he's shown scrappiness at times. Worse, unlike Eriksson he has had a tendency to get smoked or caught twisting in the wind when in the defensive zone, partially due to a lack of discipline when it comes to placement and what he should be doing. It's pretty obvious why he sports a -11 plus/minus, the only defensemen besides Adam Foote to be in the -10s (Duvie Westcott excluded due to the fact he's been on the shelf for a horribly long period of time now due to both hand injuries and concussion issues).
Rostislav Klesla
Positives: Like Anders Eriksson, Klesla has shown an affinity at being a modest, scoring defensemen when given the opportunity. Unlike Eriksson, who has all 17 of his points in the "Assist" column, Klesla has spread the wealth on his stat sheet, with 9 of his points being goals. Klesla's one of the defensemen on this team who hasn't been afraid of throwing his weight around, having brought the big hits every now and then, particularly up against the boards.
Additionally, Klesla's been able to do just what TSN's scouting report said he has to do: avoid serious injury. Through the season thus far, Klesla's only been out two games due to injury. The other two games he missed were due to a suspension because of that nasty hit on Blackhawk's player Turomo Ruutu during the pre-season.
Negatives: Mentioning that hit is a good way to lead in to what I feel is one of Klesla's negatives, which is that he currently relies too much on the hitting aspect of the defensive game. It's well and good that he regularly brings with himself a physical force to the ice, but it's burned him more than once this season. Although this is the "Negatives" section, I do have to admit that he's managed to stay the third best amongst defensemen on the team in the plus/minus department, with a -5. That's nothing to be jumping through hoops over, but then again only two other defensemen have a positive rating, those being Eriksson and Tollefsen.
Ole-Kristian Tollefsen:
Positives: Tollefsen, who was drafted in the third round by the Blue Jackets back in 2002, has actually done quite well so far this season. Alongside Eriksson, O.K. holds a +4 on the plus/minus rating, tying him for best both on defense and on the team. But there's more to it than that. Tollefsen doesn't have a 17 point cushion to pad his rating like Eriksson has, currently with the second worst amount of points on the team with a measly 3 assists in 51 games. Berard is excluded from this list, considering his just recent return. Only Jody Shelley has less points while playing about the same number of games (Shelley has a big, fat egg ... or zero).
Any one with half a lick of awareness can conclude just from these observations that Tollefsen, then, plays extremely well when in the defensive zone. He knows where to go, he knows who to cover, and he always knows where the puck is. He also knows how to give opposing players headaches both in the frustrating sense, and the hard-pounding sense. Let's not forget he's also second on the team in fighting majors this season.
Negatives: While it is nothing severe, O.K. could work on helping out more in the offensive zone, as I alluded to by pointing out his low point total this season. He plays a very conservative game, which immensely helps his defensive prowess and just cements the fact that he is, in every sense of the word, a defensive defenseman. However on a team which holds the least amount of goals, players need to step up from the unlikely of places, and O.K. could do that by so much as taking more part in offensive attacks, so long as he can continue to excel at his defensive play and not get caught in too deep.
Adam Foote
Positives: One of the first things that you can give Foote credit for is his ability to bring the body despite his age. While he isn't always looking for the biggest hit nowadays, he is still able to take down opposing players without too much difficulty. Off the ice, Foote has been apparently able to show some good amounts of leadership when it comes to the team, but then again, scouting reports don't exactly care much about how a player does off the ice, huh?
Negatives: It's sad, but I really could go on an amazingly long rant just about Foote's negatives alone. Foote has one of the worst plus/minus ratings on the team, and you can see why whenever he is on the ice. He looks extremely confused, and never really seems to know what to do in his own zone, which is very scary. He ends up trying to reach for pucks, unable to really get at them before they're passed by an opponent or he's simply trying to get a pass.
Bryan Berard:
Negatives: It might not be fair, but with only a few games under Berard's belt, I've seen almost nothing positive come from him. However I continue to see bad things come from him, and the worst thing he does on a regular basis? He passes the puck right to the opposing player. I can't even count how many times I've seen him fire a pass up the ice, and almost perfectly on to the tape of an opponent's stick. I don't know if it's rust, or even an issue with his vision, but I do know it's driven me to utter insanity at times.
I know Berard deserves some credit for managing to come back after missing a whole 82 games over the last season and this one, and I'm sure much of it is also the fact that he has not been back for all of 10 games. Yet this just is not what the team needs right now out of him.
Although I wish I could recollect anything feasible, I wouldn't be able to do Aaron Johnson much justice if I covered him. The fact of the matter is that although he's played a fair amount of games this season, nothing just seems to stand out about him. It's true, he's an improvement over Berard, who has since taken his spot on the team since his return eight games ago based on seniority and experience, but even thinking back to those games, nothing "Wow!"-ed me about him. He was just ... there.
Forwards:
David Vyborny
Positives: David Vyborny continues to be David Vyborny; dependable, and like a rock when it comes to stability on the team's forward lines. No matter who Vyborny is paired with, he will always -- always -- be able to get a pass off, or do something with the puck that leads to a Blue Jackets' goal (when the team as a whole isn't getting shut out, that is). Currently at 49 points as of February 19th, Vyborny has a 13 point lead in scoring over the next best point getter, Rick Nash.
Negatives: All Blue Jackets' fans are probably guilty of wanting to cut themselves whenever Vyborny has had the puck, a wide open net, and instead of firing off a shot? ... he passes. Vyborny just seems to hate the idea of shooting, and almost seems to avoid it like the plague unless it is under very special circumstances. And the funny thing is that despite his strength being in the assists department, he can score pretty goals if he actually puts some faith in to himself. Think back to that slow-motion spin-o-rama that Vyborny pulled off on VERSUS several weeks ago against Boston. That's a prime example of what he can do if he just does it instead of second guessing himself. There's also the fact that Vyborny, in four penalty shot attempts over the years as a Blue Jacket, has never been unsuccessful (this is ignoring shootout results). If he shot the puck more, and he could very well be at 59 points at this point in the season.
Rick Nash
Positives: It's taken just about all season, but Rick Nash seems to finally be getting back to his "crash the net" style of play when it comes to getting the goals. Considering his size, it's about time, too. As well, Nash has begun to show a ferocity that he hasn't always been known for, when he got into scrums with Flames stud and Hockeygirl crush Dion Phaneuf and a turtling, babymaker-hacking Sharks coward. Hitchcock has also been able to finally teach Nash at least a thing or two about defensive responsibility by not shying away when it comes to throwing him on to the penalty kill, and to his credit has helped on at least one short-handed goal this season.
Negatives: Nash has always had issues in the defensive zone, that much we know. But something else that has had me scratching my head lately is the lack of real pressure he has been able to apply in the offensive zone. I can't put my finger on what it is, but he doesn't seem to be capable of just grabbing the puck from opposing players when he comes flying in to the zone. The few times I've seen him do so, he seems to come in a step too late before an opposing player manages to get the puck to a teammate, resulting in nothing but a 'nice' hit along the boards and nothing more.
Sergei Fedorov
Positives: At his worst, Fedorov has still been able to play a level of defense that the warm bodies which actually make up the defensive corp. of this team seem unable to do on most occasions. Fedorov is always the one you'll see scouting the ice, looking for any opportunity to strip a puck, be it on the penalty kill or at even strength ... the best example of this is his team leading two short-handed goals this season. Although age has slowed down his goal scoring touch, he is still able to make players around him better, but not to the extent that Vyborny is able to. He's always had a bit of a sixth sense to what is happening around him.
Negatives: There seems to be times where Fedorov will play in slow motion, and that could be attributed to a combination of age and past injuries. Even so, Fedorov needs to use that large body to better effect, much the same way that Nash should be able to overpower players or knock the puck away from players with a strong physique as well.
I also get the nagging suspicion that sometimes Fedorov may become frustrated with what is going on around him, and simply throw his hands in to the air in irritation at what is going on around him. Almost as though he'll sometimes feel as if the team around him is letting him down. Remember that Red Wings' fans felt this way about him at times as well, but mainly because of possible concerns between him and "The Captain" Steve Yzerman during those glory days in Detroit.
Dan Fritsche
Positives: I could really go on and on about the things that Fritsche has done great this season. Coming in to this season on a two-way contract all because MacLean refused to give him the benefit of the doubt that he'd be worth anything more (and I'll admit, I also had my doubts about him after his play last season), Fritsche came on strong somewhere around the mid-way point of the season. He's been able to blow past opposing players, and he brings more energy than probably half the team does combined. He's proven to be extremely effective on the penalty kill, always a constant threat when at the point and whenever coasting about and applying pressure.
Don't forget that he's currently played in four less games than last season, yet has doubled his point output, and is tied for points with heralded veterans Anson Carter and Fredrik Modin. He's also only one of five players with a positive plus/minus rating (+3).
Negatives: Even home state heroes have their problems. It's hard to accurately pinpoint one, since it seems as though he plays firing on all cylinders every night, and doesn't seem to make too many mistakes. On the other hand, playing full-tilt might be a reason why Fritsche, even after having joined the top line alongside Nash and Vyborny, is still only clocking about a quarter's worth of a game's total time at around 14-16 minutes. Fritsche is young, and needs to be able to use that energy for even more of a game's length.
Fredrik Modin
Positives: I'm going to touch on one thing that I like about Modin. Even though he's had a hard time this year, and has struggled when it mattered most in the offensive zone (this is mentioned in the negatives), Modin continues to chug along and work his very hardest game in and game out. He holds himself to such high standards, and his body language is obvious from all the way up on the upper concourse whenever I'm watching the games at home. Modin, though he lacks any recognizable symbols such as an 'A' or a 'C' on his jersey, is a role model for a team that needs to learn a thing or two about work ethic.
Negatives: Just like Fedorov and Nash, Modin seems almost adverse to using his body when it would really be beneficial either in the defensive zone, or when trying to grab a puck in the offensive zone. While Modin isn't a finesse skater who is capable of staving off opposing players while ramming in to them, he has nothing to lose by using his height and weight to his advantage.
Beyond that, there's more serious issues. Modin has been unable to capitalize on so many opportunities this season, and recent home games have really made this painfully obvious. Pucks that go to him almost act like kryptonite to him, where he'll whiff on shots, juggle it with his stick and lose it, or lose it in his skates. This seems more like a mental thing than anything else, and he needs to get over this hump.
Anson Carter
Positives: Here's something I never quite understood, and maybe Canucks' fans can enlighten me. Why do people keep saying that his year in Vancouver was "his best ever"? Because looking at his statistics, what I see is that his best year ever was in 2001-2002, when he tallied 60 points and had a +3 rating with the Edmonton Oilers -- not the 55 points, -1 rating over 81 games he had with the Canucks. Incidentally, he also had another 60 point season in 2002-2003 when he played for both Edmonton and the New York Rangers.
Is this some sort of delusions of grandeur thing that Canucks' fans have going on? Or maybe I just don't "get it"?
Either way, Carter's positives really seem to involve his garbage goals this season. I've seen him more than once cherry pick a rebound, and the guy is essentially a vulture, knowing when to strike after much circling. Playmaking ability seems to be there, though he has to better use it.
Negatives: TSN is more or less spot on when they say that Carter just does not use his body. This could be a part of his vulture-esque way of dropping in. It's almost like Carter hates to do any dirty work, instead relying on lucky bounces and breaks ... and those aren't always going to happen. Carter needs to actually hit people, and also try to ram his way down a team's throat, be it across the ice or just in front of the net.
Jason Chimera
Positives: Of course the easiest thing to say about Chimera is that he's fast ... and he really is! While it might not be the most amazing of nominations, remember that Chimera was named as one of the players voted for in the NHL as the fastest skater in the league a few weeks ago during an ESPN vote, when a combination of 141 non-active and active players were asked to name names. Although it was just 1% of the vote, that's still 1% of the vote when only 16 other players were even mentioned amongst the fastest in the league.
Chimera's also feisty. While he isn't prone to glove dropping, he has an in-your-face style that fits extremely well with his third line, grinding methods. He pisses players off, and knows just how to do it.
Negatives: As speedy as Chimmer is, he has the puck control of a toddler just learning how to hold a stick. And it's frustrating, because Chimera is one of my favorite players, too; if he could learn how to better stickhandle, imagine how good of a player he could be. Imagine if he could just sap Nikolai Zherdev of his toedrag move, and turn it in to his own thing while going at the speed he usually is skating at.
Alexander Svitov
Positives: Several posts back, I touched on Svitov's upsides, and the main point was that he's like a faster, more versatile, and scoring Jody Shelley. I still stand by this observation, but I also must give credit to Svitov for starting to temper his wild energy. He's not getting as many dumb penalties, and while he still barrels in to opponents like a hummer at full-tilt, he's making sure that he doesn't do anything stupid in the process.
Negatives: If there's one thing that Svitov has to work on, its his offensive skills. While he has definitely started turning the curve and is beginning to score more and more after being left for dead in the minors by the Tampa Bay Lightning, he is still a moderate amount of time away from being an offensive threat on par with his third overall pick label back in 2001. The best way he can do this is by working on his skills when it comes to assisting goal scorers, since he's most likely not ever going to be a pretty scorer, relying mainly on scrum goals and goals involving flattening the defense during bullish rushes down the ice, which he's actually done recently.
Nikolai Zherdev
Positives: Speedy, wily, and sometimes even unpredictable when he has the puck. Although the toe-drag is so last year, and Zherdev has now been analyzed to death by the opposing players as can be noted by his inability to make the toe-drag work, he is still able to turn on the speed and the goal-scoring touch when he's in the mood. That's the problem, though ... he hasn't been in the mood for much of the season. Recent games this season, however, have shown everyone just what Zherdev is capable of when he is motivated. Interesting that this coincided with his ejection from practice.
Negatives: In order from biggest issue to smallest issue: work ethic, inability to rely on others on the ice, and defensive play. Zherdev's work ethic has been documented frequently in The Columbus Dispatch, and while I know that Truth Serum at End of the Bench likes to stand up for Nikky Z for all the bad attention he receives, it's impossible to ignore that he's clashed on more than a few occasions with the coaching staff. He's also had a hard time relying on others on the ice, and one great way to point this out is the fact that he still tries to do it all on his own, as seen by his abuse of the toe-drag. His plus/minus is testament to his bad defensive play, and he doesn't seem to really understand how to apply pressure on opponents when in those situations. While Nash has started to gain a sense of defensive responsibility, Zherdev has lagged behind.
Jody Shelley
Positives: Besides his pugilistic style of play, Shelley has actually shown to be quite the efficient scrummer when fighting for the puck up against the boards. While he lacks any points this season, he still manages to hold his own when it comes to puck cycling and digging in down low to keep the pressure on the opponents. He also exudes motivation whenever he fights, whether he wins or loses. He's a charismatic team leader, and if he wasn't just a fourth line enforcer, would probably have a bigger role on this team.
Negatives: Seriously, can this guy buy a point? No points this season! Not one! Shelley is totally snakebitten, and at this rate he'll finish this season without any sort of tallies in the Assist/Goal columns. That's a scary thing to consider. Even though Shelley is anything but an offensive threat in most cases, this is a serious issue and something needs to be done about it. 10 points in one season ... even 5 points in a season? That's all I ask for from Shelley.
Manny Malhotra
Positives: Malhotra is like a more defensively responsible Jason Chimera. What he lacks in the speed that Chimera has, he makes up for in being more reliable on both ends of the ice when it comes to offensive pressure and defensive coverage. He also has a better understanding of cycling and how to handle the puck, making him an efficient player when it comes to frustrating the opponent when they are trying to regain control of the biscuit.
Negatives: Oh, what a sad fall from grace. After a record season last year with 21 points in 58 games prior to a season-ending shoulder injury, Malhotra has only tallied about half that total in 59 games. What happened, exactly? Maybe Malhotra just turned out to be the odd man out amidst the numerous line shufflings, and the victim of Alexander Svitov's sudden surge in skills and ability to be useful. Regardless of the reasons, Malhotra still needs to work on a better work ethic, at least in my opinion. He needs to be hungry for more, and if he isn't, he'll continue to be relegated to the fourth line alongside Jody Shelley, despite his ability to be an efficient third liner.
Gilbert Brule
Positives: Brule's starting to finally come around offensively, and even before he started to hit the net and help with scoring goals, he continued to be just on the cusp of something special. Brule plays with an amazing intensity despite his smallish stature, and can score goals in a variety of ways ranging from twisted wristers to net crashing. Given enough time, Brule is going to be able to hone his playmaking skills in a way that instead of just making himself better, he'll make others around him better.
Negatives: His defensive skills are still lacking, and despite his limited ice time until just recently, he still has one of the team's worst plus/minus records. Brule doesn't seem to be able to use that 'kamikaze', crashing-against-opponents style of play to good use when in the defensive zone, leading to more problems than anything else for the rest of the team.
Goaltenders:
Pascal Leclaire
Positives: Lightning fast speed, composure under pressure, and the ability to get himself 'in the zone' during big games. Many of Leclaire's goals this season have, in my opinion, been more the responsibility of a poor defense than anything else. The thing that makes Leclaire stand out the most, of course, is his legs. I'd kill for leg speed like that.
Negatives: Like this one isn't obvious. Leclaire's conditioning is deplorable, and he continues to suffer from injury issues. One of the things that TSN mentions in their scouting report for Leclaire is the fact that he will overcommit, which is true. The thing is that this overcomitting is actually what leads to his injuries, which have all been leg-based. The one he got against Ottawa back in December? It was because he found himself stretching much, much further across the crease than he should have. While Leclaire has the lightning fast legs of a cheetah, that doesn't mean he's immortal. Unless he works on his endurance, he will have problems latching on to a number one goaltending position with the Blue Jackets.
Fredrik Norrena
Positives: Norrena is something of an anomaly. His ability to play so well while playing in an unorthodox manner continues to perplex me ever since the first game I saw him play in. He also seems to be on the longer end of the stick when it comes to how the team plays around him lately, possibly due to the fact that they've grown so accustomed to him during Leclaire's absence. Regardless, Norrena has many upsides. When he's gotten rest, he's about as unbeatable as a brick wall, and has three shut outs on the season so far. His puck handling skills are also of modest quality, and while he's no Brodeur, he knows what he is doing with the puck at all times.
Negatives: Inconsistency is going to be death of Norrena. With the exception of an amazingly stellar run during December, Norrena has found himself having the hardest time stringing together two games in a row, and this could be an endurance issue more than anything else. As well, even though Norrena has a firey drive and motivation, it has sometimes backfired and instead led to anger, frustration, and outright rage as can be seen by his reaction to many goals and situations on the ice. He needs to temper that energy without losing it, so that he can keep himself on his game during crunch time.
(Writer's note #2 (2/18): The positives of Foote are where I left off before Sunday's game.)
(Writer's note #3 (2/20): Some things may be in the tense of my talking or writing as if I was writing last week. The thing is, I was. So please keep that in mind when reading this entry.)
I'm going to level with you, my awesome readers. This past week has been a veritable pile of "sick" and "insane" for me, with issues ranging from a bad case of a stomach flu and head cold-like feeling, cold sweats, and rage directed at Chase Bank due to financial issues, coupled with an unexpected shutdown of my Internet connection (Time Warner Digital) tied in with said financial quandary. Even now, my head is still spinning like it was on some sort of axis. Alas, Advil has failed me and left me for dead.
Coupled with a five day work week this week and a pretty crazy Blue Jackets' home schedule, I've not really had much time to soak in the games and watch during my breaks, leaving me with little motivation to only be able to watch the 2-3 minute long video recaps on NHL.com or YouTube when they're put up, and Google Video taking half a month to post the most recent Blue Jackets' game.
With this in mind, I'll just have to rely on some other way to add content to this blog. And last night I decided that something I've been wanting to do is churn out something of a scouting report for each of the players on the Blue Jackets who have at least spent a majority of the season up with the team, in some capacity or another. And no, this has nothing to do with Drew's own trade analysis of each player. Sorry.
Pull up a chair, grab a snack and a drink, and get ready for something of an extremely long-winded post, folks. We'll be going in no particular order, save for the dividing up of Defensemen, Forwards, and Goaltenders.
Defensemen:
Anders "Bubba" Eriksson
Positives: One of the more obvious upsides this season to Eriksson's play has not been in the defensive zone, but instead the offensive zone. He ranks 2nd on defense in assists, only behind Ron Hainsey.
This isn't to say his defense is bad. On the contrary, his type of defense is of the sound variety, and Eriksson prefers to avoid taking risks more often than not, parking himself right near his goalie. Blue Jackets' fans will recall during the two game shutout streak that Fredrik Norrena had that it was Eriksson who, thanks to his positioning, was able to stop two impossibly unstoppable pucks from going in to the net. Additionally, Eriksson is the only defensemen on the team with a plus/minus rating in the green at +3, the other being Ole-Kristian Tollefsen.
Negative: There's a few problems in Eriksson's game from a defensive standpoint, and at least from what I am able to watch. Although Eriksson has a strong body and the weight and height to throw it around, he generally avoids full-on confrontation with opposing players in the defensive zone. This could be partly because of his staying near the net most of the time, and maybe even just a desire to not get caught out of place with his hockey pants between his legs. Ironically this inactive approach can prove costlier than a more proactive approach.
Ron Hainsey
Positives: Regularly cited as a great example of endurance and ability to play great amounts of time during games, Hainsey continues to eat up minutes whenever he's given the opportunity to get on the ice. He also is the leading scorer on defense with 24 points, seven points ahead of Eriksson.
Negatives: Unfortunately at this time, his endurance and his point scoring touch are all that are positives for him this season. Hainsey has had the same problem as Eriksson where he just hasn't been able to efficiently use his large body, even though he's shown scrappiness at times. Worse, unlike Eriksson he has had a tendency to get smoked or caught twisting in the wind when in the defensive zone, partially due to a lack of discipline when it comes to placement and what he should be doing. It's pretty obvious why he sports a -11 plus/minus, the only defensemen besides Adam Foote to be in the -10s (Duvie Westcott excluded due to the fact he's been on the shelf for a horribly long period of time now due to both hand injuries and concussion issues).
Rostislav Klesla
Positives: Like Anders Eriksson, Klesla has shown an affinity at being a modest, scoring defensemen when given the opportunity. Unlike Eriksson, who has all 17 of his points in the "Assist" column, Klesla has spread the wealth on his stat sheet, with 9 of his points being goals. Klesla's one of the defensemen on this team who hasn't been afraid of throwing his weight around, having brought the big hits every now and then, particularly up against the boards.
Additionally, Klesla's been able to do just what TSN's scouting report said he has to do: avoid serious injury. Through the season thus far, Klesla's only been out two games due to injury. The other two games he missed were due to a suspension because of that nasty hit on Blackhawk's player Turomo Ruutu during the pre-season.
Negatives: Mentioning that hit is a good way to lead in to what I feel is one of Klesla's negatives, which is that he currently relies too much on the hitting aspect of the defensive game. It's well and good that he regularly brings with himself a physical force to the ice, but it's burned him more than once this season. Although this is the "Negatives" section, I do have to admit that he's managed to stay the third best amongst defensemen on the team in the plus/minus department, with a -5. That's nothing to be jumping through hoops over, but then again only two other defensemen have a positive rating, those being Eriksson and Tollefsen.
Ole-Kristian Tollefsen:
Positives: Tollefsen, who was drafted in the third round by the Blue Jackets back in 2002, has actually done quite well so far this season. Alongside Eriksson, O.K. holds a +4 on the plus/minus rating, tying him for best both on defense and on the team. But there's more to it than that. Tollefsen doesn't have a 17 point cushion to pad his rating like Eriksson has, currently with the second worst amount of points on the team with a measly 3 assists in 51 games. Berard is excluded from this list, considering his just recent return. Only Jody Shelley has less points while playing about the same number of games (Shelley has a big, fat egg ... or zero).
Any one with half a lick of awareness can conclude just from these observations that Tollefsen, then, plays extremely well when in the defensive zone. He knows where to go, he knows who to cover, and he always knows where the puck is. He also knows how to give opposing players headaches both in the frustrating sense, and the hard-pounding sense. Let's not forget he's also second on the team in fighting majors this season.
Negatives: While it is nothing severe, O.K. could work on helping out more in the offensive zone, as I alluded to by pointing out his low point total this season. He plays a very conservative game, which immensely helps his defensive prowess and just cements the fact that he is, in every sense of the word, a defensive defenseman. However on a team which holds the least amount of goals, players need to step up from the unlikely of places, and O.K. could do that by so much as taking more part in offensive attacks, so long as he can continue to excel at his defensive play and not get caught in too deep.
Adam Foote
Positives: One of the first things that you can give Foote credit for is his ability to bring the body despite his age. While he isn't always looking for the biggest hit nowadays, he is still able to take down opposing players without too much difficulty. Off the ice, Foote has been apparently able to show some good amounts of leadership when it comes to the team, but then again, scouting reports don't exactly care much about how a player does off the ice, huh?
Negatives: It's sad, but I really could go on an amazingly long rant just about Foote's negatives alone. Foote has one of the worst plus/minus ratings on the team, and you can see why whenever he is on the ice. He looks extremely confused, and never really seems to know what to do in his own zone, which is very scary. He ends up trying to reach for pucks, unable to really get at them before they're passed by an opponent or he's simply trying to get a pass.
Bryan Berard:
Negatives: It might not be fair, but with only a few games under Berard's belt, I've seen almost nothing positive come from him. However I continue to see bad things come from him, and the worst thing he does on a regular basis? He passes the puck right to the opposing player. I can't even count how many times I've seen him fire a pass up the ice, and almost perfectly on to the tape of an opponent's stick. I don't know if it's rust, or even an issue with his vision, but I do know it's driven me to utter insanity at times.
I know Berard deserves some credit for managing to come back after missing a whole 82 games over the last season and this one, and I'm sure much of it is also the fact that he has not been back for all of 10 games. Yet this just is not what the team needs right now out of him.
Although I wish I could recollect anything feasible, I wouldn't be able to do Aaron Johnson much justice if I covered him. The fact of the matter is that although he's played a fair amount of games this season, nothing just seems to stand out about him. It's true, he's an improvement over Berard, who has since taken his spot on the team since his return eight games ago based on seniority and experience, but even thinking back to those games, nothing "Wow!"-ed me about him. He was just ... there.
Forwards:
David Vyborny
Positives: David Vyborny continues to be David Vyborny; dependable, and like a rock when it comes to stability on the team's forward lines. No matter who Vyborny is paired with, he will always -- always -- be able to get a pass off, or do something with the puck that leads to a Blue Jackets' goal (when the team as a whole isn't getting shut out, that is). Currently at 49 points as of February 19th, Vyborny has a 13 point lead in scoring over the next best point getter, Rick Nash.
Negatives: All Blue Jackets' fans are probably guilty of wanting to cut themselves whenever Vyborny has had the puck, a wide open net, and instead of firing off a shot? ... he passes. Vyborny just seems to hate the idea of shooting, and almost seems to avoid it like the plague unless it is under very special circumstances. And the funny thing is that despite his strength being in the assists department, he can score pretty goals if he actually puts some faith in to himself. Think back to that slow-motion spin-o-rama that Vyborny pulled off on VERSUS several weeks ago against Boston. That's a prime example of what he can do if he just does it instead of second guessing himself. There's also the fact that Vyborny, in four penalty shot attempts over the years as a Blue Jacket, has never been unsuccessful (this is ignoring shootout results). If he shot the puck more, and he could very well be at 59 points at this point in the season.
Rick Nash
Positives: It's taken just about all season, but Rick Nash seems to finally be getting back to his "crash the net" style of play when it comes to getting the goals. Considering his size, it's about time, too. As well, Nash has begun to show a ferocity that he hasn't always been known for, when he got into scrums with Flames stud and Hockeygirl crush Dion Phaneuf and a turtling, babymaker-hacking Sharks coward. Hitchcock has also been able to finally teach Nash at least a thing or two about defensive responsibility by not shying away when it comes to throwing him on to the penalty kill, and to his credit has helped on at least one short-handed goal this season.
Negatives: Nash has always had issues in the defensive zone, that much we know. But something else that has had me scratching my head lately is the lack of real pressure he has been able to apply in the offensive zone. I can't put my finger on what it is, but he doesn't seem to be capable of just grabbing the puck from opposing players when he comes flying in to the zone. The few times I've seen him do so, he seems to come in a step too late before an opposing player manages to get the puck to a teammate, resulting in nothing but a 'nice' hit along the boards and nothing more.
Sergei Fedorov
Positives: At his worst, Fedorov has still been able to play a level of defense that the warm bodies which actually make up the defensive corp. of this team seem unable to do on most occasions. Fedorov is always the one you'll see scouting the ice, looking for any opportunity to strip a puck, be it on the penalty kill or at even strength ... the best example of this is his team leading two short-handed goals this season. Although age has slowed down his goal scoring touch, he is still able to make players around him better, but not to the extent that Vyborny is able to. He's always had a bit of a sixth sense to what is happening around him.
Negatives: There seems to be times where Fedorov will play in slow motion, and that could be attributed to a combination of age and past injuries. Even so, Fedorov needs to use that large body to better effect, much the same way that Nash should be able to overpower players or knock the puck away from players with a strong physique as well.
I also get the nagging suspicion that sometimes Fedorov may become frustrated with what is going on around him, and simply throw his hands in to the air in irritation at what is going on around him. Almost as though he'll sometimes feel as if the team around him is letting him down. Remember that Red Wings' fans felt this way about him at times as well, but mainly because of possible concerns between him and "The Captain" Steve Yzerman during those glory days in Detroit.
Dan Fritsche
Positives: I could really go on and on about the things that Fritsche has done great this season. Coming in to this season on a two-way contract all because MacLean refused to give him the benefit of the doubt that he'd be worth anything more (and I'll admit, I also had my doubts about him after his play last season), Fritsche came on strong somewhere around the mid-way point of the season. He's been able to blow past opposing players, and he brings more energy than probably half the team does combined. He's proven to be extremely effective on the penalty kill, always a constant threat when at the point and whenever coasting about and applying pressure.
Don't forget that he's currently played in four less games than last season, yet has doubled his point output, and is tied for points with heralded veterans Anson Carter and Fredrik Modin. He's also only one of five players with a positive plus/minus rating (+3).
Negatives: Even home state heroes have their problems. It's hard to accurately pinpoint one, since it seems as though he plays firing on all cylinders every night, and doesn't seem to make too many mistakes. On the other hand, playing full-tilt might be a reason why Fritsche, even after having joined the top line alongside Nash and Vyborny, is still only clocking about a quarter's worth of a game's total time at around 14-16 minutes. Fritsche is young, and needs to be able to use that energy for even more of a game's length.
Fredrik Modin
Positives: I'm going to touch on one thing that I like about Modin. Even though he's had a hard time this year, and has struggled when it mattered most in the offensive zone (this is mentioned in the negatives), Modin continues to chug along and work his very hardest game in and game out. He holds himself to such high standards, and his body language is obvious from all the way up on the upper concourse whenever I'm watching the games at home. Modin, though he lacks any recognizable symbols such as an 'A' or a 'C' on his jersey, is a role model for a team that needs to learn a thing or two about work ethic.
Negatives: Just like Fedorov and Nash, Modin seems almost adverse to using his body when it would really be beneficial either in the defensive zone, or when trying to grab a puck in the offensive zone. While Modin isn't a finesse skater who is capable of staving off opposing players while ramming in to them, he has nothing to lose by using his height and weight to his advantage.
Beyond that, there's more serious issues. Modin has been unable to capitalize on so many opportunities this season, and recent home games have really made this painfully obvious. Pucks that go to him almost act like kryptonite to him, where he'll whiff on shots, juggle it with his stick and lose it, or lose it in his skates. This seems more like a mental thing than anything else, and he needs to get over this hump.
Anson Carter
Positives: Here's something I never quite understood, and maybe Canucks' fans can enlighten me. Why do people keep saying that his year in Vancouver was "his best ever"? Because looking at his statistics, what I see is that his best year ever was in 2001-2002, when he tallied 60 points and had a +3 rating with the Edmonton Oilers -- not the 55 points, -1 rating over 81 games he had with the Canucks. Incidentally, he also had another 60 point season in 2002-2003 when he played for both Edmonton and the New York Rangers.
Is this some sort of delusions of grandeur thing that Canucks' fans have going on? Or maybe I just don't "get it"?
Either way, Carter's positives really seem to involve his garbage goals this season. I've seen him more than once cherry pick a rebound, and the guy is essentially a vulture, knowing when to strike after much circling. Playmaking ability seems to be there, though he has to better use it.
Negatives: TSN is more or less spot on when they say that Carter just does not use his body. This could be a part of his vulture-esque way of dropping in. It's almost like Carter hates to do any dirty work, instead relying on lucky bounces and breaks ... and those aren't always going to happen. Carter needs to actually hit people, and also try to ram his way down a team's throat, be it across the ice or just in front of the net.
Jason Chimera
Positives: Of course the easiest thing to say about Chimera is that he's fast ... and he really is! While it might not be the most amazing of nominations, remember that Chimera was named as one of the players voted for in the NHL as the fastest skater in the league a few weeks ago during an ESPN vote, when a combination of 141 non-active and active players were asked to name names. Although it was just 1% of the vote, that's still 1% of the vote when only 16 other players were even mentioned amongst the fastest in the league.
Chimera's also feisty. While he isn't prone to glove dropping, he has an in-your-face style that fits extremely well with his third line, grinding methods. He pisses players off, and knows just how to do it.
Negatives: As speedy as Chimmer is, he has the puck control of a toddler just learning how to hold a stick. And it's frustrating, because Chimera is one of my favorite players, too; if he could learn how to better stickhandle, imagine how good of a player he could be. Imagine if he could just sap Nikolai Zherdev of his toedrag move, and turn it in to his own thing while going at the speed he usually is skating at.
Alexander Svitov
Positives: Several posts back, I touched on Svitov's upsides, and the main point was that he's like a faster, more versatile, and scoring Jody Shelley. I still stand by this observation, but I also must give credit to Svitov for starting to temper his wild energy. He's not getting as many dumb penalties, and while he still barrels in to opponents like a hummer at full-tilt, he's making sure that he doesn't do anything stupid in the process.
Negatives: If there's one thing that Svitov has to work on, its his offensive skills. While he has definitely started turning the curve and is beginning to score more and more after being left for dead in the minors by the Tampa Bay Lightning, he is still a moderate amount of time away from being an offensive threat on par with his third overall pick label back in 2001. The best way he can do this is by working on his skills when it comes to assisting goal scorers, since he's most likely not ever going to be a pretty scorer, relying mainly on scrum goals and goals involving flattening the defense during bullish rushes down the ice, which he's actually done recently.
Nikolai Zherdev
Positives: Speedy, wily, and sometimes even unpredictable when he has the puck. Although the toe-drag is so last year, and Zherdev has now been analyzed to death by the opposing players as can be noted by his inability to make the toe-drag work, he is still able to turn on the speed and the goal-scoring touch when he's in the mood. That's the problem, though ... he hasn't been in the mood for much of the season. Recent games this season, however, have shown everyone just what Zherdev is capable of when he is motivated. Interesting that this coincided with his ejection from practice.
Negatives: In order from biggest issue to smallest issue: work ethic, inability to rely on others on the ice, and defensive play. Zherdev's work ethic has been documented frequently in The Columbus Dispatch, and while I know that Truth Serum at End of the Bench likes to stand up for Nikky Z for all the bad attention he receives, it's impossible to ignore that he's clashed on more than a few occasions with the coaching staff. He's also had a hard time relying on others on the ice, and one great way to point this out is the fact that he still tries to do it all on his own, as seen by his abuse of the toe-drag. His plus/minus is testament to his bad defensive play, and he doesn't seem to really understand how to apply pressure on opponents when in those situations. While Nash has started to gain a sense of defensive responsibility, Zherdev has lagged behind.
Jody Shelley
Positives: Besides his pugilistic style of play, Shelley has actually shown to be quite the efficient scrummer when fighting for the puck up against the boards. While he lacks any points this season, he still manages to hold his own when it comes to puck cycling and digging in down low to keep the pressure on the opponents. He also exudes motivation whenever he fights, whether he wins or loses. He's a charismatic team leader, and if he wasn't just a fourth line enforcer, would probably have a bigger role on this team.
Negatives: Seriously, can this guy buy a point? No points this season! Not one! Shelley is totally snakebitten, and at this rate he'll finish this season without any sort of tallies in the Assist/Goal columns. That's a scary thing to consider. Even though Shelley is anything but an offensive threat in most cases, this is a serious issue and something needs to be done about it. 10 points in one season ... even 5 points in a season? That's all I ask for from Shelley.
Manny Malhotra
Positives: Malhotra is like a more defensively responsible Jason Chimera. What he lacks in the speed that Chimera has, he makes up for in being more reliable on both ends of the ice when it comes to offensive pressure and defensive coverage. He also has a better understanding of cycling and how to handle the puck, making him an efficient player when it comes to frustrating the opponent when they are trying to regain control of the biscuit.
Negatives: Oh, what a sad fall from grace. After a record season last year with 21 points in 58 games prior to a season-ending shoulder injury, Malhotra has only tallied about half that total in 59 games. What happened, exactly? Maybe Malhotra just turned out to be the odd man out amidst the numerous line shufflings, and the victim of Alexander Svitov's sudden surge in skills and ability to be useful. Regardless of the reasons, Malhotra still needs to work on a better work ethic, at least in my opinion. He needs to be hungry for more, and if he isn't, he'll continue to be relegated to the fourth line alongside Jody Shelley, despite his ability to be an efficient third liner.
Gilbert Brule
Positives: Brule's starting to finally come around offensively, and even before he started to hit the net and help with scoring goals, he continued to be just on the cusp of something special. Brule plays with an amazing intensity despite his smallish stature, and can score goals in a variety of ways ranging from twisted wristers to net crashing. Given enough time, Brule is going to be able to hone his playmaking skills in a way that instead of just making himself better, he'll make others around him better.
Negatives: His defensive skills are still lacking, and despite his limited ice time until just recently, he still has one of the team's worst plus/minus records. Brule doesn't seem to be able to use that 'kamikaze', crashing-against-opponents style of play to good use when in the defensive zone, leading to more problems than anything else for the rest of the team.
Goaltenders:
Pascal Leclaire
Positives: Lightning fast speed, composure under pressure, and the ability to get himself 'in the zone' during big games. Many of Leclaire's goals this season have, in my opinion, been more the responsibility of a poor defense than anything else. The thing that makes Leclaire stand out the most, of course, is his legs. I'd kill for leg speed like that.
Negatives: Like this one isn't obvious. Leclaire's conditioning is deplorable, and he continues to suffer from injury issues. One of the things that TSN mentions in their scouting report for Leclaire is the fact that he will overcommit, which is true. The thing is that this overcomitting is actually what leads to his injuries, which have all been leg-based. The one he got against Ottawa back in December? It was because he found himself stretching much, much further across the crease than he should have. While Leclaire has the lightning fast legs of a cheetah, that doesn't mean he's immortal. Unless he works on his endurance, he will have problems latching on to a number one goaltending position with the Blue Jackets.
Fredrik Norrena
Positives: Norrena is something of an anomaly. His ability to play so well while playing in an unorthodox manner continues to perplex me ever since the first game I saw him play in. He also seems to be on the longer end of the stick when it comes to how the team plays around him lately, possibly due to the fact that they've grown so accustomed to him during Leclaire's absence. Regardless, Norrena has many upsides. When he's gotten rest, he's about as unbeatable as a brick wall, and has three shut outs on the season so far. His puck handling skills are also of modest quality, and while he's no Brodeur, he knows what he is doing with the puck at all times.
Negatives: Inconsistency is going to be death of Norrena. With the exception of an amazingly stellar run during December, Norrena has found himself having the hardest time stringing together two games in a row, and this could be an endurance issue more than anything else. As well, even though Norrena has a firey drive and motivation, it has sometimes backfired and instead led to anger, frustration, and outright rage as can be seen by his reaction to many goals and situations on the ice. He needs to temper that energy without losing it, so that he can keep himself on his game during crunch time.
Labels: Blue Jackets, player analysis, ranting
At least the game was only on in Chicago and Columbus, right?
Monday, February 12, 2007
( Note: I actually was aiming to put this up as a podcast. Livejournal -- that evil yet useful journal site -- has phone numbers which you can call and make voice posts with, and I planned to narrate this instead. But the voice quality through the phone number, coupled with using my cell phone, was just way too poor. )
Three games down. Three games to go.
This six game homestand was supposed to be the Blue Jackets' last stand, in a sense. Starting out at 15 points behind the eighth seeded Minnesota Wild, there was still a sliver of hope that if the Blue Jackets could come out with a respectable record during the home games, that they could at least make some sort of push in the last third of the season.
What that push would lead to is anyone's guess. Right about now most Blue Jackets' fans have to be shaking their heads in disbelief as the team now sits 17 points out of the playoffs, and doesn't look like it will make any sort of headway towards even staying within a decent point margin for the sake of respectibility. The Jackets have dropped two of three at home, showing just how maddening their inconsistency can be by first losing badly in a shutout to Phoenix, winning against Northwest Division-leading Calgary, then losing again to fellow cellar dweller Chicago.
It's true that most Jackets' fans would shrug their shoulders and say that they've accepted this as a fact of life when it comes to their team, but that doesn't help to soften or soothe the sting any more.
Keep in mind that even though last season's Blue Jackets had the best record and the best point total ever, they still didn't finish any closer to the playoffs than they did in their inaugeral season. In that inagural season, a ragtag band of castoffs from other teams managed to stay within 19 points of the eighth seeded Vancouver Canucks. To at least stay in the teens was something worth respecting for a new expansion team.
Yesterday afternoon's game brought with it a variety of concerns and questions leading in to the middle of February, with just a couple of weeks left before the trade deadline. First and foremost are concerns about Fredrik Norrena's ability to hold down the fort when in net. Ever since that five game winning streak back in December, "Steady Freddy" has been just about unable to string together two strong outings in a row unless he has had ample time to rest. He's become a Jekyl and Hyde in a sense, much like the rest of the team around him. With his new two-year contract extension announced on the same day that he was chased from the nets against Chicago, you almost want to wonder if this was the right decision, even factoring in his amazing play earlier in the season.
Next, and this question is extremely important; who is traded, and what can Columbus possibly get in return? The usual list of Blue Jackets' players on the trade block has stayed the same, with underachieving Anson Carter and Fredrik Modin at the top of the list due to General Manager Doug MacLean's struggles in re-signing one or both of them, and Nikolai Zherdev has occasionally been mentioned, but as the severity of his recent illness began to become more public, clamors for his departure also quieted.
Besides the usual suspects, other names have now begun to creep in to the mix, with The Columbus Dispatch recently throwing out players such as Manny Malhotra, Bryan Berard, and team captain Adam Foote as would-be trade bait.
But what can the Blue Jackets get for these players? With the playoff hunt in both conferences so tight, other GMs are acting very shrewdly, and it could very well be a game of chicken between the few teams out of playoff contention, and those teams on the playoff bubble desperately seeking some sort of piece to complete their own team puzzles. While it's normally the teams making it or trying to make it to the playoffs that will blink first, Doug MacLean must be feeling the heat that if he doesn't swing a deal soon, other teams may take advantage of that. If they do ship off their own players to fill other team's gaps before he can, MacLean and the Jackets will be left high and dry, with UFAs aplenty that they'll get nothing for.
MacLean would be wise to not trade for draft picks. Or at least not trade only for draft picks. It stands to reason that this upcoming NHL Entry Draft is not going to have anywhere near the yield of skill as the last one, and the Blue Jackets need fresh blood that can help the team if not immediately, then at the start of next season. This team does not have the luxury of time to go in to a rebuilding mode, especially when it has not yet made the playoffs.
Either way, the Blue Jackets find themselves in the sixth year of their short history, and still no playoff berth to offer up to their fans as appreciation for being so loyal. While storied teams such as the Blackhawks and the Bruins suffer and writhe in what seems like fanbase death throes all thanks to several bad years, the Blue Jackets continue to coast by due to their expansion label, and a fan base that has adamantly clung to this team despite their poor performance year in and year out.
The question is, how much longer can this keep up? Something has to give. Let's just hope that it's the Blue Jackets who give the city of Columbus a taste of the playoffs first, before the fans simply give up.
Three games down. Three games to go.
This six game homestand was supposed to be the Blue Jackets' last stand, in a sense. Starting out at 15 points behind the eighth seeded Minnesota Wild, there was still a sliver of hope that if the Blue Jackets could come out with a respectable record during the home games, that they could at least make some sort of push in the last third of the season.
What that push would lead to is anyone's guess. Right about now most Blue Jackets' fans have to be shaking their heads in disbelief as the team now sits 17 points out of the playoffs, and doesn't look like it will make any sort of headway towards even staying within a decent point margin for the sake of respectibility. The Jackets have dropped two of three at home, showing just how maddening their inconsistency can be by first losing badly in a shutout to Phoenix, winning against Northwest Division-leading Calgary, then losing again to fellow cellar dweller Chicago.
It's true that most Jackets' fans would shrug their shoulders and say that they've accepted this as a fact of life when it comes to their team, but that doesn't help to soften or soothe the sting any more.
Keep in mind that even though last season's Blue Jackets had the best record and the best point total ever, they still didn't finish any closer to the playoffs than they did in their inaugeral season. In that inagural season, a ragtag band of castoffs from other teams managed to stay within 19 points of the eighth seeded Vancouver Canucks. To at least stay in the teens was something worth respecting for a new expansion team.
Yesterday afternoon's game brought with it a variety of concerns and questions leading in to the middle of February, with just a couple of weeks left before the trade deadline. First and foremost are concerns about Fredrik Norrena's ability to hold down the fort when in net. Ever since that five game winning streak back in December, "Steady Freddy" has been just about unable to string together two strong outings in a row unless he has had ample time to rest. He's become a Jekyl and Hyde in a sense, much like the rest of the team around him. With his new two-year contract extension announced on the same day that he was chased from the nets against Chicago, you almost want to wonder if this was the right decision, even factoring in his amazing play earlier in the season.
Next, and this question is extremely important; who is traded, and what can Columbus possibly get in return? The usual list of Blue Jackets' players on the trade block has stayed the same, with underachieving Anson Carter and Fredrik Modin at the top of the list due to General Manager Doug MacLean's struggles in re-signing one or both of them, and Nikolai Zherdev has occasionally been mentioned, but as the severity of his recent illness began to become more public, clamors for his departure also quieted.
Besides the usual suspects, other names have now begun to creep in to the mix, with The Columbus Dispatch recently throwing out players such as Manny Malhotra, Bryan Berard, and team captain Adam Foote as would-be trade bait.
But what can the Blue Jackets get for these players? With the playoff hunt in both conferences so tight, other GMs are acting very shrewdly, and it could very well be a game of chicken between the few teams out of playoff contention, and those teams on the playoff bubble desperately seeking some sort of piece to complete their own team puzzles. While it's normally the teams making it or trying to make it to the playoffs that will blink first, Doug MacLean must be feeling the heat that if he doesn't swing a deal soon, other teams may take advantage of that. If they do ship off their own players to fill other team's gaps before he can, MacLean and the Jackets will be left high and dry, with UFAs aplenty that they'll get nothing for.
MacLean would be wise to not trade for draft picks. Or at least not trade only for draft picks. It stands to reason that this upcoming NHL Entry Draft is not going to have anywhere near the yield of skill as the last one, and the Blue Jackets need fresh blood that can help the team if not immediately, then at the start of next season. This team does not have the luxury of time to go in to a rebuilding mode, especially when it has not yet made the playoffs.
Either way, the Blue Jackets find themselves in the sixth year of their short history, and still no playoff berth to offer up to their fans as appreciation for being so loyal. While storied teams such as the Blackhawks and the Bruins suffer and writhe in what seems like fanbase death throes all thanks to several bad years, the Blue Jackets continue to coast by due to their expansion label, and a fan base that has adamantly clung to this team despite their poor performance year in and year out.
The question is, how much longer can this keep up? Something has to give. Let's just hope that it's the Blue Jackets who give the city of Columbus a taste of the playoffs first, before the fans simply give up.
Labels: Blue Jackets, ranting
