Let's see... we've had octo-gate... we've had Blackhawks goal song-gate... nearly commando Commodore makin' it rain-gate.... and now..

logo-gate?

By now most of you have probably heard about Oregon senate hopeful Marc Delphine's rip off of the CBJ's logo.  If not here is a screen shot from his web site before the logo was yanked courtesy of Puck-daddy:

You just can't make stuff up like this folks.

The logo ripoff is one thing but how about Delphine's response - again quotes courtesy of Puck-daddy:

"They were all like, 'What are you doing with their logo?' and I was like, 'I didn't make the logo!' and we pulled it immediately," said Delphine, a Libertarian candidate making history as the first openly homosexual man to run for the U.S. Senate in Oregon. "I'm not interested in any kind of infringement. We don't even need a logo."

Don't need it now eh?  Not my fautl!  Sounds like he'll fit right in as a politician.

He said he hoped his candidacy wouldn't become synonymous with this logo foul-up. "If anything, I hope this raises awareness for the Columbus Blue Jackets," said Delphine.

Raises awareness?  What... are the Jackets some kind of disease?

(Well if losing is a disease then perhaps he's got a point but I digress...)

Is there a # I can text a donation to?

Does this clown think he's doing the Jackets a favor here?  I'm sure the folks in Oregon are about as aware of the Jackets as the folks in Ohio are about an openly gay homosexual running for US Senate in Oregon.

My question is how long did it take for the intern who "designed" this to find a pink slip in their stocking once the Jackets legal department picked up the phone?

The saddest part about this entire thing is this is probably the most national press the Jackets have gotten all season.

..but hey, at least the people in Oregon now know the Columbus Blue Jackets exist.

Man it sucks to suck!

Thanks to Kevin and Tom for the heads up yesterday on this!

-LTL

Be honest now... How many of you actually stayed awake and watched any part of that game last night?

..at this point I'm not sure if it's fair to even call it a game?  I mean don't you have to have players from each side competing against another to call it one?

Shots: 35 - 11

Wow.  Talk about rolling over Beethoven.

I can tell you I didn't watch one second of it.  I had the DVR rolling and I had it tuned in on the bedroom TV but I was out cold the minute I hit the mattress - as was this team the minute they hit the ice.

I can also tell you that the game will be deleted from my DVR as soon as I can find the remote.

You know what though?  I'm not upset they lost.  If fact if you look big picture it's a good thing that they keep losing.

...but...but... how can you root for your team to lose?  We need to engrain a winning culture not a losing one! What kind of fan is that?

Please spare me that BS. 

Somebody should have told this team/management that before they lost 20 of 25 games (or whatever in the hell that was).  After that streak the rest of this season has always been about setting the team up the best way possible for next year.

The best thing this team can do for next season right now is to play the kids and rack up the losses.  That accomplishes a variety of things:

1. Nobody gets the illusion that Claude Noel or anyone on this coaching staff is the answer.

2. It should give the Jackets a top 3 pick and by all accounts the top tier in this draft is 3 players deep.  That's one helluva of an asset to put on the trade table... and who knows, maybe the hockey gods finally grant the Jackets the #1 overall pick.

3. The young players get lots of ice time and management should know exactly where these players stand in terms of development.

4. It puts pressure on Howson and ownership to make significant upgrades to this roster.  Shopping in the bargain bin will not cut it if they really want to compete.

I'll still watch the games and I'll be happy if they win... but believe me I won't be upset if they lose either - in fact, I'll be happy with that too.

What I won't like is that after this season concludes and we are all finally put out of our misery and real changes don't occur.

Coaching staff gone.  Scouting staff gone.  Game ops gone.  A bloated contract or two gone.  Draft picks gone for real players.

I'm not saying to blow the entire thing up but significant changes must occur to this roster and the organization as a whole to get this train back on it's tracks.

Howson has his work cut out for him as does the rest of the organization. 

Tanking is the easy part.

In the meantime sit back, relax and treat the rest of these games like a car wreck.... you know you shouldn't look but you do anyways just to see how bad it is.

-LTL

These were sent in by Roarke:

Thanks for these Roarke!  Nice work.

-LTL

Not a whole lot worth writing about of late but these pictures sent in by Cathy are worth a thousand words.

They were taken from the "Dude Where's My Hair" fund raiser show on February 8th.  This was a show featuring the stories of 6 local kids (the Dudes) who have lost their hair during chemo. Sponsored by the CBJ Foundation. Proceeds benefited the Columbus Wig Foundation. Participation by Derek Dorsett, Jared Boll and Stinger.

There are many videos from this show posted here.

Sadly, as Cathy points out, the disease has stolen the life of another one of these kids.  Seth Jenkins (the boy playing guitar in the green shirt in the pictures/videos) fell into a septic coma the day after the Dude show, suffered extensive brain damage and was taken off of life support sometime this morning. He is/was 13.

My condolences to Seth and his family.  Just isn't fair.

-LTL

LTL Nation,

First off, thanks to all of you for joining in on our trade deadline chat.  It was quite spirited and enjoyable, at the same time.

I want to start off by giving kudos to Eplagge, for his usual stout insight and analysis.  Well done, sir.

Now, onto the analysis.  I wrote a recent article on this very subject, earlier today.  Here is a brief recap:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/357095-trade-deadline-analysis-columbus-blue-jackets

Overall, I believe Howson graded a 'B' - however, that is not to say it would be labeled a rousing success.  This was part cleaning up the mess of the prior on-ice model - the pre-lockout, but not post-lockout, success plan - part scrambling to set the organization up, financially, for the upcoming draft and UFA signing period.

Let there be no doubt - Howson will definitely be on the hot seat.  He's not done with making moves for players who have, to say the least, been dissapointing.  The trick will be whether he can get any value, in return, for the players in question.  A few names to keep in mind:  Commodore, Klesla, Huselius, Pahlsson and Hejda.  Three defensemen, I know, but, it's quite obvious that Howson wants to go with more athletic, speedier, more offensive-minded Blueliners.

As mentioned in the article, this is HIS team, now - no longer is the 'influence' of Hitch - see Modin, Klesla, Commie, Pahlsson, Clark - prevalent.  Gone should be the plodding, defense-first, snoozefest that prevailed in Hitch's regime.  The goal should be to replicate the 'Hawks, 'Nucks and 'Avs blueprint:  Speed, youth and, as Jim Tressell would say, "velocity".

As mentioned in the article, it was on simmer (summer and pre-season), it's now on medium (up to this point of the season), and it will be on high (draft and UFA signing period) for Howson...

Sure, "In Howson We Trust" still applies, but, this summer's task will be make or break time for him, and for the future of the organization.  The status quo that some adhere to cannot, and will not, be tolerated, anymore.

Go Jackets!

- Mase1

Here is another 3rd jersey design sent in by Patrick:

Some thoughts from Patrick on his design:

"It's a fairly drastic change as far as layout goes, and I also altered the color scheme, both to replicate a Union Army Civil War Uniform.  Gone is the red and silver, with a light gold and white in their place.  I didn't want to even touch a new logo design so I just stylized some text and used that for now.  Another thing that I really missed on the jerseys this year was the JHM patch, so I brought a new version of it back to my 3rd jersey."

Excellent work Patrick!!

-LTL

The trade deadline came and now it has passed, here are the deals that have transpired:

BUF:

Raffi Torres

CBJ:

Vancouver’s 2nd round pick

D Nathan Paetsch

My take:

The reality is that Raffi’s a 3rd Line PLUS guy flying high after 2 good seasons with the CBJ, he also happens to be in his late 20’s with a family to support. This upcoming UFA will be Raffi’s last chance to cash in. Signing a home discount extension simply isn’t as good as testing the UFA market, just ask Commodore. Paetsch is a RFA defenseman/4th line forward, who is very versatile but at best a depth guy. The 2nd round pick is a late one, but a 2nd rounder none less.

WAS:

Milan Jurcina

CBJ:

Conditional 6th round pick

My take:

Milan was of interest to 6 to 9 different teams according to multiple sources, until they found out he has a sports hernia. The Olympics costs us a 3rd round pick. He was traded to WAS for a 6th, IF he plays x amount of games. The chances are 50-50 we will actually obtain that pick. Given the circumstances, we at least got rid of his salary for the remainder of the season, and we traded him to the only team willing to take him.

LAK:

Modin

CBJ:

Conditional 7th

My take:

Conditional 7th ???? Really ??? Modin is such an amazing player they had to put conditions on a 7th round pick, if that’s not a testimony to Modin’s downfall I don’t know what is.. Anyways we just saved 1M and lost a player who was absolutely terrible for us.

FLO:

Mathieu Roy

CLB:

Matt Rust

My Take:

We traded a 1 year AHL/NHL defenseman with no offense, who had a good year actually, for a 6.5C prospect that’s 12th on the Panthers depth chart. Reading the scouting reports 3 things stand out: Speed, 2-way player, good vision. It appears this kid’s odds of becoming an NHL top 9 forward are pretty good. I like this trade, it adds depth to our organization for a disposable player. He plays his last year of college next year, he will then most likely play for the Crunch.

Phoenix:

Alexander Picard

CLB:

Chad Kolarik

My Take:

We are trading a complete NHL bust in Picard for a guy who might actually make it.. 6.5B that’s 7th on the Phoenix depth chart. I like his resume, hope he does well for us in the future. He’s already playing in the AHL.

Summary:

I don’t understand why so many CBJ fans are livid about today’s trade deadline. The team underperformed this year and we are sellers this year, it’s that simple. Howsen did a good job in my humble opinion. How often can say you obtained a 2nd round pick for a third line player at the trade deadline, or conditional late round picks for players who are virtually unmovable at this point in their career. Not very often, I can guarantee you that. Furthermore we traded in two NHL bust players (Yes I know Roy has had a couple of good performances in the NHL, with Edmonton and the CBJ but he has been an AHL/NHL player his entire career.) for younger prospects who might actually make it. The real challenge will be in the off-season when Howsen will be responsible for shaking up the team and hiring a new coach. Looking at the prospects it appears Howsen is going to draft and sign speed.

Please join me & Eplagge for some NHL trade deadline discussion now!

-LTL

This is a 3rd jersey design sent in by Sparky which I thought I'd share here.

I've heard through the grape vine that the Jackets gave permission to their designer to swing for the fences on the 10th anniversary 3rd jersey to be unveiled next year.  They want something "totally different" than their primary home/away digs they use today (which I love!).

What does that mean?

We'll have to wait and see but one would think the cannon would be incorporated in some form or fashion.

Just please, no neon green.

If anyone else out there has designs they'd like me to share shoot em on over!

-LTL

The Blue Jackets recalled Clitsome today???

According to my math..

However these guys should be healthy:

This makes me believe that Jurcina is on his way out.... In Howsen I still trust, until he proves me wrong..

Furthermore the Jackets traded defenseman Dylan Reese to the New York Islanders for forward Greg Moore.

A quick assesment tells me that Reese is arguably the more naturally skilled player but his chanches of reaching the big league are very slim. Moore has seen spot duty in the NHL but is one of those classical AHL/NHL 4th line depth guys, and at age 25 his chances are slim of ever becoming an NHL regular. This sounds like a move to please the Crunch and provide them with an AHL regular as well as providing the CBJ with 4th line depth, very similar to the Roy move last year.