I hope you didn't bother to bring a towel to dry yourself off from the splash Howson and the Jackets made yesterday with the signing of 32 year old center Ben Guite.
That splash wouldn't make it out of a fishbowl.
ASSETS: Works very hard every shift. Is a solid penalty-killer and face-off man. Has the size and defensive acumen to shut down offensive forwards.
FLAWS: Has never been able to translate AHL production into regular point production at the highest level. Lacks consistency in the offensive zone.
CAREER POTENTIAL: Reserve center.
I'm sure Guite will be fine in his role but here's my problem with this signing -- why are we concentrating on AHL tweeners when the Jackets still have holes big enough in their NHL lineup to drive a dump truck through?
Shouldn't we be concentrating on our NHL lineup? I know I'd feel a lot better about these kinds of touch up moves if the priorities in the NHL lineup were already addressed.
It is August and we have less than 30 days til camp opens. Yes there is still time to add impact players to the NHL lineup but the pickings are slim and time is running out.
Let's recap what Howson has accomplished this offseason thus far:
1. Hired a new coaching staff. One with zero games of head coaching experience at the NHL level.
2. Drafted Ryan Johanssen with the #4 overall pick. Won't wear a Jackets sweater this season. Probably won't make a significant NHL impact until year 3.
3. Claimed 34 year old 3rd line winger Ethan Moreau off of waivers from Edmonton who was the worst team in the league last season.
4. Resigned Anton Stralman, Jared Boll, Mike Blunden, Grant Clitsome and Derek MacKenzie among others.
5. Signed 32 year old depth center Ben Guite. He played in 6 games for Nashville last season (a team that needless to say was not loaded offensively) and registered 0 points. He spent the majority of his season with their AHL affiliate the Milwaukee Admirals
Now step away from your CBJ bubble and ask yourself an honest question - how does any of this really make the Jackets a better team for next season?
Those moves summed up tell us one thing -- that Howson believes last season was the fluke. That this team will bounce back. That all the improvement will come from within and THAT will be enough to make this team a playoff contender.
Ask yourself another question -- what if two years ago was the fluke and last year was the norm?
I really hope this coaching staff can spark this team.. I really hope Mase can bounce back and the young players can take a step. I hope our franchise player can do more than show up for a few stretches and score more than 67 points. I hope Ben Guite can contribute something.. anything!
I want to believe.. I really REALLY do but all I can do is hope Howson's offseason plan works. Hope his belief in this team comes to fruition. His job could depend on it.
Until Howson gets serious about filling the real holes on his NHL team instead of these pointless depth signings I can't get serious about this squad's playoff chances.
I'll be rooting for them every step of the way of course but man it's hard for me to really get excited about our chances and that sucks!
-LTL
