In light of that "earth-shattering" move, one destined to catapult us into next year's playoff, of picking up scrap heap castoff, Ethan Moreau, I'd like to offer up a song I've composed. 

This song is to be sung in the manner in which Ed Helm so touchingly did, in the Cinematic classic, The Hangover - in this case, with consideration to our "big-spender" ownership group, as well as our GM's "Outside the box:" thinking (our 6th Oiler castoff). 

I hope you enjoy my song stylings:

In case you haven't heard yet the Jackets have claimed 34 year old left winger Ethan Moreau off of waivers from the Edmonton Oilers.

Moreau has 14 seasons of NHL experience and is slated to make 1.75 million in the final year of his contract this year.  He notched 9g, 9a for 18p last season.

Right now I feel like the Tom Hanks character in BIG when he's sitting in the conference room watching a presentation of a new toy where a robot changes into a building and he raises his hand and says:

"I don't get it".

"A robot turns into a building?"... "Why not a bug or something?"..

Well that dude you see with his arm up right now wearing a CBJ jersey -- well that's me stating"

"I don't get it".

"Another aging oft-injured winger?"... "We just spent 1.75 million on that!?"...

Let's start with this -- what does this team need most?

#1 center and top pairing puck moving dman right?

What does this team need the least?

Wings.

Especially aging bottom line checking wings.

What do we add -- an aging 34 year oft-injured former captain checking line winger.

I'm sure we'll hear he's a great leader and will bring stability to the locker room... and Howson will state how he's got experience with this player.. yada yada.. blabber blabber.

My response is why in the wide wide world of sports did we trade for Chris Clark?

NHL forecaster on Clark:

ASSETS: Always displays solid leadership qualities. Uses speed, grit and tenacity to play a sound checking game. Is also versatile enough to occasionally play on a scoring line.
FLAWS: Is somewhat limited in the creativity department, and is miscast when used on a scoring line for long stretches. Has become more injury-prone over time.
CAREER POTENTIAL: Veteran checking winger with leadership qualities.

NHL forecaster on Moreau:

ASSETS: Has natural leadership skills. Boasts good size and loads of checking acumen. Works extremely hard night in, night out. Is effective on the penalty kill.
FLAWS: Injuries have played a major part in his career and curtailed offensive expectations. Hasn't been able to show the anticipation or timing needed to score goals consistently.
CAREER POTENTIAL: Veteran checking winger.

As if one Clark wasn't enough -- now we need version 2.0?  Hell Clark is even 34 and a fromer captain!!

I don't get it.

This is a move I would have instantly blamed on Hitch.  Well Hitch ain't here no more and perhaps Hitch wasn't really pulling the string afterall eh?

I think the only ones jumping for joy with this move are the Oilers and their fans.  They were gonna buy Moreau out and now get that cap space back.

At this stage I have absolutely no clue what Howson and co. are doing.  I didn't like the Clark trade the moment it happened, I certainly didn't like the draft and in no way/shape/form does this move thrill me

Maybe we should be asking ourselves is if leadership is needed this much what does that say about Rick Nash?

..and what happened to puck possession up-tempo style of game? How does Moreau help what-so-ever with that?  He is a dump/chase kind of player.

Right now we have 4.25 million tied up in two former captain 34 year oft-injured wingers who scored a total of 38 points last year.  This for a budget team that must spend every penny wisely.

Just imagine the kind of d-man/center we could have gotten for that?

Perhaps I'm jumping the gun.  Perhaps Howson has some more moves up his sleeves (I certainly hope so).  Perhaps Clark is going to be moved.

..or perhaps this is it?

Huselius Vermette Nash
Filatov Brassard Voracek
Moreau Pahlsson Umberger
Boll Murray Dorsett
Extra: Clark

Hejda Tyutin
Klesla Russell
Commodore Stralman
Extra: Methot

Mason
Garon

Better damn well hope Filatov can score and that both Brassard and Voracek take major steps or we are screwed offensively.  Nash better play every game like he's got that maple leaf on his chest.  I have no idea where Howson expects improvemen to come from the backend.  I see Russell getting better but enough to carry that group offensively?

A lot of hoping in the mix right now.

The one positive I will say is that this move shows that ownership has opened their wallet a bit as the payroll has jumped up to, according to capgeek.com, 49.5 million with guys like Boll and Stralman still to sign.  I would like them to spend to the cap as much as the next guy but this team should be able to compete with a 50 million dollar payroll in a capped league.

Right now if I were to grade the offseason I would give Howson an F-.  If I could go lower I would.  The good news is that the offseason is not over so there is still time for improvement.

Just please stop looking in trash cans for players.

Some of you will continue to give this organization the benefit of the doubt but for me this franchise is kind of a like a player trying to make the team -- they have to earn that spot.

But hey, we've got a new coach!

Fire away - thoughts on this move?

-LTL

As much as I would EVER admit that he's correct, the more I read the comments of one Doug MacLean, from a few weeks, back, the more I think he might be 'dead on'.

Now, before you all request a well-deserved random drug test of yours truly, first read this link of his comments in the Dispatch:

http://blog.dispatch.com/cbj/2010/06/maclean_blasts_priest.shtml

I know I've touched on some of this, before, in a previous post (i.e. his comments about Arniel and Howson, for him, weren't really bad, at all), but, a few other comments, "upon further review", are quite accurate:

- The CBJ's Prez might just get his hockey knowledge from googling. 

Otherwise, any other info is drawn solely from The Wall Street Journal or the Journal of Accountancy (I'm man enough to admit I used to subscribe to both).  I think Doug's point is that letting a non-hockey guy make the financial decisions, via the tight pursestrings, is not the formula for success.  Of course, there's some question as to whether his Doug-ness was, in fact, a "hockey guy", but I digress...

- "He’s got some good pieces there to work with. If he could get rid of (Sammy) Pahlsson, (Kristian) Huselius and (Mike) Commodore, who they’ve got 12 million tied up in, it would be a nice start..."

Again, Doug is 'dead on' in this case.  IF they could find a suitor dumb enough to take on these 'Hitch types', they could re-structure the organization's personnel, and direction, quite nicely.  Now, if only there was a GM dumb enough to take them on...oh wait, it might have been the very guy who was the GM, here, and he's out of a job...

Now, I will say that Doug's rant is purely based on his continued bitterness for being (deservedly so) canned, after wrecking the organization, for years to come, but his rationale is 'spot on'.

He also might be correct on one other aspect:  Due to the lack of support for Scott Howson from ownership, it might lead to Scott Howson being forced to depress us all with those diminished expectations of what we can expect in the upcoming UFA signing period.  Here are Scott Howson's comments, from yesterday's Dispatch:

http://www.bluejacketsxtra.com/live/content/sports/stories/2010/06/28/jackets-to-seek-center-via-free-agency.html?sid=101

A few points:

- "There are a couple of things we'd like to try and do, but we'll probably be pretty quiet on July1...It's a thin market this summer, and there will be lots of competition for a few of the players out there."

Translation:  Uh, we're REALLY cheap, and we can't afford a player which could quite possibly change the face of the organization.

- "We're always looking for ways to improve the team, but we're not going to overpay to do it. It ends up hurting in the long run."

Translation:  Uh, we're still REALLY cheap, so, don't burden me with this silly notion of actually PAYING for talent.

- "We've had preliminary discussions about ideas and our needs with a few teams...but nothing material or significant as of yet. There are lots of teams who are looking for defensemen, though...We'll get through a few days of free agency and see where the market is."

Once again, we're SO cheap, and we couldn't begin to pay for one of them...it's bad enough that we have to overpay for inept talent, as it is (see Juice, Commie, Sammi, Garon, et al)...

- "We have seven NHL defensemen...If we go into the season with that same seven, I'm happy with that."

Don't forget - new coach Scott Arniel said going up-tempo is more a mind-set, so, I'm really excited to watch our plodding, stay-at-home D-Men storm out of their defensive zone like Keith, Erhoff, Lidstrom (from years past), Kaberle, any day now...

These comments are from the Dispatch:

- "The Blue Jackets will try to sign a fourth-line center through free agency, and they'll attempt to reshape the blue line via one or more trades, perhaps with one of the handful of NHL clubs facing salary-cap issues.  Of the two desires, Howson said, adding a fourth-line center is the priority." (this from the Dispatch).

Translation:  4th line center (as the biggest priority)?  Wow, that will get the CBJ back in the playoff picture...

LTL said it, best - why not just go with Mike Blunden or Andy Murray as your 4th-line center?  Last year, I couldn't hear enough, from the organization, about Mike Blunden being an impact guy.  Well, give the guy the chance to prove it.  In addition, save the money you'd spend for that 4th line center - you know, that $500-$750K - and spend it on bringing in a quality, puck-moving, defenseman, or five.

Now, here are the comments from Scott Howson that are REALLY insulting:

- "We've made significant changes already this summer," Howson said. "We have a whole new coaching staff."

Good enough for me.  Wow, I'd better call those Fred Ricart salespeople...err, CBJ ticket reps, pronto, so I can assure myself of those playoff tickets.  I can feel the Cup in my hands, already!

Carry the Used (to save money, of course) Flag!

- Mase1

Well folks, yours truly nailed the first pick for the Blue Jackets, Ryan Johansen.  Here is the evidence of that (the article was written at 5:40 P.M., so, it was over an hour and a half before the selection):

http://www.insidehockey.com/columns/6856

Sure, I thought it would occur via trading down - very similar to LTL's guess at a 95% probability - but, let me remind you that NO ONE - I repeat, NO ONE - had Johansen as being their first pick.  It was all about Gormley or Fowler.

I only wish the Dow Jones would rise as fast as Johansen's stock did.  If that occured, I'd be retiring, early.  Dude was barely in the Top 150, not too long ago, but, word of his skyrocketing stock/value was spreading like wildfire, thoughtout the league.

It also tells me that the vibe on Fowler and Gormley, by league personnel, wasn't as high as the print media was convinced it was.

So, for the CBJ, what does that tell you?  First off, if I were Brass, I'd be either really worried, or, I'd better look into coming into camp in primo condition - meaning, having a torso slightly larger than our daugher (and, trust me, our daughter is quite tiny/slender).  It's time to move forward from getting James Neal-ed, Brass.

Also, I nailed 8 of the first 9 NHL draft picks, in order.  I'd ask you all to verify that with those at the R Bar, but, they're all now too incoherent.  I will say that those who were still sober were in stunned silence, when I reeled off pick after pick.  The Thrashers pick was the easiest - it was the highest Russian name on the board (we call that a 'slam dunk', in the biz).

So, we'll see what moves, if any, Scott Howson has up his sleeve, tomorrow.  I think he'll try to get some serious organizational depth, so expect a lot of trading up and trading down.

To quote Jim Carey in Ace Ventura 2, "Damn, I'm TIRED of being right all the time"

Go Jackets!

- Mase1

2002 - RICK NASH

2006 - DERICK BRASSARD

2007 - JAKUB VORACEK

2008 - NIKITA FILATOV

2009 - JOHN MOORE

2010 - ??

The draft is less that 24 hours away and quite honestly I don't get the sense that even the Jackets know what they are gonna do at this point.

One thing seems to be clear and that is they are intent on trading down.  At least if you believe what Portzline is reporting:

The Blue Jackets are trying to move down in the draft order, but so far there hasn't been much action. That will change, if not before the draft begins then certainly after the No. 3 pick is taken by Florida on Friday night. Clearly there's a player who will be available in the 7-8-9 range that the Blue Jackets like as much as the defenseman they could grab at No. 4. So why not trade down, add a player or a draft pick, and get the guy you want? That's called maximizing a commodity, and -- as you should know by now -- that is GM Scott Howson's passion in life.

First off - this is very encouraging news - at least to me.  For those that read this blog regularly, you are all well aware that I have been a big proponent of trading down and picking up some immediate help for a while now.

We have too many holes to fill both in the pipeline and on the big squad.  We need to maximize this asset.  We need help now.

I think the goal of obtaining real help now while also not sacrificing for the future can occur.  Howson has to get creative.

What I don't agree with Portzline on is that the Jackets will only deal if they can keep a pick in the top 10.  Sure if they could get the piece(s) they want while only moving down 6 or 7 spots certainly they'd be all over that.  However I don't think they'd limit themselves to just that.

Now this is just me fishing in the dark here, but I think the Jackets have serious interest in Toronto's puck moving dman Kaberle.  I think they would love to turn that 4th into multiple picks and then flip one or two of them (along with some salary) to Toronto for this player.

Why?

Just listen to the new coaches preach about puck possession and activating defensemen into the play.  Regardless of what they say in the paper about "mindsets" and the such this team does not have the horses on the backend to play this style.  They need an upgrade.  A player like Kaberle combined with a Russell would go a long way towards reaching this goal.

Toronto has no picks in the first 3 rounds and they would certainly move this player with the intent of acquiring multiple selections.

The Jackets won't move their only first for him but say they acquire a later first?  How about an early 2nd and a 3rd (should they acquire one)?

If not Kaberle than some other NHLer like him.

Keep an eye on teams like Edmonton, Carolina and Atlanta.  A team that hasn't been discussed is the Rangers who own the 10th pick.  I could certainly see them trying to make a splash and climb the draft chart (Brandon Dubinsky anyone?).

What I hope does not occur is that Howson moves down to 8th or 9th picks up a 2nd rounder or two and then makes all the picks.  That is unless he uses other assets to acquire the necessary pieces to fill out this roster.

Tomorrow should be an interesting and entertaining day.  I give it about a 95% chance the Jackets make some kind of move.

Have fun at the draft parties everyone and I'll certainly miss sharing some coldies with the Jackets faithful at the R Bar this year.

Damn weddings ;)

-LTL

Nice break down of the Jackets schedule on their web site this year.

Some things that stand out to me:

This is the least excited I've been about seeing the Jackets schedule.  Perhaps it's because the draft is right around the corner and then free agency.  Perhaps it's just the fact of -- does it really even matter?

Get ready for Buffalo fans to invade Nationwide again for the Jackets last game of the season at home on Saturday April 9th.  I really wish the CBJ bean counters who love to see Nationwide packed with opposing teams fans would sit in the upper bowl and listen to them run their mouths for 3 periods.  Great fun for you know, the actual home town fans who buy the season tickets.  Perhaps if they concentrated on icing a winning team they could then concentrate on packing the house with home town fans!

Who else is taking a full or half day on Friday October 8th to get home to watch the Jackets take on the Sharks over in Stockholm at 3 P.M. ET.?

Another New Years Eve game at home versus the Senators.  Can't miss that one.

Only 3 home games in the month of January.  That will be the make or break month.

An absolutely horrible schedule for road trips.  No @Nashville Saturday games?  That blows.

18 back to backs... not great but not the end of the world.  The year we made the playoffs I think we had 22 of those - the most in the league.  We missed last year with only 12.

Longest road trip is 5 games.  Pretty reasonable.

Want a wake up call as to where the Jackets stand in this league?  Just wait for the national TV schedule to come out.  I'm guessing the Jackets get a game on Versus (probably against Wings @ Detroit) and then whatever channel the Stockholm games are on -- probably the NHL Network.

Been thinkin about this whole Spezza non-deal a lot today.  The salary is one thing but if what Lebron of ESPN says is true - that Howson hasn't even talked to Murray - then there is a lot more to this than just the salary.  Must be some serious character flaws with the Spez.

In case you missed it Boston made a trade today and unfortunately it wasn't with us.  They moved Wideman, their 15th overall plus a 3rd in 2011 to Florida for Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell.

Why do I care?

Boston has some nice center depth and they did hold that 15th pick.  They could have made nice trading partners.  Something could still be worked out if they were looking to unload a center (Kreci, Bergeron) but I'd say the chances are greatly reduced after this move.

Howson has got to make a move this week right?  I'm starting to think the move he makes will be of the low risk low reward variety.  You know, basically the same crap he's done since he arrived.

I'm all for building through the draft as that is the right way to build a consistent contender.  I get that.  The problem is you have to be able to build through the draft.  That 10th anniversary logo says a lot including the fact that we've have 10 years to build through the draft and one 4 game playoff sweep to show for it.

Please excuse me while I don't get excited if we hold onto the #4 pick.

Take this to the bank on Hitch. Look for him to get a job in-season.  He'll be a juicy target for a club that struggles out of the gate and will make a bold move to save their season by hiring him.

Received an email from Fox Sports Ohio with the following:

CLEVELAND, OHIO – FOX Sports Ohio and the Columbus Blue Jackets are excited to announce a new summer program, Blue Jackets Live – Summer Special, presented by Toyota Direct, premiering Thursday, July 1 at 7:30pm.

This 30-minute show with FOX Sports Ohio Blue Jackets broadcasters Ray Crawford, Bill Davidge, John Michael and Jeff Rimer will bring Blue Jackets fans up to speed on their team’s off-season news.

The show features interviews with the Jackets’ new Head Coach Scott Arniel and General Manager Scott Howsen. Rimer will also talk to the Blue Jackets first round pick at the site of the NHL Draft, which will be held June 25-26 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.

The show will additionally break down the Blue Jackets’ 10^th Anniversary season schedule for 2010-11, including the team’s opening games vs. the San Jose Sharks in Stockholm, Sweden as part of the 2010 Compuware NHL Premiere™ and NHL Face-Off™.

Following the 7:30pm premiere on July 1, the show will re-air the following dates and times:

-LTL

NHL Players' Association extends CBA through 2012 season

"The current cap of $56.8 million is expected to rise to about $59 million. The official number will be announced before the free-agent signing period begins on July 1."

Will this give us some wiggle room to make a move ?? Do we have a cap expert that reads the mighty LTL, someone who could provide us with some inside on what this means to the Jackets. I know the CBJ aims to remain at the revenue sharing agreement cap, what would our spending limit be to remain below that cap ??

Furthermore is anyone here shocked that the cap (which was supposed to decline, according to stories at the start of the season), somehow not only equaled but surpassed this years cap when it became evident that the NHL's favorite franchises really needed a cap increase ??

Most have already seen the leak of this but the Jackets have "officially" released their 10th season logo.

Sharp logo.  Would look sweet on a CBJ Spezza jersey ;)

-LTL

Time to jump in the time machine and take a look back at previous #4 overall picks.  Let's go back 20 years shall we:

2009 - Evander Kane

2008 - Alex Petriangelo

2007 - Thomas Hickey

2006 - Nicklas Backstrom

2005 - Benout Pouliot

2004 - Andrew Ladd

2003 - Nik Zherdev

2002 - Joni Pitkanen

2001 - Stephen Weiss

2000 - Rostislav Klesla

1999 - Pavel Brendl

1998 - Bryan Allen

1997 - Roberto Luongo

1996 - Alexandre Volchkov

1995 - Chad Kilger

1994 - Jason Bonsignore

1993 - Paul Kariya

1992 - Todd Warriner

1991 - Scott Lachance

1990 - Mike Ricci

1989 - Stu Barnes

That is quite the list eh?

Let's try to categorize this bunch.

Stars: Backstrom, Luongo, Kariya

Above average: Pitkanen, Weiss

Solid NHLers: Ricci, Barnes, Warrier, Lachance, Kilger, Klesla, Ladd,

Busts: Bonsignore, Volchkov, Brendl

Headcase: Zherdev (yeah, he get's his own category)

Too early too tell: Kane, Petriangelo, Hickey, Pouliot (was boarderline bust until he showed signs in Montreal last season)

So if you remove the 4 that are still TBD than here is what your looking at:

* 18.75% chance you'll get a star

* 12.5% chance you'll get an above average NHL player

* 43.75% chance you'll get a solid NHLer

* 18.75% chance you'll bust out

* 6.25% chance you'll get a headcase

Look, the numbers don't get better the further down you go but my point is the chances of getting a star with this pick are not that great.  The chances of getting say, another Klesla, are (which is exactly whom Gormley reminds me of).  We don't have the time to see if #4 pans into a star, the last thing we need is another Klesla and based off previous draft history I have no faith that out of the 3 d-men we'd select the right one AND properly develop said player.

If I could move the #4 for say a Jason Spezza type star player and somehow make salaries work - I do it and don't look back.

-LTL