HFBoards is rumoring:

That the CBJ has obtained Spezza for:

4th + juice + brass

http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=788948

Let me reiterate this is a rumor... not fact...

9:27 P.M. UPDATE: NHLSourcesSay on twitter reporting the following:

Breaking News: Spezza NOT officially traded to Jackets as of right now, teams still trying to finalize deal but it sounds like its close.

9:40 P.M. UPDATE: Eklund now "checking into" Spezza rumor.

Claims "no denials yet".

Whelp... we're screwed ;)

10:00 P.M. UPDATE: From Darren Dreger's twitter:

I just asked Bryan Murray if I can kill the "Spezza to Columbus rumour"...he replied, "yes, please do." End of story. For now.

The key being "for now".  Honestly CBJ fans, I don't think we've heard the end of this one.  If it doesn't ever end up getting done I bet it was damn close.

"For now" -- stay tuned!!

7:20 A.M. UPDATE: From Portzline's twitter last night:

Spezza to #CBJ is NOT going to happen. It has NOT been discussed b/w the clubs. It has NO chance of happening. Oh, and sorry for the delay.

Great.  Can't wait to see who is actually on Howson's radar.  Get ready for more bargain bin shopping at the free agent dollar store.  So much for my optimism.

8:55 A.M. UPDATE: From Real_ESPNLebrun twitter:

Jackets source told me last week they had zero interest in Spezza.

I'll admit I got excited last night at the thought of adding a legit #1 guy, even with the flaws of a Jason Spezza.

I've calmed myself down since reality has smacked me back in the face and will wait to see what Howson can do at the draft.

That said I'm sticking to my Jackets motto - hope for the best (something close to a top pairing d-man and top line center) but you bet your bag of pucks I"m preparing for the worst (acquiring yet more players playing higher up the lineup than they should).

-LTL

TSN's Bob McKenzie has posted his top 75 in this year's draft.  The top 10:

1. Taylor Hall
2. Tyler Seguin
3. Eric Gudbranson
4. Brandon Gormley
5. Cam Fowler
6. Ryan Johansen
7. Nino Niederreiter
8. Brett Connolly
9. Jack Campbell
10. Jeffrey Skinner

No real surprises here.

McKenzie's list is always a great read with a lot of content so check it out here.

Puck-rakers mentioned that Tyler Wright's visit to Russia to check in on Filatov was postponed due to "visa issues".

Only question is I have is since when do you need a visa to visit a country for a week?

I give it 60/40 he's dealt this weekend.

Also was just passed along the nugget (thx BHG) that the Jackets will open the season agains the 'hawks.  I would assume this is the home opener as they will "technically" open their season in Europe.

The full schedule will be released tomorrow.  According to an email I just received from the Jackets you can watch a live webcast of the schedule announcement tomorrow on BlueJackets.NHL.TV at noon.

-LTL

Big week for Scott Howson.  He's got a lot to accomplish and a short window to do it in.

As I've stated before the NHL has become a lot like the NFL where major change happens in the offseason and then once the season starts -- you pretty much are what you are.

I love the cap system but this is definitely one of it's drawbacks.  It's just too difficult to pull off hockey trades mid-season.  There are just too many moving parts in-season with salaries, limited number of teams wanting or able to make trades, etc.

Let's flash back to last offseason - If you recall these were the offseason goals:

1. Sign Rick Nash - check

2. Acquire a 3rd line center - check

3. Acquire a backup goaltender - check

Nash got re-signed and both Pahlsson and Garon were signed as UFAs.

Ahhh.... those were the days eh?  The days when we were all fooled into believing those really were the only holes on our roster.

Fast forward to a year later when Mason came crashing back down to earth, a captain under-performed, a coach fired and the youngsters all sputtered.  We are now back to the same holes we've always had, have yet another top 5 pick and yet another year of missed playoffs.

So what can we expect this week?

Well for me I expect expectations to raise.  It's time to stop skating in circles in and address the real issues that have plagued our team since inception:

1. A #1 dman

2. A #1 center

Those are both going to cost $$ and assets to obtain.  I'm shooting for the stars here but somehow/someway Scott Howson has got to find a way to address these needs.

As the great Geroge McFly once said - if you put your mind to it you can accomplish anything.

He's got to get creative.  He's got to wheel and deal b/c #1 we don't have the $$/budget to fill these holes in free agency and #2 even if we did, what are the chances a big fish would swim here?

Now all this said I am a realist.  There are only so many #1 centers and #1 dmen in this league and teams don't usually let those fish swim away.

..but he's got to try.  He's got to come as close as he can.  Anton Stralman type trades will not cut it.

What I want from Howson is a "is a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in that area".

Phone calls into every team.  Every option explored and vetted.  Every tire kicked.  Every rock turned.

Now is the time to remake this team.

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  He's got to move that #4 pick.  We do not have the time to draft a defensemen and wait 3 to 4 years for the d-man to make a significant impact.  There are no Drew Doughty's at the top here.

Fowerly, Gudbranson and Gormely... those guys are all gonna need time.  Time that we don't have the luxury of anymore.

I understand we can't just give it away for the sake of trading it to please some a-hole blogger (i.e. me!).  I would hope if we do make the pick that it means that the offers were just not there but that will take a lot to convince of that - especially with all the early activity and smoke.

Here some names we've already heard.

Center: Ribeiro, J. Staal, Savard, Sharp, Bergeron, Richards, Spezza, Kreci, Briere, Carter, Weiss

Defense: Souray, Kaberle, Couburn, Bieska, Burns

..and those are just the names being thrown around in the rumor mill.  Just imagine who else is in play out there.

If he won't part with the #4 then he's got to give up some other assets he'd prefer to keep.  Filatov, Brassard, Russell, Umberger, prospects, picks.. he will have to give to get but those holes need filled.

We can't wait any longer.  The future it now.  It's been 10 years.  The fanbase is next to nothing but they can be won back with wins!

I can appreciate those that say "be patient".. "stay the course".  However remember that when you see thousands of fans dressed up as blue seats in October.

I'm not saying to blow it up or make a "Fedorov" trade *but* Howson can plan for the future while also addressing the major needs now *if" he puts his mind to it - I firmly believe that.

This is gonna be a big week CBJ fans.  Stay tuned!!

Fire away on the poll question - keep or trade the pick?

-LTL

Couple of vids from Yahoo sports I wanted to share here.  The first is Fowler, second is Gormely and the third is an interview with Gudbranson with his dad:

Although that pic has absolutely no relevance here I thought it was funny so there you have it.

Okay... on to the real business at hand - so I caught the trade rumor floating around the interwebs the past few days between the Bruins and Jackets.

For those that read this blog who haven't seen it yet -- this is it via prohockeytalk.com:

Pro Hockey Talk has learned of a possible trade in the works, with the Boston Bruins dealing Blake Wheeler and Marc Savard to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for the fourth overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. It's likely that the Bruins would also include their 15th overall pick in the deal as well, leaving Boston with both the second and fourth pick in the first round.

Look, I get as excited about reading trade rumors as the next guy.  They are fun and get folks talking.

That said, NOBODY who actually takes the time to digest this rumor could think it would go down as currently proposed.

Jackets fans must know that unless ownership wins the powerball they are not going to spend much over their self imposed 48 millionish budget.  This trade alone would blow that budget out of the water.

Boston fans must know that they are not going to turn around and trade a center they just recently signed to a 7 year deal that includes a no trade clause.  That would be like the Jackets signing Rick Nash last summer and then trading him a month after.  Gone would be any credibility with future free agents.

That's not to say there isn't a deal to be made here or that the teams aren't talking.

Boston has what the Jackets need and I think Columbus certainly has some pieces that would be attractive to Boston.

Looking at Boston they sit with just 18 players signed with 54 million committed to the cap.  No doubt they would like to free up some cap space while getting younger and cheaper.

They are also very deep down the middle with Savard, Kreci, Bergeron and they are widely expected to draft center Tyler Seguin with the #2 overall pick.  On top of that their #1 ranked prospect according to HockeysFuture.com is center Joe Colburn.

Forecaster on Colburn:

ASSETS: Has tremendous size and the potential to play a power game at the highest level. Can score goals and set up his linemates, too. Can line up either at center or wing.

FLAWS: Is extremely inconsistent in all areas of the game and still somewhat raw. Lacks maturity in his game. Must prove capable of producing points with consistency at the highest level.

CAREER POTENTIAL: Power forward.

In addition to the #2 overall pick that they acquired from Toronto in the Phil Kessel trade the Bruins hold their own pick at #15.

For Columbus to trade down there is no doubt in my mind that Howson would want to retain a pick in the 1st round.  A market like Columbus must keep that pipeline flowing with cheap quality talent to augment their lineup.

Columbus would also like to strengthen their center depth while also getting immediate help for next season.

Here is my proposal:

To Columbus: #15 overall, Colburn and Bergeron

To Boston: #4 overall, Pahlsson and 4th round pick (or B prospect)

Here is why I think this has potential for both sides.

Columbus:
The #15 overall meets the goals of keeping the pipeline stocked.  This a deep draft and the Jackets should be able to get a quality player at this spot.  With two 2nd round picks it's also possible he could move back up or even down further to gain more picks.

Colburn instantly upgrades their depth down the middle.  He would certainly play in Springfield's top 6 and become the Jackets' #1 prospect at this position.

Bergeron has 1 year left on his deal at 4.75 million.  He is expensive but he's also only 24 and notched 19g, 33a for 52p last year while also finishing a +6.  He has battled injury problems in the past but he played in 73 games last year.  The Jackets should get a motivated player in a contract year and Bergeron would be slotted next to Olypmic teammate Nash and play in every situation.

Boston:
The biggest piece going Boston direction is that #4 overall pick.  With this pick Boston would select one of Fowler, Gudbranson and Gormely.  They don't really have any blue chip defensemen in their system and that problem would be solved.  Having both #2 and #4 picks no doubt sets them up for a long run in the future and meets their goal of adding cheap quality talent in a big way.

The Jackets would have to send some salary back Boston's direction which is why Pahlsson is included.  Bergeron can more than make up for what is lost from Pahlsson defensively for Columbus and Pahlsson would fill the hole voided by Bergeron.  Pahlsson is due 2.6 million over the next two seasons and would save Boston 2.15 this season.  Remember cap space is a valuable trading asset in today's NHL so that must be taken into account when evaluating trades.

The 4th round pick or B prospect is tossed in to even out the value as without it I think Columbus holds a slight advantage.

Boston may prefer someone other than Pahlsson (Clark who is a UFA after this season perhaps?) but for this to work Columbus must send some salary back the other way.  Another scenario is to remove the veterans in Bergeron and Pahlsson and just work off assets -- in that case I think Boston would have to add more to the #15 and Colburn to move up to #4.

This trade doesn't solve the backend issue but does help upgrade in a significant way the center depth on this team:

In Springfield Colburn would slot in behind MacKenzie in the top 6 at center.

So while I think the proposal in this rumor is bunk I do think there is a strong possibility these teams have talked.  I think a deal between them would come down on the draft floor after Edmonton makes their pick.  For instance if Edmonton picks Seguin over Hall then that changes things dramatically for Boston as now they don't have the center depth they would have had if they ended up with Seguin.

Lots of smoke out there Jackets fans.  I give it 99% chance that some kind of trade is made on draft that involves Columbus.  All we can do is now is wait (and speculate!).

5 days to go til draft day!

-LTL

Things are finally starting to get fun again.  The offseason reboot will officially begin in my mind on June 25th, 2010.  Let's hope season 10 doesn't end the same way season 9 did - with talk of tanks, fired coaches, underperforming players and game flops.

Must get a goalie in this year's draft.  Not much in the pipelines between the pipes for the Jackets.

Right about now Tyler Wright is sipping some Vodka with Nikita Filatov in the motherland.  The question is which one does he bring back with him... Filatov or the Vodka?

Wonder if the Jackets will finally get the pre-season games streamed live on that neat little fad called the internets this year?  They may be too busy wringing the last few cents outta what's left of the fanbase for those preseason tickets (rip off).

Two pre-season games versus Pittsburgh. Ho hum.

Remind me to kick my buddy in the nuts for scheduling his wedding during the NHL Draft.  No R Bar draft viewing/drinking party for me this year.

I don't expect any action for the Jackets on July 1st (start of free agency) -- that said we will be hosting a live chat and yip yapping about the days events anyhow.  Be sure to join us!

Not much chatter about Anton Stralman being a RFA.  I would not at all be surprised if he get's moved as part of a package on draft day.

Boll, Blunden, Clitsome and Sestito are some of the other more notable RFAs... I expect them all to get signed.

Everyone says this year's draft is a very strong one - especially through the first 3 rounds.  That makes the Jackets 2nd round picks particularly valuable.  That 34th pick could be a very juicy target to a team like Toronto who doesn't own one pick in the first 3 rounds.

Speaking of Toronto - Dion Phaneuf is now their captain.  I expect him to have a monster year that will remind me of what could have been.

Didn't even pick up the phone.... *shakes head*

Is the slogan going to be "Carry The Flag" again this season?  Will this be 3 or 4 years in a row?  If they get me a #1 center and/or #1 dman I'll not only carry the damn flag.. I'll carry Howson's DVD collection of Frasier, Nash's gold medal, Commodore's sheers AND workout book (like new condition), Umberger's crystal ball, Klesla's first aid kit, Boll's ice packs, McConnell's losses (too much?), Vermette's pocket mirror, Voracek's agent (dude is gonna make some bank), Methot's fake tooth, Mason's goals against total from last season (may need some help with this one), Rimer's lipstick, Kimberly Kershaw's pink slip, Priest's abacus, Davidge's thesaurus and even Filatov's vodka....

Saw this on HF (via Skraut) and wanted to share here.  Cool vid from the NHL thanking fans:

-LTL

Below is a little spreadsheet I threw together that ranks the top 10 players from each of the major prospect guides out there.

Both ISS and Central Scouting have released their final rankings but I think both Redline and MacKeens may still release their finals.  If so, I'll modify this and re-post.

No surprise who the consensus top 2 are however things get real interesting after that.  There isn't one player from slots 3 to 5 that is listed across all four guides - Fowler and Gormley are close however.  Gudbranson seems to be all over the place - I've read his upside could be from Dion Phaneuf to Bryan Allen to Kyle MacLaren.

Unfortunately this isn't the best situation for the Jackets as the mix up could hurt the value of that 4th overall pick.  That said I'd much rather be 4th than sitting at 6th or 7th right now (still mad we lost those Detroit games at the end of they year?).

Still like Fowler if we stay at #4 but I'm all about trading this pick.  Here are a couple more scenarios to consider:

1. Trade down to the Hurricanes for the 7th overall and 37th overall.  That would give the Jackets picks numbers 7th, 32nd, 37th and 55th.  Quantify of course is not quality but at 7th overall they should still be able to get a quality player (Connolly?) and then with 3 picks in the 2nd round there is a lot of ammo use to get a player that can help now --- e.g. package some picks to get back up into the 1st round and then deal that pick for a player (Kaberle?) or package a couple of 2nd rounders for a player to help now.

2. There are a few teams that own two 1st round picks.  The Thrashers own the 8th and 24th picks.  Coyotes own 13th and 22nd.  Ducks own 12th and 29th.  The Bruins own 2nd and 15th.  I'd have dedicated lines to each of these teams to see what they would offer up for the 4th.  The Bruins are one team that also has depth at center with Savard, Kreci, Bergeron and soon to be Seguin (or maybe Hall).  Maybe there is a deal to be made.

Howson needs to get real creative here and work the phones.  Personally I'll be disappointed if we stand pat and make all of our picks.

Remember teams are re-made in the offseason starting at the draft.  Rarely are in season hockey trades made any longer under the cap system.  The trade deadline is all about the haves acquiring depth for their playoff pushes and the have-nots unloading rental player salaries.

Into mock drafts? I definitely am.  Check out this link for an entire database of em!

Also NHL.com has posted 3 new mock drafts on their site which you can find here!

**SPOILER ALERT**

Each have the Jackets selecting Fowler:

Kimelman: Cam Fowler - Most skilled defenseman in draft will fill giant blue-line need for Jackets

Holland: Cam Fowler - With young forwards (Nash, Voracek, Brassard, etc.), Jackets look to the back end; Fowler is best available

Morreale: Cam Folwer - Is probably the most mobile defender available and exhibits plenty of poise

-LTL

The house cleaning has commenced with the news that the Jackets have not retained strength and conditioning coach Barry Brennan.  Instead Howson has tagged Kevin Collins who comes over from Portland of the AHL for the job.

Couple of comments (hey, that's what we do here right!).

Maybe there is some weight to what former interim HC Claude Noel said about the Jackets conditioning?  If you recall he said if he had to pick a number between 0-10 in terms of the Jackets conditioning level he'd pick a 3.

Ouch.

Check out this comment from Brennan though:

"Of course you have to take some of the blame," Brennan said. "You can't point fingers when it's your job. I wanted the guys to be ready. We did things differently for a bunch of different reasons, and some of them worked and some of them didn't."

If you recall two seasons ago many of the young guys stayed in town for conditioning.  That typically comes with a cost associated to it right?  Last season it was said that instead of players staying in town they would be given programs and expected to do them on their own and Barry would make spot visits.

Color me skeptical but when he refers to "do things differently" I can't help but think corners were cut to save $$ last offseason and now Brennan is taking the fall.

That said there have been rumblings for years that the Jackets were not where they needed to be conditioning wise.  Certainly some of that, regardless of my cost cutting conspiracy theory (which goes a lot farther than this), has to fall on Brennan's shoulders.

Don't kid yourselves though - it's not all on Brennan.

Regardless I respect Barry taking it like a man and welcome a change in this area to see if things can get on the right track.

Don't expect to changes to stop there though.  My guess is that all the assistant coaches will be replaced and probably some scouts have or will be replaced behind the scenes among others.

The hockey operations seems to get that the status quo is not good enough - now what about game operations?

If Brennan and his training program have gone stale after 9 years then somebody please explain to me how Kimberly Kershaw is still employed?  I've tasted 15 year old pretzels that were less stale than the game ops experience at Nationwide.

...and I still haven't forgotten about that Blackhawks goal song embarrassment.

Does this year's draft remind anyone else of the 2004 draft?  You know the one where it was a consensus top two in Ovechkin and Malkin and then everything else dropped off?  In fact, Cam Barker went 3rd in that draft.

Now we've got Hall and Seguin and then everyone else.  To make things even more interesting is that a lot of folks compare Cam Fowler to Cam Barker.

Let's hope we end up with a better pick than Alex Picard.  My $$ is still on trading down.

Still trying to figure out how the NHL could draw its best Stanley Cup Playoff ratings in their history without ESPN involved?  Folks actually figured out a way to find Versus?

Ahh.. there is that myth again.

You won't hear a peep about the NHL's successful season from the mothership however.  Their mouthpieces only pipe up when they can kick this dog when it's down.

Lot's a chatter about trading for a center - that's great but I still think priority #1 has to be upgrading our defense with a puck mover or two.

It's almost pointless to look at the UFA market if you're a CBJ fan as this ownership is not going to spend much more $$.  It will have to come through a trade as has been said time and time again.  Unfortunately it's damn near impossible to speculate on who may or may not be available in both directions.

Kaberle is one guy but certainly there are more names out there being kicked around.  Oh to be a fly on the wall.

I think our most tradable assets are Hejda, Methot, Filatov and all our draft picks. Some put Brassard in that mix although I think it would be a big mistake to give up on him this early.

Ain't noone touching Commodore unless a bad contract is coming the other way (ex. Souray).

I was just sent a link via BHG to the new NHL 11 game.  If you're interested in the trailer check it out here.

UPDATE: Agnew and Murphy canned per Portzline's twitter.  Not unexpected but you never know with this organization until it actually happens!

-LTL

Hello CBJ nation...think it will rain?

Welcome to Ohio coach Arniel, bring your inflatable raft....

Now that the coaching search is over and the Stanley Cup had been handed off to the Blackhawks (yes LTL, I know, f*** Detroit) is anyone else as bored with summer as I am? Hubby is all about this whole World Cup madness... yeah... sure... right... whatever... all I know is that it's still roughly three months till training camp...

I see that the 2010-2011 NHL schedule comes out on June 22nd, much earlier than in previous years... I guess that is something....Draft coming up on the 25th with the annual bash at Nationwide (4th pick, free tshirt, a few players on hand...) July 1st Free Agency.... Development Camp...yadda yadda yadda till mid-September....*sigh*

Daughter Coryn and I escaped the torture of sitting through a little league baseball tournament briefly on Saturday, to hang out with Tyler Wright, Jared Boll and Derek Dorsett. They were on hand for the Grand Opening of the new Trek Bicycle store in Upper Arlington. (Trek is one of Tyler's sponsors for the Ironman Trialthlon) Though the central Ohio skies let loose their daily deluge to put a damper on the festivities, the quick hockey fix was worth dodging a few raindrops. I tell you if you have never had the opportunity to chat with Tyler Wright you are really missing out. What a great guy. He was like a kid on Christmas showing us all his new gear for the race. We also chatted briefly about his upcoming trip to Moscow (I refrained from making any editorial comments.) For comic relief, Jared and Derek played street hockey against some of the little kids who were on hand... losing 5-2 after pinging several shots off the side of the newly remodeled building. Jared noted that chasing those kids might have been the hardest workout he's had all summer...

Derek had to seriously consider borrowing a bike helmet after one of the kids nearly took his head off.

I'm thinking Barry Brennan** needs to implement an hour or so of pre-school babysitting to the guys weekly routine. Anyone have a toddler or two you can volunteer to the cause?

So, speaking of causes and Tyler... have you donated to TEAM TYLER yet?

No...well there is still plenty of time left to do so before the August 29th race. And here is a little incentive... All donations of $100 or more before June 29th will get an invite for two, to a private party at the R-Bar on June 30th hosted by Tyler, with Jared and Derek planning to be there as well. Will we see you there?

**Oops - guess I jinxed Mr. Brennan - best of luck in Atlanta, Barry......