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Autopsy of the Blue Jackets

Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
There is a fundamental disconnect in this discussion.  Why would the owner of an expansion franchise dump the best players off the roster as a cost-cutting move?  To send a signal to the fans that you are giving up on winning but hey, why don't you all come out to the games anyway to watch the stiffs I just brought in?

Any business owner knows you don't liquidate core capital.  Unless for some reason you are trying to go out of business.
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I think some people are more referring to dumping high priced contracts in order to build with younger talent around Nash and Carter. I see it more like what Ottawa is doing, if it so happens to not work out in Columbus.

Of course, I think it would have to be with a new GM, if that is the route they are going to take. It would take a more experienced GM to go down that road. I don't think Columbus is going to go that road so quick, but it could go that way if the owner gets frustrated with Howsen, as he's had a fair bit of time already.
 
I honestly don't see a great sell-off happening for the Jackets.... not for quite a while and certainly not they Carters of the world.

Only thing that might happen is if Rick Nash demands a trade.  funny but Mike Modano tweeted the other day that Nash should do that very thing. If he does... look out as far as lineup of teams who want him.

Howsen will be gone soon. No way he keeps his job unless his owner believes that injuries are a big excuse. From there the new guy will probably sell off the older vets and some of the crap but keep the Nash's and Carters if they don't demand to get out.  Which they might.
 
I heard on the FAN last week that the Jackets had only won one game in regulation out of their last 28 regular-season games going back to last season. I took a look at the stats, and they are 3-19-8 after the weekend - 2 of those were OT / SO wins. 1-19 in regulation, 2-8 in OT / SO since last Feb. 25. That is just bad.
 
Derk said:
I heard on the FAN last week that the Jackets had only won one game in regulation out of their last 28 regular-season games going back to last season. I took a look at the stats, and they are 3-19-8 after the weekend - 2 of those were OT / SO wins. 1-19 in regulation, 2-8 in OT / SO since last Feb. 25. That is just bad.
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And yet they still weren't bad enough to draft RNH :P
 
Mack674 said:
Boston dumping Thornton turned out to be great move for them in the long run.
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Was it really? 

Or did they win the cup despite getting no players or picks of any long-term value for one of the rarest commodities in the NHL, one of the top 3 scoring centers over the last decade (could he even have scored the most points over the last decade?).
 
Floyd said:
Make that three... I don't think trading Thornton had much to do with their cup win.
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Yeah, so many years later, it's kind of a weird thing to say. If I was to say it was a good thing Quebec/Colorado traded Sundin and had Lefebvre for their cup run it would almost seem as weird to me and that was only 2 years later.

 
Yeah. I mean, the connection between the Thornton trade and winning the Cup is hardly a direct one. None of the players they received were on the roster - though, it led indirectly to them acquiring Andrew Ference. What it was lead the Bruins down a different development path that eventually won them the Cup, but, there were dozens of moves that had to happen in between to make that happen. The Thornton trade may have signalled a change in direction - perhaps, it even was the catalyst for it - but, that's about the extent of the impact it had on the Cup winning team.
 
princedpw said:
Mack674 said:
Boston dumping Thornton turned out to be great move for them in the long run.
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Was it really? 

Or did they win the cup despite getting no players or picks of any long-term value for one of the rarest commodities in the NHL, one of the top 3 scoring centers over the last decade (could he even have scored the most points over the last decade?).
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Well, there's the theory that trading Thornton opened up the cap space for Boston to sign both Chara and Savard the following offseason.
 
They are a sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad team right now.  I was at the Detroit game and they were brutal, absolutely brutal save for maybe 5 minutes of play.  Detroit barely hits anyone hard and they were giving up the puck the second a guy put any pressure of them.
 
They play Detroit again tonight, Buffalo on Thurs., and Chicago on Sat. I'd be surprised if they got 2 out of 6 points.
 
What I meant in regards to Thornton was yes, that basically was that they were going in a new direction and changing the face of the team. If it's not working, which it wasn't, you've gotta shake something up. It's a risky move but in the end it worked out for them.

The alternative could have been they keep Thornton and most of that team intact and just keep trying year after year and keep losing in the 2nd round.

Im suggesting perhaps Columbus could have a similiar mindset - the Rick Nash show alone hasn't gotten them anywhere near competing in the playoffs and beyond him and Carter there really isn't much there. I don't think it's crazy at all to think maybe they could turn Nash into a good return of assets with which to start over.

The alternative again being, they keep the current roster mostly intact, change out the coaching staff once, twice, and hope they get it together.

One might come before the other but this is an NHL team and if I were a Blue Jackets fan i'd be pretty fed up right now. What have they, one playoff appearance in franchise history ?
 
Britishbulldog said:
The are really bad.
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It is one of those things where your goaltending doesn't have to be great to compete, but it just can't be that bad or you have no chance.  The best a defense can do is push a guy wide and make him take a shot from the boards.  If your goalie can't stop those, you simply can't win.  It's Toskalitis.
 
princedpw said:
Britishbulldog said:
The are really bad.
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It is one of those things where your goaltending doesn't have to be great to compete, but it just can't be that bad or you have no chance.  The best a defense can do is push a guy wide and make him take a shot from the boards.  If your goalie can't stop those, you simply can't win.  It's Toskalitis.
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They need a goalie, let's trade them one for Nash.  ;)
 
I'm wondering if LA/Columbus might consider some kind of deal that reunites Carter with Richards and Columbus gets one of LA's very good goaltenders in the deal. Not exactly sure what/who would have to go either way...
 
Floyd said:
I'm wondering if LA/Columbus might consider some kind of deal that reunites Carter with Richards and Columbus gets one of LA's very good goaltenders in the deal. Not exactly sure what/who would have to go either way...
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What's the appeal to LA in that situation? It's not like Richards and Carter played a ton together while in Philly and many people say they were a bad combination off-ice. LA has a lot of talented forwards and little to no cap room.
 
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