• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

Columbus Blue Jackets (Official Thread)

Skill. Any and all positions. There are plenty of gritty checkers on this team. They need players who can finish some of their chances and can create chances for others. At least one scoring center, maybe another wing who can actually hit the net, and a hopefully a good two-way d-man (possibly to replace either Hejda or Hainsey, who are both UFA's).

The third leading point scorer has 32 points. The 3rd leading goal scorer has 14. :sick1:

The fact this outfit was even in consideration for the playoffs considering the anemic state of the offense is a credit to Leclaire's play and Hitchcock's system. On the other hand, a certain amount of blame for the offensive woes surely lies with Hitchcock's somewhat buttoned-down plan. How much blame, I really don't know, but I can live with a low-scoring team, as long as it isn't THIS low-scoring.

Maybe we can see a healthy season out of Modin. That would certainly help in the scoring department.
 
Upvote 0
Dispatch

Blue Jackets notebook: Wanted ... scorer for shootouts
Jackets need consistent third shooter with Nash, Zherdev
Tuesday, April 1, 2008 3:01 AM
By Aaron Portzline


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

CHICAGO -- Much has been made this season of the Blue Jackets' lack of skill, how the Jackets are so pedestrian with the puck that every other element of their game -- energy, goaltending, adherence to the defensive system -- must be close to perfect for them to win.
It's the Rick and Nik Show, supported by a slew of background singers and stagehands.

Continued......
 
Upvote 0
Dispatch

Michael Arace commentary: Vyborny deserves better than quiet exit

Wednesday, April 2, 2008 3:15 AM
By michael arace



arace02.IMG_04-02-08_C1_R29QE9K.jpg



The Blue Jackets won't come out and say they no longer want David Vyborny, because that would be in poor taste. Vyborny won't comment, because he can't discern, with surety, what is next for him.
It's a familiar game played at this time of the year. Vyborny's run in Columbus is over, but nobody can give him a gold watch or a silver stick.
His career here will end quietly, which fits his demeanor, but makes no sense by any other measure.

Continued.....
 
Upvote 0
Dispatch

Jackets notebook: Regulars can expect long shifts to continue

Saturday, April 5, 2008 3:05 AM
By Tom Reed


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

ST. LOUIS -- Coach Ken Hitchcock has a message for weary Blue Jackets who seem to be on the ice virtually every other shift: The offseason starts Sunday night and not a moment before.
Forced to play a lineup with six minor-league call-ups, Hitchcock is giving monster minutes to some of his regulars.

Continued......
 
Upvote 0
Dispatch

Michael Arace commentary: Hitchcock feels lost without playoffs

Friday, April 11, 2008 3:17 AM
By Michael Arace


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
arace11.IMG_04-11-08_C1_UL9T7O1.jpg




Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock stayed busy this week, for the sake of his sanity. He had exit interviews and coaches meetings. He had prep work for Team Canada, which he will direct in the upcoming world championship. Each day, he has embraced this work. And each day, when he finished, he found himself in his white SUV, driving around Columbus, with nothing on the radio and no destination in mind. He was lost.

Continued....
 
Upvote 0
Dispatch

Blue Jackets notebook: Surgery might delay Nash's arrival at worlds

Tuesday, April 15, 2008 3:17 AM
By Aaron Portzline


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Blue Jackets left winger Rick Nash had minor throat surgery yesterday.
"I'm sore," Nash said via text message, "but the doctors said it went well."
The procedure was a completion of a tonsillectomy performed four years ago. He is expected to need two to four weeks to recover, so he might miss the early part of the world championships, which begin May 2 in Canada.

Continued...
 
Upvote 0
a little ink for the crunchies, jr jackets aka columbus' american team the syracuse crunch

brassard won ahl player of the month for second time this season (oct)
stefan legein has joined the crunch after the niagara icedogs loss in the ohl playoffs. legein molds himself after darcy tucker/sean avery. hes a high energy loose cannon type of player. he joins zenon konopka, seistito, dorsetty, mirasty who play a very how shall i say this chippy game. cuse likes to hit and get under your skin. legein had 24-13-37 +12 in 30 games for the ice dogs and 7-10-17 +6 in the playoffs. leigen had shoulder surgery and missed 40 games due to that his year

i jsut gon an interesting text about steve mason, more to follow
 
Upvote 0
Dispatch

Hot Jackets property has knee injury

Friday, April 18, 2008 5:26 AM
By Tom Reed


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Blue Jackets top goaltending prospect Steve Mason will undergo arthroscopic surgery today to repair a minor tear in a knee.

The injury could cause the 19-year-old to miss four to six weeks, said Jackets assistant general manager Chris MacFarland, and prevent him from playing May 16-25 in the Memorial Cup, the top tournament in junior hockey.
MacFarland said the magnetic resonance imaging revealed no ligament damage.

Continued....
 
Upvote 0
Dispatch

NHL
Jackets' lore isn't exactly a lure
Team ready to add free agents, but it may be a challenge
Sunday, April 20, 2008 3:42 AM
By Aaron Portzline


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
0420_howson_sp_04-20-08_C1_Q29VRSK.jpg

General manager Scott Howson says the team "has a lot to offer."



The Blue Jackets will have up to $20 million to spend on roster improvements this summer, along with a directive from ownership to get better quickly.
Now comes the potentially hard part -- persuading free agents to take the Blue Jackets' money, to sign a long-term contract with a club that outsiders view as the Tampa Bay Rays of hockey.
The signing period opens July 1. The number of free agents the Jackets will look to sign depends on what trades they can make at the draft in late June and whether prospects Derick Brassard and Jakub Voracek are deemed ready for the NHL. It could be from two to five players.

Continued.....
 
Upvote 0
Dispatch

Blue Jackets winger David Vyborny denied that he has signed a contract to play in Europe next season.
"I didn't sign anything yet," Vyborny said. "I got calls from Czech newspapers, but nobody knows nothing yet. I haven't signed anything."
Vyborny has had offers from Russia but is likely to sign with Sparta Praha, his former club in the Czech Republic. He and his family moved out of their Gahanna home and returned to the Czech Republic.

There is talk that the Blue Jackets might have to package their No. 6 pick in the June NHL draft with one of their good young players to get a first-line center.
It might be the only way to do it. The No. 20 pick, which the Jackets also own from the Adam Foote trade, probably isn't good enough to entice a team to trade a top player, and the Jackets might have difficulty beating out some of the more attractive markets for the top free-agent centers.

Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash has had a slow recovery from tonsillitis and is likely to miss at least the early stages of the world championship. But at least he will play and people will know why he has been out.
When Nash missed the worlds in 2004 after his 41-goal season, he took a lot of heat from the Canadian press because it was assumed he was just blowing it off. He didn't tell anybody he was coming off throat surgery.
 
Upvote 0
Dispatch

John H. McConnell 1923-2008
Nickname defined everyman qualities
Mr. Mac wasn't your average Joe, but he sure acted like one
Saturday, April 26, 2008 3:24 AM

By Aaron Portzline


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

As majority owner of the Blue Jackets, John H. McConnell's power, wealth and influence could have made him an imposing figure in Nationwide Arena.
But McConnell was known by all -- players, management, front-office staff and arena workers -- as, simply, "Mr. Mac."
News of McConnell's death yesterday hit home like that of a family member.
"Everybody is a little in shock and saddened," Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson said. "He's responsible for this franchise and so much that's good in this city.
"It's really painful for a lot of people right now."

Continued.......
 
Upvote 0
Back
Top