The End of the Longest NHL Offseason of My Life
Finally, the day that I – and millions of Americans and Canadiens – have been looking forward to for 3 ½ to 5 ½ months has come: Opening Night in the NHL. The fever builds when the Sporting News, Hockey News and other similar yearbooks come out, and readers look up their teams to see where they’re picked to finish – and let’s face it, some of us stand at the rack and read it and block the grocery aisle. Then, after weeks of waiting and maybe checking out a preseason game or two, the blessed day arrives.
True, the blessed day of the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Opening Day is still a couple days away (I blame the scheduler). However, today is still a holiday in my book. There’s a double-header on VERSUS tonight, and I’ll be watching at least one of them. Tonight, the Colorado Avalanche will raise a banner to retire the number of the Quebec/Colorado franchise’s greatest player and captain, Joe Sakic. The man played his entire career (20 NHL seasons) with one franchise. You don’t see that often. The only other guy I can think of that did it at any time recently, off the top of my head, is Steve Yzerman with the Wings. So, SuperJoe’s in good company.
But anyway, that’s the Avalanche game. After the ceremony, the Avs are gonna get it handed to them by San Jose. And Joe Sakic is not why you clicked on this link. SO… LET’S TALK BLUE JACKETS HOCKEY, EH?
"The good guys are not going to sneak up on anyone this year."
Well, it’s safe to say the good guys are not going to sneak up on anyone this year, especially when your starting goaltender plays an insanely stellar rookie year and wins the Calder Trophy. Everyone knows Steve Mason’s name. Rick Nash is aboard for an additional eight years. Antoine Vermette’s on for the long term, and the front office has resolved the search for quality centers and a good backup goaltender. The Blue Jackets’ preseason has shown fans that there is some up-and-coming talent waiting. The future looks good.
So, what about the present?
Well, for starters, getting out of the gate with some jump is going to be key. Minnesota visits Nationwide Arena on Saturday for starters, and then the Jackets hit the road for three games way out West with Vancouver, San Jose and Phoenix. Then after two more at home, the Jackets travel to Calgary, Edmonton, Anaheim and Los Angeles. Two far-away road trips in the first month. Ouch. However, that’s what happens when you’re one of only two Western Conference teams in the Eastern time zone.
But hey, if the Jackets do well in October – they obviously have the talent to do it – that’s momentum.
It will be fun to see what happens with the new free agent acquisitions. It looks like GM Scott Howson got a capable and experienced backup for Mason, in Mathieu Garon. I’m excited to see what Sammy Pahlsson can do as the Jackets’ third line center, not to mention what Derick Brassard can do on the first line. Heck, I’m just looking forward to seeing what it’s like for the Jackets to have actual centers anchoring four forward lines, instead of converted wingers. It has been a need for that long.
As for new guy Anton Stralman, I have to admit, I didn’t know a whole lot about him until the trade a few days ago. Then I started following links to YouTube videos of him, both hitting and scoring. I’ve always been a believer that defensemen that can score goals are a good thing. I can’t wait to see what this guy can do in a Jackets sweater.
"Every Central playoff team made moves to challenge Detroit. It’s going to be just as tough, if not tougher, to keep pace."
The road to the Playoffs will be long, obviously, because the Jackets play in the Central Division. It is easily the deepest division in the league, and everyone in the Central is gunning for Detroit. Four teams from the Central made the Playoffs, with the exception of Nashville, and the Predators only got eliminated in the last four or five games. Every Central playoff team made moves to challenge Detroit. It’s going to be just as tough, if not tougher, to keep pace in the Central. The Jackets played dead-even against the Central Division (10-10-4) and the Western Conference (28-28-8) last year. Those numbers have to improve, for the Jackets to build on 2009’s postseason appearance and go back again. That having been said, I think the Jackets are good for 6th in the West and 3rd in the Central, though the latter could change if the Blackhawks’ goaltending is as vulnerable as it seems with Cristobal Huet in the net.
Random notes around the NHL:
Starting with Chicago, I hesitated quite a bit upon hearing about Marian Hossa signing a 12-year, $62.8 million contract. My first question was, “What in the world were they thinking?” Then it was announced after the deal that Hossa was having rotator cuff surgery and would be out until sometime in November. My question has changed to, “Were they thinking?” And I thought throwing big money at Cristobal Huet was a strange move… and they don’t have Nikolai Khabibulin to bail them out of Huet messes up. What will keep Chicago in the race are their young guys like Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. If Kane keeps beating goaltenders like he has done, and helps Chicago to a good start by the time Hossa gets back, people will forget all about his little "beating up the old Buffalo cab driver" incident (sorry, couldn't resist).
What a mess in Phoenix. God only knows who is going to own that team when this is all over. It seems clear Jim Balsillie will not get the team and move it to Hamilton, though. I had been rooting for the guy to buy the Nashville Predators a couple years back, because I thought it was ludicrous that the Preds could not draw the minimum number of butts in the seats (14,000) to satisfy its lease agreement with the arena. I thought, “How could a team that was making the Playoffs and even challenging Detroit for the Central not be filling its arena?” Then a few people started buying up tickets to keep the team from moving. Well, the problem in the Phoenix market is worse. There's a link below I'll tell you about in a moment.
(For the record, I still think Nashville is not a good fit for hockey. And Jordin Tootoo is still a bitey little wuss.)
Watch your back, NHL… Detroit signed the career ender, Todd Bertuzzi, so he’s still out there. I’m not sure why. Aside from the fact that Gary Bettman never should have reinstated him, his offensive production has dropped ever since he rode Steve Moore face-first into the ice.
Adam Foote’s the new captain in Colorado. Wonder if he’ll try and force a trade to Columbus at the deadline? Oh. Right. Like we’d take him.
I’m going to be really bold here: The Columbus Blue Jackets will hoist the Stanley Cup sometime during that eight-year contract extension Rick Nash signed this summer. I seriously feel it.
Oh yeah… apparently the “NikitaFilatov” account on Twitter was a fraud. Mike Commodore actually said it was fake (I thought he was kidding), another blogger pursued the issue, and the Columbus Dispatch confirmed it today. Anyway, for those who read my last post… my bad. Commodore (@Commie22) is confirmed, though! I can also assure you mine (@JMPoston) is authentic, and so is the one for Columbus Sports.com (@ColumbusSports).
And if you haven’t seen her yet, ColumbusSports.com has a new hockey writer. Check out Kayleigh Curtis’ piece on the Coyotes mess. She posted it this week. It is good stuff… there was more going on in the desert than I knew.
Go Jackets!
An old Quebec/Colorado fan, Martin laments the end of Colorado’s glory days, and sends a “Good Luck” card to Adam Foote at http://tootoobites.blogspot.com