Just checking out THN's draft preview...

Here are the top 30 for those that don't get it:

1. Steven Stamkos - center - CAN
2. Drew Doughty - defensemen - CAN
3. Zach Bogosian - defensemen - USA
4. Nikita Filatov - left wing - RUS
5. Alex Pietrangelo - defensemen - CAN
6. Luke Schenn - defensemen - CAN
7. Colin Wilson - center - USA
8. Cody Hodgson - center - CAN
9. Mikkel Boedker - left wing - DAN
10. Kyle Beach - center - CAN
11. Tyler Myers - defensemen - CAN
12. Zach Boychuk - center - CAN
13. Colten Teubert - defensemen - CAN
14. Josh Bailey - center - CAN
15. Michael Del Zotto - defensemen - CAN
16. Mattias Tedenby - left wing - SWE
17. Luca Sbisa - defensemen - SWISS
18. Colby Robak - defensemen - CAN
19. Jacob Marksrom - goalie - SWE
20. Mikhail Stefanovich - center - BEL
21. Greg Nemisz - center - CAN
22. Jordan Eberle - center - CAN
23. Yann Suave - defensemen - CAN
24. Anton Gustafsson - center - SWE
25. Joel Colborne - left wing - CAN
26. A.J. Jenkins - center - USA
27. Daultan Leveille - center - CAN
28. Tyler Cuma - defensemen - CAN
29. Zac Dalpe - center - CAN
30. John Carlson - defensemen - USA

Now Howson has been quoted as saying he thinks Columbus will end up with defensemen if they keep that #6 overall pick, especially given how top heavy this draft is with defensemen.

However if Dougthy, Bogosian (whom I personally love), Pietrangelo and Schenn are all off the board - which could happen - does Howson draft the supremely talented Russian in Filatov?

Here is what THN had to say about him:

Russian teenager Alexei Cherepanov tumbled on draft day last ear more because of his effort and character than the NHL's problems with the Russian federation.

If Filatov tumbles, it won't have anything to do with his skill or desire.

"He probably has as much skill as anyone in this draft and he's a very competitive player," one scout said.

But the left winger for Central Army's second division team will surely slide because teams don't know what hoops will have to be cleared to get him to the NHL. And teams that are choosing high are looking for secure picks.

The lack of an agreement with Russia might help, said one scout. It means if he doesn't sign, he'll remain a defected player in perpetuity instead of going back into the draft in two years.

Filatov has been a consistent terror for opposing goalies at international tournaments.

The magazine also stated that if Filatov played in the Canadian Major Juniors there is no doubt he would have put up Stamkos like numbers.

Interesting no doubt but I just don't see the organization taking a chance on a Russian this high in the draft again after selecting Zherdev just a few short years ago 4th overall in one of the deepest drafts ever. There seems to be no denying this kid's talent level though. Alot of people compare his game to Pavel Datsyuk.

It will be real interesting to watch what Columbus does if those big 4 drop right in a row after Stamkos goes #1 to Tampa.

I really like what I read about Elerbe, Ennis and Wahl though. Three smaller players who can flat out zip offensively. If we retain th 36th overall pick in the 2nd round and go D in the first I certainly wouldn't mind picking one of those kids up.

Also something else I want to note. THN's 29th ranked Zach Dalpe is committed to Ohio State next season although the magazine mentions there is "rumblings he may end up with OHL's Lodon Knights". Don't do it Dalpe - come to OSU, they desperately need you! They go on to say "there are few players in this draft who have risen faster and higher than Dalpe".

Speaking of college recruits. For those that like to keep up with more than OSU football's recruiting class here is a great site that tracks incoming NCAA D1 college recruits.

Finally for those keeping track. THN has 52 Canadians ranked in their top 100 and 18 USA born followed by 7 Swedes and 6 Fins.

For those that follow the draft closely I would recommend picking this up. It can usually be found at Barns & Noble but you may want to call first. It makes following the draft on draft day much more fun.

-LTL

Canada falls short of gold and more..

Team Canada couldn't close the game after having two two goal leads throughout it. For a country that is disappointed with anything but gold, this loss was certainly no less deflating:

"We really sat back in the second half (of the game)," said Rick Nash. "You have a two-goal lead in the gold medal game going into the third period - we had to play better."

"Nobody on this team came here to win silver," said Ward. "It's tough right not because you do feel like you've let your country down. There will be other tournaments, there will be more to come. We've got to keep our head up high.

"We have an excellent program."

Nash didn't have a great final outing and while his penalty in OT will unfortunately be what most people remember about his performance in that tourney, he played very well. He tallied 6g, 7a for 13 points in 9 games played for 3rd best in the tourney behind Heatley and Getzlaf.

Jason Chimera didn't exactly "light it up" but he played a key role on the 4th line and collected a couple of helpers and finished a +3 in 9 games.

Finally Pascal Leclaire. He went 4-0 with a 92.52 save% and a 2.0 GAA. He even collected a shutout. He roughest game was the semi-final against Sweden where he gave up 4 goals and a lot of juicy rebounds. Overall though he had a very solid tournament.

There is a nice 1v1 with Rick Nash on TSN.ca.

So what's next for Hitch and the Jackets? The players will no doubt take some much needed R&R while Hitch will certainly take a day or two to catch his breath. Then it should be right back to Columbus to get to work on next season.

On the docket will sure to be a complete breakdown of last season and a thorough overview of not only unrestricted free agents that will be available, but players they will target through trade or perhaps even offer sheets.

I'm sure he will also check in to make sure his players are sticking to their assigned offseason conditioning programs and no doubt he'll have a lot of long talks with Scott Howson about the direction this team needs to go. Lets also not forget that there are a few prospects that will be spending the offseason in Columbus

Its certainly a key offseason..perhaps a make or break it one for the franchise. The grunt of the work will happen over the next few weeks when the spotlight shines the darkest.

Congrats to the Pittsburgh Penguins for making the Stanley Cup Finals. This is going to sound like sour grapes, and it is, but damn them. A team that was a cup contender when we entered the league went to be the worst team in the league for a four to five year stretch to almost being relocated. Now they have Crosby, Malkin, Fleury, Whitney, Staal as their last 5 of 6 round draft picks, a new stadium on the way and are back in the finals.

Meanwhile the Jackets continue to toil in mediocrity.

The Jackets have sucked but just didn't suck enough to get the no brainer draft picks and sure as hell didn't have luck on their side during the Crosby-stakes or any draft lottery for that matter. Instead we've got Klesla, Leclaire, Nash, Zherdev, Picard, Brule, Brassard & Voracek. One legit superstar out of the bunch - despite having the best average draft pick over that span.

Leclaire is finally showing that franchise potential. Klesla will be no more than a top 4 defensemen. Nash is the only legit superstar who desperately needs some help. Z is an enigma. Brule and Picard have bust written all over them. Brassard and Voracek look promising but we've heard that before.

Again - sour grapes I fully admit - but a lot of "what ifs" in that group. What if we took Vanek or Phaneuf over Z? What if we took Kopitar instead of Brule? The Picard year was horrible for everyone outside of top 2 but damn what if we could have finished one spot better and won the lottery like Washington did and the rights to draft Ovechkin?

I could play this "what if" game all day but it doesn't do us any good now. Doug MacLean dug a real deep hole of shit for this franchise and we can only hope Howson/Hitch can dig it out. The problem is what if they don't?

-LTL

Canada goes for gold!

Its to bad we here in the states can't watch it but Team Canada goes for gold against the Russians today at the finals of the World Championships in Quebec City.

The game is 1:30 EST and at the very least can be followed over at iihf.com.

Hitch, Nash & Chimera will represent the Jackets for Cananda. Only former Jacket Sergei Fedorov will be suiting up for the Russians.

As a friend of mine suggested, wouldn't it be sweet if Chimera or Nash got a few big hits on their old teammate? Uh huh!

Leclaire will not start the final. Cam Ward gets the nod as Hitch will stick with his goalie rotation.

A big game no doubt. The last time the Canadians/Russians met in a World Championship final was in 1952.

Should be a great game. Good luck boys!

-LTL

With Marleau on block....Jackets get another chance to land 1st line center

Puck-rakers just reported that it does indeed look like the San Jose Sharks are putting center, long time captain and original 2nd overall 1997 draft pick on the block.

As Puck-rakers states Marleau has 2 years left on his deal at 6.3 million. The key though is that as of July 1st he has a no trade clause that kicks in so if San Jose wants to deal him, they have to do it before then.

....and as it stands, it looks as though that is exactly what they intend to do.

So where do the Jackets fit in all of this Marleau news?

Well its no secret the Jackets are desperate to get Rick Nash some legit help at center. Help he's never really had. Howson made the push for Brad Richards but ultimately lost out as they did not have goaltending asset to give up. That shouldn't be a problem this time around should Howson be interested as the Sharks are set at that position with perenial all star Evgeni Nabokov locked up for years to come.

Here is sportsnet.ca's take on Marleau:

Age

28

Assets
Is blessed with great speed and can catch defenders off guard by blazing right by them. Has natural goal-scoring ability, good size for the center position and emerging leadership issues.

Flaws
Still suffers through bouts of inconsistency from time to time. Needs to use his size even more to his advantage.

Career potential
First line center.

Stats
2007 San Jose NHL 78 19 29 48 -19 33 10.3
2006 San Jose NHL 77 32 46 78 9 33 17.8
2005 San Jose NHL 82 34 52 86 -12 26 13.1
2004 Did not play -- 0 0 0 0 0 0 --
2003 San Jose NHL 80 28 29 57 -5 24 12.7
2002 San Jose NHL 82 28 29 57 -10 33 16.3
2001 San Jose NHL 79 21 23 44 9 40 17.4
2000 San Jose NHL 81 25 27 52 7 22 17.1
1999 San Jose NHL 81 17 23 40 -9 36 10.6
1998 San Jose NHL 81 21 24 45 10 24 15.7
1997 San Jose NHL 74 13 19 32 5 14 14.4

So a 28 year old center, just now in his prime. He's got 5 of 10 seasons with 52 or more points. 2 of his last 3 he had 70 or more points. He's fast with good size who can score and set up plays. He also gets it done in the playoffs as he had 4g, 4a for 8 points in 13 games this playoff.

So with all that said why in the wide wide world of sports would San Jose want to part with this guy?

First off his production dropped from 78 to 48 points last year. He went from a +9 to a -19 in that span. There was also well publicized issues with then head coach Ron Wilson who has recently been fired.

Marleau is also the captain but has only been able to lead his cup contending team past the 3rd round once in the 2003-2004 season. With the acquisition of superstar center Joe Thornton two seasons ago Marleau has seen his stature as both team captain and franchise player diminish over the years now to the point where it looks like San Jose is ready to go in another direction.

San Jose is also a team that will not spend to the cap. They are a budget team like Columbus. They made a huge acquisition in defensemen Brian Campbell at the deadline giving up this year's 1st round pick and 2003 1st round pick Steve Bernier. Moving Marleau's salary one would think that would free up plenty of money to sign Campbell long term.

So back to Howson.

Does he make play for him? You bet your Blue Jacket behind he does. The key though is how does the organization think he'll mesh with Nash? If we do acquire him, which I think there is a really good chance, we'll know they are optimistic although nothing is guaranteed of course.

Look. Anyone center that will be on the market is going to have some flaws. If he didn't then he wouldn't be on the market. Whether it be Richards' 7.8 mil contract or Marleau's inconsistency and sometimes lack of intensity during the regular season. The point is that unless we draft it, we ain't gonna get a picture perfect guy.

Marleau certainly wouldn't be my first choice but my first choice won't be available..unless you think the Pen's would trade Sidney Crosby? He would however, be a massive upgrade down the middle of our lineup. This isn't a 35 year old Russian center on the downside of his career with 3 years at 6 mil left on his deal we are talking about there - this a 28 year old just now in his prime.

That said if we did acquire him there would certainly be some questions to be answered. How would he respond to being traded to a team/city like Columbus? How would he respond to Hitch? Would there be chemistry between he and Nash? Would he just sleepwalk through the season if he were disgruntled? Last thing we want is a 28 year old Fedorov on our hands right?

Assuming the Jackets interest the question becomes what's it gonna take to get him?

The good news for the Jackets and Howson is that the Sharks don't have a draft pick, not one, through the first 3 rounds of the draft. Draft picks are exactly what the Jackets have in spades including two hum-dingers (did I just say hum-dingers?) in the first round -- 6th and 19th overall. They also have the cap space to absorb Marleaus 6.2 million in salary over the next two years as well as expendable assets.

So what's it gonna take?

Well we know the Sharks wants picks. I've also read that they need a top 6 winger. We've got the picks and we've also got an, in my view, exendible winger.

If I'm Howson I start with the 19th pick or Nik Zherdev and work a package from there. No way I part with the 6th overall in this deep of draft to obtain a good, but not elite, talent that we could lose for nothing in 2 years.

Some potentials:

A. 19th + 3rd + 5th for Marleau

B. Zherdev + 3rd for Marleau

or

C. 19th + (take your pick of Brule/Fritsche/Tollefsen) for Marleau

I think all of those deals are good return for Marleau and address San Jose needs of unloading salary and acquiring draft picks or a top 6 winger.

If the deal goes down with the Jackets I think that 19th will absolutely have to be a part of the package going the other direction.

Trades can't be made until after the finals are over so look for Marleau to get dealt between then and June 20th which is the first day of the draft.

Of course we won't be the only interested party in obtaining Marleau's services. It will be interesting to see who also gets involved (Puck-rakers mentions Calgary but I don't see how they can afford him with what they've already got tied up and still need sign) and how aggressive Howson is willing to be.

I also don't think Marleau could be Howson's only transaction come draft day. Depending on what he gives up the Jackets could have a number of assets, including the 6th, in play to land even more help.

At this point though I think its really going to have to be, as Howson has said, a special player to move out of 6th overall. The top 6 in this draft are supposed to be that good.

Exciting times. Lets get these playoffs over with already and move into this offseason!!

Discuss - are you interested in Marleau? What would you be willing to give up for him?

-LTL

Blue biscuits

Bob Hunter has some interesting Jackets nuggets to share in his weekly "rumblings" column today.

First up was his review of Derek Brassard in the AHL playoffs. Brassard scored 13 points in 13 games for the Crunch and it seems, at least to Bob, that perhaps the Jackets may think he's ready to hold down that #2 center position. He goes on to say what's the point of sinking a bunch of dough into a #2 veteran center if the 20 Brassard is ready?

He makes a valid point. I'm just not sure the Jackets can hedge their bets that he will indeed be ready. They have gotten "brule'd" on that before! Lots of holes to fill though so if there is one area they may choose to roll the dice on it may be on the 20 year old 2006 #6 overall pick in that 2nd line center hole.

He also touched on Jason Spezza and the comments that Hitch made during the World Championships that he is ready to be coached to take his game to an even higher level. Some people may read that as Hitch hinting he'd love to be that coach. I read that Spezza, for all the natural talent this guy has, is a bit of a headcase. When Ottawa got eliminated and the Spezza trade rumors started to fly I was first in line wanting to acquire this guy. I'm not so sure he's the kind of player I'd be willing to give up mountains of assets for to acquire at this point.

Speaking of the 2006 draft. How good is the top of that draft looking? You had Erik Johnson, Jordan Staal, Jonathen Towes, Niklas Backstrom, Phil Kessel, Derek Brassard, Kyle Okposo and Peter Mueller as the top 8. All are making impacts. In fact at this point Brassard has made the least impact in the NHL but that doesn't mean much at this point as the Jackets have finally given one of their top forwards time to develop. That draft is shaping up to be something special early on.

In case you haven't heard yet, Rick Nash is on the cover of the NHL2K9. What great exposure for the franchise and for 61. Well deserved.

A quote from Nasher on the announcement:

"My idols have all been on the covers of video games as I was growing up, so to be on the cover of NHL 2K9 myself is truly incredible," said Nash. "The set of new features they're adding is really going to make this game special for hockey fans - I'm hoping they give me a couple extra points to my player rating this year!"

My friend asked what color do you think the jersey will be that they put him in on the cover? We both love the whites but I think they'll go with a shot of him in the union blue.

For me personally I was a big fan of the NHL2K series but EA really upped the ante last year and made one of the best hockey video games I have ever played and haven't played 2k since. I'll buy the 2k series next year just for the cover but I'm hoping they do an extreme make-over of their game similar to what EA did last year an up their own ante. A healthy competition amongst game company's only benefits the quality of the product for the consumer.

Anyhow - way to go Nasher!! I finally have something new to put in the "CBJ Closet" section of this blog.

Hitch, Nash, Leclaire, Chimera and Team Canada are back at it today as they move into the semi-finals against Sweden at 5 p.m. EST. Obviously a win today puts them in the finals and a chance at their 2nd straight gold medal. Pascal Leclaire gets the starts in what is probably the biggest game of his career. This experience will only build confidence for his first playoff game next season :)

According to Puck-rakers Howson hopes to open up contract extension talks with Hitch over this summer. Don't look for Hitch to be extended anytime before the Draft or the July 1st UFA season. I think Hitch wants to wait to see what kind of groceries Howson gets him to cook a winner with before committing long term. Who can blame him.

Who else thinks these playoffs are taking foooorrreeeevvvveeeer!?! With such a big offseason on tap for the CBJ I want nothing but sweeps (preferably a sweep of Detroit) so we can get on with the offseason. NHL Draft only 35 days away. I'm expecting some major CBJ wheeling and dealing by Howson and the brass.

-LTL

Team Canada advances....US falls in OT and is eliminated

Hitch, Nash and and the boys on Team Canada advanced in their first elimination game against Norway 8-2. They are now in the final four of the World Championship and will be competing for a medal.

Rick Nash continues his tear in that tourney notching 2 goals and an assist. He's second in tournament scoring with 5g, 7a for 12p in 7 games played.

Of course the game wasn't as much of a one sided affair as you'd think by the final outcome. If fact the score was 2-2 mid-way through the 2nd period. A quote from Hitch:

''When it was 2-2, I was wondering if that ferry had a direct route to Columbus,'' Hitchcock said before boarding a plane to Quebec instead. ''The players play and they don't worry about things. We sweated all day today as a coaching staff.

''These are defining moments for you as a coach because if you lose this game, you all (the media) are writing about us and me tomorrow. And it's not going to be pleasant.''

This will be Canada's 6th straight trip to the semifinals. Leclaire gets the starts tomorrow.

Unfortunately that can't be said for the US team. They lost 3-2 in OT to Finland. Its the second time in this tournament that the US lost a 1 goal game to that country in OT. Unfortunately, being an elimination game, it will be the final time. The US will finish 5th overall and will not earn a medal. A disappointing end to their tournament but many young US players earned valuable international experience.

The US team just can't seem to get over the hump lately. They lost to Canada by one goal. They lost to Finland in two games each by a goal. Two years ago they lost in the World Juniors semifinals to Canada in an OT shootout. One of these days they are going to start getting the better end of these outcomes. It can't come soon enough.

If you weren't yet, we are all Team Canada fans now!!

-LTL

Hainsey and Peca negotations stay on backburner..

From Puck-rakers:

Howson has not had any contract negotiations with Jackets’ free agents such as Ron Hainsey or Michael Peca. The GM said he would "have some dialogue” with those players before July 1, the beginning of the free-agent season.

No surprise here for me.

Some fans may grumble about Hainsey but seriously where will he fit?

We've got our two shutdown guys locked up in Rusty Klesla and Jan Hejda. We've got our bottom pairing defensemen in OK Tollefsen, Aaron Rome, Marc Methot, Kris Russell and Clay Wilson. What we need are high end guys.

Is Ron Hainsey that guy because he's going to want to get paid like one?

To me the answer to that question is an indisputable no, no, no.

Sportsnet.ca's profile on Hainsey:

Assets
Has great mobility, size and reach. Can play on either side of the ice. Displays plenty of offensive upside. Is capable of logging a ton of minutes.

Flaws
Is far too soft for his 6-3, 211-pound frame. Needs more polish in the defensive zone. Is still a bit raw in all three zones.

Career potential
Top four defenseman.

We've seen what Hainsey can do when being the #1 option for the Jackets offensively from the blueline and nothing against Hainsey, but it just ain't good enough. The Jackets need a whole lot more if thoughts of playoffs are dacin around in their heads.

The Jackets had the #28 worst PP in the league. Hainsey was its PPQB.

Granted most of the Jackets were bad down the stretch and Hainsey was no exception. Over the past 20 games he had 1 goal, 3 assists and was a -8. Not nearly good enough.

He can log lots of minutes and he does stay relatively healthy but he doesn't hit, has a helluva hard time getting shots through and is terrible on the transition and powerplay.

Hainsey will get his money from somebody. He's come a long way from where he was when MacLean first claimed him on waivers from Montreal but he's not the answer for us at this point. Howson has a unique opportunity to remake the defense and he's going to shoot for the , no pun intended, stars.

Will he get the guys he wants?

That remains to be seen but I think there are many guys that will be on the market where put in Hainsey's position and PP time could produce similar stats for cheaper -- what Howson is looking for are guys who are much better than that.

You need consistent production for the blueline, especially on the PP and we just did not get it last year.

Our defense needs at minimum two huge upgrades. We need guys who can work the point on the powerplay to free up our guys down low. Right now all teams do is pressure our D because they know we don't have the skill on the backend to move it ala pretty much any playoff team.

Why do you think Holmstrom is so open in front of the net in Detroit when they are on a PP? Its because opponents have to respect Detroit's skill on the blueline.

Ain't nobody respecting Ron Hainsey's skill on the point of a PP. Howson knows that, Hitch knows that hence why he won't be re-signed.

Now of course Howson is not going to land a Lindstrom caliber player but there are guys expected to hit he UFA market who could certainly help - guys like Campbell, Liles and Redden among others. Then there is always the trade route with potential targets like Kubina, Kaberle, Pitkanen & Whitney among others.

As far as Peca. Nothing at all suprising with him. He won't be back. The organization has plenty of guys who can fill bottom six roles. Howson needs top 6 guys and that's where his dollars need to go. Peca did a decent job for us under the circumstances (Svitov bolting) but its time to move on and think bigger.

-LTL

Even more draft stuff

A quick post but I have to point out a couple of things.

First up there is a brand new spanking site up that takes in depth looks (with videos) at the cream of the cream of the 2008 draft. Pretty much every first round talent is analyzed in depth.

For us states side its very hard for us to get to see many of these draft picks as NCAA D1 hockey, Major Canadian Junior and Euro leagues just aren't televised. This site is about as good as we are going to get for now.

http://www.nhlentrydraft2008.com/

Just click on "North American Skaters" and then click the player name and your off and running (er skating!).

Guys to really pay attention to that may be there at 6 are Schenn, Myers, Pietrangelo and Filatov. Although I really liked what I saw from Bogosian (reminds me of Ray Bourque..drool!).

Then of course if we have onto 19th overall....hell, just watch em all to be safe :)

Secondly there is a thread over at HFBoards that has pictures of past Hockey News draft mags. I get this every year and its a great reference come before, during and after draft day. This poster did a tremendous job of taking a look at 1987 and up. Very fun viewing. Check out the thread here.

Also am I the only one who thinks Ottawa's draft logo is kinda of lame? Maybe its the homer in me shining through but bring back the CBJ Draft Logo....that sucker was sweet.

While we are on the subject you can check out all the past Draft Logos here.Enjoy (I know I am)!!

-LTL

Crunch season over with game 7 defeat

Its a damn shame really but in a matter of 96 hours, after holding a 3-1 series lead, the Syracuse Crunch find themselves eliminated from the playoffs.

Game 7 ended the way the last two did - with a 1 goal loss.

This is surely not the way the Crunch saw this playing out in their mohawk'ed heads. Not when they won 15 games straight and got a point in 23 straight games. Even though the Marlies were seeded higher in this series, the Crunch were the team to beat.

Unfortunately it wasn't meant to be.

Still though they boys have a lot to be proud once the initial disgust from this series subsides. There is a lot to build from.

1. The experience. Guys like Brassard, Brule, Methot, Picard, Lindstrom, Wilson, Sestito, Dorsett, Pineault, Plekanov and LaCosta are all key prospects for the Jackets and all experienced that winning feeling. Certainly some of those players won't be back in Syracuse as they'll make the big team but nothing can replace that experience and that development. Development that guys like Klesla, Nash, Zherdev, Fritsche and lord knows how many other draft picks never experienced.

2. Good signs. For the Jackets AHL affiliate to make such a strong push this summer it only bodes well for the Jackets in the future. After all these are their prospects who carried that team. One can only hope this development bleeds over to the parent club as early as next season.

3. Evaluations. Scott Howson and company had a real good chance to evaluate their prospects in pressure situations. They should have a much clearer idea of where everyone stands developmentally, who should have a good shot at the big team next year and what holds need filled both on the big team and at the AHL level.

For those keeping score (like me) Derek MacKenzie led the Crunch in playoff scoring notching 14p in 12 games which was good for the 3rd in the league at the time of elimination. Derek Brassard, who added two more assists in game 7, was 7th overall in league playoff scoring notching 13p in 13 games.

Of course there were some dissapointments as well with Gilbert Brule only collecting 2g, 3a for 5p in 13 games. Joakim Lindstrom only notched 7p in 13g as well.

All in all though it was a great run for the Crunch. I think it excited the city of Syracuse and a lot of Jacket fans who were looking for something to hold onto as we worked our way through spring.

Now its time to turn the focus to who will be back both in Columbus and Syracuse. Both teams have plenty of decisions to make with the likes of Zenon Konopka and Derek MacKenzie both slated to be UFAs. Methot, Lindstrom and Wilson are all key RFAs that will need resigned.

My hats off to a great season Syracuse. Hopefully next year we'll have two teams to follow well into the spring!!

-LTL

Season on the line for Crunch tonight!

It all comes down to this, one game.

After winning 17 straight in one of the more remarkable runs in AHL history, the Syracuse Crunch's season comes down to game 7 tonight in Toronto tonight versus the Marlies.

The Crunch have had their chances to put this series away but the Marlies have been resilient and have battled back from a 3-1 game deficit to force the 7th and deciding game.

The good news is that the Crunch have played well in Toronto winning two of their three games in this series there. The bad news is that the Marlies have all the momentum heading into the deciding game and haven taken the past two.

If Crunch captain Zenon Konopka has anything to say about, which of course he does in Lindsay Kramer's blog, the Crunch won't lose this game:

I'll play better on Monday. I'll score tomorrow,'' he said. "We'll win tomorrow. There's no way I'll let us lose to these guys.''

Here are some comments from some of the other Crunch players:

"I think we should be fine. We're playing the second-best team in the league. We got them to Game 7,'' said Crunch defenseman Dan Smith. "We were up 3-1, we had two chances to close them out. This is our last one. We're just going to bring our game, because our game is good enough.''

"I think we're going to have to be calm. That's the only way we're going to play our best. It's just a matter of who wants it more. We've been resilient all year,'' said Syracuse forward Trevor Frischmon.

"I think we're a little more uptight today because we're going to Game 7. But I don't think it's going to change how we play,'' said defenseman Marc Methot.

"I think everyone is nervous. I think we're frustrated, but in a good way. It's helping to give us energy for Game 7,'' Sestito said.

Kramer also says in his blog that if the Crunch do lose tonight it will mark the first 3 games losing streak since games 6, 7 and 8 at the beginning of the season.

Win or lose this has been some invaluable experience for the Jackets prospects. They have been apart of a winning team and have gotten loads of playoff experience. Playing in a game 7 will only add to their experiences.

Remember you can listen to the game live here. There is also a pay-by-game service where you can get the live stream on the front page of theahl.com.

GO CRUNCH!!

-LTL