More on Foote

I just finished listening to Scott Howson on 1460 the Sham. He shared a little more detail on the Foote situation that clearly makes me think he did the right thing by dealing him.

He said they tried to resign Foote to a two year extension but when it was determined that an agreement couldn't be reached by the deadline Howson expressed that he would like to keep him through the end of the season.

At that point is when Foote said he wanted to move on as he did not want to play out the season here if he wasn't resigned by the deadline

What? Just like that..take it or leave?

Obviously Howson left it and that was the right move.

There's your captain folks.

Anyone question where his head has been the last 3 years? Better yet, his heart? Sounds like Colorado to me.

Now putting the pieces together it has been reported that the two sides were negotiating between 3 to 4 million on a two year deal.

That's quite a hefty sum for a 36 year old defensemen past him prime on either side of the spectrum.

My guess is that Howson wanted Foote for 3 mil per while the Foote camp wanted 4 mil. The last update I heard is that they were 500k apart and the Jackets latest offer was 3.5 mil over 2 years.

So the Jackets met halfway -- why didn't our team captain who says he desperately wanted to stay in Columbus and help this team make the playoffs meet halfway as well?

Hmmm, just a bit one sided I think.

Sorry folks, but that's not a negotiation and once Foote gave the ultimatum that he wanted dealt and Colorado showed interest he bolted. Is that the kind of captain we want around here?

Look I was excited as hell when we acquired Foote and he played really well for us, especially this season, but if this is indeed how things when down today Howson had no choice to deal him.

I know its a business on both sides but there just isn't any way Howson could hold on to him when the relations freeze like that. Whose to say Foote wouldn't have just gone through the motions if we hung on to him - would that have helped our playoff push? Not a chance.

I wish Adam Foote good luck in the future. There is no ill will here but I'm certainly not going to lose any sleep over the way Scott Howson handled this situation. Quite frankly I think its amazing he was able to get what he did -- a 1st round pick and possibly a 4th if he resigns there --- pretty damn good under the circumstances.

Now its time to move on.

Howson collects his conditional first rounder in a very deep draft (said to be deep in 08 and 09) that could really come in handy as he tries to fill roster holes this offseason.

The team now must look to itself for leadership and to make a playoff push.

Hitch, while certainly not happy that his team captain was dealt yet no players were added, must reach even deeper into his bag of tricks to keep this team together and motivated.

Slowly but surely Doug MacLean's mistakes are being cleansed. Nobody said it would be easy but this was a necessary step.

I'll have more reflection on today's developments later tonight.

-LTL