Let me start by saying I'm not an Eklund hater. The guy has found a niche as a NHL rumor monger and gives NHL fanboys (like myself) across the web all kinds of fodder to chew on.
..but....if its not obvious to you by now, all he's basically doing is throwing shit against the wall and seeing what sticks. There really doesn't seem to be a whole lot of thought put behind some of his rumors -- especially teams not named Philadelphia or Toronto.
So his latest Jackets rumor has the Jackets interested in Alex Tanguay of the Calgary Flames. Tanguay is an excellent player. He a 28 year old winger whose making 5.375 million this season and next. His best years came as a Colorado Avalanche where he scored 70+ point 3 out of the 6 years he was there. He's solid - real solid.
The probelm is that wing is the deepest position the Jackets have. If they are going to throw money around they need to throw it at center and defense and Howson knows this. Sure if the Jackets had the luxury of spending to the cap then Tanguay may make sense -- the problem is they can't thus they need to fill their biggest needs first before looking at positions of relative strength.
Yes he can score, but the Jackets need transition players on defense and centers who can get the puck to guys like Nash, Modin and Chimera....and Tanguay while a better playmaker than those three would still need people to get him the puck.
So unless JMac really increases the budget for next year which would still allow for Howson to fill bigger needs in the offseason, I would not count on Tanguay becoming a Jacket any time soon.
-LTL
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