Update: Howson gets his Z replacement...err man. I can't say how absolutely huge this signing is after Zherdev got dealt. On TheFourthPeriod.com they have Huselius ranked as the 5th best UFA on the market.
Honestly I didn't think the Jackets would have much interest in Huselius at first but after reading reports from the Dispatch he was definitely on their radar and after Z was dealt he became a huge priority. The Jackets are said to have beat out Minny for his services -- finally we catch a break!!
Sportsnet.ca on Huselius:
Assets
Has tremendous vision and playmaking ability. Is incredibly shifty and often makes opponents miss with their bodychecks. Possesses plenty of scoring prowess.
Flaws
Lanky frame, needs to keep his intensity level on high, in order to become an all-star performer in the NHL. Must take shots so as to keep defenders honest.
Career potential
Top six winger.
Huselius has his flaws as he's known as being a very streaky scorer and he's not the most physical guy but he has nowhere near the baggage of Zherdev.
He scored 66 points last year, 77 the year before and 47 before it. This guy brings skill to the lineup and a lot more consistancy and a different kind of competitiveness.
Man has Howson overhauled this team or what? I'm pretty damn excited.
Once again Howson nabs a guys in his 20s... Huselius is 29 and will be 32 once this deal expires.
The only downer is we still don't have that center as Morrison seems to have passed on C-bus.....but Howson took what the market gave him....and you never know as this team now finds itself with a stock pile of defensemen -- there could always be a trade down the road.
For now though I think Howson will sit back and take a break. He's added 3 top 6 forwards.. and 3 d-men while jetising players who no longer fit in the big picture.
I'll have a full run-down on today's moves in a bit.
Great day to be a Jacket fan!!
Update: The Blue Jackets get their man. Per Puck-rakers the Blue Jackets have signed Kristan Huselius to a 4 year 19 mil dollar contract.
more to come
Update: Get ready for some more good news!
Update: Notes from Howson interview:
Howson interview highlights:
- One of our goals was to upgrade the backline. Think they accomplishes that with the addition of Tyutin/Backman/Commodore. Need to work on forwards now.
- Howson says they have a forward position or two that needs to be filled. Work into tonight to tomorrow to make that happen. They would like to have one of those holes filled tonight.
- Transformed the defense. All championships teams are built from the back out. Needed to upgrade puck movement. Mentioned Russell in his second year and Tollefsen having a physical year.
- Trying to address forwards via free agency but opened to any avenue
- How difficult was it to trade Z? Said anytime you get a Tyutin you have to give up something. Redden and Rozsival made him expendable.
- Said deal just came up today for Tyutin. He wasn't available until today after Redden. Talked to Glen Sather this morning and went back and forth with proposals until they settled on this one.
- With big and mobile defense taken care of what is next - a #1 center? Said they are looking for a top 6 forward not neccessarily a center (what?). Mentioned Umberger/Brassard/Murray as centers. Sounds like Morrison may not be an option any longer.
Update: Well that was certainly a barn burner hey fans?
I know at first reaction a lot of people are saying what the hell - we traded our 2nd leading scorer?
Lets set the table here.
Zherdev is/was not in this team's long term plans. You have to remember that when evaluating this deal. If there is any doubt about that he was it was answered this afternoon.
He has been rumored to be on the move looong before today. The biggiest knock on him was his inconsistancy. He was a dis-connected player that did not fit the mold that this team moving towards. He razzled he dazzled but when the game got tough he dissapeared most nights. The Jackets loved his talent - hated his competitiveness. He was never going to be re-signed after his contract expired next season and he certainly did not have the value that many think he did.
Sure he turned it around and had a much better season last year - at least the first 3/4ths of it until he packed it in. Heck, this time last year Z wouldn't have returned a 2nd round pick.
The Jackets are moving in a new direction. They know the kind of team they want to build and Z isn't a part of that.
Right now was the time to move him given his contract and given his season. There is no doubt in my mind.
I'm not sure everyone realizes the kind of player we got back for him. Make no mistake about it Fedor Tyutin is the return on this deal. Tyutin is a 24 year old 6'3" 210lb mobile defensemen.
Sportsnet.ca:
Assets
Features an impressive all-around arsenal. Has an ideal body for the defense position and excellent hockey sense.
Flaws
Could stand to add more muscle to his 6-2 frame. Needs to work on his play without the puck and adjust to the speed of the pro game.
Career potential
Top four defenseman.
This guy is signed for 4 years at an average of 2.84 million. He's got 3 pro years under his bealt scoring 20, 14 & 25. This dude is only going to get better and better. He instantly improves our backend.
Tyutin fits the mold of the kind of players the Jackets have acquired. Young competitive players in their 20s who are only going to get better and grow with the Nashes, Leclaires, Kleslas, Brassards, Voraceks, Russells, Umbergers, Torres, Filatovs of this team.
Don't think for a second that Howson isn't going to address the hole left by Z. They are burning up the phone lines now looking to address those holes.
I really like this deal as I've liked Tyutin for quite a while. It makes sense as long as we fill the vacant holes on offense because as much as I won't miss Z he did score 60+ points for us last year on a team that couldn't score goals. That production needs addressed.
I'll have much more on this trade later tonight with some analysis on Backman (i.e salary dump) and the departure of Fritsche (i.e. hard worker that no longer fit on team).
Next up notes from Howson interview on 1460 just a few minutes ago.
Update: Just annoucned on Puck-rakers - Zherdev and Fritsche traded to Rangers for Tyutin and Backman.
Update: Ron Hainsey to Atlanta for 5 years 22.5 million. Nice knowin ya Ron. Atlanta was a team that was also desperate for a puck mover.
Update: Rumor has it that big CBJ trade about to go down. Stay tuned.
Update: *crickets*
Real quite out there now. Only bit of news I've read is that Sundin won't make any kind of decision this week on his future, Malkin signed his 5 year extension and Jarko Ruutu signed with the Sens for 3 years 3.9 mil contract.
Update: Sean Avery is off to Dallas. They signed him to a 4 year deal worth 3.87 mil per season. We'll get to see more of Avery this season. Yipppee... :(
My next question -- is everyone signing in the West this season or is it just me?
Update: Something to think about. Morrison is still hanging out there. Sundin was offered 2 years 20 million by the Canucks. Sundin was also rumored to go to Detroit. Now that Hossa is there that takes them out of the equation. If Sundin goes to Vancouver Morrison is most certainly gone (heck he could be gone anyways) --- that could improve our chances of landing him.
Update: More bad news. Joni Pitkanen just signed with the Hurricanes for 3 years at 4 mil per. Today is going from bad to worse. Man we missed out bad on him.
Give me some good news Scotty!!
Update: Any thoughts out there on this Hossa deal? My initial thought is that Zetterberg will need re-signed after next season. Detroit sells Hossa on best chance to win a cup but can't commit to more than a year due to Zetterberg. Hossa takes chance on 1 year to win cup and then banks on cap increasing and getting an even bigger payday next season...and perhaps he didn't like his options in terms of markets offering him the biggest bucks and term?
Pretty thin I know. I don't see how you turn down a multi year deal at the millions I'm sure were thrown Hossa's way.
Friggan Wings.. uggh!
Update: The rich continue to get richer. The Detroit Red Wings have just signed Marian Hossa to a 1 year 7.4 million dollar deal.
One year? There is definitely an angle both Detroit and Hossa are playing here.
Curtis Glencross has also signed with the Calgary Flames for 3 years for 3.2 million total.
More to come.
-LTL
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Live Bloggin "2008 Day 2 Edition"
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32 comments:
Is that sick or what how much better does that team need to be.
With Hossa @ Detroit and Campbell @ Chicago, the central division just got a whole lot tougher to play in.
I think I'm going to puke....
Curse you Ken holland!
This is a freakin' joke.
Just saw over on Yahoo Rumors that the Wild are pushing hard for Huselius. Don't know if I believe it, but I thought you might need a higher blood pressure.
My thought is Hossa is taking a huge risk if he gets hurt in any way,his value just wen"t down he should have took a long term deal play it safe.This division is going to be tough cbj better do somthing or were dead.
It will be really interesting to see Hossa in the Western Conference, that is for sure. Who is going to stick up for him on the Red Wings?
Puckrakers says we're trying to pick up a puck-moving dMan in trade. Who could that be?
Thanks Sean -- that's just what I needed... ugghh X2...
:)
-LTL
Yummy. So which teams are going to fall out of the Western Conference top 8 so that we can move in? Folks it ain't gonna be this year. I hate being this negative, but there is nothing on the horizon that will improve this team to the point that we move up. I really don't care about getting the eighth seed and getting swept like Atlanta did a couple years ago. Look where they are now. Almost as much of a purgatory as us it seems. Winners want to be with winners. We have a ways to go to get there and each day those around us get better. Anti-depressive sales will boom in central Ohio over the next year.
Man...we are going to have to beat our division up with our bodies...because as of now...its going to be hard to outscore them.
Boyle, Schneider, Kubina? Maybe someone from Florida with their glut of d-men after the Jokinen swap?
Hard to tell with so much money given out yesterday... could be a number of teams who need to offload some salary.
I think Chicago is over the cap actually. Would love me some Seabrook but they won't trade within the division.
-LTL
DJ davy b -- well besides adding to my depression today..thanks alot!...I do think there are teams that could fall out this year.
If we can learn to beat Nashville more than once a season that is an additional 6 to 8 point right off the bat... Colorado's window is closing and they aren't a lock..
I can also see us competiting with Minnesota and Calgary... we've always played those teams well even with our previous rosters..
Detroit will continue to be the creme... but after that I think the West is going to be tight.. the gap is closing.
If Howson can add a couple more pieces and if for once we can have some rookies make an impact we'll be right there in the mix...
Still some work to do.. lets see how the rest of this plays out.
Yep.. drinkin the Kool-Aide..
-LTL
Don't forget TBL have been very active. But, to your point, I think the west has gotten much better.
By the way, assuming the Salary Cap website is accurate, how are the Blackhawks going to field a team? Or, more to the point, who are they going to dump.
http://www.hockeybuzz.com/cap-central/index.php
They are ~$2M over the cap and only have 20 players under contract.
I don't know if ya'll read the Puckdaddy blog on the Yahoo site but this was the proposed 4th line for the Oilers if they had signed Hossa:
"An oompa loompa, a Fathead Wall Poster of Zetterberg, and Craig McTavern himself"
I would image the Blackhawks will be able to put together something similar.
I herd they are going to dump Khabibulin can"t have 2 good goalies at there price.
"Zherdev and Fritsche Traded To The Rangers" from Puck-Rakers
We were never going to 'outskill' anyone anyway. Take a look at the size of our team!
Nash: 6'4 218
Jared Boll 6'2" 206
Jason Chimera 6'2" 216
Manny Malhotra 6' 2" 21
Fredrik Modin 6' 4" 217
Andrew Murray 6' 2" 210
Jiri Novotny 6' 3" 209
Raffi Torres 6' 0" 215
R.J. Umberger 6' 2" 200
Defensemen
Jan Hejda 6' 3" 229 Jun Rostislav Klesla 6' 3" 220
Aaron Rome 6' 1" 204
Ole-Kristian Tollefsen 6' 2" 211
And the two giraffes we just acquired!! We have a little sumthin' sumthin' to make the other teams defensemen think twice when going into the corners too!
Not only are our guys big, but they can move--it isn't like these are slow guys.
Add two or possibly 3 more forwards and man!
Well being an Islander fan i can say Tyutin is a puck moving D guy watch him many times when they played each other so lets hope he can do the same here.
I love that deal!
Our defense is greatly improved from what it was last year. It's still not great but I really like this deal. We've got a lot of holes to fill and positions to address but with this deal and the recent moves by Howson we're building a more competitive team.
I LOVE this move! Fills big time needs for us and gets rid of a moody forward who didn't really fit with our team. Zherdev wasn't going to be resigned here anyway, so the fact that we filled a need for him is perfect.
Sad to see Fritsche go as he is a hardworking guy, but let's face it--skill isn't the guy's forte. That being said, we have multiple 'Fritsche's' in our system and some with better skills--Dorsette anyone?
Love this deal AND we only added about a million in salary so we still have room to add a guy like Morrison or Huselius.
I. Um....jesus. Moving Fritsche isn't a surprise, but Z honestly surprised me. This could really go either way depending on how Tyutin works out for us - he certainly is a big blue line upgrade, but where are we replacing the scoring? Do we count that much on Brassard and Voracek?
This is very big & very good for us! "Checking sets up scoring opportunities..." is the Hitch mantra & Z was never gonna play ball night in/night out. We're gaining youth with size & skill in the prime of their careers. If Morrison was waiting to see if we're serious I think he & any other free agents still avail can see we are serious about becoming a contender!!! Go Howson! Keep it going!!!
The importance of the Jared Boll summer has never been more important.
Matt, I can't argue with you about your concerns about scoring but we've added Umberger who has some upside, Torres who should be at least good for 10-15 plus a (hopefully) healthy Modin. Plus, we're only on day 2 of free agency so maybe we can add someone there.
Overall, I think the upgrade on D goes a long way to making the Jacket's a more competive team.
Wiz, I'm with you. This shows remaining free agents we are serious about upgrading & they can get in on a good thing here! With a few passes put onto sticks during break-away opportunities the scoring will be there like never before. I grew so tired of watching lead footed defensemen lope around blue line during power play. This will improve our power-play dramatically!!! We now have several men who can score instead of a couple that allowed teams to shut down our scoring in nearly every game by focusing their D on Rick & Nik!
Glad I talked my middle son out of that number 13 jersey- just had a feeling. Of course now he is a Rangers fan :)
Anyway, just wanted to thank you for doing such a great job with the updates.
I don't know what to think just yet but will still support the CBJ and I'm excited for the next season.
Let's Go Jackets!
Thanks Elisa..! Been quite an exciting couple of days and I don't think the Jackets are done yet.
-LTL
Geez! I go out for 4 hours to the CBJ Breakaway street hockey tour with my kids and come back to find that Orpik re-signed with the Pens for 6yrs. This was announced on sportsnet.ca at 5:10pm. Miss a little, miss alot, I guess.
ltl--you are ON IT! Way to go!!!!
Wow. I go offline for 6 hours and all hell breaks loose. Its alot to digest, but I see more good than bad. Time to hook my IV line back up, but hold off the anti-depressants for tonight. I need to figure out who is on the team now. How many D men do we have now? We still need a center, but he biggest plus I see out of the last 2 days is the stench of constant losing has been swept out of the locker room. A couple more and it will be like Febreeze has been sprayed everywhere!!!
Dean's right about us being STACKED with D-Men all of the sudden.
Tyutin - Hejda
Klesla - Commodore
Methot - Backman
Rome, Russell, Wilson, Tollefsen all as potential AHL candidates? We might carry 7 D-men, but with some of the possible options for forwards this year, esp. on the wings, I could see our "floater" spot going to a winger, too.
Part of me wouldn't be totally shocked if we made some kind of deal that had someone like OKT or Klesla going as part of a package for a top 6 Center, but on the other hand, I kinda -like- having this much depth.
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