All-Blogs.net directory Light the Lamp - a Columbus Blue Jackets blog: White men still can't jump....

Countdown to Rick Nash's contract expiration:

Sunday, August 23, 2009

White men still can't jump....

...but they sure as hell can skate!

The Canadian Olympic camp kicks off this week and thanks to Rob, we now know both Rick Nash and Steve Mason will be on team "white":

Team White

Goaltenders

Martin Brodeur, Montreal, Que., New Jersey Devils
Marc-André Fleury, Sorel, Que., Pittsburgh Penguins
Steve Mason, Oakville, Ont., Columbus Blue Jackets

Defence

François Beauchemin, Sorel, Que., Toronto Maple Leafs
Jay Bouwmeester, Edmonton, Alta., Calgary Flames
Brent Burns, Ajax, Ont., Minnesota Wild
Mike Green, Calgary, Alta., Washington Capitals
Duncan Keith, Penticton, B.C., Chicago Blackhawks
Scott Niedermayer, Cranbrook, B.C., Anaheim Ducks
Marc Staal, Thunder Bay, Ont., New York Rangers
Shea Weber, Sicamous, B.C., Nashville Predators

Forward

Sidney Crosby, Cole Harbour, N.S., Pittsburgh Penguins
Shane Doan, Halkirk, Alta., Phoenix Coyotes
Simon Gagné, Ste-Foy, Que., Philadelphia Flyers
Dany Heatley, Calgary, Alta., Ottawa Senators
Jarome Iginla, St. Albert, Alta., Calgary Flames
Andy McDonald, Strathroy, Ont., St. Louis Blues
Brenden Morrow, Carlyle, Sask., Dallas Stars
Rick Nash, Brampton, Ont., Columbus Blue Jackets
Mike Richards, Kenora, Ont., Philadelphia Flyers
Martin St. Louis, Laval, Que., Tampa Bay Lightning
Jordan Staal, Thunder Bay, Ont., Pittsburgh Penguins
Jonathan Toews, Winnipeg, Man., Chicago Blackhawks

Not sure what the line combos are but the tasty thought of Nash riding shotgun next to Crosby did cross my mind.... and with Ryan Getzlaf, who was Nash's previous center at the World Championships, being on team red perhaps that thought crossed the cock's minds (i.e. Backcock and Hitchcock) as well.

Full team breakdowns can be found here.

It's been very quiet on the arena lease issue of late... almost scary quiet and Halloween is still a couple of months away.

Yesterday the Dispatch did report that the Jackets have commissioned a study to help them get "back in black":

The Columbus Chamber is commissioning a study of how to make the Blue Jackets economically viable after the team failed to get Franklin County to buy Nationwide Arena.

"What the Chamber wants to do is create a broader community discussion," said Ty Marsh, the chamber's president and CEO.

The study will be conducted by Steven Buser, a professor emeritus of finance at Ohio State. It won't specifically focus on who should own and operate Nationwide Arena, or whether a "sin tax" on alcohol and cigarettes should be involved, as the team had proposed.

With the economy showing signs of recovery I expect the proverbial sh** to really hit the fan on this issue as early as next offseason.

Ownership is sending strong signals that they cannot continue to rack up these kinds of losses and won't stand idly by and watch it continue. I am by no means piped into the behind the scenes day to day happenings to address this issue but so far from my seat it doesn't appear that anyone out there is listening.... yet.

Brief video of Nash and his thoughts on representing Canada at the Olympics over on NHL.com:



Less than 20 days til camp!

-LTL

1 comment:

JAL said...

I would not take the silence on the arena issue as a negative sign. In fact, it is just the opposite.

The CBJ and Nationwide got burned in June when news of the alleged planned tax increase leaked prematurely, and the result was predictable and unfavorable.

The third installment of my piece on the arena is coming out this week, and though there are no new revelations, I do talk about the need to keep this out of the public eye until all of the parties have an agreement ready for unveiling.

Both the CBJ and O'Grady told me that there was going to be a lot of study involved, and this is undoubtedly part of that effort. T

The worst possible thing is for ideas or partial truths to come out, forcing people to take entrenched positions too early.

There is too much at stake here, and too many options not to find a solution.

--JAL
A Shot From The Point