Stonewall?

Via Sportsnet:

Mason, who didn't even get his first start until Nov. 5 when he beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-4, has been nothing short of spectacular since that game. Through January 13, Mason is 16-9-1 and leads the NHL in goals-against average (1.80), save percentage (.936) and shutouts (six). Folks in Columbus (not exactly a hockey hotbed) have even begun calling the Oakville, ON-native Stonewall Mason.

Apparently I didn't get the memo but hey, I'm flexible. Its certainly better than Stevie "Franchise"... of which Ronny "Franchise" Francis was tagged that many moons and Whalers ago.

Plus the "Stonewall" name has civil war connections - albiet a Confederate one.

Lovin the pub though.

Speaking of hockey hotbeds... ESPN (not really) is sending out some CBJ love which an entry titled We're eating our words about Columbus ...

What the last month has also taught Hitchcock is that, regardless who is in his lineup, the Jackets have finally become a team after searching for an identity over the first two months of the season.

"I think what's happened here is a really good lesson for me and for everybody else," said Hitchcock. "Accountability takes time. It doesn't happen overnight. We made a lot of good changes over the summer for our team moving forward. But just because you add a bunch of guys to the locker room doesn't mean you're a team. I think what's happened is the grind of the schedule and the adversity we've gone through has helped make us more cohesive. Our team is starting to realize we can win games if we just become the sum of parts."

The one person Hitchcock didn't mention in all of this was the coach. We'll take care of that. Once again proving he is indeed one of the elite coaches in this league, Hitchcock has found a way to squeeze juice out of a rock over the last month. If the Jackets somehow make the playoffs, he should be considered for the Jack Adams Award.

You aren't the only one eating some of your words ESPN.. save some table space for me.

..and if Hitch gets this squad into the playoffs he better be in that Jack Adams discussion. The way this team has held things together and thrived over the past couple of weeks with all these injuries really is something special and Hitch has been a big part of that.

Derek MacKenzie has been sent down to make room for Raffi Torres.

I really like MacKenzie as a depth guy.. I love the energy he brings every shift. I hope he eventually stick with a club somewhere but for now its nice having him as an option.

As for Raffi hopefully this is the moment where he finally gets over the hump with his injuries. We've seen some flashes of what he can bring to this squad over the 14 games he's played but those injuries keep getting in the way. No doubt his rugged style will compliment this lineup.

So the question now is who is next?

If Rick Nash and Andrew Murray come of the IR which could come as early as today the Jackets are going to need to clear out some roster space.

Guys on the bubble would be: Alex Picard, Craig MacDonald & Nikita Filatov

If Rick Nash is back I think Filatov is sent down. Filatov is a top 6 skill player and was recalled to replace Nash which he did admirably (visions of his hat trick still dancin in my head). However the Jackets want this kid developing and playing key minutes so he can solidfy his spot in the lineup next year --- there is no reason to keep him up and play him 4 minutes a night. Let him develop -- didn't hurt Brassard right?

If Murray comes back then things get interesting. Which guy do you send down between Picard and MacDonald? Both have played well. I think you choose the one least likely to get claimed on waivers (although I read somewhere that Picard may not have to pass through them again due to some 30 day rule). Personally I think Picard stays up and they'll send MacDonald down.

The roster should look something like this:

Top 6: Nash, Huselius, Voracek, Umberger, Modin, Malhotra
Bottom 6: Boll, Peca, Torres, Murray, Dorsett, Williams
Scratch: Picard

In case you hadn't heard yet Brendan Shanahan has signed with the New Jersey Devils and will finish the year with them.... and whadyaknow -- the Jackets will be his first game back tonight.

Hopefully he doesn't shake off the rust until his second game!

Finally the Jackets look to be on the hunt for a goaltender. How serious they get will depend on Leclaire and the report they get on his ankle.

This comment from Leclaire didn't strike me the best:

"If I can't play, I can't play," Leclaire said. "But if there's an option and I can come back and play, that's what I want to do."

I'm probably reading into this alot more than I should but it sounds pretty ho-hum. You'd think this guy would be chomping at the bit to get back in there and get his pipes back.

I'll have some pre-game thoughts up a little later today!

-LTL

This and that

Phoenix's new 3rd jersey has made its debut but for me what is more interesting is that this is the first time I"ve seen a club publish other designs that were considered. Check em out here.

For you NHL Network subscribers and World Junior Championship fans I have some good news. USA Hockey has reached a 3 year agreement with the NHL Network that will include the following:

USA Hockey announced today a three-year partnership with the NHL Network that includes unprecedented coverage of the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship and coverage of the upcoming Qwest Tour, featuring the 2009-10 U.S. Women’s National Team.
In each of the next three IIHF World Junior Championships, the NHL Network will provide live television coverage of all U.S. games and all games of the medal round - including all quarterfinal and semifinal games, the bronze-medal game and the gold-medal game.

I absolutely love the WJCs and this is THE tournament where the game's top prospects state their case for the upcoming NHL draft. Its their biggest stage with loads of scouts, management types and media on hand.

Of course not every player is draft eligible and some have already been drafted. Nikita Filatov and Maksim Mayorov are in this group and all indications point to them playing for Russia in this tournament.

Also remember last year when our own Steve Mason shined for Team Canada and backstopped them to not only the gold medal but also to tournament MVP honors.

Players have to be under 20 to participate.

Speaking of the WJCs, the US team has just been announced and there is one Jacket prospect in the mix. 2007 2nd round pick Ted Ruth will on the squad. If you recall Ruth was drafted in 2007 in the 2nd round by the Washington Capitals.. The Jackets acquired him at the trade deadline last year for Sergei Fedorov.

Ruth, a defensive defensemen, currently had 1g in 13 games for the Irish with 16 PIMs.

Lots of other stuff going on out there in the hockey world like the Sean Avery situation. If nothing else he's good for conversation I've had 4 casual sports fans approach me about him today... that is if you believe in the "there is no bad publicity" moto. Personally I think the Stars got what they paid for as controversy has followed Avery at every stop in his professional career.

Also we have the 3rd NHL coach fired this season just 24 games in as Peter Laviolette got the hook in Carolina earler today. Denis Savard and Barry Melrose have been the other two casualties. Paul Maurice replaces Laviolette who won the cup with the 'canes back in 2006. I don't think Laviolette will be out of work long.

No word yet on who is getting called up to replace Torres. Lindsay Kramer seems to think it will be a veteran this time around:

On another topic, MacFarland said no Syracuse forward has yet been recalled to replace injured forward Raffi Torres. But the Blue Jackets are at the minimum up front and heading out for a West Coast trip, so I expect that to change. I think Derek MacKenzie, Mike York and Craig MacDonald are the most likely candidates.

My money is on MacKenzie but be sure to cast your vote in the related poll!

Congrats to Ohio Buckeye's tender Dustin Carlson for being named CCHA Player of the Month!

During November, Carlson, from Forest Lake, Minn., posted a 6-1 record, with a 1.47 goals-against average, .954 save percentage and three shutouts.

Speaking of Ohio State they are ranked for the first time this season on InsideCollegeHockey.com -- they come in at 18th out of 20:

The Buckeyes have won six of their last seven games. Based on the records of their opponents over the next 10 games — a combined 18 games below .500 — that run could extend for quite a while.

Thing are certainly looking up for this 8-6-1 squad whom by the way, play in Cleveland this Friday against Robert Morris at Quicken Loans Arena so if your looking for a hockey road trip, there ya go!!


-LTL

Torres to the IR...who replaces him?

The Dispatch is reporting that Raffi Torres is headed to the IR again for his re-occurring knee problem. Man that a tough pill to swallow for Raffi as he was coming off an injury riddled campaign that ended with major knee surgery and was looking to make an impact with his new squad. He certainly showed some signs of the impact he could make but just wasn't quite able to bring that game every night -- now we know why.

So with Raffi out who gets the call?

I'll tell ya I doubt its Filatov. If it was a top 6 skill position then maybe but I think the org feels he needs some more time baking down in the 'cuse. Filatov has 6g 7a for 13p in 18g but like most of the Crunch players he has cooled of late offensively. I haven't got to watch him play so I can't say one way or the other if his stats reflect the play.

Instead I look for a veteran like Derek MacKenzie to get the nod. I think Hitch will want a dependable "worker" in the bottom 6 and MacKenzie brings that to the table and showed well in that role last season. In 12 games since coming off his injury in Syracuse he has 13 points (6g, 7a).

Another guy to keep an eye on is Mike York. He looked slow and sluggish in camp but he's quietly leading the Crunch in points with 4g, 15a for 19p in 22g. Again I haven't watched the Crunch so I'm not sure how his play reflects his stats but he's another veteran the organization could look to to fill the Torres void.

To this point the Jackets have recalled mostly their young guns on the farm. Filatov, Dorsett, Russell have all gotten the nod. Howson may want to give one of his hard working vets a cup of coffee this time around....not only to fill the void up on the big team but it never hurts to have your morale up amongst your veterans in terms of getting a shot in the NHL this season as it does for your youngsters.

Also keep an eye on Craig MacDonald. He's another vet whose racked up 7g, 8a for 15 points in 22 games.

Of course the biggest draw back with the vets is the dreaded waivers. Once a player comes off IR chances are that veteran will get sent back down and all 29 other teams will have a shot at him... if he's playing well the Jackets could lose him.

Fire away - who would you recall?

-LTL

Derek MacKenzie signed...still no official announcement on MacDonald

Lindsay Kramer over on the Syracuse Crunch blog site reported that center Derek MacKenzie has been re-signed by Columbus to a 2-year 2-way deal.

If you recall MacKenzie saw 17 games with the big club last season as injuried took their toll. He notched 2 goals in that span. In 65 games with the Crunch 25g for 49 points.

Sportsnet's take on him:

Assets
Has good face-off ability and two-way skills. Is an industrious center with a history of scoring ability in the junior ranks.

Flaws
Lacks ideal NHL size for the center position. Is limited in terms of offensive ability at the big-league level.

Career potential
Reserve center.

We all got a pretty good look at MacKenzie last year. Sportsnet pretty much nails his game. He brings good depth and didn't look out of place during his call ups last season and plays a solid north/south dependable game.

I like this signing for those reasons.

We know the Jackets will go through their rash of injuries and it never hurts to have some capable band aides in the minors who can fill a hole or two while the wounded heal. He also gives Syracuse some very much needed scoring in their top 6.

Now onto the other Mac. The Craig MacDonald signing has yet to become official but Kramer hints that its just a matter of time and that NHL.com jumped the gun by putting his name on the Columbus roster. I would think we'd learn about the terms sometime this week.

With both "Macs" in the fold Syracuse has some veteran depth down the middle but Kramer thinks they could use one more veteran scorer - especially since Lindstrom is going back to Europe. His reasoning is that with both "Macs" in the lineup Syracuse should be okay but chances are with injuries the way they are in Columbus that won't be the norm.

This is how Syracuse is shaping up:

Goal - Mason, LaCosta
Defense - Clitsome, Wilson, Plehkanov with Methot, Sigalet and Holden likely
Forwards - MacDonald, MacKenzie, Vigilante, Legein, Pineault, Frischmon, Dorsett, Mirasty, Sestito, Starkov with possibly Filatov and Mayorov

I also wouldn't rule out a guy like Dan Smith getting re-singed to anchor that defense with a veteran guy.

For those of you like me who dig this sort of thing - according to Bluejackets.nhl.com the following new players will wear the following nubmers:

5 - Christian Backman

14 - Raffi Torres

18 - RJ Umberger

20 - Kristan Huselius

22 - Mike Commodore

51 - Fedor Tyutin

Both Jackub Voracek and Derick Brassard have been added to the roster - can you say locks? Brassard is listed at 16 while Voracek does not have a number as of yet.

It looks like Andrew Murray lost out on the 51 to Tyutin and still needs to pick a new number. Also Umberger gave up the 20 to Huselius.

So unless your a Murray or Voracek fan you can now purchase your jerseys with confidence!

It will be interesting to see if the Pascal Leclaire talks get somewhere this week. Last we heard was that Howson made a counter offer and the Leclaire camp was considering it and they'd talk early this week. I'd like to see this one get wrapped.

My guess is that the term has been settled which we've heard the 3 year mark tossed around. The question now is cash. I'm guessing Howson wants 3 years at 9 and the Leclaire camp wants 3 years at 12. We'll probably see something in that 3.75 average range and it won't suprise me if its an escalating agreement (1st - 3 mil, 2nd - 4, 3rd - 4.25).

In other news today it looks like Ted Nolan and the New York Islanders are parting ways after just two years.

I'll have to ask my resident Islanders expert on how he feels about this but from an outsider view its seems to be Wang's way or the highway. I've read some articles where Nolan was kept out of the drafting process and did not know whom they were going to draft.

Obviously things have soured in that relationship.

I don't think it will take Nolan long to find a job. Afterall he led the Islanders to a playoff birth two seasons ago with a skeleton roster.

Its always silly season in the NHL coaching ranks and all it takes is for one team to get off to a bad start before Nolan could find himself in a new gig.

Update: Per usual just as I finish a post both on the subject the Jackets announce that both MacKenzie and MacDonald have been signed.

Update: The day could not be complete without a bit of Filatov news. Puck-rakers is reporting the following:

The NHL today rejected the contract signed by Nikita Filatov with the Blue Jackets late last week. But ...

It has nothing to do with Russian claims that Filatov is still property of his Russian club, CSKA Moscow, or that the Blue Jackets owe CSKA Moscow compensation. It has nothing to do with the Continental Hockey League.

It was rejected because of some wording in the "schedule A" bonuses section of Filatov's contract, wording the NHL found insufficient or not quite in line with the CBA. The wording was ammended, Filatov signed the ammendment and the contract was refiled with the NHL this afternoon.

The good news is that it appears to be a technicality and Howson and the brass have already resubmitted the paper work.

What I hope this is not is a stall tactic by the NHL to buy some time.

Filatov-gate goes on.

-LTL

Jackets add depth in MacDonald

I haven't seen it officially announced but according to NHL.com 31 year old center Craig MacDonald is now listed as a Columbus Blue Jacket.

The move would make sense given losing out on Zenon Konopka to the Tampa Bay Lightning. MacDonald, like Konopka, is a very good AHL center but has yet been able to catch on full time at the NHL level.

MacDonald has been a pro for 10 years. In that span he has 225 career NHL games notching 10g and 23a and a -16. He played in 65 games last season for the Lightning scoring 2g 9a and a -10.

Sportsnet's take on him:

Assets
Is well rounded, versatile and a smart forward. Does the little things needed to win hockey games.

Flaws
Lacks offensive flair. Needs to bulk up more. Is limited to role-player status at the NHL level.

Career potential
Reserve forward.

From what I've read from Tampa fans they were very pleased with this guy's performance last year. Apparently he works hard every shift and plays through pain. He definitely sounds like the kind of player Howson/Hitch would be interested in for depth.

MacDonald should take Konopka's place as a center in Syracuse minus the leadership of course.

Right now the Jackets center depth looks as follows:

Umberger

Brassard

Peca

Malhotra

Novotny

MacDonald

Its to be seen where a guy like Filatov will play but I'm thinkin a wing for now until they can see how he measures up against the competition.

I think the Jackets will also continue to pursue a guy like Derek Mackenzie for more veteran depth and scoring presence for Syracuse.

Puck-rakers also has a little more on the Filatov situation and where the contract negotiations are at with Leclaire.

Nothing really new on Filatov besides what we already knows which is that they are waiting on the NHL to validate his contract and then get his work visa paperwork going. A waiting game at this point.

As far as Leclaire apparently Howson has made a counter on Leclaire and his camp is considering it. The gap appears to be closing but at a snails pace.

That's about all that's going on today.

-LTL