What the experts are saying... (updated 6/24)

I'm going to use this post to kind of cobble together what the "experts" are saying about the Jackets draft day moves.

We'll start with THN.com and there covereage here.

On Filatov:

Scouting Report: The consensus top European player available for selection in 2008, he was rated second overall by International Scouting Service and first among International skaters in Central Scouting's final rankings... a supremely skilled winger, he excels in important contests and displays loads of tenacity and determination... can also play center but is at his best when flying down his off-wing (left)... produced four goals and nine points in just seven games for Russia at the 2008 WJC in the Czech Republic... will need to add more muscle on his 6-0 frame in order to thrive in North America...

Impact: Filatov is an intriguing player, and he now heads to an interesting situation in Columbus. The Blue Jackets are loaded on the wings, led by Rick Nash, Nikolai Zherdev and top prospect Jakub Voracek, so there probably isn't a spot on the NHL roster for the time being. However, Filatov is expected to move to North America regardless of the Jackets' situation, and he could wind up in the CHL in 2008-09. Clearly, Columbus decided to go with the best player available, especially after trading their other first rounder in a deal for R.J. Umberger--who is expected to play center full time in Columbus.

Espn's Gare Joyce on the Filatov pick:

Gare Joyce says: This was a team in desperate need of D after the loss of Adam Foote. It might come away with the second-most skilled player in the draft. Does this tip a domino for trades?

CBSSports.com weights in on Filatov pick:

News: Columbus drafts Nikita Filatov

Views: This was the most intriguing pick of the first round because while Filatov was rated extremely highly by scouts, there is always the question about his accessibility. Without a transfer agreement between the NHL and the Russian Hockey Federation, there have been concerns among teams about drafting players that may not come over to North America in recent seasons, a major risk when it comes to using a first-round pick. That the biggest reason Alex Cherepanov, a top five type, dropped all the way to 17th last season. But Filatov might be more talented, speaks English relatively well and has expressed a desire to play in the NHL as soon as possible. It's still a gamble for the Blue Jackets, but one that seems to have the odds on their side.

TSN on Filatov:

McKenzie: A lot of time you get Russian players and you wonder how they will get acclimatized to North America. This guy speaks English and a little French. He wants to be here. He's already given notice to his Russian team that he's leaving. He has a consistent work ethic and he's a strong team player.

Update: THN on Umberger trade:

What does it give the Columbus Blue Jackets?
In Umberger, the Jackets land a badly-needed forward with the potential to produce points from the center position. He can also play wing if needed, but the club is far deeper there than down the middle. Umberger is also familiar with coach Ken Hitchcock, so expect him to shoulder a heavy burden in Columbus. He may even become the team's first-line center.

What does it give the Philadelphia Flyers?
The Flyers need salary-cap relief so someone needed to go. Umberger is the right player to move at this time, since Philly boasts two quality winger prospects in Claude Giroux and James van Riemsdyk--who collectively should make the loss of Umberger easier to swallow. With the first-round pick, the Flyers added a need in defenseman Luca Sbisa, plus a third rounder in exchange for a fourth. All told, this move was necessary for Flyers GM Paul Holmgren, so he did well from an asset management standpoint.

Update USAToday's Kevin Allen lists the Jackets as one of his top 5 winners from draft weekend:

5. Colombus Blue Jackets: It's not unthinkable that Nikita Filatov could end up the best scorer in this draft, and second round defenseman Cody Goloubef was a first rounder on some lists.

CNNSI's Allan Muir gives the Jackets an honorable mention on his list of "winners" for the 2008 draft:

To Columbus for snatching Nikita Filatov sixth overall, then adding the versatile R.J. Umberger in exchange for the first-rounder they acquired from Colorado in the Adam Foote deal.

What's even more interesting is who he picked as a loser -- Toronto for giving up 2 assets to get defensive defensemen Luke Schenn:

While every other club was loading up on skill in the first round, the Leafs gave up a pair of valuable assets (a second- and third-rounder) to move up two spots in the first to grab shutdown defenseman Luke Schenn. It was a bold move to be sure, and Schenn seems a good bet to be a stabilizing force on the Leafs' blueline for years, but a defensive-defenseman in the top five? That's the sort of talent you're supposed to pick up with those second- and third-rounders. When you get a chance to draft that high, you have to grab a difference-maker.

THN also dogged the Leafs for their draft day moves.

Update: Dobber Hockey on Filatov:

Columbus – They got a steal in Nikita Filatov. It is too bad that he joins a defensive system. However, coaches rarely last five years and by Ken Hitchcock’s fifth year Filatov will be 21 or 22. I don’t think he will make the team this year…but wouldn’t bet against it. He’s a year away at the latest and will have a rookie year similar to what Jaromir Jagr had. Offensively, his potential is as high or higher than Steven Stamkos and Patrick Kane. Getting Matt Calvert at 127 could also be a steal, but the smallish forward could be five or six years before getting on your radar.

On Umberger:

Much like Cammalleri, RJ Umberger’s stock is on the rise. He will be a top line forward on Columbus, and his versatility will allow him to play either wing or center with Rick Nash. Umberger is a good scorer and passer. He is big, and can skate. No real holes in his game, he just never really got the opportunity he needed to flourish in Philadelphia. He is a 60-65 point forward for next year, at the minimum. He also played his college hockey in Ohio (at Ohio state), so he will be familiar with the Columbus hockey fans.

I have yet to read anyone say that Nikita was a bad pick for the Jackets which is a good sign. Of course you have the nay sayers who think all prospects do is go bust in Columbus but with career years from Nash, Leclaire and Zherdev last season I think that stigma is slowly starting to fade.. hopefully next season or chances at a top t0 pick fade as well.

I'll have more updates in this post as draft grades and reaction start being released.

On a side note, those damn Predators. They drafted a guy I really really liked in Colin Wilson. I think that dude is going to be a rock in this league for a long long time. If we traded down from 6 I would have loved to get that kid.

-LTL

Filatov a center and more

I listened to the Breakfeast with the Blue Jackets on 1460 this morning. They had director of amateur scouting Don Boyd on to discuss the draft as well a replay of Howson's draft interview and an interview with 2006 6th overall pick Derick Brassard.

Don Boyd had some interesting things including that nugget that Nikita Filatov is actually a natural center but played wing in Russia last season. Now like many young players if Nikita were to make the Jackets he would probably do so as a wing but down the road it sounded like the long term plans for this kid are to use him at center.

Boyd also reassured everyone that they put in the necessary leg work to make sure this kid was air tight in terms of his commitment to playing in this league. In fact Howson even saw the paper work that this kid has terminated his contract in Russia.

The organization is really excited about this kid. They aren't sure where he will play yet but they hope to have him over to North America permanently starting in August. Howson said that they will work through the Visa issues to try to get him to prospect camp by July 7th. I wouldn't count on him being here for that though unfortunately.

A friend of mine really had a great a line about this kid when comparing him to another young high profile Russian on our team. She said that Zherdev is a PC and Filatov is a Mac. In other words, there is far less baggage with a kid like Filatov.

As a reader pointed out in the comments on another post here that there is a great interview with Filatov over on the piplelineshow.com -- just follow this link -- its show #19.

Derick Brassard sounds ready to really make a push this summer. He said that he and the other 6 guys in town work out starting at 9 a.m. for two hours every day. It sounded like in the afternoon they have some other training like Yoga that they participate in. He said he really wants to make the team next year and make an impact and a big part of that is the work you have to put in over the summer.

He also talked about last year and that he really didn't get to show the Columbus fans what he was capable of coming of jaw surgery. When asked about Voracek he said they want to be like Kane and Toews last year make and make a difference. Like I said this kid sounds ready and motivated.

Also if you haven't checked out Blue Jackets TV you need to. They have some great interviews with some of our picks including Filatov, 2nd round pick d-man Goloubef whom I've been told could be a real stud for us on the blueline and Steven Delisle who is a huge 6'6" defensemen we took in the 4th round.

I was very impressed with Goloubef's interview and Delisle sounds genuinely excited to get picked by the Jackets.

I'll have a post later today about what's next for the Jackets now that the draft has concluded.

-LTL

Reaction

Whelp, the 2008 NHL draft is now over and as expected the Jackets held onto the 6th pick and selected Russian Nikita Filatov. The Jackets were active in moving the 19th + 3rd round pick to Philly for center R.J. Umberger and a 4th round pick.

Lets dig a little deeper on both of these moves.

First up the 6th overall pick.

All the speculation and mocks drafts leading up to the actual draft had the Jackets ending up with one of the 4 stud defensemen. Few if any had Nikita Filatov available by the 6th and going to the CBJ. Defensemen Luke Schenn appeared to be the player the Jackets selected.

Of course one can never predict exactly how a draft will go down and what a team like the Islanders did yesterday was no exception to that rule. Once Stamkos, Dougthy, Bogosian and Pietrangelo were off the board the Islanders inexplicably traded back not once, but twice passing on chances to take blue chip taelnt like Schenn, Filatov and Boedker to instead stockpile later round picks and take Josh Bailey at #9.

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending who you wanted) that meant that Toronto leap frogged the Jackets and scooped up Luke Schenn.

So with the their turn to pick the consensus highest rated player available was Russian Nikita Filatov but would the Jackets be interested?

Some say if Filatov's name was "Joe Smith" he'd challenge Stamkos for #1 overall but with the lack of a transfer agreement with Russia his stock lowered. For the Jackets any idea of taking a Russian so highly conjures up thoughts of Nik Zherdev and all the problems that have come with him....more than that even is would he or was he free of contractual obligations to even come over to North America?

With all of those factors to consider would the Jackets risk it?

That question was answered with a resounding yes when the Jackets made Nikita Filatov their selection at 6 and 9th ever first round draft pick.

Was it the right move?

Hell yes it was.

Filatov was hands down the best player on the board. He's not Zherdev. He seems 110% committed to coming over to North America now to do whatever it takes to reach his goal of playing in the NHL. He already speaks fluent English. He plays a well rounded game and this kid has got major league talent.

If the Jackets were standing pat at 6 they had to take him. Especially when it was reported in the Dispatch that the Jackets "list" read 1. Stamkos 2. Bogosian 3. Filatov --- if that is true, which no reason to believe its not, then the Jackets just got their 3rd rated player at #6 in this very deep draft.

Every pick comes with an amount of risk -- obviously the guys in the first round and at the top of the draft are supposed to have the least amount. Filatov is one of those players I don't foresee the lack of an agreement being an issue in this particular case.

The kid is of slight build now. He's listed at 6 ft and 172lbs on Central Scouting. Sure he needs to put on some weight but that will come. Don't rule him out in terms of an outside shot at making this club though.

There was an even smaller kid by the name of Patrick Kane who at 5'9" 160lbs had no problem adjusting to the NHL game and making an impact at the rate of 70+ points.

Filatov can play in the NHL, AHL or Major Juniors next year so a lot of nice options for the Jackets in terms of what is best for his development.

Then of course we have RJ.

I've gone into depth as to why I think he'd be a good fit for us so I won't beat that horse to death to much more.

What I do want to talk about is what we gave up to him which was the 19th + 3rd for RJ and Philly's 4th?

Too much? Yeah lets not kid ourselves - we overpaid - but you know what, we also got better in filling a hole in our lineup and any of us (including me) that questioned Howson's ability to close a deal well he just answered that question in a major way.



I'm thrilled to have RJ in the fold. I see him slotting into one of those open center holes in the top 6 and becoming a key player on this team playing in all situations -- even strength, PP and PK.

Howson needs to get Umberger under contract though since he's a RFA. He's also arbitration eligible. I look for something to get done there rather quickly in a 3 to 4 year deal between 3 to 4 million.

Umberger a nice piece. Still lots of work to do and holes to fill in this lineup but I'm very happy to see Howson come out of this draft with at least 1 NHL body who can contribute today and tomorrow.

The Jackets made 8 more selection today in round 2 through 7. The most high profile pick coming at #37 when they selected defensemen Cody Goloubef who plays in the WCHA for Wisconsin. Goloubef is a 6 ft 195lb Ontario Canadian native. He shoots right and is more of an offensive guy.

He was ranked #34 on central scouting and this is what they had to say:

"When I first saw Cody I really liked his game. He is compact and he's strong with a wide stance. He's a good, powerful skater. He thinks the game well, has a really good shot and makes that first pass consistently. He is a solid two-way player that is going to play on your power-play. He played for a defensive style team at Wisconsin. His conservative play meant that I don't think a lot of scouts have seen the offensive side of him enough, but he's a potential top-four defensemen in the National Hockey League, maybe top-three. He's playing against guys who are at least three years older than him - if he was playing in the USHL he might have the puck all the time and be dominating, but he handled it well -- he's a solid kid.

Four of their 8 picks on day two were on defensemen. They made a minor trade with Boston to move 10 spots down in the 4th round and picked up a 5th in the process.

No doubt Howson has recognized a huge weakness with Columbus in terms of defensive depth and has worked very hard to address it. Since he's been here he's added defensive prospects Weber, Ruth, Holden, Sigalet and now this group of d-men led by Goloubef, Delisle, Olson and Regner.

For a complete profile on all day two selections click on this link.

All in all it was a good, but not great day, for Jacket fans. We added a stud prospect in Filatov, made a smart acquisition in 26 year old RJ Umberger and we added some nice depth to our system.

I'll have more on RJ and Filatov as the weekend goes on.

Discuss - were you pleased with the the moves made at the draft?

-LTL

Game on!

Unfortuantely no CBJ trades yet but some dominos are starting to fall.

Yesterday we had the Blues ship Jamal Mayers to Toronto for a 3rd round pick. All we've heard was how the Maple Leafs wanted to go young and acquire draft picks but here they are shipping one off for 3rd/4th line gritty winger in Mayers. The only real impact on the Jackets is that Mayers will no longer have 6 chances to beat up our players.

We also had Nashville ship Darcy Hordichuk to Carolina for a 5th round pick. If he doesn't sign Nashville's gives Carolina a 5th round pick in 2009. Nashville loses some toughness here and may plan to go without a clear enforcer similar to the CBJ. Again, the good thing here is that Hordichuk is out of the Jackets division and that man could definitely get under the Jackets' skin (of course who can forget Chimera knocking his ass into his own bench last year!).

Jeff Carter was also resigned by Philly to a 3 year 15 million dollar deal. He could set the market for guys like RJ Umberger and Antoine Vermette -- two similar but slightly older players who are RFAs that the Jackets could target for trades today.

Today we already have a decent sized deal in Nashville shipping goaltender Chris Mason to St. Louis for a 4th round pick in 2008. This freed up salary room for the Preds to get Dan Ellis resigned while give St. Louis a tandem of Manny Legace and Chris Mason in nets next season. Interesting that this was an inter-division trade -- you typically do not see those.

I find it very interesting that both the Blue and the Preds are shipping off some toughness. Perhaps they are looking at the Wings blue print of having gritty players with skill instead of taking up roster spots gritty on the lower end of skill guys.

Update: Ray Emery and Dan Cloutier have both been waived according to TSN. Not a lot of surprise here. Emery has been widely speculated to be bought out so the smart thing to do is see if anyone will take him, his ego and his contract for free. Doubtfull but maybe on re-entry waiver where the team claiming him would only have to take 1/2 his salary there may be a taker.

Puck-rakers also has a new update. Essentially Potzline is saying don't expect to land a #1 center at this draft - instead expect one or two top 6 guys.

Its no secret to anyone that reads this blog that I think that is a very good strategy - 1. there are some good young top 6 guys potentially available in Umberger, Vermette and Lombardi. 2. they are cheaper in terms of assets and dollars 3. injuries -- say we drop a load on Marleau, what happens if he goes down with an injury? Then we have Brassard and? This way we protect our lineup a bit as we just can't afford to let injuries derail next season. 4. we keep the 6th pick in this deep draft.

Guys like Umberger and Vermette would add 100 more points to our lineup if they just maintain what they accomplished last year -- that a huge upgrade -- and what will that do for Nasher? Sky is the limit.

With so many holes to fill this seems like a very logical approach and would set us up pretty good for free agency:

Nash Umberger/Vermette XXX
Zherdev Umberger/Vermette Modin

I'll keep this post updated throughout the day (or until I leave for Easton Draft Party and then the R Bar later on) with trades updates and analysis.

-LTL

Prediction time!

What will Howson do? That is everyone's question at this point.

There doesn't seem to be any doubt that he wants to improve this team. We've heard the Malone chatter, the Marleau rumors and we've heard him state personally that he has both the #6 and #19 picks in play.

Lots of folks have speculated about these picks. Toronto media here. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun there. Of course the Dispatch has it covered with their latest article addressing the Marleau rumors here. The Hockey News speculation there.

The word is most definitely out that the Jackets want to players but now what?

Unfortunately we wait.

Doesn't mean we can speculate while we wait though!

Here's how I see it playing out.

The 6th pick will ultimately be made if one of Doughty, Bogosian, Pietrangelo or Schenn are available. I don't think any team will make an offer substantial enough for him to part with that pick if one of those d-men are still on the board.

Portzline on the Cannon-fodder podcast made an interesting point -- some say that the player the Jackets could get at 6 would be better in two years time than anyone they would acquire via trade.

Of course remember we got Gilbert Brule at 6 three years ago but I think his comments were based on the depth of this particular draft -- especially the top 6 or 7 spots.

Now should those d-men be gone I think the likely hood of trading it outright, or at least trading down, sky rockets. Why? I just don't get the feeling the organization is completely sold on Filatov or Boedker and would be just as happy picking a Wilson/Hodgson/Myers. That would of course mean they stay within the top 10.

They could also most certainly trade down even further. An idea here would be to trade the 6th to Ottawa (remember the draft is in their city - think hometown splash) for Vermette and their 18th pick.

At the end of all the phone calls, speculation and bally-hoo I expect one of the big 4 d-men to be available and for Howson to make his pick and Pietrangelo or Schenn will be a Blue Jacket come Friday night.

The 19th pick is where I expect the action tomorrow. Reports have said that Howson is getting more phone calls about the 19th pick and with teams like Pittsburgh and San Jose who don't have picks at all in the first 3 rounds that selection has to look pretty juicy. A team like Florida, who is said to have Jokinen on the block, lacks a 1st round pick.

Of course that isn't going to land you a top line center like a Marleau or Jokinen alone but packaged together with other assets and Howson could be off an running.

Regardless I give it a 1% chance of Howson retaining that pick. He must come out of this draft with at least one NHL body and if the deal for a young impact player isn't there at 6 - which I don't expect it to be - then the 19th gets moved for roster player that can help "win now".

My prediction:

6th - Schenn or Pietrangelo

19th - traded

Its certainly a dynamic environment so all it takes is one phone call with a substantial offer and the Jackets would never look the same again.

Word of advice from a very plugged in friend of mine -- expect the worst and hope for the best.

Here's to hoping.

Discuss - what do you think will happen over the next day and a 1/2?

-LTL

Blue biscuits

Found some interesting stuff on hockeybuzz.com. Turning our attention away from Malone-gate for a while (thank gawd!) Kevin Lee, a sportswriter out of Ottawa, had this to say about a couple of potential juicy trade targets out of Ottawa:

The last two restricted free-agents for the Senators, being Antoine Vermette and Andrej Meszaros, are tough to get a handle on. Both could find themselves playing elsewhere this coming season if they price themselves out of the pay structure here in Ottawa. Meszaros has already turned down one contract offer by Murray and is seeking a minimum of 3 million per year. People close to the Meszaros situation have stated that he wants to remain in Ottawa but his agent strongly believes he should get what other players in the league have received with similar stats. There is no way Murray is going to give Meszaros the same kind of money that Anton Volchenkov and Chris Phillips are receiving. That is why it's becoming more and more clear that Meszaros could find himself playing in another city next season. If that is the case, then Murray needs to get a player in return that can step in immediately to fill one of the holes that will be left by the many UFA's on this team. As for Vermette, he is one player that the Sens need to hold onto with the likely departures of Stillman and Kelly. Murray needs a proven forward that knows the system, can contribute offensively and have the strong ability to play on the PK. Vermette's name has been mentioned in recent trade discussions, only because Murray needs to explore what possibilities are out there in case talks on a new contract go south and he is unable to re-sign him before July 1st. At that time if Vermette is still unsigned, there are few teams that would tender him an offer. If that was to occur, Murray would most likely not be able to match Vermette's offer due to the cap situation.

Putting my armchair GM hat back on (is it ever off?) those are two names that should greatly interest the Jackets.

Everyone who has read this blog regularly knows I'm a big Vermette fan and I think he could help us tremendously. He's 25, a center who can play wing, had 53 points last year -- is fast, kills penalties, can play make.. had done all of that behind Jason Spezza and Mike Fisher. Now were talkin.

Meszaros is a 22 year old d-men who has put up 36, 35 and 39 points the past 3 season. That 36 last year was just one behind our leader in Hainsey who is 27. This guy gets it done at 22 what Hainsey just did last season. Talk about upside.

Both of these players would need signed but we would own there rights and we have the money to lock them down for a long time. If we move the 6th then how about:

6th + Fritsche or Tollefsen for Vermette and Meszaros

Don't forget the draft is in Ottawa and you know they its has been reported that they want to move up into the top 10.

Keep you eye on Ottawa.

Also in that same article is says that the Senators have held discussions with Zenon Konopka:

Lastly, the Senators have held discussions with former Ottawa 67's captain Zenon Konopka. He is a UFA and at the age of 27 he would be a very capable fourth liner on this Sens team. Konopka brings an edge and scoring touch while not being afraid to drop the gloves with anyone regardless of his own size.

..and in even more Jacket related news the Sens signed Greg Mauldin to a two way deal.

Now onto the draft.

This is a great read about what the Islanders could do at pick #5. This artcile explores everything including trading up, trading down, standing pat and "the crazy factor". It also talks about LA and Filatov.

This acticle from TSN specluates on who the Leafs and Canucks may take while this one speculates on if the Habs or Sens may make a draft day deal.

Don't forget to check out Gare Joyce's mock draft over on ESPN.com. Here is who he has the Jackets taking at 6 and 19:

6th overall:
Luke Schenn, D, Kelowna (WHL)
Safest bet on draft day is that Columbus will take the best available defenseman with its first pick. The team likely will look hard at doing the same with its second first-rounder (from Colorado in the Adam Foote trade). Tyler Myers would be an interesting (i.e., daring) pick here, but Schenn should be ready for the NHL sooner. The Blue Jackets brought in Schenn for independent testing after the combine.

19th overall:
Colby Robak, D, Brandon (WHL)
Blue Jackets would love to see Colten Teubert or Robak on the board here. If both are gone, the best available defenseman is still the first option with this pick acquired from the Avalanche for Foote. Would the Blue Jackets move this pick for immediate help on the blue line? It's up to other teams to make a case.

Here are Red Line's selections in their mock draft over on USAToday.com:

6th overall:
Luke Schenn. They traded away Adam Foote, the premier shutdown defenseman of his generation at the deadline. Now they pick up the next great shutdown defender to replace him.

19th overall:
Brandon Burlon. Call this one a hunch. They're really looking for a forward in this spot after nabbing Schenn earlier, but they can't pass on this talented two-way defender, and they'll be happy they didnt.

Finally here is SI's mock draft:

6th overall:
Alex Pietrangelo, defense, Niagara IceDogs (OHL)

Central Scouting says: "He might have the best top-end [potential]...in the entire 2008 draft. He has Pronger-like size and vision. A lot of scouts say that he might be playing better now than Pronger played in his last year of junior."

Our take: With so many premium forward prospects already in the fold, the Jackets will be thrilled to add Pietrangelo at this spot. His offensive game already suggests a Brian Leetch-like ability to read the play and make things happen with his feet, his shot or his passing skills. Despite all that, there are concerns about his capacity to apply the same passion and intensity to his defensive zone work, and that's why he's likely to fall out of the top five.

19th overall: Michael Del Zotto, defense, Oshawa Generals (OHL)

Central Scouting says: "He is the new breed offensive defenseman who jumps up into the rush effectively. He either follows up a rush to add a second dimension or is capable of leading the rush himself."

Our take: There's great value in this pick. Del Zotto's stock has dropped slightly over the course of the year, but more as a result of other defenders making greater gains than his game actually suffering. He's always had great offensive tools and a sturdy frame. The only question is, can he become more reliable defensively, or will he become a David Tanabe?

Kelly Hrudey had this to say about the Kings:

The bottom line is this: I have a very strong feeling -- based on a combination of talking to people and my own instinct -- that SOMETHING will happen between now and about 4:15 p.m. Pacific time Friday, and given the names and situations involved here, it's likely to be a fairly large ``something.'' Of course, that sounds completely vague and unhelpful. I understand that, but there's absolutely no way to predict what will happen.

Finally I will leave you with this thought.

Derick Brassard, Jakub Voracek and Derek Dorsett are all scheduled to be at the NHL Draft party at Easton on Friday night. Is it safe to assume neither of these players will be dealt?

...and if they are wouldn't that be something for them to find out then?

-LTL

Ma-lame

Portzline has more up in the Puck-rakers blog about our favorite soon-to-be Unrestricted Free Agent:

People who think Ryan Malone's decision to go to free agency is a kick in the gut to the Blue Jackets are dead wrong. The two clubs talked trade preliminarily, but there was never an official offer on the table. It never got to that point. If anything, Malone pulled the carpet out from underneath the Penguins on this deal, not the Blue Jackets. Don't believe insiderrumormonger-pittsburgh.com either, or whatever it is. That's total b.s. I believe Malone will wholeheartedly consider the Blue Jackets on July 1. Are they a favorite? Will he sign here? I can't possibly say at this juncture. But I believe he'll consider Columbus on July 1. Anybody who says he won't is talking WAY out of turn.

I believe Portzline in that Malone will certainly consider Columbus on July 1st as well. Why would you ever not listen to an offer especially when it comes to the reported dollars that Columbus is willing to shell out for his services?

That said there is no way we are the front runners and you can't blame CBJ fans for casting doubts after all this Malone buildup. Strikes many as another Brad Richards situation.

The bottom line is that we need to look in the mirror and be honest with ourselves. As much as it pains me to type this Columbus is not the most attractive place to play right now for pending free agents -- why would they forgo their shot at the open market to make a beeline to cow town before seeing what else is out there?

I mean really, would you if you were in Malone's shoes?

Howson's job, starting Friday, is to start making cow town's bells ring. He needs to make a splash and land a signed (or at least an RFA) player that will put all on eyes Columbus and send a message to the entire NHL that this team is ready to compete -- now!

The question is will he be able to? Are there enough dance partners out there to make any deals? Is Howson willing to make his mark and have the fortitude to orhcestrate and pull the trigger on a major deal? With the entire NHL knowing that Columbus is desperate to make deal will Howson be able to do anything more than a quick fix because no doubt any other NHL GM worth his weight will use that to his advantage?

Yeah..no pressure there Mr. Howson.

There is always a lot of trade chatter at this time but really, not a ton of actual deals go down.

At this point I'm not really worried about Malone aor what he may or may not think of Columbus. We'll deal with him July 1st just like we always should have planned on doing all along.

Right now Howson needs to focus on what is available for trade at this draft. We've got some valuable assets to play with -- anytime you talk about 1st round picks they have value no matter what draft year it is. There is no reason why he should make two trips up to that podium.

Trade down....trade outright....trade as packages.....maybe even trade up. Howson's phone lines should be so hot that the OFD (Ottawa Fire Department) gets called to his hotel room. There are deals to be made -- he may have to get creative -- but they are out there.

I would love to say that Howson should be patient if nothing's there just to sit on his picks but this market cannot afford that. That ship sailed with our good ole buddy MacLean. He can't afford to not come out of this draft without a least one roster player. He needs to make a move to get some attention on Columbus that will hopefully snow ball into a big day for the franchise on July 1st.

For instance, what would look more attractive to Ryan Malone:

Today?
Nash XXX Modin
XXX XXX Zherdev

or July 1st?
Nash Vermette XXX
Zherdev Umberger Modin

We know he was willing to overpay Malone in both assets (if there is truth to him being willing to part with the 19th) and dollars so don't be suprised if he's willing to overpay for a center.

Quite frankly if he does I'm not sure we have much room to complain (although not to worry as I'm sure I/we will!) as he has to start landing players starting this Friday.

-LTL

Travel day

Pretty quite out there eh?

Certainly not a whole lot going as NHL GMs, execs, coaches, scouts, players and prospects all make there way Ottawa for the 2008 NHL Draft over the next day or two.

Once they all hit Ottawa then the rumor mill should start churning at full speed again.

In the meantime the Dispatch boys did give us a bite or two to nibble on.

According to them the Jackets are still in the running for Ryan Malone:

A trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the negotiating rights to winger Ryan Malone could be struck today or, more likely, Wednesday, NHL sources told The Dispatch.

The Blue Jackets, who have vowed to make substantial moves this off season to fill their litany of holes, would likely pay Malone between $4.5 million and $5.5 million per season over the course of a four- or five-year contract, sources say.

You know quite frankly I still don't get this one. Paying, or overpaying, 4.5 to 5.5 million for Malone is one thing but to give up assets in over to overpay a guy who has never scored more than 51 points in a single season just doesn't make sense to me.

If we are willing to spend that kind of jack on a guy then lets take our chances in free agency and use all of our available assets to pursue that play making center and/or puck moving d-man.

I know Malone brings some intangibles to his point totals but who is going to get this guy the puck? ...and how are we going to get that "who"? Not much on the free agent market so its going to have to happen via trade.

Again with all the wings available out there in free agency, some better fits than others, I think we have to take the chance of competing with him on the open market.

Howson needs to make a big splash at the draft and hopefully Columbus will look even more attractive to Malone come July 1st. Trading for rights to a guy isn't the kind of splash I have in mind.

The same article talks about interest in the Jackets draft picks:

"There's lots of interest," Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson said. "I'm taking as many calls as I'm making right now."

San Jose, Ottawa, Florida and Montreal are interested in one of the Blue Jackets' first two picks, NHL sources say, but such a trade wouldn't likely go down until after the first five picks play out Friday.

"Having gone through this before, you almost expect to get a phone call from a team you haven't even spoken to yet," Howson said recently. "I know that we'll get action on the No. 6 pick, probably right up until it's time for us to make the pick."

It also goes on to say that the best scenario for the Jackets would be to have one of the top 4 d-men available at the 6th slot. I'm not sure I agree with that as I think there would be a lot of teams falling over themselves wanting to trade up to grab the Russian who some say is the second best player in this entire draft.

The Jackets are in a real good spot at 6. There are 6 top guys so at the very least 1 will be there at 6 which will make there job easy in terms of who they select. Even better is if a team before them goes off the board -- unlikely, but so was Thomas Hickey at #4 last year -- there could be a couple to chose from.

For Jacket fans wanting Howson to move that pick I think that greatly increases if the top 4 d-men are gone and Filatov is there at 6. Its impossible to know exactly what they are thinking but my gut thinks they want one of the top 4 d-men and if he's off the board they either 1. trade down or 2. trade it all together.

Not that I'm against taking Filatov - I kind of like this kid to be honest.

According to this article it appears that Flyers do not plan on dealing former OSU product RJ Umberger:

In other words, the Flyers will look in other areas to strengthen their blue line, and Holmgren said Carter and Umberger will not be used as trade bait.

I don't see how the Flyers can keep all of these guys. The article even talks about them targeting Brian Campbell -- ain't gonna happen -- not when they've already got 48 million committed to what is expected to be a 55 million dollar cap and with so many RFAs to re-sign.

In the Flyers case, the salary cap does its job of preventing teams from overspending and outbiding everyone for prime time talent in the NHL. Without it you can bet they would be making a huge push at Brian Campbell for 8 mil a year.

Frankly I think they are going to have to move one of RJ Umberger or Jeff Carter to fit all they want to accomplish under the cap this off season.

Teams that I would keep an eye on for CBJ trade activity:

Ottawa, Toronto, San Jose, Florida and Philly.

All five of those squads have different motivation to deal players for picks and have assets we could greatly use.

3 days to go!!

-LTL

TSN releases draft rankings

I look forward to this list every year. Bob McKenzie is really piped into the NHL and what NHL scouts are thinking. Anyhow here is his top 10 and who he compares each player to:

1. Stamkos / Yzerman
2. Doughty / Bourque
3. Bogosian / Rob Blake
4. Pietrangelo / Zubov
5. Filatov / Alfredson
6. Schenn / Foote
7. Boedker / Michalek
8. Wilson / Francis
9. Hodgson / Drury
10. Beach / Claude Lemieux

Really no big surprises although Beach is a little higher than I would have anticipated and Tedenby is further down his list than most project.

For a great read be sure to check out his entire top 60 here and his analysis here.

-LTL

Howson on 1460 mid-day show

I just finished listening to the replay of Scott Howson on the 1460 the Fan mid-day show. Here are the highlights:

* Thinks we'll be making the 6th overall selection
* When asked if any other "big names" like Marleau have come up in trade discussions Howson said no. He then said he expects offers and his phone to ring all the way up until they make their 6th overall selection.
* Said they would not be adverse to picking Filatov is available. Said they've had good discussions with him and he said if Columbus picked him he would fly here and spend the summer in Columbus preparing for next season.
* Would not comment on Ryan Malone as he said he was under contract until June 30th.
* Said Leclaire talks are progressing. Expects to talk with his agent Don Meehan at the draft. Ideally would like to have him signed before UFA season but won't use that as a deadline.
* Would like to fill some holes at draft via trades. Said this is a good time of year for trade discussions.
*Feels more comfortable this year now that he's gotten to know the organization and scouting staff....at the same time he said that they knew there wouldn't be much activity last year so the big change this year is all potential trade activity.
* Asked if "the list" was finalized for the draft...he said its a living breathing thing and there will be changes. Expects to meet with some more prospects in Ottawa.
* Asked if making a trade is important for perception that franchise is making moves to potential unrestricted free agents. Said yes he thinks that's important.
* Said there are 4 top defensemen which I think we can all assume are the same four everyone else says there is - Bogosian, Dougthy, Pietrangelo & Schenn. Said they have a good idea which 3 will be off the board for sure by the time they pick.

Not a ton new there. I'd say there is about a 80% chance Columbus keeps the pick but I think there's about a 95% chance that 19th is a definite goner -- he will use that to get an established player. I did get the feeling though that if though big 4 d-men are off the board and Filatov is sitting there at 6 they will aggressively entertain trade offers -- just my gut on that one.

You can listen to the Howson interview here. Howson is on at 1:25.

Also something else I found interesting is that according to TSN the transfer agreement between the IIHF and the NHL will expire for all countries. We knew there was an impact on Russians as they were the only nation who did not opt into agreement but now that all nations will not take part how does that impact prospects from counties like Sweden, Czech Republic and Slovokia for example? Do they fall as well? Or perhaps this actually improves the outlook for a guy like Filatov?

-LTL

Analyze this!

I did this back in April but I am going to revisit the past twenty 6th overall picks and take a look at what the Jackets' chances are they they'll hit a home run with a sure fire NHLer:

1987: F Dave Archibald (323GP 57G 67A 124P)
1988: F Scott Pearson (292GP 56G 42A 98P)
1989: D Adam Bennett (69GP 3G 8A 11P)
1990: D Scott Scissons (2GP 0G 0A 0P)
1991: F Peter Forsberg (706GP 249G 636A 885P)
1992: F Cory Stillman (839GP 234G 368A 602P)
1993: F Victor Kozlov (749GP 169G 273A 442P)
1994: F Ryan Smyth (788GP 270G 294A 564P)
1995: F Steve Kelly (147GP 9G 12A 21P)
1996: F Boyd Devereaux (604GP 61G 107A 168P)
1997: F Daniel Tkaczuk (19GP 4G 7A 11P)
1998: F Rico Fata (230GP 27G 36A 63P)
1999: G Brian Finley (4GP 0G 0A 0P)
2000: F Scott Hartnell (436GP 93G 118P 211P)
2001: F Miko Koivu (146GP 26G 49A 75P)
2002: F Scottie Upshall (95GP 17G 25A 42P)
2003: F Milan Michalek (161GP 44G 58A 102P)
2004: G Al Montoya (0GP 0G 0A 0P)
2005: F Gilbert Brule (85GP 11G 12A 23P)
2006: F Derick Brassard (17GP 1G 1A 2P)
2007: F Sam Gagner (79GP 13G 36A 49P)

Break down on all 20 by positions:

*2 goalies
*2 defensemen
*16 forwards

Without including the past 5 draft picks here are some general take-aways:

*On average you can expect 316 games out of the player we pick 6th. That equates to just roughly under 4 seasons of play -- of course you have to take into count partial seasons for development, injuries etc.

*On average the 6th overall will produce 85 goals throughout his career. Of course that number will be higher for forwards and less for defensemen.

*On average the 6th overall will produce 102 assists.

*Then you add both of those together you and get on average the 6th overall will give you 187 points in a career.

This will the 3rd time the Jackets will pick 6th overall.

Now breaking down this list a little further and taking some liberties on the past 5 picks so that I can include all 20 of them this is what I see:

*1 superstar in Forsberg

*5 all stars in Smyth, Kozlov, Michalek, Gagner & Stillman

*3 really good NHLers in Hartnell, Koivu and Brassard

*4 productive NHLers in Upshall, Archibald, Pearson, Brule & Fata

*5 flat out busts in Bennett, Scissons, Kelly, Tkaczuk, Montoya & Finley

Now Brule could easily become a bust. Montoya could be productive eventually as we all know it takes goalies a long time to develop. I could also see Brassard as an all star.

Now this isn't a perfect science but all n'all I'd say there is about a 50% chance you'll at least get a really good NHLer. A 25% chance you'll get an all star and a 5% chance you'll get a superstar.

Really not that bad of odds but probably not as great as you'd think they'd be either.

4 days to go!

-LTL

25% chance of striking NHL gold at 19

A look at who has gone 19th overall in the past 20 NHL entry drafts:

2007 - Logan MacMillan
2006 - Mark Mitera
2005 - Jakub Kindl
2004 - Lauri Korpikoski
2003 - Ryan Getzlaf
2002 - Jakub Koreis
2001 - Shaone Morrison
2000 - Krys Kolanos
1999 - Kirill Safronov
1998 - Robyn Regehr
1997 - Stefen Cherenski
1996 - Mathieu Descoteaux
1995 - Dmitri Nabokov
1994 - Chris Dingman
1993 - Landon Wilson
1992 - Martin Straka
1991 - Niklas Sunblad
1990 - Keith Tkachuk
1989 - Olaf Kolzig
1988 - Francois Leroux
1987 - Byran Deasley

So there you have it. Over the past 20 drafts there have been 5 sure fire NHLers. Now granted its to early to call 2004 and up but 20 years is a pretty good sample to draw conclusions from.

25% chance of striking gold. Worth hanging onto the pick? Some say 2008 is the best draft since 2003.

My opinion. Heck no. Deal that sucker for someone who can contribute now.

-LTL

ISS Final 30

1 Stamkos, Steven C 2/7/1990 R 5.11.7 176 Sarnia OHL
2 Bogosian, Zach RD 7/15/1990 R 6.02 197 Peterborough OHL
3 Filatov, Nikita LW 5/25/1990 R 6.00 172 Moscow CSKA-2 RusDi
4 Doughty, Drew RD 12/8/1989 R 6.00.5 219 Guelph OHL
5 Pietrangelo, Alex RD 1/18/1990 R 6.03.2 206 Niagara OHL
6 Schenn, Luke RD 11/2/1989 R 6.02.2 216 Kelowna WHL
7 Boedker, Mikkel LW 12/16/1989 L 5.11.2 195 Kitchener OHL
8 Wilson, Colin (Fr.) C 10/20/1989 L 6.01 215 Boston Univ H.E.
9 Hodgson, Cody C 2/18/1990 R 5.11.5 185 Brampton OHL
10 Bailey, Joshua C 10/2/1989 L 6.00.5 188 Windsor OHL
11 Sbisa, Luca LD 1/30/1990 L 6.01.7 190 Lethbridge WHL
12 Boychuk, Zac C 10/4/1989 L 5.09.5 175 Lethbridge WHL
13 Beach, Kyle C 1/13/1990 R 6.03 203 Everett WHL
14 Tedenby, Mattias LW 2/21/1990 L 5.10 176 HV71 SweJE
15 Myers, Tyler RD 2/1/1990 R 6.07.2 204 Kelowna WHL
16 Colborne, Joe LW 1/30/1990 L 6.05 190 Camrose AJHL
17 Petrov, Kirill LW 4/13/1990 L 6.03 198 Kazan RusDi
18 Teubert, Colten RD 3/8/1990 R 6.03.5 185 Regina WHL
19 Robak, Colby LD 4/24/1990 L 6.03 194 Brandon WHL
20 Dalpe, Zac C 11/1/1989 R 6.00.5 170 Penticton BCHL
21 Carlson, John RD 1/10/1990 R 6.02.2 212 Indiana USHL
22 Karlsson, Erik RD 5/31/1990 R 5.11 165 V. Frolunda SweJE
23 Del Zotto, Michael LD 6/24/1990 L 5.11.7 211 Oshawa OHL
24 Grachev, Evgeny C 2/21/1990 R 6.03 202 Yaroslavl RusDi
25 Deschamps, Nicolas C 1/6/1990 L 6.00.2 173 Chicoutimi QMJHL
26 Trivino, Corey C 1/12/1990 L 6.01 170 Stouffville OPJHL
27 Toews, David LW 6/7/1990 R 5.10 175 Shattuck-St. MN-HS
28 Nemisz, Greg C 6/5/1990 R 6.03 197 Windsor OHL
29 Ness, Aaron LD 5/18/1990 L 5.09.5 157 Roseau MN-HS
30 Eberle, Jordan C 5/15/1990 R 5.10 174 Regina WHL

List here.

Filatov slides one spot while Bogosian jump a spot. That top 6 though is how I expect it to go down -- maybe not in that exact order but I think all will be gone and we'll take what's left of that group when its our turn up to the podium.

Interesting that Myers is all the way down to at 15. I like Wilson at 8. Ohio State recruit Zac Dalpe sitting pretty at #20.

-LTL

Blues deciding between Schenn & Pietrangelo

Saw this over on hockeybuzz.com -- not breaking news or anything but assuming the Doughty and Bogosian are off the board, Blues beat writer Andy Strickland says they will decide between Schenn or Pietrangelo:

Assuming Drew Doughty and Zach Bogosian are taken before the Blues are on the clock St. Louis will be selecting one of two D-men, either Kelowna’s Luke Schenn or Niagra’s Alex Pietrangelo.

The Blues love both players and without question value hockey sense over talent. With that being said it certainly helps if the player has a little bit of both. These two D-men bring enough of both to the table.

I’m a little confused why Schenn is being labeled by some as a stay at home defenseman. He may not put up eye popping offensive numbers, but he can definitely handle himself just fine in the offensive zone. He is more a shutdown defenseman, but sees the ice very well and has the ability to see the second and third option.

International Scouting Service has St. Louis taking Schenn with the fourth overall pick next week.

I know St. Louis is high on Schenn but they are also more than impressed with Pietrangelo’s offensive upside. It is a close call at this point and I wouldn’t be surprised if they took either guy.
I had a scout recently tell me Pietrangelo has incredible hockey sense, vision, and passing ability.
I don’t want to drive Blues fans nuts here because I know I recently said and wrote that I thought the Blues would be drafting Schenn. I also know for a fact that they love Pietrangelo and many in the organization feel his game may be best suited for today’s NHL game.

Of course that is assuming Bogosian and Doughty are off the board. I won't be surprised if Nikita Filatov is picked between #2 and #3 and then things will get real interesting.

If Stamkos, Doughty and Bogosian all fall off the board by pick #4 I suspsect that the Jackets will take whomever the Blues don't as I think its all but a lock that the Islanders will gobble up what many say is the 2nd best propsect in the draft in Filatov at #5.

My mock top 6 is still unchanged:

1. Tampa - Stamkos

2. LA - Bogosian

3. Atlanta - Doughty

4. St. Louis - Schenn

5. NYI - Filatov

6. Columbus - Pietrangelo

Honestly if we hold onto the pick I'll be happy with any of those guys.

-LTL

Blue biscuits

Was checking out Blue Jackets TV and for those interested, they have a 8 minute interview with Scott Howson up from June 7th. There were some interesting nuggets shared -- mostly stuff we have already heard:

* Said they are in no rush to get Pascal Leclaire signed by July 1st. Said they won't use that as a deadline that would force them into a bad deal. He doesn't forsee though any scenario where Leclaire isn't a Blue Jacket next season.

* Said that they will not move the 6th for short term fix. Specifically mentioned they would not consider moving it for a 2 year player. Looks like I need to change my 10 to 12 list

* Said they are open to any and all options to improve the team. Trades, free agency. Said they may move up in the draft in draft if its a player they really want or they could drop down while picking up a player that could help them now. They plan to be very active at the draft.

* When asked about Nash and his performance in the WCs Howson said it just shows what Nash can do when he gets some quality players around him. Said unfortunately we couldn't get a player like Getzlaf because there just aren't that many of those types of players but will get him some talent. May be an emerging type player that will only get better.

* Talked about Detroit's puck movement on the backline and how that was big key for them in terms of their success. Said we need a substantial upgrade there and are looking for 2 d-men and 2 to 3 forwards.

* Said they had 7 players in for interviews last week leading up to the draft next Friday. Did not name names but we know one was Luke Schenn and if you look at draft lists I'm sure it won't be hard to piece together the other names.

Like I said, not a lot new there. There is some new detail on the Leclaire negotiations and I love hearing the focus Howson has for the blueline. He is as aware as anybody the need for some puck-movers back there.

The pipelineshow.com has some really great interviews with a scout from ISS. You can check those out here.

Looks like Champps at Easton is holding a draft party this year - from Puck-rakers:

The Blue Jackets will host a draft party next Friday (6/20) at the Champps at Easton. I'm told Derick Brassard and Jakub Voracek -- two Calder Trophy candidates next season -- will be there signing autographs.

The Jackets website also has an official announcement. Its looks like 1460 the Fan will also be broadcasting love from the restaurant.

Still trying to track down the R Bar plans for the draft. As soon as I get some details I'll post them.

Another name to keep an eye on (whom I did have in my 10 to 12 list) is PM Bouchard of the Minnesota Wild. The Star Tribune had this to say about the 24 year old right wing:

As for core players, the Wild might be dangling Pierre-Marc Bouchard, a restricted free agent. The Wild has to decide this summer whether the team is willing to commit a lucrative long-term contract to Bouchard. As of now, it has not had any discussions with Bouchard's agent.

Bouchard can become an unrestricted free agent next summer, so if the Wild isn't going to sign him beyond one year, trading him makes sense

Not sure the Jackets would be interested in moving the 6th for Bouchard, as I previously thought, mainly because I did not realize he could be an unrestricted free agent next season. That's too much to give for player you could lose in year.

Still though I see the Jackets being interseted. Bouchard is young, had 63, 57 & 59 points the past 3 seasons and can flat out pass the biscuit. This is Sportsnet take on him:

Assets
Owns tremendous vision and creativity. Is patient with the puck and very elusive. Has the potential to rack up impressive point totals.

Flaws
Needs to work on his play without the biscuit. Is smallish in stature and can get knocked off the puck too easily. Must work on his face-off skills.

Career potential
Top six forward.

He certainly has the type of skill our lineup could desperately need.

Two biggest questions I have. 1. Would the Wild even consider moving him to a Western Conference teama and 2. What would it take to land him?

They may be interested in that 19th although I think we would need to add a bit more.

More options.

7 days until the draft!!

-LTL

6th unlikely to be dealt and more

Just got done listening to the Hitch's radio show on 1460thefan.com. Scott Howson was on for the final segment and had some interesting things to say about trading that #6 pick.

Basically he reiterated that it would take a substantial player to move that 6th pick. Said there are maybe 12 players he'd move it for and maybe 3 of them are available. Said the organization has to be real careful because if they move that pick and they did their jobs correctly - they would be playing against that player for 10 to 12 years in this league. Said the player they would get in return would have to contribute immediately and figure into the organizations plans for 5 to 6 years.

Translation -- don't count on that pick going anywhere folks.

Unfortunately he didn't get into much trade talk past that. Said that they have a mandate to get better now and that he will do what makes sense for franchise. If nothing happens they will make their selections and then re-focus for free agency the following week.

He is really keeping his cards close to his chest. I think he is well aware that he can't afford to come out of that draft without a trade -- not to appease us fans dying for some action, but more importantly to fill large holes on his roster and generate some buzz for his team which will make it a lot more attractive to potential free agents come July 1st.

I don't see any scenario where that 19th pick isn't moved for immediate help. He absolutley must come out of this draft at a minimum with a player that can help now for that pick -- or for a package that involves that pick.

Also did you catch both in Puck-rakers and on Hitch's show the names of the prospects that are in town following the "Jared Boll Road to the NHL Workout Program".

Brassard, Voracek, Sestito, Holden, Plekhanov, Pineault and Rome are all spending the summer in Columbus getting a jump start on camp and working out. They are all doing this on their own accords hoping to repeat what Jared Boll did last year -- which was come out of nowhere and make the team straight out of camp.

Some have better chances than others of course.

Looking at the offensive players coming there are highly skilled guys like Voracek and Brassard who want to build strength to help them get them through a NHL season. I am pleasantly surprised Voracek is spending his offseason in Columbus as I thought he go back over to Europe.

A guy like Sestito will want to build strength and endurance as he'll try to carve out a niche next to Boll as a bottom line player in a energy/physical/enforcer roll.

Pineault, who has a couple of AHL years under his belt, is right there on that NHL/AHL line and by him coming to Columbus this summer - he is showing he'll do whatever he has to do to make that push to a full time NHL job.

Defensively Rome stands the best chance of that group to stick out of camp. He proved very capable in his 17 game late season audition that saw him score 1g, 1a go a -4 and collect 33 PIMs. He's in real good situation to make the cut as a 5/6 d-man depending on how the offseason unfolds and is obviously using this summer to make that push.

Plekanov opened some eyes with his play in Syracuse last season and quite frankly I'm pleasantly surprised to see his name on this list -- its a sign he really wants to make a push for the big team and he's shown he's got the raw skill to make that push.

Holden was the UFA WHL defensemen the Jackets signed this summer out of Chilliwack. He figures to start his pro career in Syracuse but this is his first chance to impress the CBJ brass and see what it takes to be a pro off the ice and he isn't going to miss this opportunity.

All in all I love to see these guys in town getting after it. Off the ice workouts can be just as important as on the ice but twice as hard to get motivated for because quite frankly -- its not the way most of want to spend their summers. Still these guys are chasing their dreams and if there is an edge to be gained its good to see some of our top prospects taking advantage of it.

Propsect camp starts July 7th -- we know this group at the very least will be there.

Update: According to the Dispatch this morning on a article about the prospects in town training (great read btw!) Derek Dorsett is also part of this group. Which to me is a great thing because he's my dark hourse to make this team out of camp. This guy is an agitator who can really bring it physically and with the fistacuffs -- he could be our answer to guys like Tootoo. I get excited when thinking about Boll, Dorsett and Sestito in our lineup against a team like Nashville.

-LTL

The countdown is on!

10 days Jacket fans.

10 days until what we all hope will be a new era in Blue Jackets hockey.

10 days until the 1st round of the NHL draft where its expected that Jackets GM Scott Howson will be wheeling and dealing in hopes of getting a jump start on an offseason that is the most critical one in the Blue Jackets 8 year on-ice history.

10 days until we all hope is the start towards a playoff birth in the 2008-2009 season.

Okay a little overly dramatic there but you get the point I'm making here.

Jacket fans are jacked. There is a lot of anticipation over exactly what will Howson be able to pull off over the next 10 days.

Will he move the 6th for an impact center? What about the 19th - will that be moved for a quality guy. Zherdev, Brule, Fritsche, Tollefsen, Klesla -- all have been rumored as trade bait. Will they still be Blue Jackets after June 20th?

What happens if all Howson comes away with at the draft are two first round picks? How will the fan base react to that possibility.

All kind of scenarios to play out.

Its been quite out there. Damn quiet. There's been the Marleau for Z + 6th rumor out there. We've heard names like Jokinen, Kubina, Kaberle and Vermette among others on the block.

There are still all kinds of unsigned juicy RFAs out there. Some have speculated that perhaps this is a sign that GMs are waiting to commit the big dollars until they see what kind of trade packages could be offered....or maybe in some cases wait to see what kind of offer sheets they received.

Brian Burke has come out and said that they will not be signing Corey Perry until after July 1st for instance.

Is this the calm before the storm?

I hope so, especially from a Columbus standpoint.

I wouldn't count on any deals going down before June 20th though. There is a lot of tire kicking going on, trade talks are certainly heating up and perhaps even some frameworks to some deals in place out there but I don't see anyone faxing in signed papers consummating a trade until the pressure is at its highest which won't be until June 20th.

At that time teams, especially those with their sites set on either 1. landing impact NHLers 2. improving their draft positions, will have to make their final plays. In the case of teams like San Jose or even Pittsburgh, who are without 1st round picks and have attractive roster players, its now or never if they want to move into cream of the draft which is always that first round.

So be patient Jacket fans as we've still got 10 days until I expect anything to go down...and make sure come next Friday the refresh button on your computers is fully functional!

Update: The countdown is indeed on! I just read over on the Dispatch blog that it seems Pittsburgh and the Jackets are in trade talks regarding some player rights. I'll have a post on this later tonight.

-LTL

Could Filatov go #2 to LA?

According to this guy they are looking at him pretty hard:

Before we all get Filatov jerseys, Los Angeles, despite defensive needs, is looking hard at Nikita at the #2 spot. Moreover, the Ranger loom as some have been saying they might be interested in moving up to add him to their own Russian line of Cherepanov and Anisimov. With Prucha and some young kids still of value in their system, the NYR could churn Isles stomachs to a nauseous goo and sweep in. Also add to this mix, Toronto, who has been taking a long look and might also try to come in near the top of the draft from their 7th spot. Columbus is also purported to be interested, hoping to add someone to the Nash line.

Filatov is and continues to be the biggest question mark in this draft. It certainly looks like this kid will be off the board by 6, if not by LA then most certainly by the Islanders, but that's not all that bad because that just means one of the big 4 d-men will slide to us.

Alex Pietrangelo seems to be the guy whose stock is dropping at the last minute:

Luckily, this draft is heavy with something else MUCH NEEDED. Something the Isles lack. A TOP defensive prospect. This draft is ripe with them. Doughty. Bogosian. Schenn. Tyler Myers, who is a monster at 6"7'. Only questionmark is Alex Pietrangelo, who some scouts and fans wonder about his overall work ethic and are just not sold on as the very top dman. Of course, as an long-suffering Isles fan, I wonder like you, that somehow we'll then definitely hear "The NY Isles pick....Alex Pietrangelo". Anything is possible.

I tell ya what, if Pietrangelo slips to us at 6 and we retain that pick I think we take him and run like we stole somethin.

Here is CSS's breakdown of this player:

NHL Director of Central Scouting, E.J. McGuire
Strengths: "Alex is very poised out there on the ice. A tall player, who is still growing in to his body, Alex brings a keen ability to know when to pass the puck out of the zone, when to carry the puck out of the zone and he’s unflustered in the face of a hard forecheck."

Areas to improve: "Alex probably needs to get a little more assertive. There are times that he plays with that calm, cool and collective attitude and scouts might often question his assertiveness. But believe me that is there and he certainly doesn’t play with any kind of fear for what is coming at him."

Outlook: "He might have the best top-end (potential), and he might have the most under the cover that an 18-year-old could blossom into maybe the best player in the entire 2008 draft. He has (Chris) Pronger-like size and visibility attributes. A lot of scouts say that he might be playing better now than Pronger played when he was in his last year of junior."

I think its safe to say we could use a player like this in our system.

Baring trades (of which we seem the most likely to trade our pick out of this group) my top 6 hasn't changed from the last time I posted:

1. Tampa - Stamkos

2. LA - Bogosian

3. Atlanta - Doughty

4. St. Louis - Schenn

5. NYI - Filatov

6. Columbus - Pietrangelo

If you haven't seen this yet, watch some videos on Pietrangelo here.

-LTL

A look at past NHL draft trades

I thought it might be interesting to take a look back on the past couple of drafts to see what kind of action took place on the trade front. It could give us a good idea of what kind of value particular types of players hold and when we can expect actual trades to go down.

2004 1st - 7th rds June 26th
Canadiens trade Radek Bonk to Los Angeles for a 3rd round pick.

Los Angeles traded Radek Bonk and Cristobal Huet to Montreal for Matthieu Garon and a 3rd round pick (Paul Baier).

Ottawa traded Patrick Lalime to St. Louis for a 3rd round pick in 2005.

Anaheim traded Niclas Havelid to Atlanta for Kurtis Foster.

Montreal traded Stephane Quintal to Los Angeles for future considerations.

To Stars: Jaroslav Svoboda
To Carolina: 4th round pick in 2005 (Jakub Vojta)

To Columbus: Arturs Irbe
To Carolina: futures

2005 LOCKOUT (draft hastily held in August - bad sample)

2006 1st - 7th rds June 24th
June 24, 2006:To Vancouver Canucks: Roberto Luongo, Lukas Krajicek and a 6th round pick (Sergei Shirokov) in 2006
To Florida Panthers : Todd Bertuzzi,Bryan Allen and Alex Auld

June 24, 2006: To Dallas Stars: Patrik Stefan and Jaroslav Modry
To Atlanta Thrashers : Niko Kapanen and a 7th round pick (Will O'Neill) in 2006

June 24, 2006: To Calgary Flames: Alex Tanguay
To Colorado Avalanche :Jordan Leopold, a 2nd round pick (Codey Burki) in 2006 and a conditional 2nd round pick (Trevor Cann) in 2007 or 2008

June 24, 2006: To Minnesota Wild :Pavol Demitra
To Los Angeles Kings: Patrick O'Sullivan and a 1st round pick (Trevor Lewis) in 2006

June 24, 2006: To Florida Panthers: Craig Anderson
To Chicago Blackhawks : a 6th round pick in 2008

June 24, 2006:To Boston Bruins : Tuukka Rask
To Toronto Maple Leafs : Andrew Raycroft

June 26, 2006:To Phoenix Coyotes :Nick Boynton and a 4rth round pick in 2007
To Boston Bruins: Paul Mara and a 3rd round pick (traded to Chicago) in 2007 or 2008

June 30, 2006: To Tampa Bay Lightning : Marc Denis
To Columbus Blue Jackets : Fredrik Modin and Fredrik Norrena

2007 1st rd June 22nd, 2nd-7th rds June 23rd
June 22, 2007 : To Toronto Maple Leafs: Vesa Toskala and Mark Bell
To San Jose Sharks : 13th overall pick in 2007 (traded to St. Louis for 1st round pick in 2007, Logan Couture) the 44th overall pick in 2007 (traded to St. Louis) and the 4th round pick in 2009

June 22, 2007 : To Calgary Flames: Adrian Aucoin, the 186th overall pick in 2007, CJ Severyn
To Chicago Blackhawks : Andrei Zyuzin and Steve Marr

June 22, 2007 : To Florida Panthers: Tomas Vokoun
To Nashville Predators: 1st round pick in 2008, the 58th overall pick in 2007 (Nick Spaling) and a 2nd round pick in 2007 or 2008 ;
pick will be used in 2008

June 30, 2007 : To Boston Bruins: Manny FernandezTo Minnesota Wild : Petr Kalus and a 4th round pick in 2009

All draft trades can be found here.

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As you can see the past couple of years there has certainly been some quality activity on draft day.

Last year we had Vokoun and Toskala both moved on draft day for picks (including 1st rounders).

What I think is even more interesting is that there were also a couple of salary dumps in Adrian Aucoin and Manny Fernandez. Both players moved for relatively low cost just so teams could get out from under their contracts.

Could the Jackets take advantage of a similar situation. Pavel Kubina of the Toronto Maple Leafs immediately comes to mind. Would it even take the 19th overall to get him? Its no secret Toronto would like to move some salary. Maybe the 37th overall gets it done?

Looking back at the 2006 draft we see quite a bit of activity on draft including the Robert Luongo blockbuster. That was later followed by the Alex Tanguay and Pavel Dmitra trades.

When I think of moves the Jackets may make at the draft I expect one blockbuster similar to the above (Marleau? Vermette? Umberger? Pitkanen?). I also look for a salary dump or RFA dump scenario (Kubina? Umberger?) where perhaps Howson can jump on a quality player for a relatively low cost (2nd round or lower or mid-level prospect).

One thing that is crystal clear looking back on trades, I wouldn't count on any actual trade activity until June 20th when the pressure to get something done is at its highest. Of course the rumor mill will be churning at high speed until then.

Something else to keep in mind is that if for some reason Howson fails to close any deals at the draft history has shown that in the time between the draft ends and free agency begins a few deals are still likely. The Lupul/Pitkanen & Fernandez to Boston deal from last year are good examples of such.

12 days til the draft!

-LTL