Wednesday round up

Former Blue Jackets Duvie Westcott and Mark Hartigan have signed with Dinamo of the KHL according to their web site.

At this stage of their careers both of these players are chasing the money. They've had their shots at the NHL with mixed success and if a full time job in NHL isn't an option its time to think about getting what they can out of the sport before their career's end. With the money the KHL is shelling out to try to get that league off the ground this move for these two players doesn't come as much of a surprise to me.

Besides, Hartigan did become the latest in the string of former Blue Jackets to get his name on the cup with the Wings last season - not to mention winning one with the Ducks the year before - so what's left to grab but the benjamins?

Jackets President Michael Priest was quoted in thesportsbusinessjournal.com

When the Columbus Blue Jackets parted ways with founding president and general manager Doug MacLean last year, late-owner John McConnell replaced him with Mike Priest, a career financial guy who oversaw many of the family’s investments. Priest served as a liaison between the family and franchise management, but he never envisioned himself as a sports executive.

With MacLean out, McConnell decided to split the job in the manner that most franchises do. He asked Priest to find a general manager. Then he pressed Priest to take over as president.

“Honestly, I was a little taken aback,” Priest said. “My job, I thought, would be to find the next person to take this job — not to be the person to do this job..”

Though he had not managed the franchise on a daily basis, Priest was familiar with it. He met with sales and finance executives for updates every two weeks for two years. The night before he took over, he jotted down notes on aspects of the operation he wanted to overhaul, or at least tweak.

After 15 months in the job, Priest has become comfortable in his new environment. But it’s clear that he still does not think of himself as a sports executive. He is an executive who happens to work in sports. Were that to change tomorrow, he says he’d be able to move along happily.

“There’s an independence in that,” Priest said. “If the McConnells decide that someone else is better served to do this … it will not make a great difference in my life as long as they feel that I’ve been of value and can help in another way.

Those quotes don't strike me as a guy who is very excited to be president of a pro sports franchise. Very "ho-hum". I want some brains in the position but a little passion for the job wouldn't hurt either.

Good read in the Dispatch on Commodore and his hopes to stay in Columbus for a while. I like this quote:

"I didn't pick a place where I would come, lay back, pick up a paycheck and go to Buckeye games," he said. "I came to a place where I thought we could win."

This guy just "gets it". He's been signed here less that 3 weeks and he already understands this market more than most players who have spent years here. He not blind and knows the Buckeye's are the top dog and he accepts it and plays off it. By doing so he creates interest in himself and the Blue Jackets.

I also love his honesty about his contract. Again he's very transparent and knows he got a sweet deal and doesn't' apologize for it:

"I'll be the first to admit I got a very good contract for myself," Commodore said. "I know (NBC and TSN analyst) Pierre McGuire ran his mouth up there, which is no shocker. I don't set the market. If you take what I've done in the last three years and take my comparables ... I don't think by any stretch of the imagination it was an unfair contract."

Its free agency and defensemen have and always will be paid a premium. Sure we overpaid but if you want to be a player in free agency and hope to attract players - especially to a franchise with limited success like the Jackets - its certainly to be expected.

I'm looking forward to more Commodore. Of course his on ice performance is key and I have no doubt Hitch will play this guy to his strengths. However with a team and market still looking to find its way having a personality like Commodore in the locker and out in the community promoting this sport is a big bonus.

Bluejackets.nhl.tv also has a 10 question interview with Commodore so be sure to check that out as well.

Update: According to Boston.com Glen Murray of the Boston Bruins has been placed on waivers which is the first step of the buyout process (apparently there is a 48 hour period to buy out players -- news to me!).

Hey - even I saw this one comin! I suspsect Murray will be in a "Bertuzzi-like" situation and get gobbled up by someone -- be it at a drastic discount from the 4 mil he was slated to make this season.

Update: Just a quick explanation on the Murray buyout. I did some checking into it as I thought the buyout period was over -- which it is. So how did Boston get to buyout Murray? Apparently if a player elects for arbitration like Dennis Wideman did for the B's - there is a 48 hour window to buy someone out even if that player signs before the arbitration hearing which Wideman also did.

That is all news to me but there you have it.

-LTL

Malone's rights to the Lightning and more

Well I guess we'll find out pretty quickly if Ryan Malone was being serious about testing the free agent market or just using it as an excuse to avoid Columbus - from the Tampa Bay Lightning's web site:

The Tampa Bay Lightning have acquired the rights to left wings Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts from Pittsburgh in exchange for a conditional draft pick in 2009, owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie announced.

“We said earlier this week we would be aggressive in our pursuit of free agents in order to win and compete,” Koules said. “This trade today doesn’t guarantee anything, but we believe it gives us a leg up in our attempt to sign these two impact players.”

The new owners certainly don't appear to be screwing around but with only 3 days until free agency begins I would be shocked if Malone signs.

According to TSN its a 4th round pick going the other way and if Malone were to sign that pick becomes a 3rd rounder.

Its going to be a real battle to land the top guys come July 1st and my confidence in the Jackets chances to land a big fish dwindles by the day especially with the cap raising by 6 million.

Not sure who else caught Michael Arace's article this morning about Jackets ownership - if you haven't you can read it here.

Decent read but I really have to question the timing of it. Aren't we trying to sell Columbus to potential free agents right about now? Couldn't ownership questions and speculation have wait until after July 1st -- I mean its waited this long?

The last thing Columbus needs at this point is to send out signals that there is ownership instability issues in their most important offseason ever.

I just thought the timing was really odd.

Finally ole Druval Westcott is being bought out. Westcott was a MacLean favorite and had a really good season back in 2005-2006 which earned him a 3 year contract. He's got two years left on his deal and has battled injuries since that season.

If you recall Westcott's concussion issues started when he came to the aid of Sergei Fedorov after a nasty hit by Jamal Mayers. Westcott went toe to toe standing up for a teammate against a much bigger man and seasoned fighter. Unfortunately Mayers got the best of Westcott in that fight and Duvie left with the first of many forthcoming concussions.

Clearly the Jackets are ready to move in a different direction and Westcott wasn't a part of their future plans. It appears to be a amicable split with no hard feeling on either end. Heck Duvie actually had this to say to Ryan Malone according to Puck-Rakers:

"He was asking me about it, yeah," Westcott said. "I told him it was a great city, a great bunch of guys int he room, great fans and an awesome building. It's a great place to play and raise a family, right? He and his wife just had a little one. And, you know, the way Ryan plays, he'd be a perfect fit in Hitch's system. Hitch likes big, physical wingers who get the puck deep and just wear people down. I think he'd be great there, if that's how it works out. I told him that, too."

That's pretty friggan cool of Duvie to say such things in his position. Speaks a lot towards this man's character.

So another one of Doug MacLean's guys is gone. Westcott joins the likes of Shelley, Foote, Fedorov and Vyborny as prominent Jackets who have moved in the year since Scott Howson has taken over.

More names figure to join that list as this offseason progresses.

Update: Todd Bertuzzi has cleared waivers according to TSN.

-LTL

Who wants Duvie Westcott at half price?

Probably nobody.

Puck-rakers has reported though that Duvie Westcott has been put on re-entry waivers. What that means is that any of the 29 teams in the league can grab this guy at half the price; the Jacket would be on the hook for the remainder.

Wescott is making 1.1 mil this year and 1.850 over the next two. That would mean the team that gets him would owe some this year 925k over each of the next two years and we'd be on the hook for the rest. .

Personally I don't think he gets claimed even on re-entry. I also don't think this means there's another deal on the horizon because of this move.

What this does mean is that Duvie's days of a Blue Jacket are officially over. If he doesn't get claimed he'll stay with Syracuse for the rest of the year and I expect a buy out this offseason which is 75% of his remaining contract.

The fact that this move proves the organization is willing to eat 50% of this contract just reinforces that position. They are just trying to move as much of his salary off the books as they can.

-LTL

Westcott done as a Blue Jacket?

It appears so as Puck-rakers is reporting that he has been put on waivers.

All teams will have a chance to claim him but that is unlikely considering his contract. If he passes through he can be assigned to Syracuse and/or brought up on re-entry waivers which would allow a team to claim him at half his salary.

Regardless of if he's claimed or not we'll probably never see him on the big team again. If he's not claimed he'll play out the remainder of the year for Syracuse and then will likely be bought out for 75% of his deal under the terms of the CBA.

Its a real shame. Wescott has just never been the same player he was before his concussion. If you remember that concussion came courtesy of Jamal Mayers as Duvie was sticking up for Sergei Fedorov after he has flattened in a open ice hit.

With Ron Hainsey out a couple of games its likely OK Tollefsen will return to the lineup. I also would not rule out the possibility of a guy like Aaron Rome getting recalled from Syracuse as everything I hear he has been playing very well down on the farm.

I don't anticipate a trade quite yet as there is still a lot of time before the deadline but I'm certain GM Scott Howson would add a d-man if its the right fit. Like I said though, that may be a few weeks out still.

The purge of Doug MacLean's players continues. Westcott wasn't the first (that honor goes to Aaron Johnson) and he certainly won't be the last.

Frankly, I wouldn't get attached to any player not named Nash, Zherdev or Leclaire at this point. Even with this team being 5 games above .500 I get the sense many more changes to the roster will be coming. Some by the deadline and others in the offseason.

..and that's okay. As long as they are smart moves that build a consistent winner I really don't care what name is on the back of the jersey.

So back to Duvie. One of the classiest thing I've ever heard from an NHLer was what this guy did for him mom after he signed his new contract -- he took the first check and paid of her house. That tells you alot about this guy.

Good like Westcott. Hopefully you land on your feet elsewhere in the league.

-LTL

Walking wounded back at practice today, now what?

Puck-rakers just said that everyone, besides Andrew Murry who is still out with a concussion, is back at practice for the Jackets.

So that's:

Fredrick Modin

OK Tollefsen

Curtis Glencross

That's great news but the question now is where in the heck do all these bodies go?

We know Modin is an abosolute lock for the lineup. Glencross and Tollefsen not so much. Here is my guess as to what Hitch will roll out tomorrow against the Vancouver Canucks assuming everyone is healthy:

Nash - Fedorov - Modin

Zherdev - Novotny - Vyborny

Chimera - Malhotra - Fritsche

Brassard - Peca - Boll

scratched: Glencross, Shelley, Lindstrom

Foote - Hejda

Klesla - Hainsey

Russell - Methot

scratched: Tollefsen, Westcott

Leclaire

Norrena

Offense

Its widely known that Hitch wants the two big men, Nash and Modin, on the same line. Feds has been playing well of late with Nash on his flank so that's a good solid line that can play in all 3 zones and can control the puck down low. Feds has two scorers of whom to work with.

Zherdev has had some great chemistry with Novonty and at times Novotny has been the best center on this team. I see him keeping those two together and with Vybes improved play of late he'll get top 6 minutes.

Speed line is kept in tact. The Chimera - Malhotra - Fritsche line has had a solid past two games. I can't see Hitch breaking up that line with the way they are playing.

Finally on the offense we get kind of the leftovers. Shelley is scratched in order to roll more of a 4th line. Boll is a lock. Peca gets shuffled down to the 4th but will see plenty of times on special teams. Brassard is in b/c he's one of the Jackets best pure offensive talents and he needs to continue to gain experience. He's pushed to the wing initially but could be shuffled up and down the lineup depending on how the game unfolds. He'll see powerplay duty on the point as well.

Just no room for GLencross or Lindstrom. Lindstrom has struggled a bit and could be sent back down as he is still waiver un-eligible.

Defense

Foote - Hejda. A given.

Klesla - Foote. Again, a given.

Russell - Methot. The real challenge is were does OKT and Duvie fit in. Quite frankly with the way Methot is playing you can't take him out of the lineup. The team needs Russell's puck moving and offensive ability - they also want to keep him developing. OKT gets another day of rest but could be rotated in the lineup sometime this week. Wescott just looks to be the odd man out all together. Wouldn't be surprised to see him dealt or waived.

***********************

So that's my take on how this roster will shake out. One thing's for sure, its nice to see some of the walking wounded get back. Now everyone needs to come out ready to take 3 of 3 at home against Vancouver.

-LTL

Westcott fined

According to the Dispatch blog Duvie Westcott (pictured right) was fined $1,000 dollars for the hit to the face of Colorado Avalanche forward (enforcer) Scott Parker.

Apparently NHL VP Colin Campbell took Westcott's previously clean record into hand when handing down the penalty.

Really just a slap on the hand although nobody likes to toss good money away. Duvie is historically a very clean player who was clearly frustrated by the team's performance at the tail end of Columbus' 5-1 loss to the Avalanche so I like the restraint by Campbell in this situation. That's no excuse for cross checkign a guy to the face, even a goon like Scott Parker, but I think it was more of a reaction than an intent to injure.

In other Blue Jackets news Fredrik Modin did not practice today but is expected to be in the lineup on Wednesday. I think we can expect this kind of pattern from Modin most of the year unless he takes off a couple of week all together to let that groin heal -- he's too valuable to this lineup to do that so don't count on it.

..and of course the players on the lines go round and round another day:

Nash -- Peca -- Zherdev
Glencross -- Fedorov -- Vyborny
Brule -- Novotny -- Fritsche
Chimera -- Malhotra -- Boll/Shelley

Hitch is still looking for that all important chemistry. Interesting to note that David Vyborny and Rick Nash have been busted up. Quite frankly Vybes is off to a pretty disappointing start thus far but we all know he scores in bunches. A friend of mine pointed out to me that if you break down Vyborny's numbers he much more effective at home than on the road - I don't think that is going to cut it under the new regime so #9 is going to have to elevate his game both home and away if he wants that shiny new contract (he'll be a UFA at the end of the year).

I like that Chimera and Manny have been kept together and I think Boll compliments that line very well. Dan Fritsche is another guy who has really struggled early on this year, especially with turnovers and seems to have lost a lot of confidence from last year. I would like to see Gilbert Brule get more time but paired on a line with Novotny and Fritsche its probably not gonna happen -- unless he gets more PP time.

..and of course we can't forget about Sergei Fedorov. I have to feel for Hitch with this guy as he clearly just collecting a check at this point. Personally I'd love to see Hitch scratch him but then who do you replace him with? We Columbus fans are just gonna have to ride #91 out until at the earliest trade deadline time. Hitch will have to do his best to get what he can out of him, for instance if Feds only wants to play defensive hockey and not drive to the net and try to score then welcome to a checking role. No more powerplay time until you commit yourself to both ends of the ice on game days.

-LTL

Team Blue - training camp review

Today was my first chance to check out Team Blue. My first impression was that Team White seemed to practice with more intensity than Team Blue but perhaps that was me reading into something that isn't there.

The drills today were pretty similar to the drills yesterday with a few changes. There were a lot of breakout and puck possession type drills in the first half of practice.

The second half of practice saw things ratchet up a notch as the drills become more physical. One drill in particular was a 5 v 5 with the defending team having to play with their sticks up - handles down. One thing I noticed was that the defending teams were the guys expected to be in the lineup on the big team like the Nash/Z/Vybes line. Two theories for this were that it teaches guys to play more positionally as they can't use their sticks and to me at least, it seemed to up the physical intensity of the practice so perhaps Hitch himself wasn't quite happy with the effort.

So as I did for Team White yesterday, I'll just go over the guys I really focused in on and/or also the guys who stood out to me:

Rick Nash - Lets start with the obvious, hands down the best talent on the ice - nobody even close. Nash looked in shape as I dind't see him winded at all. He looked bigger. He looked more mature. As with Foote he just seemed to be "the guy" on the ice that everyone was looking towards and for the first time ever, I got the sense he was ready to be "the guy" -- not just in scoring but in leadership as well. I LOVED what I saw out of #61 today.

Nikolaie Zherdev: Like everyone else, I was excited to see how Z looked at center. I came away today with the so-so feeling about it. While Z did make some nice passes I did see quite a bit of the Z we are used to seeing - the hanging onto the puck to long, the turnovers, the lack of intensity. The verdict is still most certainly out on this experiment but I am definitely interested to see where this goes. Z also practiced face-offs quite a bit after the main drills concluded so I liked the focus there. Just a quick note on face-offs - nobody could touch Manny. He used an abused anyone that came into that circle. I would have loved to have seen Manny and Peca go head2head in the circle.

David Vyborny: This is a pretty easy one - David Vyborny was David Vyborny. The same quick, smart, calm and consistant player we've seen in Columbus the past few years. I will say that he was communicating with Zherdev quite a bit.

Geoff Platt: Platt played on a line with Pineault and Lindstrom which will most likely by Syracuse's top line. I loved Platt's game today. Dude was equally impressive in both shooting and passing plus he is such a good skater. Really I thought was just as good today as anyone on the ice outside of Nasher in the offensive department.

Jan Hejda: Beside Nash he was my favorite player to watch today. My first impression of this guy was that he can really help this team now. This guy is big and can skate. I didn't see him caught out of position and he just made smart defensive plays when challenged. I can't wait to see him tommorrow in live game action. He was paired with Klesla most of practice.

Duvie Westcott: First impression was that Druval (his real name believe it or not) is back. His decision making wasn't as crisp as I'd like to see but he was skating well, playing physical and for the most part making good decision. If he can regain his 2005-2006 form, which early signs point towards, he can really make an impact back there. He was paired with Hainsey most of practice. Lets cross our fingers that he can stay healthy and away from the concussions.

Manny Malhotra: A great practice for this guy. He does all the little things well like faceoffs (as mentioned earlier) but also things like communication and intensity. This guy just seems to "get it". Its clear he won't ever be much more than a 3rd/4th liner and I think its obvious he's accepted that role and is running it with. One note about Manny and how he "gets it" -- Peter Pohl had his head down in one drill chasing the puck and Manny was backchecking -- he could have cleary smoked this kid but let up -- which showed a clear understanding that he knows this is training camp and there is no point in plastering and injuring a guy at this stage -- he "gets it".

Sheldon Brookbank: First impression, this guy is big but slooow. He is going to really need to pick up his game to crack this lineup. I see Russell and Methot above him on the depth chart at this point. The key for Brookbank is he's a physical guy whose not afraid to drop the gloves which if we plan on scratching Shelley more this year may bump him into the lineup some this season if we need some more toughness.

Dan Frtische: Like Vyborny, Fritsche was Fritsche. You know what you get every time you put this guy on the ice which is a consistent workman like effort and a North American type game. That's what he gave today at practice and that's what we'll see this season. I love this guy's game.

Ron Haisney: Hainsey didn't stand out to me to much today in a good or bad way. He was getting a little more physical towards the end of practice but that seemed to be everyone on the ice as the drills seem to dictate it. Just kind of "meh".

Kris Beech: This is one guy who really surprised me today. I went in not expecting much and but came away very impressed. This guy isn't gonna blow you out of your chair with blazing speed but he's got good size, good hockey sense and maybe it was just me, but he seemed to bury every quality chance he had on net. First impressions is this guy's got a legit chance to crack this lineup.

Jaret Boll: This rookie definitely has some sandpaper to his game which I personally like. He took and gave some good hits and had a knack for always being in the mix of things. I can see this kid making a solid career at the NHL level as a 3rd/4th line grinder down the road. He probably won't see anytime up on the big squad this year but I can certainly see him making a statement in Syracuse.

Pascal Leclaire: I didn't really focus in on goaltending much today but what I did see of Leclaire was what we've seen the past two seasons which is a goaltender whose got the talent, just needs to stay healthy. I don't recall any weak goals. A note for the mask watchers -- he's got the same paint job as last season.

Stephan Legien: This is our 2nd round pick from this season who patterns his game off of agitators like Sean Avery and Darcy Tucker. I liked him a lot in development camp but certainly showed today that he needs some more development in juniors. He had a real rocky first half of practice today bobbling and missing passes but really seemed to find his game the second half.....and he certainly didn't make any new friends in the process as he and Zherdev had a nice exchange of shoves.

Rusty Kelsa: Really a bland practice for Klesla. He got beat a few times.....no hits that I can recall. He did have one nice shot where I remember thinking to myself that I hope he shoots it more this year. Really wish I could say more about Rusty but just seemed to go through the motions.

Tommy Sestito: Big kid but he'll be one of the first cuts. He needs to work on his skating....he's just really really raw.

Adam Pineault: This kid's game seems to have come a long way since last season. While not doing anything spectacular you can see the pro skill, speed and size. If we suffer some injuries on the wing this season, I can certainly see him able to step into the big team and hit the ground running (err skating).

Andrei Plekhanov: Today was the first time I got to see this 2004 pick and all n' all I came away pretty impressed. Didn't stand out in a good way or a bad way which for what appears to be a stay at home defensemen game is a good thing. I'll be very interested to see where he plays this season -- it won't be the NHL yet, but he looked AHL ready.

So that's the group I saw today and my initial impressions.

A couple of notes from the first session from some friends of mine who saw it. Apparently Marc Methot came out hitting everything making a statement that he doesn't want to go anywhere. Adam Foote only skated for a little while before retiring back to the locker room. Fredik Modin did not skate at all today. I also heard that Frerik Norrena, Derick Brassard, Jody Shelley (yep you read that right), Kris Russell and OK Tollefsen all had strong practices.

Hopefully both Modin and Foote aren't injuries and if they are, aren't anything serious.

Finally, a big shout out to the RBar Arena for the post practice beverages and NHL 08 on the Xbox. I can't wait to see this place hopping on opening night. Just a note to those going to the pre-season game tomorrow -- the RBar will open up 12:00 if you want to catch the Browns/Bengals game prior.

I'll post some better pictures today from practice in a bit so stay tuned!

-LTL