Filatov up; Boll out

That didn't take long.

Young blue chipper Nikita Filatov is up after just a short 2 game stint in Syracuse of the American Hockey League. Filatov notched 2 goals in those 2 game.

So where does he fit?

How sweet would a Filatov-Brassard-Voracek line be...? Scary offensivey and defensively. Don't bank on Hitch throwing that one together anytime soon but you never know...

I would suspect that like Voracek and Brassard Hitch will work him slowly in the lineup. I certainly see him playing less than 10 minutes but getting some quality minutes on the PP. Of course all that could change quickly the Jackets get down to Nashville.

I do wonder how much of this callup has to do with getting his mind off his good friend Alexei Cherepanov passing away? Certainly that isn't the entire reason as this kid has already shown elite talent but one has to think that perhaps the organization would like to keep a close eye on him and make sure he has everything he needs to deal with the passing of a good friend. Its got to be real tough for a 18 year old to deal with such a tragic loss, especially in a new country without any family close by.

It will be fun to see him make his debut in front of the first home game of the season though. Very exciting for him and for us!

The other part of the story is that Jared Boll is the guy Filatov will replace in the lineup due to head/neck injury. As someone mentioned in the comments in the previous post that Boll just hasn't been himself this season and has for the most part been ineffective. Perhaps this injury explains some of that.

Nikita will certainly be an increase in skill level but I do worry about who will replace Boll's "heavy" game? Dorsett replaces some of that but certainly not all of it.

What the team can do collectively to fill he gaps is finish their checks and play a hard working game mixed in with skill. They can concentrate on filling the back of the net instead of trash talking with the Tootoo's of the world. Get a lead and then let the other teams take bad penalties.

Speaking Tootoo and Nashville - the Jackets catch a break with Jason Arnott missing at least the next 3 games with a small fracture in one of his fingers on his right hand.

The article goes on to state that Rich Peverley, Vern Fiddler or Jerred Smithson could move to center.

No pun intended here but this is a nice break for the Jackets. Still the Preds have had their number the past two seasons and no matter who they lose they always find a way to win. The Jackets must take advantage of opportunities such as this and come out hard and strong and take the win.

Very interesting read over on Sportsnet.ca regarding some view points of NHLPA boss Paul Kelly. This specific Q&A certainly got my attention:

Hockeycentral: Can you terminate the CBA and still avoid a work stoppage?

KELLY: You can. If you terminated the CBA you would continue to play under the terms of the current CBA unless one of three things happens: Either the owners lock the players out; the players opt to go on strike, which wouldn’t happen if we were playing under the terms; or you reach a new deal, a new CBA. So, you could continue to play indefinitely even if you terminated the deal. Again, it’s a fairly complicated issue but it’s an issue that will be brought to a head in the next three months or so and we won’t delay in informing the owners of the results. Once the players make an informed judgment, we will inform the owners and we will proceed.

Hockeycentral: Do you think it’s plausible that you terminate and still play next season without a stoppage? I don’t think realistically, on paper, you can.

KELLY: Practically speaking, if we terminated, the owners would immediately want to try to retrench in certain areas and make what they would view as improvements, perhaps lowering the percentages of revenues that the players receive in salary, things of that nature. We wouldn’t agree with a lot of those approaches by the owners. If that led the owners to lock us out, then that would be the owners call. My sense is even if the players opted to terminate, is that the players would continue to play.

All I can say is that both the players and owners would be certifiably nuts if they allowed any work stoppage to occur. In fact if they allow any labor talk at all to dominate the headlines would be a tremendous mistake. I'm about as die hard as they come and I don't think even I could stomach another stoppage and this is coming from a guy who followed the news minute by minute last time around.

Lets hope both parties aren't that ignorant.

If you don't have plans for opening night pre/post game you may want to add the Garage Bar to your priority list. I received word earlier today that they are having some opening night specials and I'll have a post up with all the details shortly.

-LTL