Nash, Umberger & Shelley to ride the Pelotonia

There is an absolutely terrific event happening in the Columbus community this weekend. It's called the Pelotonia.

Here is their Mission from the Pelotonia's web site:

Pelotonia is a grass roots bike tour with one goal: to end cancer. Pelotonia raises money for innovative and life saving cancer research at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center- James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. Driven by the passion of its cyclists and volunteers, and their family and friends, Pelotonia's annual cycling experience will be a place of hope, energy and determination. Leveraging Netjets' transformational gift, Pelotonia directs 100% of every dollar raised to research. It is a community of people coming together to chase down cancer and defeat it.

For anyone who has had cancer strike their friends or family they know how devastating it can it. Events like this bring awareness and raise funds to battle this deadly disease.

Two Blue Jackets and one former one are riding for this cause and I would encourage anyone out there who believes in it and can afford to donate a few dollars to get behind them or any other rider that you may know:

To donate to Rick Nash's ride click here.


To donate to RJ Umberger's ride click here.

To donate to former Jacket (and current Shark) Jody Shelley's ride click here.

The event kicks off today and runs through this Sunday. You can find all of the details at the event's official web site located here.

My hat is off to all the participants and organizers of such a wonderful event.

My thanks to BHG for passing this information along.

-LTL

Pic of the day

Iginla - Crosby - Nash --- oh my!

Also some must reads on Nash and Mase at Canadian Olympic Camp can be found here and here.

...and yet another must read over on THN titled "Nash set to explode into superstar status".

Great to see the boys in blue getting some nice publicity in August.

Tip of the hat to HFBoard's Dru and Hashmarks for the assists.

-LTL

Stat of the day

Rick Nash's contract will expire in 3,237 days.

-LTL

Nash ad

I posted this on twitter yesterday but wanted to share here as well. It's Nash in an Under Armor ad featured in this year's The Hockey News Yearbook:

For those keeping score Nash was the only Jacket ranked in their top 50 NHL players. He came in at 38th.

As we know they predicted the Jackets to make the playoffs but also had them listed as one of their bubble teams in the west along with Dallas.

Portzline has a nice breakdown on the Jackets but nothing that we aren't aware of (i.e. strength on wings and defending defensemen... weakness on puck movers on the backend.. need step from kids and an encore performance from Mase).

The THN annual Yearbook is always a good read that I highly recommend picking up. It also comes in handy for those looking for a good reference for fantasy hockey!

-LTL

Army of one

Let's talk a little CBJ leadership shall we?

When Rick Nash was drafted back in 2002 as the #1 overall pick the hope was that Nash would develop into the player and captain that the franchise could build around for the next two decades.

Fast forward 7 seasons later and not only is Rick Nash entering his 2nd full season as Blue Jackets captain but he is signed for the next 9 seasons.

Nash aspires to lead in the mold of a Joe Sakic and Steve Yzerman. Two long tenured captains who led by example on the ice and when they chose to spoke players stopped what they were doing to listen. I couldn't think of two better leaders both on and off the ice to look up to (okay..maybe Ray Bourque but that's just b/c he's my boy).

The Nash "plan" has certainly taken shape.

With 61 fully entrenched as the undisputed leader of this team for the next decade I thought it would be interesting to take at look at who will be his supporting cast for the upcoming season.

More specifically who gets the As?

Every year Hitch defines his "leadership group" in camp. The idea - he coaches the leaders and the leaders are expected to get buy in from the rest of the team. He also leans on these individuals during the ups/downs an 82 game season brings.

If I recall correctly here was last year's leadership group:

Nash
Peca
Malhotra
Modin
Klesla
Commodore

We know Peca and Malhotra will not return. From what I recall all 6 of these players shared the A at some point during the season with all the injuries.

There are a lot of worthy candidates on this Jackets squad for next season that could certainly be a part of this leadership group which is a testament to the type of players Howson has assembled.

I can't see Hitch removing Modin, Klesla or Commodore so it's a question of who replaces Peca and Manny?

I think RJ Umberger is an absolute lock to be a part of this group. As Aaron Portzline has put it so well a number of times - RJ has become the conscious of this team.

The final spot is a bit of a tossup.

At 30 years young Jason Chimera is one of the longest tenured Jackets who baring a trade will be entering his 5th season as a Jacket. I could see him being a guy who quickly gains the trust of the younger players and can fill that communication gap.

Jan Hejda puts in a hard honest night's effort night in and night out and I'm sure he would do whatever was asked of him. On the flip side I don't see him as the kind of guy who would take offense to not being a part of that group. Basically he's the ultimate team guy.

Sammy Pahlsson is the wild card for me. Commodore showed you don't have to be a long tenured Jacket to assume a leadership role. With such a well defined role on the team and being a seasoned veteran in this league he has a very real shot to fill one of those vacant leadership roles.

Fedor Tyutin has quickly become the Jackets best all around defensemen but may not be quite ready to assume a defined leadership role as he continues to round out his game. He's not going anywhere for a while so it wouldn't surprise me if he's part of that group sooner than later.

Raffi Torres is certainly a guy who has been through the nightly NHL battles and has leadership qualities but I think Hitch will want his full focus on getting his game back to his pre-injury level and let's face it, with his contract situation he may not be here past this year.

Antoine Vermette just hasn't been here long enough. If he does get extended his role as a leader could evolve quickly.

Kristian Huselius although he's a good teammate and by all accounts a respected veteran in the locker room it's just not in his persona.

Steve Mason was very vocal last season and I expect that to continue. I don't expect him to be included in this leadership team but regardless as the #1 guy Mase will have a voice in that locker room and in the media. It's just how it works.

Brassard, Voracek, Boll, Methot, Dorsett, Russell, Murray, Filatov.... certainly some of them possess leadership qualities (Brassard immediately comes to mind) but for now they won't be leaned on for any of that heavy lifting. That is for the veterans to shoulder and for the young guys to sit back, listen and learn.

So if I were a betting man here is my guess for Hitch's leadership group for the 2009-2010 season:

Nash - C
Klesla
Modin
Commodore - A
Umberger - A
Chimera

Chimera edges Pahlsson for his ability to communicate with the young players. Since I'm not in that locker I have no idea if this is true or not but it's just an educated guess based on Chimmer's personality and disposition.

Now there certainly isn't a rule that this group has to be a min/max of 6 players so perhaps Hitch goes with only 5 guys or maybe on top of Umberger he adds both Pahlsson and Chimera for a total of 7. Whatever is decided Hitch fully knows that there is such a thing as having too many chiefs and not enough indians.

Check out the new poll and vote on who you think will replace Manny and Peca in Hitch's leadership group. You can select multiple players.

-LTL

Quick hits

Just a heads up that although we didn't get any Jackets coverage in the Dispatch today NHL.com has us covered with their 30 in 30 look at the team:

Howson on expectations this year:

"The expectation level goes up from both internally and from our fans," Howson told NHL.com. "So no longer will a playoff berth and out in the first round be acceptable. We've got to raise the bar and that's what we are trying to do here."

Howson on the Nash extension:

"After you get through a certain part of your career, winning becomes the most important thing and Rick believes we have a chance here," Howson said. "I think that's a big statement to his teammates and to the hockey world."

Howson on center ice:

"Center ice has been a position of weakness for this team for a long time, and now we line up Brassard, Vermette and Pahlsson," Howson said. "That's a good threesome to go into the season with."

"If we have an injury, we don't have a lot in the organization," Howson said.

Center ice depth is definitely a concern. If Brass or Vermette were to go down for an extended injury Howson would have to make a move as there is just nobody in the organization that could fill a top 6 role long term.

Read much more here. There is also an article on Captain Columbus here.

Hockeysfuture.com has their list of the Jackets top 20 prospects. Their top 5 is as follows:

1. Filatov

2. Brassard

3. Moore

4. Goloubef

5. Mayorov

I would personally swap Brass and Filatov as I think he's got more top end talent but that is just personal preference. Solid list.

Finally if anyone has access to ESPN's insider they have their Jackets preview posted. Would love to take a look and share some of it for others on this blog.

-LTL

It adds up

Have you caught this?

NHL chief operating officer John Collins says the league might put ads on game jerseys for the right price.

The NFL and NBA allow advertisement patches on their practice jerseys. It won't be long until the NHL follows suits and it certainly wouldn't surprise me if they take it a step further and put them on their game jerseys.

I'd prefer it not to happen but it's inevitable. It's a cash cow that is about to get milked for all it's worth. Hopefully the logo is small and is done tastefully. I don't want anything to take away from our sweet unis.

Check out the rest of the article here.

Rick Nash was ranked the 7th best Canadian player by NHL.com:

7. Rick Nash, F, Columbus -- Nash put together one of his best all-round seasons in 2008-09, with a career-high 5 shorthanded goals, 39 assists, 79 points and plus-11 rating in leading the Blue Jackets to the first postseason appearance in team history. He has posted at least 54 points in each of the last five seasons.

Here is the top 10:

1. Sidney Crosby
2. Martin Brodeur
3. Jarome Iginla
4. Marc-André Fleury
5. Chris Pronger
6. Ryan Getzlaf
7. Rick Nash
8. Roberto Luongo
9. Joe Thornton
10. Vincent Lecavalier

As much as I love to see Nash on this list I'm not sure he cracks the top 10 quite yet. Top 15 yes. Maybe after this season. Personally I think Lecavalier and Thornton or too low while Fleury is way too high. Heck I'd make a case for Cam Ward over Fleury.

Eric Staal, Dion Phaneuf, Scott Niedermeyer, Mike Richards and Marc Savard are all names I could see being on that list. Watch out for Shea Weber after this season as well.

Nik Zherdev was awarded 3.9 million in arbitration according to Steve Zipay’s Twitter.

The Rangers were offering 3.25 mil while Z's camp wanted something in the neighborhood of 4.5 mil.

As I've stated before I don't think there is any question the Rags part ways with Z... be it by trade or just not accepting this offer.

It will be very interesting to see where he lands. Especially if it ends up being somewhere in the central division.

I'll tell you one thing if the light doesn't turn on for this guy in the next year or two he could quickly find himself out of this league. I don't think he'll get 9 lives.

Good read on Mase here from Slam hockey:

One of the few awkward moments in Steve Mason's sensational first NHL season happened at the league's awards show last month in Las Vegas.

The Columbus Blue Jackets goalie watched normally soft-handed Chicago Blackhawks scorer Pat Kane and a former London Knights teammate struggle to open an envelope revealing his Calder Trophy successor as rookie of the year.

"I was sitting there saying to myself, 'Kaner, just get that thing open and put me out of my misery,'" Mason said with a grin. "And when I went on stage (after winning it), I shook Luc Robitaille's hand, then went in for a hug with Pat but the trophy was in between us and there wasn't a lot of room."

So they botched the big embrace.

But not much else went afoul this season.

The annual Traverse City rookie tournament will be held this year from September 6th through the 9th.

I wonder if Filatov will partake? I doubt it.

Less than 40 days til camp opens!

-LTL

Definitive Guide to Creating a Trade Proposal that includes the Columbus Blue Jackets

This CBJ trade flow chart is making it's rounds over on HF. For a great laugh (and a whole lot of truth) check it out here.

(I would just post it but it doesn't come out clear enough on blogger to read)

Great stuff Skraut!!

Also check out this article from a blogger titled "The NHL Needs More Rick Nash":

Why isn’t the NHL marketing the hell out of Rich Nash? It’s a simple question—but I’m still looking for a simple answer. In a world where stars play such a huge role in selling their respective sports, why is a guy like Nash still relatively unknown in the United States? While I have to hunt and search for reasons against promoting the talented power forward, there are plenty more reasons to publicize the man.

As for reasons why he ISN’T being marketed, I have one word for you: Columbus. I don’t think the people on Madison Avenue (or the people in the NHL offices on Avenue of the Americas) could find Columbus, OH if they had a Tom-Tom, MapQuest and a Rand McNally. They think its some city where Christopher lived and sports media executives think every square inch of the city is filled by a giant horseshoe.

The only other reason that I can think of for him not being promoted is that he’s not on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Lately, the American media doesn’t even acknowledge players if they don’t play FOR the Penguins (Crosby, Malkin) or are RIVALS of the Penguins (Ovechkin, Red Wings, Flyers etc.). At least the Canadian media can focus on 6 other teams!

Ahh.. you just know "he plays in Columbus" would quickly creep into that piece.

As much as it stings, there is definitely some truth to what this blogger says.

Personality, philanthropy, regular season accolades are one thing... and are very much recognized and appreciated on a lot of levels. However Rick Nash (and the Jackets for that matter) will get more attention once he leads this team deep into the playoffs. At that point the NHL will have no choice but to showcase him and the team.

As Ken Hitchcock has said numerous times - franchises make their marks in the playoffs.

Could this deal have Zubov implications? The Bruins sent defensemen Aaron Ward to Carolina for Patrick Eaves and a 4th round pick.

The deal saves the B's about 1.1 mil on the cap. They have been rumored to be in the mix for Segei Zubov. Could that 1.1 million in savings be anough to land the puck moving Russian? Keep in mind they also have to sign restricted free agent Phil Kessel (or trade him).

Just under 50 days until camp opens!

-LTL

Feel the burn 6-1

NHL.com's John Kreiser says that Rick Nash is on the "hot seat" this year for the Columbus Blue Jackets:

Rick Nash, Columbus -- Nash's all-round play has improved markedly since Ken Hitchcock's arrival as coach in 2007. He's much more defensively responsible and has shown he can be used in all situations. But on an offensively challenged team, Nash's biggest function remains putting the puck in the net -- and the Jackets will need him to better last season's production of 40 goals and 79 points if they hope to take another step forward after making the playoffs for the first time.

Make no mistake about it -- Rick Nash is the undisputed leader of this team and for better or worse he will be directly judged by its success.

The good news is that this is old news to Rick Nash and his performance last year showed he is up to this challenge.

I expect a 80-90 point season out of Nasher but more importantly is for Nash continue to grow as a leader and to lead this Jackets squad to it's second straight appearance in the post season.

I think this coming season we can finally put to bed comments like these from Paul Kukla (who runs KuklasKorner.com):

* Now that Rick Nash has committed to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the management team needs to find him a No. 1 center.

Derick Brassard will be that guy. Bank it.

Nice interview here from AOL's fan house with Steve Mason:

Do you ever pay attention to hockey blogs or message boards and get an idea of what people are talking about, or do you just try to avoid all of that?

I try to stay away from it, and I think any athlete would be better off doing that. People are allowed to have their opinions, good or bad, but I think it's just best to stay away from it and focus on the task at hand, and for myself that's just getting better every year. Moving forward you can't really worry about what people are thinking or saying about you.

Well hell.... I just got Mased!!

(He's completely right though.. I wouldn't read my crap or others if I were him either!)

Thanks to BHG for sending that one in.

Sammy (with a 'Y' and not 'I') Pahlsson get's some love from NHL.com's top 10 underrated signings this offseason:

4. Samuel Pahlsson, Columbus -- Speaking of Pahlsson, the Blue Jackets did the smart thing by gobbling him up to be their third-line center behind Antoine Vermette and Derick Brassard. Pahlsson's presence will allow Vermette to play a more offensive role, ideally between Rick Nash and Kristian Huselius. Pahlsson gives the Jackets more depth at center than they had last season and a reliable two-way guy to play against the opposition's top line.

Certainly seems like a match made in Hitch-heaven. Wonder if he's memorized the Hitch-ionary yet?

Out of all the Jackets unrestricted free agents -- a list that includes Williams, Malhotra, Peca, Gratton, MacDonald, York, Backman, Dubliewicz and Rome -- only two in Rome and Dubie have been signed by another NHL team.

Makes one think Howson has a pretty good read on the value of players on his roster when the majority of the guys that walked are still out on the market close to a month after free agency opened.

I do expect Williams and Malhotra to eventually find homes. Peca probably will as well.

-LTL

Inked

Speaks for itself:





Howson is very impressive in that first video.

I'm all jacked up now... When does the season start?

-LTL

Nash Headlines

I always have fun with these!

-LTL

Captain Cash!

In case you haven't heard yet the Dispatch is reporting the following:

The Blue Jackets have signed captain Rick Nash to an eight-year, $62.4 million contract extension, The Dispatch has learned. That's an annual cap hit of $7.8 million.

The deal will keep Nash under contract with the Blue Jackets through the 2017-18 season.

I would assume that deal is front loaded but we'll have to wait until we see the year by year breakdown. I would also assume there is a no movement clause.

Update: Puck-rakers has provided new details on the contract:

Nash will make $7 million in 2009-10, the final year of his current contract. He'll make $7.5 million in 2010-11, and the contract goes up slightly each season before Nash makes $8.2 million in 2017-18.

In other words:

2010-2011 - $7.5M
2011-2012 - $7.6M
2012-2013 - $7.7M
2013-2014 - $7.8M
2014-2015 - $7.9M
2015-2016 - $8.0M
2016-2017 - $8.1M
2017-2018 - $8.2M

The deal includes a no-movement clause in the first five seasons, and a modified no-trade clause in the final three.

Initial reaction:

* Thank gawd we can put that behind us!!

* Congrats to Rick Nash and Scott Howson for hunkering down and getting this done. There was no need for anymore public dirty laundy.

* Thrilled to have Nash in the fold for the next 8 seasons where he belongs.

* Average cap hit of 7.8 is about right. Looks like both sides compromised and Nash left a little cash on the table to help Howson and the franchise keep their other young studs in the fold for the foreseeable future.

* I thought they would wait until Monday to announce the deal to maximize the media expsure. Announcing now though stops dead in its tracks the speculation from loud mouth fans like me and the Toronto media megaforce. On second thought, it makes perfect sense to announce it immediately!

* I only want to see Nash's "dark side" again if it has to do with the Detroit Red Wings combined with the 'f-bomb'.

* I think I'm gonna celebrate by drinking about 8 beers tonight... one for each year of the deal.

* Vermette your next... then Klesla!

* That's 3 of 4 offseason priorities with a big fat CHECK in the to-do box for Howson & Co.

* Next up.. trade for d-man.

* Now what MacLean?

* Eat it Toronto!

It's time to set sail Captain Columbus.

Go Jackets!!

-LTL

Deal or No Deal

Even after sleeping on it I am still in shock over Nash's quotes from last night's Dispatch. Let's take a look at them again:

“Things didn’t line up the way I anticipated them lining up,” Nash said. “I thought we had a solid chance of getting (a contract) done, especially with all the interest they said they had going into this.

“If this doesn’t happen in the next week, and we can’t hit a number where we’re both satisfied and we both feel it’s fair … if they want me that bad, they’ll get it done.”

“There were tons of teams throwing some pretty big money around (yesterday),” Nash said. “If this doesn’t get done, I’m sure I won’t have a problem getting signed by somebody next summer.”

“This is part of the process,” Resnick said. “We’ve begun, and we’ll continue to work through and reach an agreement.”

“The Blue Jackets have a blue print for the organization, and what they want to do with it,” Nash said. “If the numbers don’t work out, if they don’t match, that’s just the way the business side works.

“We’ll come back with something and see what they have to say. I would be nicer to be closer, but I have another year either way. I’m in no rush. I can play out the season.”

I read those again and I still cannot believe those comments actually came from the Rick Nash we have gotten to know through the media over the years but they did.

Portzline checks in this morning with a reality check post.

This is a high-profile negotiation, and Nash holds all of the leverage.

At some point, Nash had to play his leverage. At some point, he has to put the fear of God into the Blue Jackets and put a little heat on GM Scott Howson.

The first contract offer was well below what he expected/wants, so he played his cards. It’s a side that few have seen of Nash, and I don’t know that it came naturally to him. But these situations are not, by their nature, always clean and friendly.

Nash has lots of people looking at him to sign the “right” contract. The NHLPA would not look kindly on the matter if he signed a deal at less than $7 million per season. That’s what he’s making in 2009-10, so why should he take a paycut.

Some decent points.

First off I'd really love to know what Howson's first offer was. As I stated in the live blog last night, that would tell us an awful lot without having to say an awful lot.

Without that knowledge let's get to some theories as to why Nash would come out swinging so hard so early in this negotiation.

Theory 1
Howson really did lowball Nash with an offer. Nash then looked at what guys like Gaborik got (7.5 mil) and got angry when he compared it to what Howson offered.

Theory 2
He wants out and to stall stall stall...and I don't mean Eric, Jordan or Mark. This is the first step towards an stage left exit out of Columbus.

Theory 3
More leverage/posturing/hardball. Nash coached by agent to come out heavy regardless of initial offer after he previously publicly announced his desire to stay in Columbus. They thought Nash hurt his value and negotiating position by going public with intention to stay. All about maximizing the contract.

Theory 4
Backdoor tampering. A GM like Brian Burke has used backdoor channels to get to Nash to let him know what kind of offer they would make should he hit the free agent market.

Theory 5
Good cop bad cop. Nash's plays the bad guy while Nash's agent plays the good guy.

Admittedly some of those are pretty far fetched.

Until I know what the offer Howson made was I won't speculate any further other than to say that whatever the deal was I don't agree with getting so ugly so quick. There are better more productive ways to posture.

I mean c'mon, it's a negotation. You don't go in with your best offer first and you don't accept anyone's first offer. Of course you also don't want to be insulting which is why again, its real hard to speculate on the intentions here without getting some cold hard numbers in front of us.

Business or no business... this entire rant from #61 is completely out of character for him and just doesn't fit or add up... I mean hello square meet circle.

I really believe Nash is a good guy but money has a way of bringin the worst out of some folks. Well that or a player's agent has a way of getting the worst of someone.

As much as we fans love chewing on this fodder I think both sides would be well served to keep this entire thing behind closed doors until common ground is found.... which I hope is found quickly because you better believe this has created a whole lot of negative attention around this team yet again this offseason.

Stay tuned as I'm sure this is only chapter 1 in this saga.

Update: These figures are courtesy of eplagge. They are the most expensive signings this offseason:

Gaborik, Marian $37.5M 5 $7.5M
Bouwmeester, Jay $33.4M 5 $6.68M
Sedin, Henrik $30.5M 5 $6.1M
Sedin, Daniel $30.5M 5 $6.1M
Cammalleri, Mike $30M 5 $6M
Niedermayer, Scott $6M 1 $6M
Hossa, Marian $62.8M 12 $5.23M
Havlat, Martin $30M 6 $5M
Gionta, Brian $25M 5 $5M
Thomas, Tim $20M 4 $5M
Komisarek, Mike $22.50 5 $4.5M
Booth, David $25.5M 6 $4.25M
Antropov, Nik $16M 4 $4M

Fire away - thoughts on this negotiation thus far?

-LTL

Mason and Nash make Team Canada camp roster

Just read that Nash and Mason have been named to Team Canada's Olypmic camp roster.

The forwards:
Jeff Carter, Philadelphia; Dan Cleary, Detroit; Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh; Shane Doan, Phoenix; Simon Gagne, Philadelphia; Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim; Dany Heatley, Ottawa; Jarome Iginla, Calgary; Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay; Milan Lucic, Boston; Patrick Marleau, San Jose; Andy McDonald, St. Louis; Brenden Morrow, Dallas; Rick Nash, Columbus; Corey Perry, Anaheim; Mike Richards, Philadelphia; Derek Roy, Buffalo; Joe Sakic, Colorado; Patrick Sharp, Chicago; Ryan Smyth, Colorado; Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay; Eric Staal, Carolina; Jordan Staal, Pittsburgh; Joe Thornton, San Jose; Jonathan Toews, Chicago

The goalies:
Martin Brodeur, New Jersey; Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh; Roberto Luongo, Vancouver; Steve Mason, Columbus; Cam Ward, Carolina

I honsetly didn't think Mase would be named but that is a great news!!

Congrats to both of these guys!

-LTL

Howson will show Nash the cash

Lots of good early signs coming from both the Jackets camp and the Nash camp today.

The Dispatch has some good info in an blog post and their chat session. Some highlights:

Puck-rakers:

Howson called the meeting to share with Nash and Resnick his vision for the Blue Jackets future: how the club will be built, where Nash fits in, how other clubs have been built with elite players, etc.

"I wanted Rick to see what we have planned and how big a part of it he is," Howson said. "We've had conversations before, but none of this length."

Both Howson and Resnick agreed that it's highly unlikely a contract extension will be signed on Wednesday.

"This is just the start of the process," Resnick said.

"I've come up right through the ranks, now the captain," Nash said. "I love the organization. I love everything about it. But it's a matter of business. Nobody wants to rob the other person, we just both want to be satisfied."

I like part from the chat from Portzline:

Just talking to Rick, he said he's torn between a 4 or 5 year deal and the idea of having a monster long-term deal, say in the 10-year range. I get the sense that he'd sign the latter if the money was right. My guess is he'll make in the $6.5M to $8M range per year. Cap hit around $7M to $7.5M.

The AP has a story up as well with some juicy quotes:

His agent, Joe Resnick, said Tuesday that Nash loves Columbus and the Blue Jackets. But that only goes so far.

"Confident of a deal? It's really up to the Blue Jackets," he said. "We're definitely going to listen and take in everything they have to say. Hopefully we can get a deal done."

"Obviously, he's what makes this car run," said 20-year-old goalie Steve Mason, the NHL's rookie of the year. "He's our leader. It'll be an important piece to get him signed, hopefully for a long term."

"Term is definitely a huge factor," Resnick said. "Rick could do a long-term deal, based on his age, and then come out of it at 33 or 34 and still have several years ahead of him."

"For us to make splashes in the free-agent market and for guys to want to come here, having his name signed long-term is a big important piece," forward R.J. Umberger said. "Nowadays anything is possible. People are moving around so much. You just never know. You just hope with these long contracts that they're doing these days that can help keep a player with a team for a long time."

If you're a fan of getting Rick Nash signed to a long term extension there are a ton of positives to be gleaned from quotes like these.

I have been following the NHL for a long time. Anyone who reads this blog knows I like to read into what is said and in a lot of cases, what isn't.

There have been a lot of negotiations that I have followed and to have both parties expressing such interest publicly liks these is an extremely good sign.

This is gonna get done folks.... and I think it's gonna get done very quickly.

Both sides are motivated.

Howson has the salary structure available to make Nash a very fair offer. He knows how important it is to keep his franchise player and captain happy and as the focal point of this franchise. He knows he is only going to get better. Remember he's only 25! Players like this absolutely do not come along oftern.

Nash is the captain and the franchise. He freely admits he loves the city. He sees the talent sprouting up all around him. He sees the direction. He sees the leadership. He sees the steps taken. The grass will not be greener elsewhere.

After reading the latest quotes from both sides, I'm now guessing Nash gets extended in that 8 to 10 year range. It will be front loaded and I agree with Portzline that it will be an average cap hit in the neighborhood of 7 to 8 mil.

It will be a helluva committment from both sides, but one that makes a helluva lot of sense.

Exciting times. Get it done boys.

-LTL

How can this be?

Check out the following:

ESPN's John Buccigross told Pratt and Taylor Thursday that Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo has agreed to terms on a long-term extension that will officially be announced July 1st.

That's great and all if you're a Canuck fan but what happened to not being able to negotiate an extension for a signed player entering the final year of his contract until after July 1st?

If this is the case then I certainly hope Scott Howson has gotten the wheels in motion behind the scenes with Nasher. The best news any Jacket fan could hope for come July 1st would be the announcement that Rick Nash has been signed to a long term extension.

Now that I think about it I believe the San Jose Sharks announced an extensino for Joe Thornton on July 1st a couple of years back as well.

Get on it Scott.

Update: Luongo's agent denies report that the goalie has an extension, says it will take some time

-LTL

Calder comes to Columbus!

Congrats on a well deserved honor Mason!!

That marks the first major award (some may call it the second) a Columbus Blue Jacket has brought home since the team began play in the 2000 season.

Of course Rick Nash shared the Rocket Richard trophy with Iginla and Kovalchuk back in the 2004 season for most goals scored in the league with 41 a piece.

-LTL

Vegas is about to get "Mased"!!

Don't forget to tune your tubes to Versus tonight to watch Steve Mason claim the Calder trophy! The show starts at 7:30 p.m. EST.

There are lots of predictions floating around the interwebs today so I might as well throw mine out there.

Hart: Ovechkin
Norris: Chara
Vezina: Thomas
Byng: St. Louis
Selke: Datsyuk
Calder: Mason
Adams: Julien
NHL Foundation Award: Nash (homer pick!)

If you want some more reading on this subject the following sites have their predictions up.

SI
USAToday
SLAM Hockey
NBC

psssst... they all have Mase winning the Calder.

-LTL

Quick hits

BlueJackets.com has a new interview up (video and transcript) with the man behind the curtain Scott Howson. He discusses the draft, free agency and more.

Davidge: What's it going to take for the Blue Jackets to get past ther first round and maybe sneak into the finals?

Howson: There's going to have to be some improvement, our young players are going to have to mature and get better. That's really when we will become good; Brassard, Mason (had a great year) , Russell, Voracek, Filatov coming in; when they become really good NHL players we will be able to compete with these teams. Generally, we'd still like to improve our defense and our puck moving ability from our back end.

Davidge: How do you approach the Entry Draft?

Howson: It's always a game day decision. We're not tied to anything, but there is certainly more uncertainty having the 16th pick as oppose to having the sixth, seventh or eighth pick. It is a deep draft and I can tell you right now that if we do walk to the podium at 16, we're going to be excited about the player were getting. We think it's an important pick for us. We think this is another young hockey player that could be part of our core group over the next five or six years when we can be Stanley Cup contenders.

Davidge: Approach to free agency at this point?

Howson: We've been negotiating with Manny and that's been ongoing. I'm not sure where it's going to go... we've talked quite a bit and we're taking a little break for the draft and then after we can talk again. So, he's our first priority right now. After that, we are going to get to July 1 and then we need a back up goalie, probably need another defenseman, and if Manny doesn't come back, then a center. We have more specific needs (this year) and probably not on as large a scale as last year.

Be sure to follow the link to what the entire video on Blue Jackets TV.

Just not gettin that warm and fuzzy on Manny. If it gets done I think it will be after July 1st when Manny's camp can test the waters and see how much money they are leaving on the table (if any).

I also don't think there is any "probably" about it when it comes to a defensemen. That is a must and that player must be able to help out the PP.

The #1 priority come July 1st of course is getting Captain Columbus extended. Michael Arace throws out some of his thoughts in the Dispatch today - check it out here.

The Hockey Writers have a draft preview up. You can check it out here. Thanks for the heads up Rick.

Hockeysfuture also has their Jackets draft preview posted. They had a couple of interesting points:

Also, despite the lack of an IIHF transfer agreement in place and despite previous trouble with Zherdev, the Blue Jackets have not been afraid to take Russians high in the draft. There is a risk in selecting Russians but the Jackets have clearly taken calculated risks and have succeeded in bringing their Russian selections to North America.

There is a clear affection for the NCAA as well. Exactly half of Howson’s selections the past two seasons have been players either already playing college hockey or about to enter it. Goloubef and Will Weber, both playing NCAA hockey, are good examples. In both of Howson’s drafts he has selected a solid all-around defenseman with his second-round selection.

Howson has also shown an affinity for vertically gifted players. Only three of his 16 selections stand under six feet tall. He’s selected guys like 6’6 Steven Delisle and 6’4 Weber. Does this mean the team is due for a smaller crop?

Hockey's Future staff mock draft result: Ryan Ellis, D

It's going to be real hard for the Jackets to pass on Ellis should he still be available at 16. As I've said before though with undersized d-men in Russell and Reghner already in the system I would not be at all surprised if they go in a different direction.

This draft is a good when looking at the Jackets prospects needs as there are an abundance of centers and d-men and there should be a couple available when 16 pops up.

Bottom line though is you always draft the best player available and then make trades to fills the holes (see Lalande).

I've said it before and will say it again, don't rule out a trade down for the union blue.

A very good read here from the Islanders web site with TSN analyst, Foote apologist (had to sneak that in there) and draft expert Bob MacKenzie here. Key points courtesy of HFBoards:

* He interviewed 12 scouts, and all had Tavares at first overall.

* A clear top five had emerged, which maps exactly onto what Brian Burke was saying. The big three, followed by Kane and Schenn. Also said that some scouts didn't see a big dropoff from Duchene to Schenn.

* Still thinks Isles have serious interest in Hedman, although appears to believe Tavares will go first nonetheless.

* As many here have suggest, thinks Bolts will listen to trade offers if Isles nab Hedman.

Don't forget to set your DVRs for the NHL Awards event tomorrow night! It kicks off at 7 p.m. EST on Versus.

There are no sure things in life but Mase for the Calder is about as close as you can get. Should he win (and he will), it will be a great honor for both he and the Jackets franchise.

-LTL

Good vibrations

I'm picking up some good vibrations comin out of the Nash camp lately. Check out these quotes from Puck-rakers from Nash's agent:

On radio host Doug MacLean's prediction of Nash going to Toronto: "Doug pushes that quite a bit. Daily. Second by second. I have to give Doug credit, though. He made the trade (as GM of the Blue Jackets) and traded up for Rick."

On Nash's desire to stay in Columbus: "In the Columbus Dispatch last week, Nasher did go public and say he loves the city, and if a deal can be worked out, he'd love to probably stay in Columbus. But, really, it's up to the Blue Jackets now to make it happen."

On the possibility of a long-term extension: "In Rick's case, he does love the city, he's still very young -- 25 years old. So you can go longer term and still come out afterward at a relatively young age. But Rick really likes the city of Columbus. There's no doubt about it. He's done a lot there. He's done a lot of charity. He's done a lot of work in the community. And he likes it."

Music to your ears eh Jacket fans? I see no other reason for Rick's agent to say comments like these publicly if Nash wasn't very serious about re-signing.

...and why wouldn't he? Howson will offer what it takes. He's the captain. He's the face of the franchise. He loved by the fans and community. He's finally got some support with a team on the rise. The window is just starting to open.

This is the chance to finish what he's started here.

I may have to rethink my 3 years 21 million dollar extension guess after these comments. I'm thinkin more like 5 to 7 after reading those juicy nuggets.

The Nash news is great but the best part is Rick's agent is breaking this on Doug MacLean's radio show. How's that for water in the face?

....and pardon my french, but who gives a rat's ass where Doug MacLean thinks Rick Nash should go?

Doug MacLean did a few things I'm greatful for. 1. trading up to get Nash and 2. the new unis. However could he possibly be anymore transparent with his fruitless attempts to sabatoge the negotiations? Let it be dude.

It would be really nice to hear him take some responsibility for once in his life for driving this franchise into the ground.

Have you ever seen the movie "Casino"? Doug MacLean reminds me of the Robert Dinero character "Sam 'Ace' Rothstein". You know the guy who gets booted as the casino boss and in order to keep up his public profile and stay releveant takes up as a some corny local televsion talk show host.

The similarities don't end there either... ... for instance you can't spell MacLean without 'Ace'.

This guys sums up my thoughts on "Hockeytown" beautifully:

It can be difficult to muster up a decent case of empathy for Detroit Red Wings fans. If you've watched a hockey game in Joe Louis Arena, you understand.

It's not that they're loud. Loud is good in the NHL. It's not even that they're occasionally given to offensive behavior with their foul-language spurts and foul-smelling bags of octopi flesh.

It's their superiority complex, that smug conviction that on the first day, God created Hockey Town and then got around to less important chores later.

Nobody watches hockey right?

NEW YORK – June 15, 2009 – Friday night’s deciding Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final on NBC Sports was the most-watched NHL game in 36 years with an average of 8 million viewers (5/10/73, Stanley Cup Final Game 6 on NBC, Montreal-Chicago, 9.4 million). Overall, the series averaged 5.6 million viewers for the five games on NBC, the best since 2002 on ABC (three telecasts, Detroit-Carolina, 5.8 million).

Friday’s Game 7 earned a 4.3 rating and an 8 share, the best for a series-ending game in six years (6/9/03, Game 7, Anaheim-New Jersey, 4.6/8).

Uh-huh.

There was some good news that broke for Phoenix fans yesterday as the courts rejected Jim Balsillie's bold bid to buy the insolvent team and move it to Hamilton.

Don't be fooled though as there was a lot more riding on this case then just Phoenix and it's viability as a hockey market. If Balsille would have won his bid then it would have set a dangerous precident for all franchises in all leagues moving forward.

Not happy with your losses and are lookin for a way out? Well just declare bankruptcy to break your lease and sell to the highest bidder... location and league by-laws be damned.

There is a right way and a wrong way to do things. Basillie has chosen to go about his desire to put a team in Hamilton in all the wrong ways. Intead of working within the league framework he tries to circumvent it.

TSN has a very detailed mock draft posted. Here is who they have the Jackets selecting:

16. Columbus Blue Jackets - David Rundblad - 6-3/190 - Defence - (Skelleftea/SWE)

Do not let his statistics in the Swedish Elite League fool you - Rundblad has the talent to produce offense off the rush or on the power play. The lanky defenceman displays the hockey sense to read, anticipate and react to all situations on the ice. He has a tendency to take risks with the puck that can cause turnovers, but he will learn to pick his spots better. His passing ability has a quick crisp release and he can hit forwards with speed coming out of defensive zone. His skating is pretty good overall, but it would not hurt if Rundblad had an extra pop in his quickness and more power in his stride. He does not play with much physicality and tends to use puck movement, body position and an active stick to defend. When he comes over to North America, he will have to be more assertive and engage on the smaller ice surface. Overall, he has the skill set to play and excel in the NHL, but he will need to tighten his decision making and defensive game. He will need time to get stronger and mature, but Rundblad should develop into a good top three offensive defenceman.

On most mocks I've seen Runbland is taken more in the 20th - 30th positions but its certainly not an "off the board" selection. Based on what I've read though I'd really love to see Moore falls to us.

With the Jackets excellent draft record of late I'm definitely gonna put my trust into Boyd and his staff to pick the best player available at 16. Remember whomever we select will probably take at minimum 2 years before they see anytime on the Jackest squad.

Cool little section on NHL.com's draft covereage with 5 questions from each of the top prospects in the draft. Check em out here.

They also have some new mocks of their own posted. Here is who they have the Jackets taking:

Kimelman: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D, Leksand (Sweden)
SKINNY: Great offensive instincts and a strong shot from the point

Holland: David Rundblad, D, Skelleftea (Sweden)
SKINNY: With offense looking good, Rundblad a key cog on development of back end.

Roarke: Ryan Ellis, D, Windsor (OHL)
SKINNY: Small but extremely skilled blueliner can add spark to Jackets' struggling PP

One prevailing theme in all these drafts is that the Jackets will most likely end up with a defender for the first time since drafting Rusty Klesla way back in 2000 in the first round.

Finally follow this link to get profiles (complete with videos) on all the top prospects in this year's draft. Just click on the name of the player you'd like to view and your off and running.

For instance here is a video from one of my favorites in this draft John Moore:



-LTL