Anaheim Ducks @ Columbus Blue Jackets 10/05/07 7:00 P.M. EST

Its finally here!

Here is a very quick game preview for tonight's game.

Probable lines according to the Columbus Dispatch:

Nash - Fedorov - Vyborny
Chimera - Novotny - Zherdev
Modin - Malhotra - Brule
Shelley - Fritsche - Boll

Klesla - Tollefsen
Hejda - Foote
Russell - Hainsey

Leclaire
Norrena

Some game notes:

Its interesting to see that indeed Hitchcock is dressing Jody Shelley tonight and that 4th line will have more of a traditional look tonight. This is most because the Ducks dress a tough lineup so the Jackets will want to match that. I am very surprised to see Fritsche centering the 4th line. Look for him to move up that lineup.

Russell and Hainsey make up the 3rd pair. That duo is a little scary as both guys are offensive minded and do not play a physical game. They'll see some 5 on 5 time and lot of PP time.

Duvie Westcott has been scratched which I'm sure caught his attention. He's been a turn over machine in camp so lets see if this lights a fire under him.

The 2nd and 3rd lines are interchangeable so don't read much into that.

Don't forget to check out the Columbus Dispatch this morning - they have a 6 page preview of the Jackets season. Can read the coverage here.

I'll have a post game analysis sometime tonight or early tomorrow!

Enjoy the game and season everyone. I think we are in a for a good one!

11 hours til the puck drops for real!

-LTL

Rbar Arena opening night festivities details

For those of you looking for some pre-game fun tomorrow or any hockey night - look no further than RBar Arena which is located just outside the East Nationwide Arena entrance (location is on their web site). Here are some details regarding the events the Rbar has planned before tomorrow nights season opener:

Bar opens at 1pm - Happy Hour usually starts at 3 unless Natalie decides to start it early - expect it to be started early. - ends at 8pm

We will be handing out 20 3x5 Flags to the first 20 customers to purchase a stinger that have following on and or with them. Jersey, Tickets, and preferably facepaint or blue hair.

Stingers will not be on special they run I think 5.00 dollars (someone else might know)

Slapshots will be on sale, they have a punch so be careful

"Beer Garden" extended patio will be up and running at 4pm - This is due to the building rules. - Miller Lite and Molson

We will be cooking 4 till midnight on the grill. Hotdogs and Hamburgers(Cheese option)

We now have even more R-Bar clothing ask your bartender or waitress about it.

This is by far the area's best hockey bar and its locally owned by CBJ season ticket holders. Hope to see you all there supporting the bar before the puck drops at 7 - if not before we'll see ya after the game :)

Less than 21 hours til the puck drops for real!

-LTL

2007-2008 Jackets Preview & Predictions

As promised here is my own personal preview of your 2007-2008 Columbus Blue Jackets.

We'll first start by taking a look at offense, defense and goaltending and then we'll get into some coaching, player predictions and finally season predictions.

Offense:
Must light it up - The Jackets' offense tied for worst in the league with the Chicago Blackhawks last year with only 201 goals for. So when evaluating the Jackets offense the area that this team absolutely must improve on is goals scored.

So where do these goals come from? As coach Ken Hitchock has preached all offense is generated off of checking at the NHL level. So the Jackets must get better at checking and turning the puck over and then creating quick offense.

With that said key offensive players have to score. Lets start with the team's franchise player, Rick Nash, he absolutely must lead this team in goals scored and improve quite a bit on his dissapointing 27 goal effort from last season. For this team to be successfull I think we need #61 to score no less than 40.

So while Nash is our primary scorer there is a supporting cast that is more than capable of helping him out. Nikolai Zherdev, who is also coming off a dissapointing 10 goal season last year, certainly needs to get back in that 20 goal range. Fredrik Modin needs to pot 25+ while David Vyborny is capable of 20 and so is Sergei Fedorov.

Behind that group we have a guy like Jason Chimera who scored a career high 36 points last season who I think is on the cusp of a big breakout year this season. This team will need Chimera to step up his goal production from 15 to 20 next season which he is certainly capable of. Gilbert Brule and Danny Fritsche are two other support players who can also build on their goal totals from last season of 9 and 12 goals respectively.

Areas to avoid burn out - This team must improve on a powerplay that was 26th out of 30 last season. They most also avoid getting shutout a league record 14 times last year. The offense must play better team defense and play the same in your face style whether it be at home or on the road.

Finally this group of players absolutely must limit its penatlies....especially lazy ones like hooking and tipping calls. This group must also limit any penalties in the offensive zone. This team was called for a lot of penatlies in the preseason and I don't care how good your defense and goaltending is, at the NHL level, even the worst team will find a way to score with multiple man advantages.

Defense:
Must light it up - The defense actually played a lot better than most of pundits gave them credit for last year. They ranked 16th in the league in goals against with 249 last year. Their collective plus/minus doesn't show it but they played much better as a unit last year especially once Hitchcock arrived.

Those numbers aside, there is plenty of room to improve here. The until as a whole must continue to improve as a defensive unit and drive that goals against down even further. Players like Foote, Tollfesen and Klesla need to continue to play a hard nosed in your face style while also improving their transition games. These three aren't the most fleet of foot so they must also keep the puck carrier between them and the net on a consistant basis.

Duvie Westcott and Ron Hainsey need to provide a strong puck moving presence and get pucks to the net to create offense. To many times last year pucks were blocked and the other teams scored off of quick transitions. When on the power play they, especially Hainsey, must also do a MUCH better job of finding the open man on the rush to gain zone while retaining puck possession. To many times the puck is just dumped in and the Jackets fail to gain control of the puck.

New to the defense are 29 year Jan Hejda and 20 year old rookie Kris Russell. Hejda is a shut down defensemen in the mold of a Rusty Klesla. His best games are those in which you really don't notice him accept when you look at the score sheet and see 18 mins in time played and hopefully a positive +/-. We'll need consistant nights like that from Jan. Kris Russell has a skill set this team has never seen before. He's a silky smooth skater with uncanny hockey sense and elite puck skills. He will need to log key minutes on our powerplay and play strong positional team defense during 5 on 5 play.

Areas to avoid burn out - The biggest key to the defense is health. Guys like Duvie Westcott and Adam Foote need to be healthy and this defense needs to get into a strong rythm and play as a unit.

This unit can also ill afford to play passive soft hockey. Guys like Ron Hainsey need to play aggresive and make teams pay the price to score.

Each and every defensemen must also work on their transition games. No, or at least limiting, rounding the puck out of the zone off the boards to clear the zone. They must do a better job of getting the puck to the forwards on the fly so they can create offense.

Finally this defensive group (and the forwards) needs to improve on a penalty kill that finished 21st in the league last year killing at a rate of 81.2%.

Goaltending:
Must light it up - Freddy Norrena and Pascal Leclaire will battle it out for the #1 goaltending position. Leclaire is scheduled to get the start tomorrow against Anaheim while Leclaire will start the following night against Minnesota.

Goaltending is another area where we were stronger than our record indicated. While Leclaire batteled more injuries Norrena quitely racked up a quality season in his first year in the NHL finishing with a record of 24-23 -- in the process becoming the first Blue Jacket goaltender to rack up record of better than .500.

For the Jackets to have a good season they must get great - not good - but GREAT goaltending. I really don't care who it is, it could be one or both, but the collective goaltending numbers but have to have a save % of over .900 and goals against average of less than 2.4 - we just don't have the offensive firepower to outscore opponents most nights.

Areas to avoid burn out - One big area here and that's avoid the injuries. Pascal Leclaire has shown that he has the NHL talent but so far he's failed to show the NHL durability. Fredrik Norrena, while realtively healthy last year, has experienced both groin and knee injuries throughout the offseason and preseason. Both goalies appear to be healthy and assuming that is true, they should make a very potent goaltending tadem - however - with goaltending being so critical to an NHL team's success, this team is being cautious even going as far to keep 19 year old Steve Mason up with the big club until the team feels comfortable with the health of both guys.

Coaching:
Nobody in the NHL prepares a team better than Ken Hitchcock. He has identified an identity for this team and is well on his way to implementing it. A coach has been added in Claud Noel to the existing staff of Gary Agnew, Gord Murphy and Clint Malarchuk. Hitch and his staff have given input on the season schedule, revamped the locker room and video room, modified training camp, overhauled the conditioning programs of players, identified a leadership team, installed a system and set roles and expectations for each and every player among many other things.

This team will not lose because of failed or lazy coaching. Its the biggest strength of the organization at this point and will continue to be until the team on the ice turns the corner and becomes a bonified contender.

Hith has said that this team needs about a 60 goal swing to make the playoffs. Either score 60 more, reduce 60 or some combination of the two to get on par with the playoff teams throughout the league. To achieve this goal all three key areas of the team, offense-defense-goaltending, will need to chip in.

Player Predictions:
Alright, time to put myself out there this season. Here are my season point predictions for the players on the opening night roster:

Offense:
Rick Nash 41g 42a; 83p
David Vyborny 21g 48a; 69p
Sergei Fedorov 19g 32a; 51p
Fredrik Modin 25g 22a; 47p
Jason Chimera 20g 19a; 39p
Gilbert Brule 18g 14a; 32 p
Dan Fritsche 15g 15a; 30p
Nikolai Zherdev 15g 17a; 32p
Manny Malhotra 7g 20a; 27p
Jiri Novotny 8g 11a; 19p
Curtis Glencross 4g 4a; 8p
Jarod Boll 4g 3a; 8p
Jody Shelley 1g 2a; 3p

Misc (Brassard, Sestito, Platt, Lindstrom, Pineault, etc) 4g 21a; 32p

Defense:
Kris Russell 11g 25a; 36p
Duvie Westcott 8g 26a; 34p
Ron Hainsey 7g 14a; 21p
Rusty Klesla 10g 10a; 20p
Jan Hejda 2g 15a; 17p
Adam Foote 3g 7a; 10p
OK Tollefsen 2g 5a; 7p

Misc (Methot, etc) 1g, 12a; 15p

Goaltending:
Fredrik Norrena
Pascal Leclaire

Season predictions
Record: 42 - 32 - 8
Points: 92
Goals for: 245
Goals against: 232
*thats a 63 goal swing from last season's GF/GA
Standings: 9th in Western Conference

The Jackets give it a helluva a run this season but ultimately come up short after running out of gas down the stretch in April. They miss the playoffs by no less than 10 points which is a marked improvement which puts them in great shape heading into next offseason.

During the season a couple of trades are made.:

Nikolai Zherdev is eventually moved for a puck moving defensemen that help immediately.

Sergei Fedorov is moved at the deadline for a 1st round draft pick -- this is regardless of where the team is at in the standings.

Adam Foote is retained. His leadership is way to valuable to let go during the playoff push. Same with Michael Peca. To close to call if either are resigned in the offseason - really depends on performance this season.

Both David Vyborny and Jason Chimera are resigned during the season. Ron Hainsey is let go to test the unrestricted free agency market after the season concludes.

So that's it Jacket fans. I, like all of you, hope we make the playoffs and I truly feel we'll sneak up on the NHL this year and be right in the mix for that final playoff position right up to that final game. It would not shock me at all to sneak into that 8th seed - but there are a lot of teams to leap frog to make that happen.

Remember, coach Ken Hitchcock has never missed the playoffs when he's had a full year with a team. Can he keep that streak alive -- stay tuned Jacket fans -- its gonna be a helluva ride to find out!

Less than 24 hours until the puck drops for real!

-LTL

Alternate captains names, Cannon fodder podcast debutes

Really quickly this morning,

Fredrik Modin (pictured right), Sergei Fedorov, David Vyborny and Rick Nash have been named alternate captains on a rotating basis. Of course for those that don't know, you can only have one captain (Adam Foote) and two alternate captain during one particular game.

Also the Dispatch has up their first podcast called cannon fodder. My only problem with it is that they give Aaron Portzline all the credit for championing the cannon. No offense Aaron but I would give, or at the very least share, that credit to those folks over the posters at HFBoards who called or emailed in to every Doug MacLean pimping the cause. Regardless, we've got it so pats on the backs for everyone.

Anyhow - you can check out the podcast here.

I'll have a Jackets season preview tonight. Unfortunately the blog has been lacking due to the fact that I'm in training all week and haven't had access to the computer. I hate it when job priorities get in the way :)

1 more day til the puck drops for real!

-LTL

Redesigned NHL.com

Just surfing around tonight while I watch some of the games that kicked off tonight in North America and noticed that NHL.com has been touched up.

They added a scores banner accross the top and moved some other things around with some different color schemes. All in all, looks much better - here is a screen shot:

Check it out for yourself here.

The Pipeline Show

The Pipeline Show, which is aired out of Edmonton Alberta, has a nice preview with Aaron Portzline regarding the Jackets.

For those who can never get enough Jackets coverage (like myself) this is a really good listen.

Check it out at this link.

-LTL

Blue Biscuits

NHL.com also has a nice article up regarding Hitch and his thoughts about the playoffs not being that far off for this team:

"We look at it from this standpoint: With the coaching change, we were a .500 hockey club, which is 85 points," said Hitchcock, whose team was 28-29-5 after he took over Columbus from the fired Gerard Gallant last year. "To get in the playoffs, we need a win a month more. That gets us in."

That must seem laughable to the 10 Western Conference teams that had more points than the Blue Jackets' 71 last year. Columbus, the only current NHL franchise to not make the playoffs, was a distant 25 points behind the eighth and final team to make the playoffs, the Calgary Flames.

And Hitchcock think it could be even harder to make the playoffs this season.

"This might be the first time in the history of hockey that - and I really believe this - you might need 100 points to get in the playoffs," Hitchcock said. "There's so many competitive teams now."

Howson also chimes in:

Howson makes no bold predictions. He's in for the long haul. You can't scare him into saying the "p" word.

"The fan base here has a reputation of being pretty passionate and they've been pretty patient with the team," he said. "We're just hoping to provide them with a product that they can be proud of. If we build it the right way, then the wins take care of them itself. We're focused on being a competitive, hard-to-play-against team."

Finally Dan Fritsche has some real strong words regarding this fan base:

"That's all I think about," he said. "I've been here for about four years now and I live here in the summer, and I know what kind of fans we have. These fans have been here for seven or eight years now and we've had seven or eight not-so-good seasons. It just gives you the chills thinking about how this place would explode once we make the playoffs."

That's a pretty exciting quote from Fritsche.

So now that I've got you all pumped up here is another no-so-good prediction for you:

Kevin Montgomery of USAToday.com:

14. Columbus Blue Jackets: Despite the optimism emanating from Columbus, it's going to be more of the same for loyal 'Jackets' fans. Rick Nash is a franchise player, obviously, but after that, the depth and talent level falls sharply. They simply can not match up favorably against most of the teams in this conference.

Scott Burnside of ESPN.com makes some predictions - here is the one involving the CBJ:

Hottest trade rumors you'll hearWatch for Wade Redden to continue to be the subject of trade rumors out of Ottawa. Redden will be an unrestricted free agent next summer and the Sens tried to deal him in the offseason. Sergei Fedorov, Adam Foote, Marian Hossa, Dany Heatley are among the group of players who could become unrestricted free agents next summer. Another interesting possibility, Sharks captain Patrick Marleau, who signed a contract extension last summer but could be had for the right price, especially if the Sharks struggle early.

-LTL

Beach clears waivers, Peca still out & Methot returned to Syracuse

Biggest news of the day is that Kris Beech did clear waivers this morning and will be reassigned to the Syracuse Crunch.

This is great news for the Jackets as they retain some of that NHL depth that they signed this summer. Should say, a Fedorov/Novotny/Malhotra get injured, Beech would be recalled to fill that hole. Again he's not gonna light it up but when your in the thick of a season you want to be able to turn to a guy who understands what it takes to play in the NHL and not just throw a rookie to the wolves.

According to Portzline's blog Michael Peca was again held out of practice today. Its looking more and more likely that Peca will not be part of the opening night lineup. GM Scott Howson said no one would be recalled in Peca's absence. Instead Malhotra has been skating between Modin and Brule at practice.

Marc Methot was returned to the Syracuse Crunch today. Since Methot has not been a pro for 4 years or more he is not eligible to pass through waivers. Methot had a great camp and will be the first call up in the event of an injury on defense. The demotion for Methot means only one thing and that is that captain Adam Foote (pictured left) should be ready to go opening night.

Coach Ken Hitchcock said on his radio show today that goalies Pascal Leclaire and Fredrik Norrena will be rotated in goal. The organization is pleased with their performance in camp but remains cautious regarding the health of both goaltenders. Norrena has been battling a groin problem this preseason and Leclaire, while healthy thus far this year, has had a number of injuries problems throughout his career.

As Hitch stated, the goaltending position is just to critical and the Jackets cannot afford not to have options in case of injuries.

Hot shot rookie goaltender Steve Mason has been retained from his junior team as insurance in case one of these two goes down. Mason, who is 19, had a great camp and once he's returned to his junior team the team cannot recall him back. If Leclaire and Norrena prove to be healthy and are performing well a month or so into the season Mason will most likely be returned as the organization wants this kid to keep developing and not sitting up in the press box.

Hitch also said that the goaltenders will be rewarded on performance and that he'll only name a #1 if someone really grabs it -- seems fair to me.

Two other notes from Hitch in that Adam Foote has felt good the past two practices and when asked who will be a our presence in front of the net on the PP the names Modin and Chimera were mentioned. I was a little surprised not to hear Nash's name brought up there.

Oh...and Hitch is pumped for the cannon!

2 days until Ka-BOOM!

-LTL

Jackets target Bruno St. Jacques to replace the departed Brookbank

Just read this over on Lindsay Kramer's Syracuse Crunch blog:

I've learned that the Blue Jackets' target to help offset the loss of defenseman Sheldon Brookbank - claimed by New Jersey off waivers on Tuesday - is blueliner Bruno St. Jacques.

St. Jacques, 27, is a 6-foot-2, 216-pound veteran of 67 NHL games. He's currently on a tryout deal in the Toronto camp, but he's a long shot to make it there. Columbus is currently working on signing him to a contract.

St. Jacques played in both Norfolk and Portland last season. He's a defensive defenseman, unlike the playmaking Brookbank.

Other Crunch news:

Forward Derek MacKenzie cleared waivers and will be there.

Defenseman Andrei Plekhanov(3rd round pick in 2004 draft) has been signed to an AHL deal. And goalie Adam Munro is still out with a concussion that he suffered in practice last week.

Looks like the Crunch have also landed an enforcer:

It looks like enforcer Jon Mirasty will start the season as a member of the Syracuse Crunch.
Columbus assistant general manager Jim Clark said Mirasty will be offered a tryout deal that will extend at least through opening weekend. Tryout deals can last a maximum of 25 team games; they can also be terminated by the team at any time.

"They said they'd like to keep me for a week at a time and see how it goes,'' Mirasty said. "When I get a chance to play, I'll do what I do.''

Its good to see Scott Howson react quickly and go after some immediate help for Syracuse and depth for the Jackets. St. Jacques (pictured above right) spent some time with Hitch while he was with Philly so the Jackets should know what they are getting with him -- assuming he doesn't stick with Toronto.

I'm also excited to see Plekhanov stay in North America and give the AHL a whirl. With the way injuries add up during the season, especially on the blueline, who know - we may get a look at him on the big club. Of course, that assuming he plays well at the AHL level.

-LTL

Ka-BOOM!

That's the sound we hope to hear over and over....and over again at Nationwide this season!

Aaron Portzline has posted some very juicy details in his blog regarding the new cannon that will be unveiled at Nationwide Arena on opening night this season:

-- the cannon (pictured right) will be fired when the Blue Jackets take the ice for the first time each game, when they score a goal and when they win. Last year, they would have fired it 170 times (41 games, 111 goals, 18 wins).

-- a smoke flash charge will be loaded in the cannon, resulting in a flash-quick flame and a plume of smoke billowing out of the cannon. High above the rink -- 109 feet, to be exact -- is a 3/4-of-an-ounce concussion explosive that sends the BOOM! around the rink. A piece of plexiglass will be installed a few feet in front of the cannon, just for added safety.

-- man, is this awesome or what?

-- the Blue Jackets have hired a sentry to stand guard of the cannon during games and play Civil War era songs on a trumpet. He'll be wearing Union garb. (I'm not making this up.) His name is Peter Quint, and he'll be available to answer questions and pose for pictures.

-- fliers will be placed in all 18,136 seats in advance of the first few home games. The Blue Jackets are very concerned that they may catch young children or the elderly by surprise, so make sure to spread the word to everybody in your section.

-- don't touch the cannon or the wheels. Seems the grease from your hands can ill-effect the steel gun and wheel covers. And that's before you chowed that Donatos.

Specifications:
-- the cannon is a hand-made "authentic replica" of a 1857 Napolean 12-pound Field Cannon. The "12-pound" refers to the size of cannon balls it is built to fire. Apparently this sucker has been fired about 200 times in southern Illinois before the Blue Jackets bought it. If you've ever been to southern Illinois, that shouldn't surprise you.

-- the fire marshall has spent lots of time in Nationwide Arena this summer. He's cool with all of this, as long as there's 15 feet of clearance when the cannon gets "blasted."

-- each blast registers about 105 decibles

-- each smoke flash charge in the cannon costs $12. Each "boom from the roof" costs $50.

-- the cannon weighs about 1,800 pounds

-- the cannon (caisson, included) cost "about $20,000" said a high-level VP with the Blue Jackets

As Portzline says this is awesome!

Kudos to the Jackets game op staff for making this wish from the fans out there come true. I think this is going to add tremendous value in terms of making a Jackets game a truly unique experience for the fans.

We all want a winning team first and foremost but lets also not forget that pro sports is all about entertainment. Even Stanley Cup winning teams lose home games throughout the year and if the game ops staff can still make the experience a truly enjoyable and unique one then its still a win.

The game ops is (and has been) doing their job and now its time for the Jackets on the ice to do theirs and really make this year an exciting one -- it all starts this Friday -- hopefully with multiple bangs!!!

-LTL

Brookbank claimed off waivers, more Peca health issues

Some definite news to report today the first of which starts with Sheldon Brookbank (pictured right) getting claimed off of waivers by the New Jersey Devils.

Brookbank was the AHL defensemen of the year last season and signed a 1 year 2-way contract with the Blue Jackets in the offseason. He was thought to, at the very least, add some much needed depth and toughness on the blueline when the inevitable injuries occurred. He would have definitely seen plenty of time up with the big team.

With the emergence of Kris Russell and Marc Methot the Jackets were forced to send Brookbank down to their AHL farm club in Syracuse knowing full well that he would have to pass through waivers. The hope was that he'd pass through and he'd be available to recall when needed. Alas it wasn't meant to be.

So the question now is what will GM Scott Howson do, if anything, to replace that depth? I suspect he's scouring the waiver wire now and looking into UFA or trade options to fill that need created by Brookbank's departure not only for the Jackets' depth sakes, but for the Crunch as they were counting on him as well.

In other CBJ news, Michael Peca did not practice today because of back spasms. Peca is expected to play in that 3rd line center position but so far he hasn't been able to get healthy. The good news is that its not his leg that was broken last year that's keeping him on the shelf. The bad news is that we are counting on him to play a key role on this team and so far they've not been able to get him in the lineup because of various other health issues. Remember that Peca is signed to a 1 year incentive laden deal and one of those triggers is games played, so he has plenty of motivation to get back in this lineup.

Both Foote and Modin did make it through practice today and word out of camp is that Modin looked like his same old dominating puck shielding self.

As a formality, Peca along with Adam Foote and Fredrik Modin were placed on Injured Reserve (IR). That moved enabled the Jackets to meet the NHL mandated roster requirement of 23 players today.

Late breaking news from Aaron Portzline is that Kris Beech has indeed been put on waivers after Fredrik Modin practiced without discomfort today. The Jackets will find out at noon tomorrow if he gets claimed.

If Adam Foote is able to go another player, probably Marc Methot, will need to be sent down. The good news here is that Marc Methot will not have to pass through waivers. If the organization decides to send Curtis Glencross however, he will need to pass through waivers. My hunch is it will be Methot b/c #1 he's a defensemen so that will make room for Foote and #2 the team does not want to lose Glencross on waivers.

As far as Beech (pictured left), my personal opinion is that there is a very good chance he does get claimed. If that happens the great depth we were hoping to have this year is getting quickly taken away by these waiver claims.

The positive here is that GM Scott Howson was at his maximum of 50 contracts and wouldn't have been able to sign anyone more unless he moved some other players under contact. With Brookbank gone and the possibility that Beech could also get claimed he gains a little more flexibility to sign more depth...and he won't stand pat. Perhaps Joel Bouchard gets another look at this point?

-LTL

Vets return to ice

We learn from the Columbus Dispatch this morning that Adam Foote (pictured right), Fredrik Modin and Michael Peca all returned to practice yesterday after missing virtually the entire preseason....and Hitchcock is pleased with that:

"It was good to see those three out on the ice," Hitchcock said. "But we won't get a good read on them until later in the week."

More on the trio:

Peca and Modin skated with Gilbert Brule to form the team's third line. Foote paired with Jan Hedja on the blue line.

Foote, 36, says he got hurt when his skate blade caught a rut while he was going for a water bottle.

Modin, 32, said his back felt good after practice, but the real test will come this morning when he wakes up. He suffered a minor setback while skating two weeks ago. A slight shift to his bottom vertebrae, Modin said, has caused the discomfort.

Peca, 33, was injured in the first two days of drills. He wanted to heal completely so the injury didn't linger into the season. He sounded most confident about playing Friday.

"Physically and mentally, I'm in the right place," he said.

So that is very good news these three are back at it but before we get our hopes up lets see how they respond to a full week of practice. Reading into those comments a little bit it sounds like Peca is fairly good to go but Modin and Foote could still take some time depending how they respond.

In other CBJ news don't look now but Nikolai Zherdev is going to be a regular PKer this season along with Nash:

Nikolai Zherdev will play extensively on the penalty-killing units, Hitchcock said. He believes the winger is a smart player who doesn't get enough credit for his work on the defensive end. Nash also will be a penalty-killing regular.

Looks like Z is definitely next in line for the "Hitch" reclamation project. Remember last year when he first came to Columbus he immediately put Nash on the PK as the first step in getting him more involved and rounding out his complete game and its done wonders. Lets see if the same will hold true for #13.

....and finally more details emerge about the "cannon"!

The Blue Jackets "test fired" their cannon yesterday in the presence of the city fire marshal. The cannon will be shot after Blue Jackets goals and victories. The 105-decibel sound actually comes from speakers above the scoreboard while a plume of white smoke shoots from the cannon barrel. The replica of an 1857 Napoleon field cannon, purchased for approximately $20,000, will be placed behind section 111 in the arena

As always all Dispatch CBJ coverage can be found here.

3 more days until the puck drops for real!!

- LTL

TSN's Bob McKenzie weights on Zherdev...and Boll, Russell and Mason!

First he weighs in on Nikolai Zherdev's trade value:

For all the talk about the possibility of Nikolai Zherdev (pictured left) getting traded, the real question is, who would want him? I am not saying Zherdev is beyond hope but we are talking about a player who was despised by his teammates last season. The good news, so far, is that Zherdev has been working hard off the ice to be a better teammate and it's been duly noted his off-ice demeanor has been better than it was. Now, the bad news. Zherdev has played very poorly on the ice, although he was a bit better in his last couple of outings. The truth is, there is no market for this guy right now. That's not to say that won't change but the Blue Jackets are not aggressively shopping Zherdev right now because there's no market and they know it.

....and then turns his attention to Boll, Russell and Mason:

Jared Boll is going to be an interesting rookie to keep an eye this season. The Plymouth Whaler grad is a fourth-line left winger who fulfills the role of energy player and tough guy. He's not a heavyweight per se, but he has a good attitude, works hard and has an innate understanding of when his team needs him to do something to create a spark or generate momentum, like when he leveled Carolina Rod Brind'Amour with a hit on the weekend. Count on Boll to be in the middle of everything for Columbus this season and to quickly generate a reputation as an unpopular player with everyone in the league but his teammates…

Kris Russell has made the grade on the Blue Jacket blueline. He dominated for them early – he was arguably their best defenceman early in camp - but in the last couple of pre-season games, the going became a little more difficult for the diminutive puck mover with outstanding hockey sense. He will play for them, but it remains to be seen whether he'll find his time and space limited as the level of the games goes up…

Underage goalie Steve Mason will spend at least another week or two with the Jackets before a decision is made on whether to send him back to London of the OHL. Mason excelled in camp - a 1.78 GAA and .913 save percentage in three games played (135 minutes) – and because the veteran goalies (Fredrik Norrena and Pascal Leclaire) are coming off injuries and inconsistency, Mason is being kept around as insurance and to get a better read on his pro ability. It would be a surprise if Mason isn't sent back to London within the month, but that will be determined by the play of all three Columbus goalies.

Tell ya what, not much in this league gets past Bob McKenzie (pictured right) - even for a team way under the rador in the Jackets. He is by far one of my favorite hockey journalist out there. A true master of his craft.

I will say though that I somewhat disagree with his assesment of Zherdev. A few teams get off to a slow start and have difficulty finding the net may get a little desperate and come knocking on the Jackets' door with a good offer for #13.

GM's are a largely egotistical bunch and a lot think "I can turn him around".

Can read more from McKenzie's blog here.

-LTL

Blue Biscuits

USA Today had their NHL season preview in this morning's paper. Unfortunately for NHL fans they annual insert they typically include for their preview was replaced by a two page preview burried deep in the Sports section -- really a dissapointment for a paper that typically gives hockey and the NHL a fair shake. Here is their preview capsule for the Jackets:

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

Goaltending: It's hard to know whether Pascal LeClaire and/or Fredrik Norrena can lead this team to respectability because the overall team performance was so inferior last season.

What's up: This team could surprise you. Coach Ken Hitchcock will make them play better defensively and there is enough talent to be dangerous. When you ponder the potential of Rick Nash, Fredrik Modin, Nikolai Zherdev, Dan Fritsche, Adam Foote, Sergei Fedorov, etc., you wonder why they have played so poorly.

Pressing question: Can Nash stay healthy and perform consistently well enough to be among the NHL's top five NHL players, as projected?

Forecast: Hitchcock's presence is probably worth 10 or more points over a full season, but they will still miss the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season.

So another prediction of last in the conference but they do leave a little crack in the door for a surprise season.

They pick the Penguins to win it all.

Next up are the latest power rankings from ESPN.com - the good news is they aren't last -- the bad news, they are close at 28th:

28. Columbus Blue JacketsCan a team that sports Sergei Fedorov in its lineup really go far? We'd like to see coach Ken Hitchcock work his magic on that one. It's hard to remember that Fedorov was on those Wings' Cup teams ... and dated Anna Kournikova. Michael Peca signed on during the offseason and Rick Nash was buying into Hitch's system late last season, but can that provide a spark?

Hey...no place to go but up right? ...well except two places down.

Next up the power rankings from cbssports.com:

29
Ken Hitchcock has something to work with in his first full season as coach, just not enough for the Blue Jackets to realistically think about the playoffs this season.

Ahh....more of the same.

Spector from FoxSports.com has this to say about the Zherdev situation:

Columbus Blue Jackets winger Nikolai Zherdev did not have an impressive training camp, sparking internet rumors the club was shopping him.

Not so, according to the Columbus Dispatch, citing Zherdev's agent and Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson, both claiming the rumors were "without merit."

Howson stated this summer he's given Zherdev a clean slate for this season, allowing him the opportunity to make amends for his poor performance in 2006-07, but if his training camp struggles carry over into October and November, expectations of a trade will only grow.

If Howson does shop Zherdev, however, he might not find many takers. The enigmatic winger is considered to have a poor work ethic, particularly when it comes to the defensive game, and his $2.5 million-per-season contract will also dampen interest.

There were also rumors last week of the Jackets involved in talks with the Vancouver Canucks for a first line center, but the Dispatch shot those down too, correctly observing the Canucks themselves have no available centers of their own to deal.

That doesn't mean the Jackets won't be in the market for depth at center, particularly as they've been reduced to trying Jiri Novotny, Manny Malholtra and Kris Beech in the first line center role.

Pretty much stuff we've all seen and read before but figured I'd note this one.

The Jackets have also announced opening night activities and its clear they have finally embraced their Civil War connection - some highlights from the article:


To kick off the first Nationwide Night of the year, several pre-game entertainment elements represent a salute to the Civil War connection honored in the team's name. Beginning at 5 p.m., Battelle Plaza (Front St. entrance) will showcase Civil War era fife and drum performers, Civil War re-enactors demonstrating the life of a soldier, and a craft station for kids to make their own Ohio state flag. Also starting a 5 p.m., fans are invited for free public skating and skate rental in the Dispatch Ice Haus until 6:25 p.m. Free cookies and hot apple cider will be offered before the game at both Battelle Plaza and the Dispatch Ice Haus.

Inside the arena, fans will be entertained by the 338th U.S. Army Stage Band, The Thunderbolts, performing on the Bud Light Terrace before the Opening Night show and during intermissions. Fans can also view the Ohio Civil War battle flags on display from the Ohio Historical Society and enter to win an autographed Blue Jackets jersey.

Fans are encouraged to take their seats by 6:45 p.m. for the start of the Opening Night pre-game show. This year's ceremonies feature a live skating performance by Olympian and six-time U.S. National Men’s Figure Skating Champion Todd Eldredge while the video show pays tribute to fans who submitted personal photos demonstrating how they “Carry the Flag.” Other highlights of Opening Night include the traditional player introductions and the unveiling of the new goal celebration.

I'm excited about this (and the pre-game celebration at the Rbar of course!).

..and don't forget about the cannon!! Read more about opening night here and there are tickets still available so don't miss out on this event as opening night is always special and we want Nationwide packed!

Finally some interesting nuggests from around the league:

Sidney Crosby was named Captain of the Pittsburg Penguins in just his 3rd NHL season.

2007 6th overall draft pick, Sam Gagner, has made the Edmoton Oilers roster.

Jason Smith was named captain of the Philadelphia Flyers.

3 more days until opening night!!

-LTL

Fedorov back at #1 center...

Aaron Portzline released the newest sets of lines that will be used this week in practice:

F1 = Nash, Fedorov, Vyborny

F2 = Chimera, Novotny, Zherdev

F3 = Modin, Peca, Brule

F4 = Fritsche, Malhotra, Boll

Definitely a big shakeup here. The most obvious of course is Fedorov getting moved back to the #1 center.

From there Hitch is looking for balance throughout his lineup and Portzline says the other 3 lines will all be used equally depending how they are playing.

He also notes that Pascal Leclaire has been named the started on opening night with Fredrik Norrena getting the start Saturday in Minnesota.

I'm not sure what to think of these lines at this point. I definitely need some time to let them soak in. I do like the idea of balanced scoring but I don't see a lot of toughness in that group outside of Boll and Chimera. Then again, where Hitch gives up having a guy like Shelley to drop the gloves he gains more options in terms of flexibility in his lineup and the ability to roll 4 lines fairly equally.

Speaking of Shelley, he Beech and Glencross with be the 5th line this week in camp.

-LTL