Center Derek Brassard scored 25 points to lead all rookies at the time of
his injury last season, which limited him to 31 games. His return offers an
opportunity for the Jackets to field its best top-six forward combo in the
club’s short history.
Rick Nash’s 40 goals represented the fourth time that the 25-year-old hit
the 30+ mark, and the second time he’d topped 40 in his young career. He
signed a seven-year extension, then volunteered, as a good captain should,
to extend the whopper of a deal to eight years, throwing in one “free”
season. What a guy.
Antoine Vermette signed an extension at the start of training camp to the
tune of $18M for five seasons. He was a very welcome addition late last
season, and gives the Jackets a solid second line center after Brassard, who
will anchor the first. Vermette tallied seven times in 17 late season tilts,
but recorded no points in the playoff series vs. Detroit. He was miscast as
a depth charge in Ottawa, and should be able to get 20 goals or more
full-time in Columbus.
Kris Huselius scored 21 goals, R.J. Umberger, 26, and with Huselius,
Umberger and Vermette entering their second Columbus season together, it
stands to reason that the club’s identity is as sound as ever. Add Russian
prospect Nikita Filatov, who scored 16 goals in 39 AHL games, to crack the
lineup as a rookie.
Certainly the team wants to avenge its first-round sweep at the hands of
Detroit, so look for the Blue Jackets to make some divisional hay early in
the season by getting fired up for games vs. the Wings.
Checking line center Sami Pahlsson signed a three-year deal. Surely coach
Ken Hitchcock can make good use of Pahlsson’s shutdown abilities. Down the
middle, with Brassard, Pahlsson and Vermette, the team has as strong a crew
of centers as ever.
Defensively, the club, which finished ninth in team defense last season,
is ready to improve on its already-solid credentials. Jan Hejda (+23) is
quietly becoming a solid shutdown defender, and Mike Commodore had one of
his finest seasons. Overall, the defense is in need of a puck-moving
defenseman who can score. It doesn’t have one now, although physically, the
defense is solid. Look for Jon Sigalet, acquired in trade with Boston in
2008, to get a shot at the offensive-defenseman position. He scored five
times in 19 AHL contests last season.
Achilles’ heel: Power play. Brutal. 30th in the league, largely because
the club’s defense doesn’t chip in enough.
Steve Mason had a spectacular season, won the Calder trophy by a wide
margin (over Bobby Ryan) and was second in the Vezina race. One hell of a
start. Now, the encore. And you knew this was coming: What about the
sophomore jinx? Oh, and did we fail to mention that his predecessor, Pascal
Leclaire, recorded nine shutouts for these same Blue Jackets the year prior
(2007-08)? Didn’t mean to suggest that things could be shakier than we
thought in the Columbus net, but that’s the situation. Mathieu Garon comes
over from Pittsburgh to back up.
