The Impressive Rise Of The Columbus Blue Jackets
Raise your hand if you had the Columbus Blue Jackets ripping off 12 straight wins and rocketing to the top of the NHL as the league’s best team.
You’re not alone.
Outside of those who built the team or are currently playing for them, few had the Blue Jackets “making any noise” in the East. Coming off a poor showing in the World Cup of Hockey, bench boss John Tortorella was the odds on favorite to be fired first this season. What a difference a couple of months make.
The “first fired” honor would end up going to Gerard Gallant, who was let go by Florida. Tortorella, meanwhile, is guiding the Blue Jackets to one of their best runs in franchise history.
But there were a couple victories that stood out along the way:
- Thumping Montreal 10-0 in Columbus back on November 4th. It was significant for two reasons: first, they blew out a Habs team on an eight game winning streak. Second, it signaled the turnaround for the Jackets was underway. Though at the time it was their third consecutive victory, Columbus recovered from an 0-2 start and were then 5-3-2 after its first 10 games. Since then, the Jackets are a staggering 18-2-2.
- In the battle of the Metropolitan Division this past week, the Jackets slapped the defending champ Penguins in the face with a 7-1 romp that gave them sole possession of first place.
Columbus is undefeated in the month of December, and with only three games remaining before the calendar turns over to 2017, they have the possibility of running the table in the final month of 2016. The Jackets have rightfully received a lot of press for their performance.
Puck Daddy’s Sean Leahy writes that the cunning signing of Sam Gagner has paid dividends for the Jackets. Currently, Gagner has 26 points (14-12) and has been one of the better value based signings in years (one-year, $650K).
Eric Seeds from Blue Jackets blog The Cannon argues that the Jackets are for real, no matter what pundits say. Seeds points out a number of the catalysts for the teams rise. First, netminder Sergei Bobrovsky has been healthy and dominant. Back in August, it was reported that the Jackets had sunk significant resources into ensuring Bobrovsky’s training was top notch. So far, so good. His numbers (21-5-2, .935 save percentage) should remain strong should he remain healthy and not run into the bumps of the past–which usually centered around getting injured.
One other point: the emergence of 19-year-old Zach Werenski. Much has been written about the dynamic defenseman from the University of Michigan who stands as one of the better bets to win the Calder Trophy as the league’s best rookie. Werenski has helped the power play tremendously, and has shored up a blue line with other young talents like Seth Jones.
Fans and other teams are taking notice, but it doesn’t concern Tortorella, who has been vigilant in keeping attention off of his streaking team, especially since there are some who think the Jackets might not be as strong as they look.
Regardless of how it turns out, the Jackets’ rise in the Eastern Conference has been a treat for the hockey world to watch–and rewarding for a fan base that has only seen two playoff appearances in the organization’s sixteen seasons.
Are the Blue Jackets for real?
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Yes 60% (269)
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Still too early to tell 28% (126)
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No 12% (55)
Total votes: 450
Mobile users vote here
Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Twenty-Sixth Overall Pick
Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.
We’re looking back at the 2005 NHL Draft, which kicked off the salary cap era and ushered in many of the current NHL superstars. The question we’re looking to answer is knowing now what we didn’t know then, how different would this draft look now with the benefit of hindsight?
Here are the results of our redraft so far:
1st Overall: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
2nd Overall: Carey Price (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)
3rd Overall: Anze Kopitar (Carolina Hurricanes)
4th Overall: Jonathan Quick (Minnesota Wild)
5th Overall: Kris Letang (Montreal Canadiens)
6th Overall: Tuukka Rask (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Bobby Ryan (Chicago Blackhawks)
8th Overall: Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose Sharks)
9th Overall: Ben Bishop (Ottawa Senators)
10th Overall: James Neal (Vancouver Canucks)
11th Overall: T.J. Oshie (Los Angeles Kings)
12th Overall: Keith Yandle (New York Rangers)
13th Overall: Paul Stastny (Buffalo Sabres)
14th Overall: Marc Staal (Washington Capitals)
15th Overall: Patric Hornqvist (New York Islanders)
16th Overall: Niklas Hjalmarsson (Atlanta Thrashers)
17th Overall: Anton Stralman (Phoenix Coyotes)
18th Overall: Jack Johnson (Nashville Predators)
19th Overall: Matt Niskanen (Detroit Red Wings)
20th Overall: Justin Abdelkader (Florida Panthers)
21st Overall: Martin Hanzal (Toronto Maple Leafs)
22nd Overall: Andrew Cogliano (Boston Bruins)
23rd Overall: Kris Russell (New Jersey Devils)
24th Overall: Darren Helm (St. Louis Blues)
25th Overall: Cody Franson (Edmonton Oilers)
Now we move forward to the 26th pick, which was held by the Calgary Flames.
To recap how this works:
- We will go through the 2005 NHL Draft and have our readers select, through a voting process, who they think should have been taken with the selection.
- The entire first round will be redrafted, spanning picks one through thirty. The new selection is chosen by the majority of votes.
Back in 2005, the Flames took defenseman Matt Pelech from the Sarnia Sting. Since being drafted, Pelech played a total of 13 games in the NHL, tallying four points (1-3). Of those 13 games, Pelech spent five with the Flames and the other eight with San Jose. During the 2013-14 season, Pelech spent time in the ECHL with the Utah Grizzlies after playing for both San Jose and its AHL affiliate Worcester. A season later, Pelech recorded 39 games with the Rochester Americans. Last season, Pelech appeared in 49 games for the Schwenningen Wild Wings in the DEL (Germany) and has played the current season with Graz EC in the Austrian league.
With the 26th pick of the 2005 NHL Redraft, who should the Flames select? Cast your vote below! Mobile users, you can vote here!
With the 26th overall pick, the Calgary Flames select...
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Benoit Pouliot 28% (144)
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Devin Setoguchi 20% (103)
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Vladimir Sobotka 16% (80)
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Mason Raymond 9% (44)
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Steve Downie 8% (39)
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Sergei Kostitsyn 7% (34)
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Jakub Kindl 6% (30)
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Nathan Gerbe 3% (14)
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Jared Boll 2% (11)
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Jack Skille 2% (9)
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Gilbert Brule 1% (7)
Total votes: 515
Panthers Lose Reilly Smith For 7 – 10 Days
Last night, the Florida Panthers blew a two-goal third period lead in their 4 – 3 loss to Detroit. Compounding that disappointment further is word that the team will be without the services of winger Reilly Smith for the next 7 – 10 days, according to head coach Tom Rowe via George Richards of the Miami Herald. Smith, who scored a goal in the first frame, suffered a concussion after a heavy hit from Niklas Kronwall in the second period.
Projecting a recovery time line for a concussion is usually a trick endeavor but Rowe said the team believes “it’s not too serious,” and the hope is that Smith will be back sooner rather than later.
Smith has scored seven goals and has 15 points in 35 games for Florida while averaging a career-best 19:12 of ice time per game. He’s been heating up as of late with three markers and five points over his last six contests. Last season the 25-year-old forward scored a career-high 25 goals and 50 points, helping the Panthers to an Atlantic Division championship and the team’s first playoff berth in four years. Smith’s production prompted Florida to sign the winger to a five-year, $25MM extension this past July, even though Smith still had a year remaining on his current contract.
Pastrnak, Vatrano, Marchessault Expected Back For Bruins-Panthers
Tonight’s Atlantic Division match-up between the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers will see the return of two of the 2016-17 season’s biggest breakout stars and the season debut of another breakout candidate. According to coach Claude Julien, the Bruins will welcome back David Pastrnak to the lineup after he missed the past two games following surgery to remove an olecranon bursa from his right elbow and will get their first look this season at 2015-16 revelation Frank Vatrano, who has been out all season after tearing ligaments in his foot during training camp. To counter, the Panthers expect Jonathan Marchessault back in the lineup after missing seven of Florida’s past eight games with a lower body injury , as reported by beat writer George Richards. With both teams struggling to best .500 hockey in December, they are hoping that the return of this talent will jump-start the rest of the squad. However, only one team can come out with the win on Thursday night.
Pastrnak has been one of the most exciting players in the NHL this season. Playing on Boston’s top line with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, Pastrnak has 19 goals in just 27 games already this year, nearly a quarter of Boston’s 78 total goals. His 19 are second only to superstar Sidney Crosby, who has 22 in the same number of games. Altogether, the 20-year-old Pastrnak has 26 points, just one short of his career-best, and the season is not even halfway over. By year’s end, the Bruins could have their first 50-goal scorer since Cam Neely scored 50 in 1993-94.
The Bruins are obviously excited about Pastrnak’s season, but it has been even more crucial to their success given the unexpected absence of Vatrano. After leaving UMass-Amherst early to sign with the Bruins, Vatrano made the most of his first pro season in 2015-16. With the AHL’s Providence Bruins, Vatrano led the league with 36 goals (in just 36 games no less) and helped linemates Austin Czarnik and Seth Griffith finish in the top ten in scoring as well. With his scoring ability apparent, the Bruins called up the 22-year-old sniper and he contributed eight goals and three assists in 39 games in Boston. Going into the new season, Vatrano was expected to compete for a top six spot. Now that he has returned, Vatrano’s scoring punch will be a much-needed boost for the Bruins’ 25th-ranked offense. Vatrano is expected to skate on the left side of Providence teammate Czarnik and Riley Nash on Botston’s third line tonight.
While not quite keeping pace with Pastrnak, Marchessault has been an equally impressive and surprising revelation this season. After toiling in the minors for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Tampa Bay Lightning for years, Marchessault signed with Florida for two years at just $750K per year. That deal has already paid off, as Marchessault made the team out of camp and has already given the Panthers 10 goals and 10 assists this season. Florida is also struggling to score, with the 24th-ranked offense in the league, and Marchessault is their leading goal-scorer. They’ll be happy to get him back, and just in time for a game against a team that leads them in the division.
Panthers Recall Mike McKenna On Emergency Basis
The Florida Panthers have recalled goalie Mike McKenna on an emergency basis according to the team’s website. George Richards tweets that McKenna will back up James Reimer tonight, while Bill Whitehead tweets that he isn’t sure why Luongo will be unavailable. Harvey Fialkov adds that with Luongo dressed, it’s most likely a maintenance day for the veteran netminder.
With Springfield this season, McKenna has appeared in 13 games, posting a 4-6-3 mark and an .864 save percentage. The press release also indicates that McKenna appeared in his 400th AHL contest on November 7th. He is only the 15th goaltender in AHL history to reach this plateau.
Jaromir Jagr Ties Mark Messier For Second-Most Points
Jaromir Jagr played his first NHL game on October 5, 1990 in Washington. He scored the first goal and point of his Hall of Fame career two nights later at home versus the New Jersey Devils.
So far, 766 players have played in the NHL this season. Just 455 of those, or 58%, were born before the end of 1990. Jagr has played against players born from 1951 (Guy Lafleur) to 1998 (Patrik Laine). Yet he’s still here, and reached an incredible milestone on Tuesday night: Jagr is now tied with Mark Messier for second all-time in NHL scoring.
With three assists against the Sabres, Jagr now has 755 goals, 1,132 assists, and 1,887 points. That’s 524 points more than the next highest active player, Joe Thornton. The 45-year-old Jagr is now playing in his twenty-third NHL season, and has played for eight teams.
The new top five for all-time points looks like this, until Jagr gets his next:
1. Wayne Gretzky – 2,857 points in 1487 games
T2. Jaromir Jagr – 1,887 points in 1662 games
T2. Mark Messier – 1,887 points in 1756 games
3. Gordie Howe – 1,850 points in 1767 games
4. Ron Francis – 1,798 points in 1731 games
5. Marcel Dionne – 1,771 points in 1348 games
Jagr has said that he wants to play until he’s at least 50-years-old. Should he average 50 points from now until then, he would end up in the neighborhood of 2,150 points. While he would still be 700 points behind Gretzky, he would be the first, and likely only NHLer to ever surpass Gretzky’s assist total. The first years of fantasy hockey pools had a rule: no one could take Gretzky, it was either his goals or his assists. That rule was there for a good reason, as Gretzky still has more assists than any other player in history has points, with 1,963. TSN’s Frank Seravelli wrote that Jagr would need to start another Hall of Fame career to even come close to Gretzky, but says “finishing second only to Gretzky, though, is sort of like being first among the rest of the nearly 6,000 other mere mortals to play in the NHL.”
While it may seem like a longshot for anyone to play until the age of 50, Jagr is still having fun. He’s brought back his legendary mullet from the 1990s and is still one of the most dedicated players in the league when it comes to staying in shape. He once told Sportsnet Magazine:
“The time between when I quit hockey and I die, I want it to be the shortest. It’s not going to be as exciting, that time. So as long as I can play, that’s what I’m doing. If I can play ’til I die, that’s what I will do. What else are you gonna do?”
Snapshots: Steel, Cogliano, Jagr
News and notes from around the NHL this evening:
- The Anaheim Ducks announced today that they’ve signed 2016 1st round draft pick (30th overall) Sam Steel to a three-year Entry Level Contract. The Ducks acquired the pick from the Toronto Maple Leafs—who themselves acquired it from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Phil Kessel trade— in the Frederik Andersen trade. Steele is lighting up the WHL this season, scoring 23G and 31A in 25 games. Despite his numbers, Steele was a surprise cut from Team Canada’s World Junior Team.
- Staying with the Anaheim Ducks, forward Andrew Cogliano surpasses Jay Bouwmeester for the fifth-longest consecutive game streak with 738 consecutive games played. Cogliano has never missed a game in his entire NHL career, and is the only active player with such a significant streak from the start of their career.
- Florida Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr is two points away from tying Mark Messier for second on the NHL’s all-time points list with 1887 points. Jagr started tonight three points back but as of 7:15CST has one assist in the Panthers’ game against Buffalo Sabres. Jagr has 1885 points (755G and 1129A) in 1661 NHL games. One wonders how many more points Jagr would have amassed had he not played in the KHL from 2008-2011.
Atlantic Notes: Drouin, Khudobin, Vatrano, Panthers
After a slow start to the season, Lightning left winger Jonathan Drouin has picked up his scoring at the right time, writes Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. After a slow start to the season with three goals in his first 17 games, Drouin has scored four times in the last seven contests while picking up a total of eight points over that span.
With injuries to four players up front, Drouin has been thrust into a top role, something he has been craving dating back to last year when he left the team midseason in the hopes of a trade. (Among the injured players, right winger Ryan Callahan is expected to return during their current road trip while left winger Ondrej Palat hasn’t been ruled out of Tuesday’s game in Detroit.)
Drouin is a restricted free agent at the end of the season as he is in the final season of his entry-level deal. His career numbers haven’t been too impressive for a former third overall pick (back in 2013) but if he can keep up this type of production on a more consistent basis, it would go a long way towards helping his case for a long-term contract this offseason.
More from the Atlantic Division:
- The Bruins have not received the type of goaltending they were expected when they brought back Anton Khudobin to back up Tuukka Rask. He has just one win in six starts with a 3.20 GAA and a .886 SV%. In a reader mailbag, CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty suggests that Khudobin may get another start or two to try to turn things around but if he continues to struggle, they should consider bringing back Zane McIntyre before looking outside the organization. McIntyre didn’t have the best of starts to his career in a pair of games earlier this year but has been simply stellar in the minors with a 1.31 GAA and a .953 SV% in nine games, numbers that suggest he’s worthy of another look before too long.
- Still with Boston, the team announced that they have recalled left winger Frank Vatrano from their AHL affiliate in Providence. The 22 year old has yet to play in the NHL this season after undergoing foot surgery in late September. He got into a pair of games in the minors over the weekend, scoring twice. Vatrano had 36 goals in just 36 AHL games last year, leading the league in that category despite playing in less than half the games and is an intriguing addition to a lineup that is looking for some secondary offense.
- With Panthers owner Vinnie Viola being named as Secretary of the Army by U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump, alternate governor Doug Cifu will take over as the chairman and governor for the team, notes George Richards of the Miami Herald. Ownership of the team will remain in the Viola family but will be placed into a trust, subject to the approval of the Board of Governors, the team adds in a press release.
Injury Notes: Green, Cizikas, Huberdeau
After taking a late hit from the Anaheim Ducks’ Ryan Kesler as the game was ending last night, Red Wings’ defenseman Mike Green is “probably day to day” according to GM Ken Holland (via Brendan Savage of MLive). While the team is taking the day off, they’ll know more about his condition on Monday. The Red Wings won the game on the back of Tomas Tatar‘s first career hat trick, and Green logged his normal heavy workload. The veteran defender has 18 points in 32 games this season and is on pace for another solid year. With 413 points in 681 games, Green has been one of the most consistent offensive producers from the back end over the last decade, though he hasn’t suited up for 80+ games since 2007-08. Injuries seem to find him, and we’ll keep an eye on his status heading into Monday’s matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes.
- The Islanders announced today that Casey Cizikas will be out for a while, as he’s unable to even skate yet. The 25-year old center missed the Islanders’ last game with an upper-body injury, and it’s unclear if he’ll be back before the Christmas break. Cizikas has taken on a larger role with the team this season due to their lack of depth down the middle, playing over 14 minutes a night. With 13 points in 29 games, he was well on his way to a career year before the injury – his previous being 29 last season. In his absence, Brock Nelson moved back to center and Anders Lee moved up to the top line. Cal Clutterbuck, a longtime winger of Cizikas, was skating alongside Ryan Strome.
- Down in Florida, the return of Jonathan Huberdeau is inching closer and closer. Harvey Filakov of the Sun Sentinel tweeted out some photos of the young forward skating by himself today as the Panthers took the day off from the ice. Huberdeau has missed the entire season so far with a leg injury, after putting up a career high 20 goals and 59 points last season. As Florida struggles to a 14-13-5 record, they’ll welcome Huberdeau back with open arms and expect the former 3rd overall pick to help them push for a playoff spot down the stretch. The team could really use him, as they currently rank 23rd in goals for.
Another Look At What’s Gone Wrong In Florida
It’s been nothing if not trying for the Florida Panthers in 2016-17. Expected to contend for a second consecutive division title following an offseason spending splurge, the Cats have instead underachieved, resulting in the removal of 2015-16 Jack Adams finalist Gerard Gallant as the team’s head coach. That step has yet to pay off, with the Panthers winning just three of 11 since the change behind the bench.
The turmoil doesn’t end with the head coaching situation. Last year the team promoted former GM Dale Tallon to the role of president of hockey operations. Though it was referred to as a “promotion,” in effect it reduced the veteran executive’s influence within the organization, according to industry sources. Tom Rowe was promoted to take over the general manager spot and other organizational moves apparently were made to highlight the greater use of analytics in the player personnel department. With Rowe replacing Gallant behind the bench, it appears as if owner Vinny Viola has gone back to Tallon, offering at least some of the decision-making authority back to the respected hockey man.
It’s been a difficult start to 2016-17 in Florida, to say the least, and while the disconnect between the front office and Gallant certainly played some role in the early-season struggles of the team, Adam Gretz of Fan Rag Sports Network identifies three other factors which are also responsible in part for Florida’s failings.
Number one on Gretz’s list is the departure of veteran puck-moving blue liner Brian Campbell. Campbell spent five seasons skating primarily on the top pair in Florida and helped mentor former top overall draft selection Aaron Ekblad. Gretz argues that the loss of Campbell has been understated and overshadowed in some circles by the losses of Erik Gudbranson and Willie Mitchell. It may be easy to point the finger at the new, analytically-driven front office for allowing Campbell to leave while doling out huge free agent bucks to Keith Yandle and Jason Demers, But the 37-year-old blue liner returned to Chicago in the offseason on a well below-market, one-year deal worth $2.25MM (with a games-played bonus included), suggesting Campbell may have had little interest in coming back to Florida.
Gretz also points out that the goaltending simply hasn’t been good enough. The team added veteran backstop James Reimer in free agency to pair with Roberto Luongo between the pipes and while the strategy was sound the results simply haven’t been good enough. Reimer has a GAA of 2.77 and a Save % of 0.904, numbers that rank outside the top-30 among qualified goalies in the league. Luongo, meanwhile, started off the campaign strong but has scuffled of late. He has allowed 18 goals in his last five games and has won just one of his last six starts.
Lastly, injuries to key players have contributed to the team’s poor start. Top-line left wing Jonathan Huberdeau, who reached the 20-goal plateau for the first time in his career in 2015-16, has yet to play a game this season. Nick Bjugstad missed the first six weeks and has just one point in 13 games since he returned. Finnish forward Jussi Jokinen, who finished second on the team last season with 60 points, missed 11 contests earlier in the campaign and has just five points.
Needless to say, much has gone wrong for Florida this season, and no matter who has final say in the front office, they’ll be an interesting team to watch leading into the trade deadline.