The Columbus Blue Jackets' 2009-10 Season: R.I.P. (Part 2 of 2)

In Part One, the Blue Jackets' problems were explored. Part Two looks at what fans can expect to see in Columbus between now and the start of next season.

WHERE DO THEY GO FROM HERE?

Obviously, the Blue Jackets have many issues to address. First and foremost, does Coach Ken Hitchcock have a future in Columbus? The fact that he survived a brutal 6-17-7 stretch from Games 21-50 is remarkable; I can't think of ANY other coach to keep his job through such a slump. The single issue which will (I believe) have the biggest impact on Hitch's future with the club is the progress, between now and the end of the season, of Derick Brassard (and, to a lesser extent, Jakub Voracek).

By constantly shuffling Brassard throughout the lineup and displaying an obvious lack of trust in the young center, Hitch has succeeded only in damaging Brassard's confidence and impeding his development as a player. To remedy the situation, the coach has to get the most out of the final 30 games: Brassard needs to center the Jackets' top line (Rick Nash's line) from here on out. Brass was projected to be a top line center for Columbus, and he must now be afforded the opportunity to grow into that role.

Bottom Line: Columbus is one of the youngest teams in the NHL, and Ken Hitchcock must now demonstrate an ability to develop young talent. If he doesn't show progress in this area, management must make a coaching change in the offseason.

On the GM front, Scott Howson must begin entertaining offers for certain players, and move them before the trade deadline. According to Columbus Dispatch beat writer Aaron Portzline, the most likely players to be moved are: Nikita Filatov, Raffi Torres, Jared Boll, Freddy Modin and Milan Jurcina. While I wouldn't be at all surprised to see four of the five aforementioned players changing addresses in the next few weeks, expect Howson to take his time moving Nikita Filatov. The young superstar-in-the-making is a valuable asset, and Howson needs to (at least) break even on any deal. As Columbus still needs a swift-skating, puck-moving, top-two defenseman, a trade with Atlanta would seem to be a good fit for all parties.

Columbus will undoubtedly trade roster players for draft picks and prospects. At some point between now and October, those draft picks and prospects have to turn into a faster defensive corps. As the Blue Jackets demonstrated last Saturday, they can skate (and score) with the (early Stanley Cup favorite) Chicago Blackhawks. If Columbus wants to play a more wide-open style of hockey, however, they need d-men who can keep up.

In the crease, look for Steve Mason to see more playing time. His confidence has taken a hit this season, but he's looked better in the past couple of weeks. Mase should be given the opportunity to find his rhythm over the next 30 games, as he (not Garon) is the future of the franchise in net.

Overall, expect the Blue Jackets to loosen up and play better hockey between now and April, as the pressure to make the playoffs dissipates. This will, of course, prompt frustrated fans to wonder "Why in the @#&% couldn't they play like this earlier?!?!?" C'est la vie. The Jackets will have a long summer to reflect on this (lost) season, and will enter training camp in September eager to prove themselves.

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How Do You Solve A Problem Like Nikita?

photo: guardian.co.uk photo: Shaun Best/Reuters (h/t sportsillustrated.cnn.com)


It seems Nikita Filatov - the Columbus Blue Jackets' wayward wunderkind - has been shooting his mouth off again about his treatment at the hands of Jackets' coach Ken Hitchcock. While his exact statement isn't clear, if the gist of the report is correct, it sounds as though young Filatov's return to Columbus will be preceded by a cold day in the Congo. Assuming that's the case, GM Scott Howson now finds himself with quite a dilemma: Fire Hitchcock, or trade Filatov?

Until the last two games (and Friday night's solid W over Calgary in particular), the answer would've been clear: Call Hitch into the office and give him the old "the club is moving in a different direction" speech. With the losing streak over, and with the team looking (in Calgary) like last season's playoff-bound Blue Jackets, it appears as though the players are responding to their coach and the ship is being righted. Thus, replacing the coach would seem to be a much less attractive option at this point.

On the other hand, Nikita Filatov seems to have "future NHL superstar" written all over him. He recorded his first (and only, so far) NHL hat-trick at the age of eighteen. After scoring two goals while averaging just over eight minutes of ice time in 13 games this season, Filatov returned to Mother Russia...where he put up 5-9-14 in his first 12 games, while averaging over 17 minutes per game. This kid is The Real Deal. He's said repeatedly that he wants to play in the NHL, but that's the key: he wants to PLAY in the NHL, not ride the pine with fourth-line minutes or eat pretzels in the press box. If Filatov won't play hockey The Hitchcock Way, however, fourth-line minutes is all he'll get...and he's made it clear that he won't do that any longer. What's a GM to do?

Undoubtedly, many other clubs with coaches NOT named Hitchcock would love to have Filatov on their second or third lines, and there are several situations in which the kid could thrive. Atlanta would seem to be a perfect fit, with coach John Anderson's run-and-gun offense and back-checking exemptions for Russian-born superstars. Another advantage of sending Filatov to the Thrashers is the fact that they're not in the same conference. The question, then, is: What can the Blue Jackets get in return?

*Big Tex dons his "Mad Hockey Scientist" fedora*

Columbus continues to search for a Grade A puck-moving defenseman, and Atlanta has a few to choose from: Tobias Enstrom, Zack Bogosian and Pavel Kubina. While the Thrashers might part with Kubina easier due to his age (32), the Blue Jackets would be much better served by acquiring either Enstrom or Bogosian for Filatov. Would Atlanta GM Don Waddell part with either of his young star d-men for the enigmatic Nikita Filatov? If he can't re-sign Ilya Kovalchuk, then this trade looks much better from Atlanta's perspective.

Realistically, however, Howson will take his sweet time before acting. After all, he's under no pressure to move Filatov NOW. On the other hand, if the Blue Jackets' play during the last two games proves to be a fluke, rather than the beginning of a trend, Howson will have to replace Ken Hitchcock. Should that come to pass, Filatov might very well skate for the Blue Jackets next season. At this point, only one thing is certain: If Hitchcock stays, Filatov must go...and vice versa.

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What's Up with Columbus?

AP Photo/Jay LaPrete h/t Mile High Hockey


In the 2008-09 season, the Columbus Blue Jackets battled through injuries, illness, and arguably the toughest division in the NHL to secure the first playoff berth in franchise history. This season, the ‘Jackets were called CHASING STANLEY – IN the playoffs – by OGA upon the completion of their 20th game (19 November). Since then, Columbus has appeared hell-bent on proving OGA wrong, as they stumbled, stammered and generally stunk up the ice en route to a 2-5-4 record. Even before the recent slump, however, this team was clearly NOT last seasons’ Blue Jackets: Some nights, they would play their trademark tight defensive game, and others, they were flat-out brutal. Much like Forrest Gump’s famed box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get. This begs the question: What’s up with Columbus? Let’s break it down, from goal line to goal line.

Goaltending: Last season, Steve Mason battled through mononucleosis to win the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie and was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy. This season, Mason appears to have fallen victim to the dreaded Sophomore Slump. Wednesday night, Mase recorded his first shutout of the season in a 3-0 victory over Florida. That solid outing lowered his GAA to 3.29 and raised his Save Pct. to .892. This time last season, Mason had a GAA of 1.98, a Save Pct. of .923, and two shutouts. Clearly, he’s struggling this season, but the problem isn’t entirely his own…

Defensemen: 31 games into the season, and Fedor Tyutin is the only blueliner to play every game. Defensive stalwart Mike Commodore has missed 11 games, due to injury, illness, and conditioning issues due to injury and illness. Jan Hejda, who has the ‘Jackets best plus/minus over the last two seasons (+20 and +23, respectively), has missed 8 games and is just a +1. The inability of the Blue Jackets to dress the same six d-men every night has led to constant juggling of defensive pairs, which has had a noticeable impact on defensive chemistry…and the struggles of the defensive corps have only magnified Steve Mason’s slump. Don’t look for much improvement any time soon – Rostislav Klesla is out at least until January after suffering both a torn groin and a torn abdominal muscle against St. Louis on 1 DEC.

Forwards: The Blue Jackets forwards are accomplishing their primary mission: scoring goals. In fact, Columbus is averaging 3.00 goals per game, tying them with Los Angeles for 6th in the NHL. Franchise cornerstone and Captain Rick Nash leads the team with 16-16-32 in 31 games. Winger Kristian Huselius is 2nd on the team in scoring with 11-13-24 in 27 games. The increase in their productivity over last season is due largely to the addition of pivot Antoine Vermette (31 GP, 8-15-23). Unlike seasons past, Columbus can no longer be considered a one-line team, as RJ Umberger (31GP, 9-13-22), young Jakub Voracek (31GP, 7-11-18) and Raffi Torres (28GP, 10-6-16) have provided much-needed scoring depth.

The news isn’t all good, however: Derick Brassard, who showed such promise before a shoulder injury ended his 08-09 season after just 31 games, has struggled to regain his pre-injury form. As a result, he’s been bounced from the 1st to the 4th line, and everywhere in between. Brassard’s hard-working goal against Florida Wednesday night ended a 14-game goal drought, and (hopefully) signaled the beginning of better things to come from the youngster, who has the potential to be a top-line center for Columbus.

In other bad news, the Blue Jackets have been without three key forwards for long stretches this season. Freddy Modin, who plays Coach Ken Hitchcock’s brand of hockey to a “T”, was injured in the preseason and has yet to play in 09-10 (but is expected to go this Saturday against Anaheim). Likewise, injury has limited Andrew “Weighty” Murray to just 9 games, and the hard-hitting Derek Dorsett to 20 games. Along with right wing Jared Boll, these forwards represent the heart of Columbus’ physicality (and in the case of Modin, a little goal-scoring flair, as well). Without Modin, Murray or Dorsett in the lineup, the Blue Jackets aren’t anywhere near as tough to play against as they were last season. To paraphrase a line from A Few Good Men, Columbus wants these guys on that wall. They NEED them on that wall.

Coaching: Ken Hitchcock is practically revered in Columbus, and rightfully so: Hitch has done a fantastic job with this team, leading them to the first playoff berth in franchise history last season, and making the Jackets a very tough (this season excepted, for the reasons above) team to play against. As GM Scott Howson stated last week, despite the Jackets’ recent struggles, Hitchcock’s job is safe…

HOWEVER, the handling of future superstar Nikita Filatov has to be a concern. The kid is an enormous talent, but two recent interviews give a pretty clear indication of his feelings toward Hitch: Filatov doesn’t feel that Hitchcock placed any trust in him, and was very unhappy with his limited ice time (8:07 per game, with too many nights spent watching from the press box). Thus, he decided to return to Mother Russia, where he promptly put up four goals and two assists in four games to earn KHL rookie of the week honors. While Filatov says he’s inclined to return to Columbus for training camp next September, the suspicion here is that it’ll be a cold day in Key West before he agrees to play on a team coached by Ken Hitchcock.

This blogger can’t help but wonder how different things would be for young Filatov today if he had been drafted by, for example, the Atlanta Thrashers. Playing in John Anderson’s up-tempo system, with Ilya Kovalchuk as a mentor, is it unrealistic to imagine he would be on the 2nd line and an early favorite for the Calder Memorial Trophy? Scott Howson has to be thinking trade at this point, as he’s got to salvage something from the situation. Sending Filatov to an Eastern Conference team would be ideal. Columbus could use a good puck-moving defenseman to work the point on the PP (though Anton Stralman has been just fine in that regard), and Atlanta has several blueliners who fit the bill. Mr. Howson, do you need Don Waddell’s phone number? And with that, I’m through playing matchmaker for today.

Conclusion: While Columbus clearly isn’t where they need to be this season, the (somewhat surprising) fact is that they currently have a better record (14-11-6, 34pts) than they did at this time last season (14-14-3, 31pts). There are legitimate concerns about certain aspects of the Blue Jackets’ game, which have led to much wailing and gnashing of teeth among fans of the team. The fact is, though, that the number (and volume) of alarm bells going off in Columbus are the direct result of raised expectations for this team. Fans – and the team itself – expect another playoff run in 09-10. And that’s a good thing. Can the Blue Jackets right the ship and play into late April? OGA says so (and almost 90% of the time, you can take that to the bank).

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Bon Voyage, Nikita Filatov - by Big Tex

photo: www.faceoff.com


I'm very disappointed to see Nikita Filatov leaving Columbus for Russia and the KHL. Not surprised, mind you, just disappointed. The Blue Jackets have been grooming the kid for stardom, as evidenced by the controversy they created last season with their decision to bring Filatov up from Syracuse to watch Columbus' final push for a playoff berth, rather than playing on a Syracuse team which was also in the playoff hunt. Conventional Wisdom going into this season was that Filatov was ready for the NHL. Apparently, Jackets' Coach Ken Hitchcock didn't think so, as evidenced by multiple healthy scratches and fourth-line minutes for the young Muscovite.

Youth is undoubtedly a factor here. Clearly, Filatov was unhappy with his limited ice time, and the impatience of youth certainly factored in his decision to go to the KHL, where he'll get top-line minutes. Impatience aside, Filatov (unsourced speculation alert: ...and GM Scott Howson, perhaps?) isn't too far in the wrong here: He can only learn so much from the Press Box, and needs to be on the ice in order to achieve his full potential. In order to get the minutes he felt he deserved, however, Filatov needed to embrace The Hitchcock Way, which can be difficult even for North American-born superstars (just ask Mike Modano or Brett Hull).

Instead, the kid has chosen the easy way out. By going to Russia, Filatov will gain confidence and his offensive game will blossom. By not playing for Hitchcock, though, his defensive game will never fully develop. In essence, Filatov could be shortening his career - NHL or KHL - by going this route. Ask yourself this question: Would Mike Modano still be in the NHL if he couldn't center a checking line? Hitch taught Mo the Art of Two-Way Hockey. He could teach young Nikita Filatov, too...if only the kid wanted to learn.

On a related note, I'll be in the arena for the Blue Jackets' next game. Thursday night, I'll be Tweeting as fast as my fat fingers can fly across the oh-so-tiny keys of my Blackjack, as Columbus visits Dallas to kick off a five-game roadie. Follow along @OGAs_BigTex. Whatever happens, I promise I won't Tweet lines from Anchorman (thanks for that, James Mirtle).

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