I am clearly still reeling from the trade deadline. I should have greatly enjoyed this game. It was an old time hockey game, with a lot of hitting and fighting, and was a close game that was in doubt up until the end. I’ll get to my thoughts in the Stud and Dud sections, but needless to say I wasn’t a fan of the Jackets moves over the last few days. I like the Cam Atkinson extension, as it’s a fair price for a 2nd/3rd line tweener, although the Jackets now have quite of few of those type players signed for decent money. Anyway, back to the game. The Jackets fell 5-3 to the Capitals, after battling back from multiple two goal deficits to keep it within one goal up to the Caps empty netter with nine seconds left. The game featured fisticuffs from new Jackets Justin Falk and David Clarkson (sort of), as well as Cody Goloubef, Jared Boll and Dalton Prout. Also worth noting was the return of Sergei Bobrovsky, who was solid, stopping 28 of the 32 shots he faced.
3rd Star: Niklas Backstrom
Backstrom is really good. He’s played his whole career next to the lightning rod that is Alex Ovechkin, so he’s constantly overlooked. He gets called underrated enough that he’s probably properly rated at this point, but even watching him he is easy to pass by. He is so good without the puck, and his best skill with the puck is his passing. He’s the kind of guy every player wants to play with. Does all the things away from the puck but with it is always willing to make his linemates look good. His all-around play really opens things up for Ovechkin.
2nd Star: Scott Hartnell
A three point night for Hartnell continued his stellar season. He picked up two goals and an assist, and that includes not scoring on a second period penalty shot. He even joined in the rough stuff in the third period.
1st Star: Alexander Ovechkin
He is good at scoring. Two goals on eight shots, is always dangerous. What more needs to be said about the guy? His every move is scrutinized to the point where there is so much noise around him as a player it’s tough to separate that from reality. But just stand back and watch him play. Electric.
Dud: Jarmo’s Big Moves
So the five biggest moves that Jarmo has made (based on salary of the highest paid player) have all been busts. Both Gaborik trades were pretty poor. The Horton signing was a bust. The Horton-Clarkson deal may not be a bust, but it was shortsighted. He may have had to be dealt, but dealing him straight up for the worst contract in hockey is terrible. Deal him for a couple of smaller bad deals. Deal him for a big deal that has less term on it. Package some mid-round picks with Horton to make it easier to swallow. Something like that could have been done. Maybe not right now, but more options would have been there in the offseason. The latest big move is the James Wisniewski trade. I can understand wanting to trade him. He’s a little older than most of the core. He doesn’t seem like the most serious guy off the ice. He can’t stay healthy for a full season. All fine reasons to deal him. What is unacceptable is getting such a lackluster return. How Wiz goes for less than Braydon Coburn, Cody Franson, Kimmo Timonen, and Andrej Sekera, when he is much better than all of them is baffling. Yes, he used his no trade list. But why did he need to be dealt at the deadline? Why not wait until the offseason, when he wouldn’t have to spend any time apart from his family, and see if he will expand his list. Waiting until then would also have opened up more bidders, as teams out of the playoff hunt now may have been interested in him during the offseason. Now Scott Howson also whiffed on his two biggest moves (both Jeff Carter trades), but he was excellent at managing assets, and made a lot of nice little deals to help build up assets. Jarmo has blown his big moves, and hasn’t done much otherwise. His best move by far is picking up Scott Hartnell. Other than re-signing players the Howson regime brought to Columbus, his next best move is probably picking up Kevin Connauton on waivers? Signing Jack Skille? Picking Skille up off waivers? Trading for Blake Comeau? Claming Corey Tropp on waivers? Not a lot to choose from.
Stud: James Wisniewski
A lot of credit has gone to Jack Johnson and then John Davidson in terms of turning around the league-wise perspective when it came to Columbus. This does a disservice to James Wisniewski. Wiz was one of the first guys to really come out and say he wanted to be here. He didn’t just want to come to Columbus for the money, he expressed interest before it came to that. He didn’t wait to see how much he could get on the open market, which is what most expected. That was huge. He didn’t get off to a very good start (screw you Cal Clutterbuck and the first Shanaban), but I would absolutely say he was worth the money he was paid. A lot of talk has been made about his contract, but Wiz is an elite offensive defenseman, and better than his reputation in the rest of the game. Earlier I listed the players who were dealt for more than Wisniewski. I will leave you with a different list. Here are the defenseman with more points per game than Wiz during his time in Columbus: Mark Giordano, Keith Yandle, Duncan Keith, Shea Weber, PK Subban, Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Letang, and Erik Karlsson.
Another close loss in regulation, and another step closer to a better draft pick and the end of this nightmare of a season. Toronto is currently up on the Panthers late in the game, which would pull them ahead of the Jackets, leaving the CBJ in 5th place in the race for the bottom. It’s unlikely they can get lower than 4th, especially with Bobrovsky back. In any case, barring a lottery win behind them, the Jackets should be picking in the top five this season. They really need to make sure they pick in the top five, as the ability to add another impact youngster to the squad is a necessity. That Jackets continue the season Friday night in New Jersey where they will battle the Devils.
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