The Jackets dropped a 5-2 decision to Montreal, although that maybe wasn’t even the biggest Jackets related news of the day. Shortly before puck drop they announced they had dealt Nathan Horton‘s back to the Toronto Maple Leafs for David “Wendel” Clarkson. I’ll address that trade a bit later. As for the game, the Jackets took on the powerhouse Canadiens, and it didn’t go super awesome. After falling behind quickly, the Jackets evened it up just as quickly, before falling behind again almost as quickly. That third goal was one of the rare NHL goals that are almost entirely on the goaltender. After a brutal turnover by Curtis McElhinney, he then struggled to get set for the shot, and then let the puck go right through him. Not great. The game was never really in doubt after that, until a brief period after Marko Dano made it a two goal game but before the Canadiens iced it with an empty netter.
3rd Star: Marko Dano
I was all prepared to write about Dano bailing out on the first Montreal goal (gotta get in that shooting lane, no excuses there), and compare it to Brandon Dubinsky going hard to the net, scoring, and getting hurt. Was going to be something about about the difference between needing to win and wanting to win. Well then Dano plays the rest of the game like his pants are on fire, scores the second goal to get them back in the game, and even had a play he didn’t score on that was quite similar to Dubi’s play earlier. So now I don’t know what to think. No excuse for his work on the Subban goal, so I guess kudos to either himself for getting his ass in gear, or whatever coach kicked his ass in gear.
2nd Star: Andrei Markov
1st Star: PK Subban
They make me miss Ryan Murray. Not that either of them are really doppelgangers for Murray, but the potential of a Murray-James Wisniewski is very similar to what Subban and Markov bring to the Canadiens. Log major minutes, be awesome all the time, and crush it on the powerplay. Murray wasn’t quite there last year, and with almost two lost year since he was drafted, it’s getting tough to tell if he’s ever going to fully get there. And don’t trade Wiz. Just don’t. Don’t make any rash decisions on this dumpster fire of a season.
Dud: The Trade
Okay Horton for Clarkson. The more I think about it, the less I like it. David Clarkson is a fine enough third liner. He has trouble staying in the lineup though, and is vastly overpaid. This trade makes sense for Toronto, as they get to stash him on IR, drop Clarkson’s terrible deal (one structured so that it is practically buyout proof), gain a roster spot and cap space. It only cost them $26 million over the next five years. That more or less is the same as buying out Clarkson, but paying slightly more so he doesn’t count against the cap at all. Great move for them. I also totally understand the deal from Jarmo’s perspective. He was paying a player who was likely to never play again. He wasn’t counting against the cap, but that doesn’t really ever matter for the Jackets. As many times over the years as they have said they don’t have an internal budget, this clearly and definitively shows they absolutely do. It is crystal clear that cap space means nothing, and cap hits really don’t mean anything, all that matters is the actual cash paid. The Jackets just took up a precious roster spot solely to get some kind of return on the $26ish million they were paying out over the next five years. If it went to Horton they got nothing, with Clarkson they get a depth player. From that perspective, it’s fine, but to most of the league, and almost all of the actual contending teams, $5+ million in cap space is worth a hell of a lot more than a mediocre third liner. Here is where it gets worse: it’s another bottom six roster spot. A spot spent on a winger. If David Clarkson costs the Jackets Matt Calvert, I will not be a very pleasant person to be around when it happens. Not saying it does for sure (they play different wings), but maybe that means it costs them Cam Atkinson. Maybe they keep them, but bringing both of them back means the Jackets have nine top nine forwards under contract for next season (Anisimov, Atkinson, Calvert, Clarkson, Dubinsky, Foligno, Hartnell, Jenner, Johansen, in alphabetical order), and that’s not even counting Dano or Alexander Wennberg or any other young guy who could make the leap. Maybe they keep Cam and Calvert, but move someone else. I highly doubt they bring back that top nine listed above, so this deal will cost them one of those other eight players. I would rather have seen the Jackets keep Horton and grab someone better in free agency or a trade, or allow a young guy to start out on the third line. This deal makes that pretty unlikely. And before anyone says it, I highly doubt they will entertain Clarkson on the fourth line until he plays his way there. A clearly money conscious team does not bury one of their most expensive players on the fourth line without giving him a chance higher in the lineup.
Stud: Corey Tropp’s highlight reel “goal”
That was a pretty awesome play. I doubt I will be able to get a clip of it from NHL.com, but seriously go watch it again if you can find it anywhere. From lying on the ice, Tropp knocked the puck out of the top of the net, then batted it in as it came down. Just a fantastic display of hand-eye co-ordination. I would bet most men’s league players would go 0 for 10 if they tried that play, in that type of situation with guys practically lying on top of them. Corey Tropp is barely an NHLer, which is example number 9238576495642385647 of just how awesome these players really are.
So that Jackets lost, and I don’t like that trade. I guess that is a half win though, as the Jackets really need to keep on losing, keep on moving up the draft board. The players played pretty hard tonight, they hung in there play-wise, but the team with an NHL caliber starter won. Seems legit. The CBJ next take the ice on Saturday against the Devils. Important game against a team they are racing to the bottom. However, I don’t expect a very different result, especially if Oscar “.883 Save Percentage in the AHL, and .892 Save Percentage in the ECHL” Dansk makes his NHL debut.
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