Zherdev the Face of Columbus’ Problems
Aaron Portzline, Columbus Dispatch:
The consensus was this: Zherdev, a turnover machine in Sunday’s 5-4 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in Nationwide Arena, opened practice the same way he played 16 hours earlier, and Hitchcock didn’t care to keep watching.
So Zherdev, who speaks very little English, got the universal sign for heave-ho — an index finger pointed sternly in his direction, then toward the dressing room.
In fairness, Zherdev hasn’t been the only goat on the Blue Jackets recently, but he’s the easiest and most obvious target.
Nikolai Zherdev has more than enough talent to play in the NHL but his focus and effort have to be better if he wants to start earning his $2.5 million per year salary. More importantly, as the third highest paid forward on the team (tied with Anson Carter) he needs to start producing if the Blue Jackets are going to do anything this year or in the near future.
The good news? Hitchcock is both experienced and confident. It’s just too bad for the Blue Jacket faithful it’s taken so long to get this caliber of coach behind the bench.