NHL analysis

Major Additions: Michael Peca, Kris Beech

Major Subtractions: Aaron Johnson, Anders Eriksson

Analysis

Columbus is undergoing large changes but they may not bear fruit for several more years. Replacing their very nice but not-so-effective General Manager and bringing in Ken Hitchcock were big, important, intelligent moves, but neither man can change the team’s image overnight.

Hitchcock will have a quick improvement, provided the team’s players subscribe to his philosophy (I wouldn’t be surprised to see a player or two who doesn’t fit this mould shipped out within the first few months of the season). And let’s be honest - he has plenty to work with. Rick Nash is a genuinely explosive, game-breaking talent. Columbus has done a good job holding on to draft picks and has plenty of young players drafted with very high picks.

Michael Peca’s best days are behind him but even if he does not play a single shift for the Blue Jackets, he will help the team. His presence in the locker room, his leadership, his experience will be invaluable to the team’s young core, which hasn’t had much experience in winning thus far. If he can recover from his second major knee surgery, he will also provide the Jackets with a solid second line centre. The downside? Peca plays his best hockey in the playoffs, something he won’t likely see in Columbus.

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.

So the Columbus Blue Jackets, plagued by injuries for the last few seasons, got more bad news today: Sergei Fedorov has injured his shoulder and is expected to be out for 4-6 weeks recovering.

This is bad news for a team that lacks scoring depth up front. Fedorov had an off year last year, managing “only” 44 points in 67 games, but he was still the 4th highest scorer on the team (and Nikolai Zherdev, the man above him, appears likely to be a hold out this year). More, much more, was expected of Fedorov when he was acquired last season. Injuries and a slow start combined to keep him from having the impact his $6 million salary suggest he ought to have.

From a salary cap perspective, the only good news is that the Blue Jackets are off the hook for paying Fedorov while he remains on the injured reserve list. If he misses 6 weeks he would be out until about early November, missing about 8-10 games. 8 games would free up about $580,000 of actual cap space. Not a whole lot, especially considering that the Blue Jackets are already well below this year’s $44 million cap. So the good news isn’t really all that good after all.

Looks like the fans in Columbus may have another year of disapointments ahead of them. The other additions, notably Fredrik Modin, should help to offset Fedorov’s loss, but the team was really hoping to field the full roster they’ve put together this year. They will not be able to replace Federov, even when Fedorov isn’t fully on his game.

Additions: Ty Conklin, Anders Eriksson, Tomas Kloucek, Fredrik Modin, Fredrik Norrena, Filip Novak

Subtractions: Andy Delmore, Marc Denis, Trevor Letowski, Michael Rupp

Analysis

Last year was a dissapointing season for Columbus. After bringing veteran defenceman Adam Foote in, the Blue Jackets were expected to compete for their first post-season appearance. They fell short, to say the least.

Things are looking up for next year. A healthy Rick Nash will be the first plus. Nash is easily the most explosive player on the team, and since the Jackets don’t have the depth of a team like the Carolina Hurricanes, they simply cannot replace a player of Nash’s calibre. Though Columbus at least has Sergei Federov and David Vyborny, offensively they have very much been a one dimensional team since they came into the league. Hopefully Nikolai Zherdev’s contract can be negotiated to bring another fast, skilled player into the fold. However, even without Zherdev, the Jackets look to be much deeper up front.

Pascal Leclaire has probably deserved a shot at the number one role for some time now, and Columbus felt confident enough in the young netminder to deal Denis to Tampa Bay, bringing in a very solid 20 goal scorer in Fredrik Modin. Modin brings a Stanley Cup ring, an Olympic Gold Medal, nearly a decade of NHL experience, and a solid offensive contribution. By bolstering the second line, Modin will make Columbus much harder to defend against.

The Columbs blueline is solid if unspectacular, led by the ageing Adam Foote and the smooth skating Bryan Berard. In goal, Leclaire will have every opportunity to assert himself as the new number one man. If he falters, Conklin will likely be called upon to man the pipes, although young Norrena, acquired from Tampa Bay as part of the Denis deal, may also see some games. Norrena is more of a long term solution, but Conklin may not be much of a short term solution, so if Leclaire falters Columbus could be in for some rough times. There are goaltenders available for trade, but they never come cheap, and the last thing a team like Columbus wants to do is canobalize their young players and prospects for immediate success.

Last year Columbus was 21 points out of the playoffs, and only beat out divisional “rivals” Chicago and St. Louis for the basement of the Western Conference. Being a deeper, more balanced team, they should gain some ground, but the playoffs are likely out of reach. Sensational play by Leclaire (or as Huet proved in Montreal last year, an as yet unknown source), a signing of Zherdev, or unexpected performances from the youngsters on the team could combine for a spot in the playoffs, but the odds of enough of these things happening to actually catapult the team five or more spots in the standings seem low, to say the least. It also doesn’t help that Sergei Federov eats up over $6 million dollars of annual salary cap space. I don’t doubt he -can- play like a six million dollar center, I just doubt that he -will- play that way. Lucky for Columbus salary cap concerns aren’t pressing as of yet.