The air has a cool crispness to it we haven't felt in months. A few autumn leaves have started to fall from their summer roosts. The seasons are turning, and tonight the puck drops on a new season of Blue Jackets
via sloan.todd on flickr.com hockey!
With every new season comes new hope. Perhaps this one holds more hope than any preceding. Resolutions have been made (we shall improve the performance of the league's worst power play). Leaves (not Leafs) have been turned (best of luck, Manny -- welcome to town Sammy). A new calendar is hanging on the wall, and some 82 dates have been filled already. There's a vacation planned on that calendar (olympic hockey will stop the NHL season for two weeks in Februaray). The first road trip of the new season will start tomorrow; Vancouver is the first stop. Tonight, though, the whole thing begins right here at home.
The summer months appear to have been good to the union blue. Several familiar faces are no longer in Columbus as new Jackets join the ranks. GM Scott Howson has made a priority of beginning to shore up the talented core of this hockey team for years to come.
First, a few of the key departures. Ole-Kristian Tollefsen is a Flyer; may his bullish frame find itself befitting a Broad Street Bully. Manny Malhotra now plays his hockey in San Jose; may things go swimmingly for him in the Shark Tank. Jason Williams is a Red Wing; may God bless and keep him... far away from our net.
New to Blue? Sammy Pahlson is one the the league's best shut down, checking line centers. Mathieu Garon brings a veteran's approach to the task of netminding. The newest Blue Jacket hasn't even been in the room yet -- Anton Strahlman, delayed in receiving his American work visa, will join the team in Vancouver on Sunday.
Contract extensions have been signed by Derick Brassard, Antoine Vermette, Mark Methot and, of course, captain Rick Nash (Nash is signed through 2013). The word is the Rusty Klesla will be next. It is difficult to doubt that Howson will sign Voracek, Mason and, eventually, Filitov in the coming years.
All the preparations have been made. There's even a new Hammond B-3 organ in the arena. It's time to play hockey.
I have no intention of trying to write about the Blue Jackets every day this season. I don't have the time, and Columbus doesn't need another full time Blue Jackets blog. There are several excellent ones already. The CBJ are my winter sports passion, though, so write I will.
Coach Ken Hitchcock is a proponent of breaking the NHL season into eight chuncks of roughtly 10 games each. My plan is to do the same. While I won't hesitate to pass along a link here or there, or to post a highlight -- I may mention the odd game from time to time -- I'll keep the bulk of my hockey writing to the perspective of chapters in the novel that is an NHL season. Every 10 or so games, I'll check in on how the Jackets are doing, how the last set of games went, and what to expect out of the next bunch.
The Columbus Blue Jackets open the 2009-10 NHL season at home against the Minnesota Wild before embarking on a 6,200 mile western swing taking them through Vancouver, San Jose, and Phoenix before returning home to face Calgary and Los Angelos.
To round out the first 10-game stint, it's another marathon of a roadtrip.
Calgary, Edmonton, Anaheim, and Los Angeles will likely constitute one of the toughest six day stretches of the season.
To get 10 points in these first 10 games would be quite an achievement and one that should be atainable. Can the local boys put up a 4-4-2 record as they push through two long western roadtrips? Perhaps 3-4-3? Nine points wouldn't be bad, considering the task at hand.
Keep in mind that the squad's new puck-moving defenseman, Anton Stralman, won't even practice with the team until the first game is in the books. Remember that Hitchcock is breaking up what had long been the expected second forward line to give rookie Nikita Filitov a chance to prove his mettle. He won't likely start on the second line every night, but if the Jackets want him to develop in to the player he has the potential to become, he needs minutes on a scoring line. Luckily the Jackets and Hitchcock have forward RJ Umberger to rely on. He's capable in any forward position and, seemingly, on any line -- scoring, checking, or energy. Luckily he takes pride in having the versatility to move into different roles to help his team win hockey games.
Will Filitov hit the NHL running? Will Derick Brassard pick up where he left off before being injured last season? Will Steve Mason avoid the dreaded sophomore slump?
If the Jackets answer all these questions with immediate and emphatic yeses, then 10 points in 10 games could be an underestimate. The adjustments that still have to be made though -- the tinkering that Hitchcock still must do with lines and pairs, coupled with two grueling roadtrips will make these first 10 games a serious challenge for this young Columbus team.
One note I haven't seen on any other blog yet, or in the Dispatch feed, is the the assistant captains have been chosen. The Blue Jackets web site is showing "A"s next to Modin, Umberber, Vermette, Commodore, and Klesla's names. Fine choices all.
So suit up in your union blue, Jackets fans. A new season is upon us, a season full of challenge and promise.
See you in 10 games.
Let's Go Jackets!
-Red Dog