The Columbus Blue Jackets reached the playoffs for the second time in franchise history and appear to be moving in the right direction.
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Off-Season Game Plan looks at what the Blue Jackets may do to build upon last
seasons success to return to the playoffs again next year. Theres lots of reason
to be optimistic about Columbus, as they have a young core, headlined by
21-year-old centre Ryan Johansen. The only expected returnees older than 30 are
defencemen Fedor Tyutin and James Wisniewski. Winger R.J. Umberger is 32, but is
looking to move on, so the Blue Jackets largely have a roster around which they
can build for the next couple seasons. GM Jarmo Kekalainen and head coach Todd
Richards were buoyed by the Blue Jackets progress last season, but both know
that there is still much room to improve. "We have to be careful. We want to
keep our good chemistry," said Kekalainen. "We always want to bring in the right
kind of people, not only as hockey players but as teammates and human beings.
Its going to be an important part of our scouting manual." Scouting is,
naturally, important to Kekalainen who, at one time, had been the St. Louis
Blues director of amateur scouting. He stocked the prospect cupboard with three
first-round picks last year and that gives the Blue Jackets organizational
depth. Its easier to be optimisic about Columbus future when they have more good
prospects on the way, because its one thing to have Johansen, Boone Jenner and
Ryan Murray in prominent roles, but having Alexander Wennberg, Kerby Rychel and
Oliver Bjorkstrand (among others) on the way makes it more likely that success
can be sustained. The TSN.ca Rating is an efficiency rating based on per-game
statistics including goals and assists -- weighted for strength (ie. power play,
even, shorthanded) -- Corsi, adjusted for zone starts, quality of competition
and quality of teammates, hits, blocked shots, penalty differential and
faceoffs. Generally, a replacement-level player is around a 60, a top six
forward and top four defenceman will be around 70, stars will be over 80 and MVP
candidates could go over 90. Sidney Crosby finished at the top of the 2013-2014
regular season ratings at 87.12. Salary cap information all comes from the
indispensable www.capgeek.com. CF% = Corsi percentage (ie. percentage of 5-on-5
shot attempts), via www.extraskater.com. GM/COACHJarmo Kekalainen/Todd Richards
Returning Forwards Player Rating GP G A PTS CF% Cap Hit Brandon Dubinsky 73.57
76 16 34 50 52.2% $4.2M Nick Foligno 69.96 70 18 21 39 51.2% $3.083M
Cam Atkinson 68.91 79 21 19 40 51.2% $1.15M Artem Anisimov 68.45 81 22 17 39
50.6% $3.283M Matt Calvert 68.04 56 9 15 24 52.0% $988K Boone Jenner 66.51 72 16
13 29 50.2% $778K Nathan Horton 66.08 36 5 14 19 52.2% $5.3M R.J. Umberger 65.73
74 18 16 34 46.4% $4.6M Mark Letestu 63.78 82 12 22 34 49.0% $1.25M Jared Boll
54.04 28 1 1 2 40.6% $1.7M Free Agent Forwards Player Rating GP G A PTS CF%
Class 13-14 Cap Hit Ryan Johansen 76.42 82 33 30 63 50.5% RFA $1.945M
Blake Comeau 62.22 61 5 11 16 53.0% UFA $1.0M Derek MacKenzie 61.44 71 9 9 18
49.2% UFA $1.0M Jack Skille 61.22 16 4 0 4 47.0% UFA $675K Corey Tropp 57.76 53
2 9 11 46.3% RFA $578K Matt Frattin 57.68 44 2 5 7 52.8% RFA $875K
Brandon Dubinsky may not be a star, but hes a valuable player, able to handle
tough assignments with defensive zone starts and still produce offence. Dubinsky
had the second 50-point season of his career in 2013-2014, but took his game up
a notch in the postseason, when he was consistently one of the best performers
in the series against Pittsburgh. That he brings an edge to his game -- one of
six forwards to have at least 250 points and 600 penalty minutes over the past
seven seasons -- is all the better. Another forward who offers some skill with a
physical game, Nick Foligno is one of seven forwards (including Dubinsky) to
have at least 100 points and 200 penalty minutes over the past three seasons.
Both Dubinsky and Foligno are headed into the final year of their respective
contracts. Small scoring winger Cam Atkinson broke through with a 21-goal,
40-point season, and hes a positive possession player, which makes him a nice
complementary player. Can the 24-year-old raise the bar higher so that hes an
even bigger part of the Blue Jackets plans? Artem Anisimov cracked the 20-goal
plateau for the first time in his career, playing a career-high 16:36 per game,
and he managed to at least tread water in possession terms, despite starting
more of his shifts in the defensive zone. An industrious winger with some skill
who isnt afraid to mix it up, Matt Calvert spent most of his time playing with
Dubinsky and Atkinson, a line that contributes offensively, but also had
favourable possession stats. Calvert scored a career-high 24 points in 56 games
last season, but that could be a jumping-off point, if he can continue to play a
reliable two-way game. A physical winger whose role expanded as his rookie
season played out, Boone Jenner had 24 points in his last 47 games (after five
in his first 25) and spent quite a bit of time on the wing with Ryan Johansen, a
good spot to grow going forward and it could raise Jenners offensive ceiling.
Recovering from shoulder surgery cost Nathan Horton nearly half of his first
season in Columbus, then he added further maladies, including an abdominal
injury that kept him out of the playoffs, so his year was far from complete. At
the same time, even though he put up modest scoring numbers, Horton continued to
be a strong possession player. The 28-year-old has not had an easy time of it,
health-wise, in recent seasons, so its difficult to place significant
expectations on him, but he could be a useful top-six forward. R.J. Umberger has
been an effective winger, scoring at least 18 goals in five of the past six
seasons, but hes been overwhelmed against difficult competition in the past
couple seasons and his ice time of 16:11 per game was his lowest since
2006-2007. Perhaps, then, it should come as no surprise that Umberger has asked
for a trade and while it might be part of the offseason plans, it may be not be
easy to deal an older winger who is still owed $13.5-million over the next three
seasons. Mark Letestu has emerged as a valuable complementary piece for the Blue
Jackets, with power play production an appealing part of his contribution, or it
might be if he didnt rank 10th among Blue Jackets forwards in average power play
ice time last season. Nevertheless, Letestu scored a career-best 34 points in
2013-2014 and has missed two games, total, over the past couple seasons.
Enforcer Jared Boll has been battling injuries and, when he does play, has been
getting destroyed in puck possession. His three-year contract extension begins
next year, but hes going to have to do more than drop the gloves to remotely
justify a regular turn in the lineup. Ryan Johansen burst through last season,
after he had 33 points in 107 games through his first two years, then scored 33
goals and 63 points in 82 games last season. Johansen has prototypical size to
be a No. 1 centre and, in addition to his scoring stats, generated positive
possession numbers despite playing high quality competition and starting more of
his shifts in the defensive zone. He has quickly become the Jackets franchise
player and, as a restricted free agent, will be looking at a contract befitting
that role this summer. Scooped off waivers from the Buffalo Sabres, Corey Tropp
brought energy to the fourth line, but hasnt done enough (scoring 19 points in
87 career NHL games) to this point in his career to feel comfortable with a
roster spot. Matt Frattin had been making progress with Toronto before splitting
last season between Los Angeles and Columbus, finishing with two goals in 44
games. Hes a viable depth player but, prior to last year, had shown that he
could chip in offensively by using his speed. For the Blue Jackets to feel
comfortable with their roster going into next season, they could use another
proven scorer. Free agents Thomas Vanek, Matt Moulson, Ryan Callahan,
Mike Cammalleri are among those that could have some appeal. Returning Defence
Player Rating GP G A PTS CF% Cap Hit James Wisniewski 74.66 75 7 44 51 54.1%
$5.5M Jack Johnson 68.06 82 5 28 33 47.9% $4.357M Fedor Tyutin 68.00 69 4 22 26
49.0% $4.5M Ryan Murray 64.29 66 4 17 21 51.6% $894K Free Agent Defence Player
Rating GP G A PTS CF% Class 13-14 Cap Hit David Savard 64.06 70 5 10 15 47.7%
RFA $709K Dalton Prout 60.19 49 2 4 6 49.7% RFA $667K Nick Schultz 56.20 69 0 5
5 41.8% UFA $3.5M Nikita Nikitin 62.42 66 2 13 15 49.2% UFA $2.15M So long as
hes not matched up against the oppositions best forwards, and his 22:37 time on
ice per game last season was his lowest since 2008-2009, James Wisniewski can be
very effective, particularly on the power play. Hes physical and put up
excellent possession stats last season. There may be no more polarizing figure
between statheads and old-school hockey minds than Jack Johnson, the player that
Blue Jackets coaches played more than anyone else by a large margin last season.
When you look at Johnsons with-or-without-you stats, nearly everyone hes played
with over the past three years has better possession stats when they play
without Johnson and while some of that can be due to Johnson playing a high
calibre of competition, its troubling when its almost universal that players
have worse numbers when sharing the ice with Johnson. Johnson is held in such
esteem that he would figure to be a useful trade chip -- because teams want
defencemen that can play 24 minutes a night -- but the Blue Jackets dont seem
inclined to get rid of him. In the past seven seasons, there have been 15
defencemen to record at least 20 points in all seven seasons and one of them is
Fedor Tyutin, a steady two-way performer who has never played less than 20
minutes per game in an NHL season. After a strong rookie season, Ryan Murray
will be expected to handle more responsibility as a sophomore. Murray had strong
possession numbers in his first year, but should see more difficult competition
as he plays more minutes going forward. David Savard earned a regular turn on
the Columbus blueline last season, but his possession stats werent ideal
considering the quality of competition that he faced. But, hes also just
23-years-old, so there is time for him to improve and earn a bigger role.
Praised for his plus-15 rating in 28 games during the 2012-2013 season,
Dalton Prout had better possession numbers last season, which isnt to say that
Prout is a possession ace, but he was okay and his size and toughness should
keep him around. It seems like Tim Erixon has been a prospect forever nad the
23-year-old has played 51 NHL games, but next season might be his opportunity to
step into a regular job with the Blue Jackets, unless Columbus takes to the free
agent market. Returning Goaltender Player Rating GP W L OTL GAA SV% Cap Hit
Sergei Bobrovsky 74.82 58 32 20 5 2.38 .923 $5.625M Free Agent Goaltender Player
Rating GP W L OTL GAA SV% Class 13-14 Cap Hit Curtis McElhinney 63.20 28 10 11 1
2.70 .909 UFA $600K Sergei Bobrovsky has emerged as one of the games better
goaltenders and, even though his numbers dipped from his 2013 Vezina-winning
performance, he ranks among the top half dozen in save percentage over the past
four seasons. Bobrovsky has handled a significant workload over the past couple
seasons, so the backup job is one that requires performance in limited playing
time. Curtis McElhinney was fine in that role last season. Free agents
Chad Johnson, Carter Hutton or Ilya Bryzgalov could be serviceable inexpensive
backup options. Top Prospects Player Pos. Team/League Stats Alexander Wennberg C
Frolunda (SHL) 16-5-21, -5, 50 GP Tim Erixon D Springfield (AHL) 5-33-38, -4, 40
GP Kerby Rychel LW Guelph (OHL) 34-56-90, +41, 58 GP Oliver Bjorkstrand RW
Portland (WHL) 50-59-109, +44, 69 GP Oscar Dansk G Erie (OHL) 2.39 GAA, .909
SV%, 42 GP Mike Reilly D Minnesota (Big 10) 9-24-33, +19, 41 GP Marko Dano C
Bratislava Slovan (KHL) 3-2-5, -11, 41 GP Josh Anderson LW London (OHL)
27-24-51, +31, 59 GP Michael Chaput C Springfield (AHL) 19-26-45, -4, 55 GP
Dillon Heatherington D Swift Current (WHL) 6-29-35, +24, 70 GP T.J. Tynan C
Notre Dame (HE) 8-30-38, +12, 40 GP Anton Forsberg G Modo Ornskoldsvik (SHL)
2.44 GAA, .919 SV%, 22 GP The 14th pick in last summers draft,
Alexander Wennberg is a skilled forward who may have a shot to win a job in
Columbus next season. Hes getting stronger and will have to make an adjustment
to the North American game, but Wennberg has playmaking potential. As noted
above, Tim Erixon has been in the prospect pipeline for a while and, after
scoring 38 points in 40 AHL games last season, hes knocking on the door, ready
for an opportunity to play. Taken with the 19th pick last summer, Kerby Rychel
had a big year, scoring 83 points in 51 (regular season plus playoff) games with
Guelph, after putting up 39 points in 27 games with Windsor. After scoring 115
goals over the past three OHL seasons, hes shown what he can do in junior.
Danish winger Oliver Bjorkstrand was drafted in the third round last year and
followed that up with a monster offensive campaign, ranking second in the WHL in
goals and third in points. Between Wennberg, Rychel and Bjorkstrand, the Blue
Jackets have some skilled forwards that will be pushing for jobs in the coming
years. A second-round pick in 2012, Oscar Dansk is a highly-regarded goaltending
prospect, but that comes with all sorts of uncertainty and his playoff
performance for Erie was disastrous. But, hes a 20-year-old goaltender; it takes
time. Mike Reilly is returning to Minnesota for his junior season, and the 2011
fourth-round pick needs to get stronger to handle the pro game, but hes made
terrific progress and was a First-Team All-American as a sophomore. The third of
last years three first-round picks, Marko Dano hasnt done much in the KHL,
though thats not unusual for a teenager. He did, however, have eight points in
15 (regular season plus playoff) games with Springfield in the AHL late in the
season, so the 19-year-old should hit the ground running next year. A power
forward picked in the fourth round in 2012, Josh Anderson doesnt have a lot of
frills to his game, but he can get up and down his wing banging bodies along the
way. Acquired from Philadelphia in a trade for Tom Sestito, Michael Chaput got
into 17 games with the Blue Jackets last season, and while he got stomped in
possession, Chaput did have a solid year in the AHL and is likely in position to
be recalled if the Blue Jackets need a checking forward. Picked in the second
round last year, Dillon Heatherington is a big defensive defenceman who is
plus-49 over his past two seasons in the Western Hockey League. Hes just turned
19, so he will need time to develop. A small forward who scored 161 points in
164 games in four seasons at Notre Dame, T.J. Tynan makes the jump to pro hockey
and, starting in the AHL, can show that his scoring will translate at the next
level. Taken in the seventh round in 2011, Anton Forsberg had a nice year with
Modo before getting into half a dozen games with Springfield in the AHL. The
21-year-old goaltender should have a shot at decent playing time with
Springfield next season. Blue Jackets advanced stats and player usage chart from
Extra Skater DRAFT16th - Robby Fabri, Sonny Milano, Dylan Larkin. FREE
AGENCYAccording to www.capgeek.com, the Blue Jackets have approximately $48.4M
committed to the 2014-2015 salary cap for 15 players. Check out my possible Blue
Jackets lineup for next season on Cap Geek here. Needs: One top six forward,
depth forwards, two defencemen, backup goaltender.What I said the Blue Jackets
needed last year: One top six forward, one defencemanThey added: Boone Jenner,
Nathan Horton, Ryan Murray, David Savard. TRADE MARKETR.J. Umberger,
Matt Frattin, Jack Johnson, David Savard, Dalton Prout. Scott Cullen can be
reached at
[email protected] and followed on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook.
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Blake Griffin scored 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds, DeAndre Jordan had 14
points and 22 rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers outlasted the Golden State
Warriors 98-96 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series.
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http://www.airmaxshoescheaponline.com/ . Pearce had a career-high four hits and drove in two runs, and Wei-Yin Chen
shut down Texas again as the Orioles completed a four-game sweep of the Rangers
with a 5-2 victory on Thursday night.TORONTO - The CBC has suffered several
major blows in recent months — significant job cuts, the loss of hockey
broadcast rights and the recent dramatic departure of one of its most prominent
personalities.On Tuesday, the public broadcaster delivered an increasingly rare
good-news story. And it turned to a top-flight sports showcase that it knows how
to do very well.The CBC and Radio-Canada renewed their commitment to Olympic
coverage by securing the broadcast rights to the 2018 Winter Games in
Pyeongchang, South Korea and 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo. The network will
partner with Bell Media and Rogers Media to deliver the Games.I think it shows
the belief that the Olympic committee has in us continuing to deliver compelling
Olympic moments to Canadians, said CBC president Hubert Lacroix.Executives from
all three media companies agreed the demands of todays Olympic broadcasting
culture make it very challenging — from both a financial and manpower
perspective — to go it alone with an event of this magnitude. In addition,
consumers now want access to all events in real time on a broadcasting format
that works for them. Jeffrey Orridge, executive director of sports properties
and general manager of the Olympics at CBC, said a team effort will help
facilitate that.We are collaborating on the production, he said. We are going to
share airwaves, were going to share technical resources, were going to share our
expertise and were going to share talent.Specific coverage details havent been
finalized but given its strong reach, expect the CBC to broadcast the top-tier
events. TSN/RDS would get the next level down, followed by Sportsnet, then TSN2,
and then Sportsnet One, Orridge said.What were going to basically offer is a
24-hour Olympic network, said Bell Medias Phil King, president of CTV sports and
entertainment programming. If you have CBC, TSN and Sportsnet, you will have a
24-hour Olympic network.Financial terms of the deal werent revealed. Orridge
said the agreement was respectful of the stature of the Games and certainly
fiscally responsible on the part of the public broadcaster. I cant give you
specifics on terms of the agreement, he said. But suffice it to say that weve
put together an extraordinarily viable business model that will be either a
break-even or revenue-positive model.The CBC, which had the broadcast rights for
the recent Sochi Olympics and has been a longtime rights-holder, was already
tabbed to show the 2016 Summer Games in Rio.Its a nation-building and
nation-sharing event and that brings communities together, Orridge said. Part of
our ethos is about being a catalyst and an inspiration for our communities and
cultivating and promoting and highlighting and showcasing Canadian talent.And
thats what we do.The broadcaster reclaimed the rights to the 2014 Games after
losing the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and the 2012 London Games to CTV. The
three broadcasters worked together at the Sochi Games, although this deal is
more extensive for the specialty networks.
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sports broadcasting executive Keith Pelley, now president of Rogers Media,
helped build the broadcast consortium model that was used in Vancouver.There is
no question that you need multiple broadcasters and multiple outlets to be able
to give Canadians what they want from the Olympic Games, Pelley said. There are
so many events going on at the same time that one individual broadcaster —
regardless of the multi-platforms — can no longer serve the public the way that
they need to to actually experience the Games and thats why this partnership
came to fruition.Pelley added Rogers has worked closely with the CBC on several
initiatives, including the current NHL deal.This is an extension of that, the
partnership is just a little bit reversed, he said. They will control the
editorial content and the sales and we will be there to support them in every
way that they possibly can and give them the airtime to give Canadians
unprecedented choice.Orridge said talks with Rogers and Bell began months ago,
and were easy to kickstart given the success of the Sochi experience.The news
comes at a tumultuous time for CBC, which is being sued by star radio
personality Jian Ghomeshi, who alleges breach of confidence, bad faith and
defamation by the public broadcaster in a $55-million lawsuit.The network
severed ties with Ghomeshi over the weekend because of information it had
received about the Q radio show host. Ghomeshi said he has been fired for his
sexual behaviour.Last November, the broadcaster lost NHL rights to Rogers Media
in a whopping $5.2-billion deal. That led to a dramatic loss of advertising
revenue for a network already struggling with federal budget cuts.In April,
Lacroix announced that 657 jobs would be slashed to meet a $130-million budget
shortfall. Lacroix said at the time 42 per cent of the sports department would
be laid off, trimming 38 sports jobs from 90 current positions. In June, he said
there would be an additional 1,000 to 1,500 positions cut by 2020.He also
announced in April the broadcaster would no longer compete for professional
sports rights and would cover fewer sports events, including amateur
athletics.But the Olympics are still a product they want to be associated with,
Lacroix said.Its a way for us to connect and to tell stories to Canadians from
all across the country, he said. This ability to do this in a context with
partners allows us to bring the best Olympic experience to Canadians, bar
none.Lacroix added the partnership with Rogers and Bell will mean more
comprehensive coverage for Canadians.Its a textbook example of us being able to
bring the whole broadcasting community to the service of Canadians, he said. If
it had not been for open-mindedness and eagerness and interest of our friends at
Bell and Rogers, Canadians would not be getting the kind of coverage that they
will be in 18 and 20.———Follow @GregoryStrongCP on Twitter.
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