CDL Season Preview Series: Columbus Blue Jackets

The Cycle Down Low Season Preview is a feature where we look at the chances for your favourite team in the 2011-2012 NHL campaign.  AND WE’RE GOING TO VEGAS!  With the new season upon us, a mere 30 days away, the CDL Season Preview Series will take you right up to game one of the new season.  Is this the year they surprise everyone and take the Cup?  Are the great expectations placed upon them too much?  Here you’ll get the scoop on what is to come for every team from both the Eastern and Western Conferences.  The breakdown will list the teams in six categories: Stanley Cup Odds (the actual odds from Bodog.ca and a breakdown of what you can expect), Lock (the best bet or biggest star on the team), Upset (the bust or player that won’t preform as well as many think), Pit Bosses (front office), Payout (the overall summary of the team), and CDL Bet (our bet at what the results will be for the team this year).

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STANLEY CUP ODDS: 75/1

In 2009, the Columbus Blue Jackets became the last of the four expansion teams to make the Stanley Cup playoffs.  The 8th place finish, however, set them up for a battle against the ever powerful Detroit Red Wings.  The Wings, the Western Conference’s top ranked squad, made quick work of the Jackets defeating them in four games, sweeping the series and sending Ohio’s NHL franchise packing.

However, for Jackets fans it seemed their fate was about to change.  Rookie goaltender Steve Mason played outstanding, carrying a heavy workload between the pipes for the Jackets.  Mason’s record of 33-20-7 with 10 shutouts was enough to earn him the Calder Trophy and a Vezina Trophy nomination.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have only tasted the playoffs once. Could this year be a possibility?

If there can be anything said about the Jackets up until that point, it was that their weakest position was easily goaltending and now they had a legitimate starter.

But, as is often the case, the sophomore slump hit Mason hard.  Since his breakout season in his rookie campaign, he has been unable to recapture that magic.  In the last two years, his combined record has been 44-47-16 with a .901SV% and GAA over 3.00, a far cry from the .916SV% and 2.29 GAA he posted in his first season.

To go along with the Jackets inability to remain stable in goal, they were forever searching for a legitimate top-line center to play along perennial all-star Rick Nash.

Nash, the Jackets first round pick — first overall in his draft year — in 2002, has been the face of the franchise since his arrival.  With a combination of size, speed, and strength, Nash is the prototypical power forward.  Think Eric Lindros without the concussion or injury issues, and you have Nash.

It is because of Nash that the Jackets are ever even spoken in the same breath as contenders, but with hockey being the ultimate team game that it is, it is impossible and improbable to believe that Nash himself could carry this team to a championship.

Bringing in the likes Antoine Vermette, Kristian Huselius, R.J. Umberger, and with Scott Howson’s smart drafting and the blossoming of top draft pick Derrick Brassard, the Jackets seem to have begun to take that turn towards consistent competitiveness.  But are they there quite yet?

Free Agency 2011: The 5 Most Intriguing Goaltenders Available

While most teams have their goaltending set, there are a few where the position is in question; Colorado comes to mind, Washington has two young goaltenders who don’t seem quite ready to make the jump, and there’s a big question mark in Phoenix after the trade that saw Ilya Bryzgalov head to Philadelphia.

Ilya Bryzgalov was going to be the most sought after free agent goaltender, but Philadelphia secured his rights from Phoenix and signed him, taking him off of this list

Over the last few seasons, goaltending has become an interesting position in the way teams have addressed their situation.  In the past two or three seasons, there has been a culture shift towards the mid-priced, young player with high hopes that he’ll be able to get the job done, as opposed to overspending on that upper echelon player, like the money spent on Tim Thomas, Roberto Luongo, or the aforementioned Bryzgalov.

This year, coming off a playoffs that just saw the Vezina winning goaltender also hoist the Stanley Cup with a series victory over the Vezina runner-up, we could see that shift back.  Bryzgalov already started things off on the upper-end of the price scale, signing a nine year contract with the Flyers that will seem him get paid over $50 million throughout his tenure.  With a few other notables available, it could be an expensive year for a team looking for a starting goaltender.

Here is Cycle Down Low’s list of the Top 5 Most Intriguing Goaltenders:

Free Agency 2011: The 10 Most Intriguing Defensemen Available

Christian Ehrhoff is one of the brightest stars among the NHL Free Agents and could be looking to cash come July 1st

Yesterday, Cycle Down Low looked at who is available to help bolster your teams front lines in hopes of making a run at Lord Stanley’s Mug this upcoming season.  With the Free Agent market set to open on Friday at noon, there will be teams looking to solidify the backend of their rosters and fill the holes in their D-corps.

Unlike the forwards, the talent pool for defensemen is a bit deeper.  Most fans often want to see their team acquire a D-man who will give them immediate impact on the score sheet and completely overhaul their teams defense — a cornerstone defenseman.  This pool does offer some very good top pairing defesemen, but they will most likely get slotted in at the two-four spot on the teams depth chart.  Respectable for a player that you’ll merely have to throw money at, blindly, in hopes they turn out, right?  Right.

With that, let’s look at the ten most intriguing defensmen in the UFA pool:

Free Agency 2011: The 10 Most Intriguing Forwards Available

Pittsburgh fan favourite Maxime Talbot has most likely played his last game in a Penguins uniform, but where will he be next?

Throughout the middle of the week, Cycle Down Low will be taking a look at the pieces your favourite team may be after to bolster their line-up for the upcoming season.

While the Restricted Free Agent pool is home to some of the most amazing talent this year — Steven Stamkos comes to mind — the Unrestricted Free Agents have some players that could ultimately boom for the team of your choice.  Although 2011 seems to be a down year for free agents, which more often than not has a direct correlation to some of the potential pickups getting a vast overpayment, it does have several players that could have an impact.  While the cream of the crop is obvious, there are a few bottom-six players that could take a team from standing on the outside right into the thick of things.

Today Cycle Down Low looks at the Forwards who could bring the most to any club this year and put them one step closer to the Stanley Cup:

A Quick Word on the Upcoming NHL Free Agent Pool

On July 1st of 2010, free agent defenseman Sergei Gonchar inked a three-year deal worth $16-million.

July 1st, Canada day to those of us up North, is only four days away and while it signals another year as a Nation on this globe, it also signals another year of bargaining with professional hockey players and bolstering of the NHL lineups.

While last years free agent class was said to be lacking, there are even more who believe the upcoming year has even less to offer.  The offensive talent, aside from the few and far between which are upper echelon, will be relegated to third and fourth offensive lines and second-tier specials teams units.  Penalty-killing and faceoff-winning will be the strong suit of those that are picked up in and around the free agent frenzy, and as such it will be a wealth of depth talent that is most likely acquired.  While these cogs are important, they will not be the flashy moves that every fan base seeks to make on July 1st, nor will they be the ones that will be critically analyzed until the season begins.

Defensively, the possibility remains that there could be some unforeseen talent that lies beneath the surface of bottom three defensemen, but the truth of the matter is that most of the acquisitions will be of exactly that — bottom three defensemen.  While the talent pool may be increased by the chance that certain defensemen — Vancouver’s Christian Ehrhoff comes to mind — may not be re-signed before going to free agency remains, it can all change with a flick of the wrist and the inking of a deal.  The big name defensemen, one of which is already off the board with Vancouver’s Kevin Bieksa re-upping for five years with the Canucks, will certainly find homes as soon as GM’s can get them to.

When it comes to between the pipes, the question is not what the free agent goaltenders will earn, but rather where one will land, that one being Tomas Vokoun.  Many teams currently sit a healthy ways away from the Salary Cap floor (just ask the Panthers… Oh hi, Mr. Campbell, didn’t see you there) and won’t be able to make it without an addition or two of the exorbitant financial calibre.  A deal to Vokoun, a goaltender who is certainly going to command a decent raise from the $5.7 million annual Cap-hit he was making ($6.3 million salary last year), will have to range in the $7 million dollar area, especially after the deal inked by Coyotes cast-off Ilya Bryzgalov that saw him become the highest paid goaltender when it comes to average salary.

Make no mistake, a big splash in this off-seasons free agent pool could be the move that puts a team over the top, but it will not be the move that takes a team from pretender to contender.  If you are a fan of a team that is on the outside looking in, you will need a strong showing from those already on the roster if your team is to make that Stanley Cup push.

That, or get those offer sheets ready.

 

– JC

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Florida Panthers do not Qualify Niclas Bergfors, two others

Late this afternoon, Harvey Fialkov of the Sun Sentinel (@hfialkov on Twitter) broke the news that the Florida Panthers and GM Dale Tallon had made the decision to not tender qualifying offers to Niclas Bergfors, Byron Bitz, or Steve Bernier.  The move, a surprising one for a Panthers team that is scratching and clawing to make their way to the salary cap floor, will leave the three players as unrestricted free agents heading into July 1st.

Niclas Bergfors (11) is rubbed out by Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin (8)

Although the move, for Panthers fans, may seem the right one, it raises some questions about former first round draft pick Niclas Bergfors.

Bergfors, the 23rd selection of the 2005 NHL entry draft by the New Jersey Devils, was said to be one of the big bargaining chips that was needed from the Devils in order to complete the trade that saw Russian superstar Ilya Kovalchuk head to the Swamp.  In the trade that took place in February of 2010, the Devils shipped off Bergfors along with prospect Patrice Cormier, defenceman Johnny Oduya, and a first-round selection in the 2010 entry draft for Kovlachuk and young defenceman Anssi Salmela.

Inter-Kontinental: KHL Off-season In Full Swing

On a previous, now defunct blog, I was the author of a weekly feature regarding the action in the Kontinental Hockey League. The league itself — though often regarded as shady, low-level, and a clear-cut second or third fiddle to the NHL — houses some of the greatest talent in the world, whether the North American audience wants to accept it or not.

One of the primary features of Cycle Down Low going forward will be the ongoing coverage of all things KHL from the perspective of someone who is themselves in the process of learning the ins-and-outs of a league that keeps itself and its dealings behind closed doors, far away from the prying eyes of media.

Throughout the past year to year and a half stories have come out of players being released from their contracts unjustly, the loss of funds that lead to the collapse of one of the most storied Russian hockey clubs of all time with Dynamo Moscow, and the belief that some players were being run around by the clubs when it came to receiving compensation for their efforts on ice. However, as a hockey fan, the better stories have taken place on the ice.

From the outstanding play of Dominik Hasek, the sure fire first ballot Hall of Famer, as one of the elder statesmen of the game to the development and maturation of Alexander Radulov, the once rising star of the Nashville Predators. It was

Coming off of a year where former LA Kings goaltender Erik Ersberg backstopped a Salavat Ufa Yulaev club that included Radulov, Patrick Thoresen, and Oleg Tverdovsky to their first Gagarin Cup in their post-RSL existence, the playoffs gave way to outstanding performances by Gregory Gelashvili, Pavol Demitra, and an impressive eight goal performance by Lokomotiv defenseman Karel Rachunek, formerly of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers, and New Jersey Devils.

Many attack the level of play of the KHL, stating that it’s second rate players — at best — playing against weak competition in a league that lacks physicality and allows players who would be jettisoned by NHL teams to the farm system to flourish, but those are nay-sayers unwilling to appreciate a game that is played with a different skill-set.

Speed and stick-skills dominate the KHL and, while at times it can be a bit shoddy, the goaltending can be quite spectacular.  I will admit that if, in any aspect of the game the KHL is lacking, it is between the pipes.  The goaltenders who make their living in the K, however, are often prone to dealing with defenseman who are geared towards the offensive side of the puck.  The summation of the KHL is as such; great offensive talent and a truly wide-open game.

If the NHL was striving for a product as such, the KHL is where they could have easily looked.

It is a truly astonishing on ice product, one that any hockey fan could appreciate if they took the time to do so.