Saturday, February 25, 2012

Gotta See it Die!

With two days left in the NHL Trading deadline the Blue Jackets have been quite active. Already Antoine Vermette and Jeff Carter have been jettisoned, with draft picks and the question mark that is defenseman Jack Johnson coming into the fold.

Anyone on the team is fair game for a trade. Whatever they can get for Pahlsson is the best deal for an over priced player who has never really shown any worth in his time here. And what of goaltender Steve Mason? How much longer must we continue to watch him fail and flail in net?

But what of Rick Nash? What happens to the face of the franchise?



Rumors of a deal involving Nash have been going around for weeks, but nothing has been done yet. It is said that GM Scott Howson has been asking too much for the captain, and that's alright by me. Maximize his value, get the most you can. It's also being said that if Nash is not dealt by the deadline he will almost certainly be gone over the summer.

I'm still not sure if he needs to be dealt. When the season started Carter, Wisniewski and Nash were being marketed as the cornerstones of the franchise. Tickets were sold based on their potential. As of Monday afternoon, two of these three players may no longer be on the team. What does that say about marketing and management of this franchise, that has had very little success in its ten years in the league?

I give you the record of the last two seasons of this team.

32-35-15

34-35-13

And this year

18-36-7, with 21 games left, a quarter of the season.

To me its clear that the architect of the team, General Manager Scott Howson, has a lot to answer for. The teams he have assembled have frankly, sucked and he's still being trusted to disassemble and polish the turd he has made. For this, I blame team owner John P. McConnell for allowing bad business to continue. Getting next year's All Star Game is not enough. This franchise is inept from the head on down. Moves at the top have to be made. Howson and Team President Mike Priest must go, along with noncontributing players.

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