Now I'm not saying that the organization has hit the panic button but they are making sure they can see it and it's with in arms reach. The Blue Jackets have lost 8 of their last 9 and the eyes inside the locker room has the 1000 yard stare as they try to figure out what is going on.
To these players, this wasn't suppose to happen. Derick Brassard was going to be the dream 1st line center for Rick Nash and Kristian Huselius and it's not happen. He has been moved down to the 2nd line with R.J. Umberger and Jakub Voracek to try and have him escape top checking lines as he was overwhelmed early in the season. The NHL ranks 762 players and Brassard is number 754 on plus minus with a minus 11. But to blame Brassard for the melt down is not where you look.
Nash is the captain of this team and his 15 goals and 30 points in 29 games has been what gets advertised. The minus 11 that ties him with Brassard seems to be left off the TV commercials. Head Coach Ken Hitchcock has noticed and he knows it is hurting this team. "You can't have minuses like we have and have a hungry hockey club," stated Hitchcock after the Avalanche defeat.
Here are the minuses that Hitch is talking about. Brassard -11, Nash -11, Anton Stralman -10, Fedor Tyutin -8, Kristian Huselius -6, R.J. Umberger -6.
You have heard the saying, "Be careful what you wish for because you might just get it." Nothing describes what Blue Jacket fans are feeling better. For years, fans have begged for more talent that would bring the fear of god in other teams. This team is the most skilled team that the organization has ever had but with it you lose that grit and hard nose play in most cases. That's why players like Jarome Iginla are so special. A player that has world class skill but will drop the gloves in an instant or just check you into the 3rd row. Those players are rarer than the Hope diamond.
The skill in making a successful team is to be able to mold skill players with grit players and that just hasn't happened this year.
One glaring absence on the Blue Jackets is Derek Dorsett. Dorsett is a player that's skin is made out of sand paper and he is fueled by a nuclear reactor as he is non-stop energy. Hitchcock is also aware of this, "I'm scared to see our record without Derek (Dorsett) in (the lineup)." Well coach, it's 3-5-3 without him in the lineup and 10-6-2 when he is. Dorsett is one of those players that is the straw that stirs the drink. He helps bring the skill and grit together into a team that is hard to play against. It is missing and thus you have a bunch of ingredients but nothing that is palatable at the moment.
You can't trade the whole team but could they trade the entire defensive corp? The Blue Jackets defense continues to make disastrous mistakes that end up in the back of the net. Tytutin has been hard to watch as well as Stralman, Mike Commodore and also dare I say Jan Hejda. The inability to clear their own zone and instead make passes right on the tape of the opposing team is killing this team. GM Scott Howson eluded to this in the press luncheon in the pre-season that he would like to improve the defense. He is also not one to do a knee jerk reaction to a situation but this defense is so bad and has been for a big chunk of this season, that Howson has to do something about it sooner versus later. One player won't be enough either. This team needs at least 2 more defenseman that can shut down lines and also some veteran leadership to help this group wouldn't hurt either.
A third of the season is down the drain and what is sure; this team will be on a roller coaster of a season all year unless something drastic happens and as Umberger said, "It makes for a long year."
Fear The Fang
I will be joining my buddies from PredsOnTheGlass.com tomorrow night at about 8:30pm as we discuss the up coming contests between the Preds and the Blue Jackets. Jackson and Buddy Oakes do a great job covering the Predators and is always informative. Check it out!
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NHL TweetMixx
The NHL is trying something in gathering the inside information from Twitter and putting it all in one spot. Here it is. Let me know what you think.
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Eric Smith
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