Guy Boucher's Hamilton Bulldogs lost in game 7 of the AHL's Western Conference Finals to the Texas Stars but it may have help Boucher in the coaching contest in Columbus. Most believe that General Manager Scott Howson will waste little time in interviewing the hot coaching prospect and thus officially be in the running for the head coaching job along with Scott Arniel, Kevin Dineen and Claude Noel. My guess is that if Hamilton would have won game 7 that Montreal wouldn't have O.K.'d any meetings to take place and thus forced Howson's hand in going with one of the other candidates.
Howson is being very patient but due to moves that he might make at the draft on June 25th, he needs to know who the coach is going to be so that the pieces that he gives the new coach will be players that would work in their system. There have been a lot of rumored moves that Howson is looking into but he won't pull the trigger until he has his guy.
Speaking of rumored moves, the latest was out of the Ottawa Sun who speculates that the Senators would be willing to move Jason Spezza for Derick Brassard and this year's 1st round pick (4th overall) from the Blue Jackets. Some think this is the kind of deal that Howson has to make. No longer is tinkering with bit players or trying to catch lightning in a bottle good enough for an increasingly disgruntled fan base. A big splash is something the fans have been clambering for since the beginning of the franchise. Adam Foote and Sergei Fedorov were the closest to that but both were past their prime players. Spezza is a point a game player that turns 27 in June. He is a true 1st line center that are very rare in the game and something again that the Blue Jackets have been looking for since they opened the doors at Nationwide Arena. This being said, Spezza makes me nervous as he is a very soft player that quits from time to time. I will never forget 2 years ago when the Blue Jackets man handled the Senators and after the game Jan Hejda flat out said in his heavy Czech accent, "He (Spezza) didn't play hard." This is what Hejda said when I asked him how they controlled Spezza in the game. At some point though this franchise has to take a gamble. Tyler Seguin won't be there at number 4 in this draft and I don't know if this franchise has the time for Seguin to mature.
There are other rumblings that Evgeni Malkin or Jordan Staal could be moved to give Sidney Crosby an big time winger that he is void of at this time. Do you move Jakub Voracek that everyone both in management and the fan base love to get a Malkin and know that you have to give up more than that to even get him if your the Jackets.
The oldest rumor is that Ales Hemsky is there for the taking and the rumored trade was the 4th overall pick this year and Nikita Filatov to gain one of Howson's favorite players. Hemsky is a winger that doesn't address the center needs but can you live with Antoine Vermette at center when Rick Nash and Hemsky are your wingers?
As you can see, there will be questions that will steer this franchise for the near and far future that the new coach will need a say in. Expect now that the decision will be made before June 11th which is 2 weeks before the draft.
FOX SPORTS OHIO DRAFT COVERAGE
Starting June 1st, I will be covering the NHL Draft for Fox Sports Ohio. FSOhio is the TV home of the Blue Jackets, Lake Erie Monsters, Cavaliers, Reds, Bengals, Xavier, UC Bearcats, KY Wildcats & MAC basketball and football for 5 million homes in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York.
During June, I will be putting up a daily article outlining a draft prospect with insight from current NHL scouts and executives, independent scouting sources and my own research of video so that you will get the best look at the prospect I highlight anywhere. I will also be doing a weekly vodcast/podcast where I will bring in guests and go over the draft, coaching search for the Blue Jackets and any other breaking news around the NHL.
Look also for a live chat during the first round of the draft as I will also be doing a webcast in conjunction with The Hockey Writers.
As you can see, I will be busy and you will reap the benefits. Make sure you check out all the coverage at
www.FOXSPORTSOHIO.com
Fire The Cannon!
Eric Smith
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