To say this offseason has been a change of pace for Scott Howson is like saying going from riding a bike to driving a Ferrari is a change of pace. For Blue Jackets fans, it's certainly a welcome change. For Howson, well, he appears to be welcoming it, too.
In a span of nine days, he traded for a No. 1 center and signed a top-pair defenseman to quarterback the power play -- two perennial franchise needs. The normally reserved Blue Jackets general manager looked giddy as he introduced summer acquisitions Jeff Carter and James Wisniewski to the media for the first time Wednesday in Nationwide Arena.
You know what? He’s allowed to be.
Howson spoke of his trade with Philadelphia to net Carter as a coup that placed his team in the mold of Stanley Cup contenders the likes of Vancouver and Chicago.
“Top centers are not easily available,” Howson said. “Before we acquired Jeff -- in the last decade or so -- only two had ever been traded. That was Joe Thornton and Brad Richards.
“When [Flyers GM] Paul [Holmgren] was ready to pull the trigger, we were only too happy to be there an meet the price to acquire Jeff. If you look at all the top teams in the NHL -- the true contenders -- they’re all strong down the middle.”
In Wisneiwski, Howson said he had nabbed a do-it-all defenseman who can hold penalty killers culpable on the man advantage.
“We have not been good on the power play for a long, long time here,” he said. “We think the premier reason is because we haven’t had the right [and right-handed!] person on the point quarterbacking and shooting. We think James will be able to do that for us.”
There is no question that Carter and Wisniewski will improve the Blue Jackets power play. Before anyone gets too excited, though, remember it’s hard to do worse than 29th in the league. But they do add a new dynamic to the once stagnent unit that, at times last year, featured Craig Rivet or Mike Commodore manning the point.
The two new Jackets racked up a combined 15-31-46 on the man-power advantage last year. Those numbers would have accounted for 34 percent of the Blue Jackets power play goals and 37 percent of their power play points last season. Yeah, it was that bad.
But Howson is confident that that will be behind them and Wisniewski is excited about the possibilities.
“You have Carter, who can play the left side on the umbrella,” Wisniewski said. “...When you have dominant left-handed forwards [like Rick Nash] and right-handed point guys on the one-timer side it’s huge.
“You can go from the left side, you can go to the right side. It doesn’t matter what side the puck is on, you can be effective.”
The Blue Jackets went from having one of the most one-dimensional power plays in the league to what could be a three-headed monster of Carter, Nash and Wisniewski. Head coach Scott Arniel, a power play guru during his AHL coaching days in Manitoba and his time as assistant coach of the Buffalo Sabres, has to be eager to begin experimenting, even if he will be without left wing Kristian Huselius as late as January.
Of course there’s also that pesky issue of scoring at even strength. The main knock with the Carter deal, at least from outside observers, is that he’s a player that likes to fire a lot of shots on net -- 335 last year to be exact. Nash is also one who’s never been shy to rip the rubber. That’s not quite the Hull and Oates-style twosome that most had ingrained in their heads.
Carter, though, doesn’t see that as a problem.
“I don’t think it should be too bad,” he said. “I expect us to have the puck quite a bit so we’ll get the shots on net there. But, you can’t score if you don’t shoot.
“Hopefully we get someone that can find us in open ice.”
The overwhelming vibe in Nationwide Arena -- not just from the few fans in attendance but Carter, Wisniewski, Howson and the Blue Jackets brass -- was one of optimism. It hasn’t been there for awhile. Not at this level. Not even after the Union Blue’s lone playoff appearance.
And Carter and Wisniewski see more than just an ‘appearance’ on the horizon.
“I’ve seen in happen in Chicago. That’s one of the reasons I signed here,” Wisniewski said. “I wanted to come to a team where I’m hopefully the missing piece. I want to come in and obviously give my best and try to fix things and win games.
“That’s what we’re paid to do and that’s what we’re going to be coming here next season to do.”
“You look at the roster,” Carter said. “You’ve got a goalie like Steve Mason -- he’s shown what he can do in this league. Guys like Rick Nash, RJ Umberger -- there are some real good hockey players on this team. I don’t see any reason why we can’t be in the playoffs.”
Loose Pucks
-- With Huselius sidelined for the long haul, Howson will need to find a replacement winger to play in the top six. He played coy for the most part with the media when prompted about it but did provide a few caveats.
“We’re talking to some agents about some of the players,” Howson said. “It could happen soon. We want to try to address it. If we don’t address it we do have some internal candidates that will be able to jump up in that role for short periods of time.
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Internal candidates' -- now there’s the Scott Howson we all know and love. But wait!
“Our preference would be to try to get somebody from the outside,” he said. “Somebody that has some experience and can play in that role -- has played in that role before.”
The odds appear to be tilting in favor of some of the more veteran free agent wingers like Vaclav Prospal or Cory Stillman.
-- In case you haven't already been apprised, Carter will wear No. 7 for the Blue Jackets and Wisniewski will wear No. 21.
-- Eric Smith will pick up with some more coverage and video from the presser tomorrow. Be sure to check it out.
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