By Tom T
CBJ is off tonight before a back-to-back on the road in OTT and back home against the Sharks. Both those teams are in action tonight, meaning C-Bus will get OTT on the second half of a double dip and that SJS will have a rest day before playing in Nationwide Arena on Saturday. It looks like OTT may be without Duchene in anticipation (or actual) of a trade. Who knows about Stone, I’d say its 50/50 if he plays in that game or not. He could be traded, just sitting in anticipation of a trade or may even be re-signed by OTT at that point.
Also, up in the air is who will be in the lineup for the Union Blue. Is Panarin still ill (or sitting because of an impending trade) and will Bob play the first or second leg of the double? I guess he may play both or neither depending on trade situations.
Let’s talk Duchene
Bio:
He is 5’11”, 195 lbs, 28 years old and was drafted 3rd overall by COL in 2009. He jumped right into the NHL that year in COL and played there for 8 seasons and part of a 9th before joining OTT (he is in his second season there). In 704 NHL games he has 535 points and a -85 rating.
He is the best potential trade deadline C if he moves. Except for Joe Thornton (who may even retire), he has the best numbers of the UFA Cs this off season. But, is a top line C a target of the CBJ any longer. PLD is a true top line centre and may end up being an elite C in the NHL before too long. I get that Columbus needs to replace Bread’s scoring if they move him, but do they have a better shot of re-signing Duchene?
How about the CBJ goalie situation – and yes, it is a situation
Watching Bob and Korpi on back-to-back nights was eye opening. I realize the competition was strikingly different, but so were the performances in net. Korpi didn’t look good against TBL especially allowing the long-distance goal at the start of the 3rd. Bob was not the reason for the L in MON. There is a wide gap in the skill between the two.
If Bob moves at the deadline….
Does C-Bus fill with a stop-gap goalie? Someone like Howard (DET) could fit the bill for the rest of the season? If so, do you re-sign him and keep Korpisalo as the back up? Could Jarmo grab Quick from LAK at the deadline for the goalie now and into the near future, again relegating Korpi to second fiddle?
If Bob stays for the rest of the season, then what…
Even more sure than Panarin not staying is the fact that Bob will not be in Columbus after this season. Does the CBJ go with Elvis and Korpi? That would be a calculated gamble and one that may not turn out so well. Who else is out there? I mentioned Quick as a possibility, but not sure LAKs are done with him yet. Lehner has looked good on the island this season, are they going to bring him back? Smith in CAL could use a change of scenery. Howard is an option in the off season too. Will Varlamov be available and is there any tread left on those tires?
Let’s face it, none of us are a fly on the wall in Jarmo’s office. We don’t hear those phone calls and even the information ‘leaked by an unnamed source’ is only giving you the information they want you to hear and put out there. The possibilities are endless and analyzing it from the perspective of one team is short sighted. One teams movements don’t happen in a vacuum.
Scoreboard Watching
WAS v. TOR – obvious implications as CBJ want to stay within striking distance of WAS
CAR v. FLA – again, obvious as C-Bus would rather not be on the outside looking in
SJS v. PIT - *see above remarks about WAS
PHI v. MON – Wild Card implications, because, you know, CBJ are a Wild Card team now
ARI v. VAN – Just because the West is fun to watch right now. And in a past life I was a die-hard CHI fan
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