Columbus Blue Jackets (Official Thread)

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

NHL
Blue Jackets eye Peca
Defense-minded center would fill void left by Svitov's departure
Sunday, August 19, 2007 3:40 AM
By Aaron Portzline


The Columbus Dispatch

Michael Peca


The Blue Jackets are pursuing unrestricted free-agent center Michael Peca, but they aren't likely to get an answer until Monday, at the earliest.

"I've spoken to Columbus about Michael," said Don Meehan, Peca's agent. "We've talked to a number of teams, really, and I'll sit down with Michael on Monday to discuss where we want to go."

Continued......

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

NHL
Svitov's exit has Jackets in market

Saturday, August 18, 2007 3:27 AM
By Aaron Portzline


The Columbus Dispatch

Counting on Alexander Svitov to be a major contributor as a second- or third-line center, the Blue Jackets were stunned yesterday to learn that he signed to play next season in Omsk, Russia.

A Russian Web site reported that Svitov signed a three-year contract with his hometown team. Svitov's agent confirmed the signing for the Blue Jackets.
"It's not a position of strength on our team," general manager Scott Howson said. "This hurts us a little bit."
It was surprising because the Blue Jackets signed Svitov to a two-year contract in July. He was to make $1 million this season and $1.25 million in 2008-09.

Continued.....

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Blue Jackets: Training camp will be all business
Hitchcock sets bar high, expects team to be ready to play
Monday, August 20, 2007 3:31 AM
By Aaron Portzline


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Ken Hitchcock

The country club days are officially over for the Blue Jackets.
Coach Ken Hitchcock didn't use those words exactly, but that's a fair summation of Hitchcock's long and wide-ranging response when asked what he and the rest of the coaching staff will undertake beginning today when they gather in Nationwide Arena.
Training camp is 3? weeks away, but there is fire in Hitchcock's eyes and flames in his voice.

Continued.....

 

[jimotis4heisman]

i got a text i think thursday last week about the svitov thing, interesting to say the least.

i was also told about 3 weeks ago that something interesting was going to happen with a russian kid, i was thinking of a prospect or zherdev, the svitov thing blindsided me when i found out thursday.

 

[TexasBuck]

It's official: Peca to the Blue Jackets. If healthy, Peca is a nice upgrade from Svitov.

The Columbus Dispatch : Jackets, Peca reach deal

 

[starBUCKS]

That's great news. Svitov really pissed me off, cause I really liked Daryl Sydor. Svitov has been a big f'ing waste.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Bob Hunter commentary: Jackets will shed 'soft' label under Hitchcock

Wednesday, August 22, 2007 3:39 AM
By Bob Hunter


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Even with the signing of free agent Michael Peca in the coming days, the best news for the Blue Jackets this summer was delivered a few days ago by Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock.
Hitchcock made it clear that Club Blue Jacket, that happy destination for underperforming hockey players everywhere, is closed. He left no doubt that the team's preseason training camp will be, for lack of a better word, hard.
This is hardly a surprise. Hitchcock's demanding style was one of the reasons he was such a popular choice for the job last fall when Gerard Gallant was fired, and Hitchcock reinforced that image by insisting on two-way play from everyone.

Continued....

 

[jimotis4heisman]

peca

strength, one of the better open ice hitters in teh game, face offs, pk. great leader, always shows up to play. support role offensive player.
weakness, has been known to lose his composure, usually as a result of a big open ice hit, not a goal scorer, plays like hes on fire. kamikaze.

good player, better player this year than svits.
downside, hes 33, svits was a horse, a work in progress but a work horse. peca is not as big, but has a proven track. probably on the downside of his career, but with feds and peca up the middle this team can defend anyone in the league. i think the injury prone stuff has been way over exaggerated with his broken leg last year. maybe overrated defensively, mildly underrated offensively.

things i have to say about it. sucks about svitov long term i really thought he was developing. peca is a proven winner, a proven leader, something that i think this team needs for the young core. guys like foote, mo, feds etc should enjoy more veterans who can help teach the young kids how it needs to be done.

if this team isnt in the hunt at the deadline, peca, foote and feds should be able to really get some decent value if healthy. personally this move should make this team more of a physical presence and i think .500 is very realistic.


on columbus, from a very reliable source. "up and coming team" "good young core" "cheap place to live" "good hockey town" "gem hockey market" lots of praises of hitch. "looking forward to playing with nasher" "vyborny is one of the most underrated players in the league" some other stuff but thats the basics.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

Michael Peca's agent, Don Meehan, reported on the Bill Watters Show earlier today that the Leafs are no longer in the Micheal Peca sweepstakes, and that its between the Rangers and Blue Jackets at this point, with Columbus the rumoured front-runners. Meehan says that his client is in the process of making the decision that's best for his hockey career and his family.


For a 1.3 million dollar price-tag, there's really a lot of value in adding a character like Peca.

Having been a captain of both the Sabres and Isles, Peca would add further leadership to a Leafs dressing room that's lost some veteran hegemony over the course of the past few years. Peca's experience as a defensive-minded forward will undoubtedly assist someone like Kyle Wellwood in rounding out his game.

Peca is an illustrious penalty killer and the difference between the Leafs PK succession rate before and after Peca's injury has been well advertised.

His game consistently is one of grit and effort that intensify his considerable skill. While noted for his PK skills, he supplies a significant offensive dimension by creating counter-attack opportunities off of his defensive work. Peca truly is the signature of the professional hockey masochist.

It's been overemphasized that Peca's susceptible to injury, this due to the reckless abandon brand of game he's played over the course of his career. Even so, for 1.3 million + bonuses, whoever lands Peca at the end of the day is getting an utter bargain.

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=9057

 

[starBUCKS]

So did he sign or not?

 

[TexasBuck]

The Columbus Dispatch : Blue Jackets: Physical last step in Peca signing

Per the Dispatch: If Peca passes the physical, it's a done deal. He passed the Rangers physical so there's no reason to think he won't pass this one.

 

[ysubuck]

Physical is today so we should know today right?

UUHHGG! Ricordati said this on the radio yesterday...5 years ago, this Blue Jackets team is one of the best in the league. I hope that this isn't another player on the down side (Fedorov, Foote, Anson Carter) that thinks he can come to C-bus and loaf.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

Under MacLean, I'd be concerned that Peca is another slacker looking for an easy paycheck. But Peca mentioning that he wants to play for Hitch says to me that it is a different situation.

I don't imagine that Peca will put us over the top or anything extraordinary like that, but if he can adequately fill one of the top-2 center positions and provide some leadership for some of these young slackers, I'll be pretty darn happy. Better defense in the middle will help, too.

Ugh, the list of underachieving vets is really pretty disgusting.....
Foote, Feds, Carter, Sydor, Sillinger, Marchant, Letowski, Richardson......damn, I know I'm missing a couple.....

As far as I'm concerned, none of those guys even came close to living up to expectations. Hopefully that trend ends shortly.

 

[TexasBuck]

Ugh, the list of underachieving vets is really pretty disgusting.....
Foote, Feds, Carter, Sydor, Sillinger, Marchant, Letowski, Richardson......damn, I know I'm missing a couple.....

Andrew Cassels is another sign that didn't seem to work out very well, although he wasn't as bad as some on the list.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

Ugh, the list of underachieving vets is really pretty disgusting.....
Foote, Feds, Carter, Sydor, Sillinger, Marchant, Letowski, Richardson......damn, I know I'm missing a couple.....

Andrew Cassels is another sign that didn't seem to work out very well, although he wasn't as bad as some on the list.

Good one. Carter and Richardson are the two that really stick out to me as the worst offenders from that list.

The fact that Doug overpaid Marchant, Letowski, Sillinger, (and others) and built up unrealistic expectations for them is hardly their fault.

It's kinda nice to be headed into camp without high expectations. No matter what happens this season, I won't be terribly disappointed by it.