The Columbus Blue Jackets Mid-Season Report Card

Andy and George...'nuff said.

It is with great apologies to all hockey fans that I write today.  With work and graduate school, I have dropped the puck on coverage and commentary of the Blue Jackets…and you have been stuck with too much Cincinnati crap and smug andy-isms.  I vow to remedy this going forward and not subject you to the whims of Ace and Gary.

Since my Blue Jackets season preview never got finished, we will jump right to the mid-season (almost) report card.  As I write this here today, the Jackets are currently 14-14-7 with 35pts and are in 4th in the Central Division, 12th in the Western Conference.  This is INCREDIBLY disappointing for a young team returning almost everyone from the franchise’s first ever playoff appearance.  They have won 2 of their last 15 games. Two for Fifteen!! Are you kidding me??  What happened to the young team on the rise that was picked by all the experts and pundits (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/preview2009/columns/story?columnist=buccigross_john&id=4537388) to make the playoffs for a second straight year????  Let’s break it down and grade them out.

I. Record – as previously stated, they are 14-14-7 (35pts), and are currently in 12th place in the West.  The bad news is they are mired in a 2 for 15 slump at a time when they should be banking points and solidifying their playoff position.  The good news is they are ONLY 6 points out of 8th and the final playoff spot in the West.  They play in the toughest division in hockey and can make up the ground.  The bigger question is will they?  Mid-season grade: C-

HE's having a good year....but what about everyone else??

II. Offense -The Jackets currently have 101 Goals For on the year, and are on pace to score 237 goals for the season.  This is on pace to shatter the franchise record for goals scored in a season of 220 by 17, and they are averaging 2.83 goals per game (11th in the league).  This is both good and bad.  It is good because they are finally drafting and developing young talent and some goal scorers to compliment Rick Nash.  It is bad because it comes at the expense of defense, which I will get to in a minute.  Columbus also FINALLY has a strong powerplay for the first time in EVER. (Andy and George – a “Powerplay” is when you have one more man on the ice than your opponent because they took a penalty and have to sit out for a particular amount of time). They were a league worst 30th on the man advantage last year, and have not cracked any higher than 26th in the league since the 2004 season.  This was an embarassing statistic…until this year!  They are currently 2nd in the league in PP efficiency, converting 22.9% of the time.  This is great to see and will help keep them in games down the stretch.  Mid-season grade: A

Steve Mason is mired in the classic Sophomore Slump for NHL goalies...

III. Defense – Defense has been at the core of Ken Hitchcock teams from the beginning.  Defense wins championships in the NHL. Good goaltending can make up for or mask a lot of problems.  At this time last year, Steve Mason came to town to solidify the net and began a phenominal rookie season that included the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year, and runner-up voting for the Vezina trophy for goaltender of the year.  Not bad for a 20 year old kid from Ontario.  He is the core piece of the defense Columbus has been lacking for the past 5 seasons, and now have a franchise goaltender to build around.  (Andy and George, when you see “franchise goaltender”, think franchise quarterback, as it is that important of a position.) Now it is very commonplace for NHL goalies to have a sophomore slump, and Steve Mason is right in the thick of his.  Shooters in the league figure out goalie tendancies much faster than the goaltender himself.  So the cycle looks like this – Year 1; Young goaltender dominates.  Year 2; Shooters figure out young goaltender, score regularly and mess with his confidence, putting him in a slump for most of the year.  Year 3; Young goaltender regroups, adjusts to shooters, and is solid once again.  So with Mason having a down year, he must rely on his teammates to pick him up and play solid defense in front.  How has that been going you ask?  As a team, the Jackets have given up a LEAGUE WORST 120 GOALS AGAINST THROUGH 35 GAMES!!! They are giving up 3.26 goals per game.  Let that sink in for a minute…and if we do the math….they are ON PACE TO ALLOW 267 GOALS AGAINST! Words cannot describe how awful this is, especially for a defensive coach in his fourth season.  Guys are not playing the body, not blocking shots, not finishing checks, not clearing opponents out in front of Mason…not doing much of anything.  And something has to change – RAPIDLY.  Mid-season grade: F-

Hitch cannot quite figure out what the hell is wrong with his team either...

IV. Coaching – Ken Hitchcock has been the best thing to happen to this franchise behind the bench.  He has brought a defensive minded approach to the game and has helped develop Rick Nash into a top five forward in the league.  Last year, he got everyone to buy into his system, and it paid dividends by clinching the franchise’s First playoff birth ever.  I’ve been a big Hitchcock fan and enjoyed the results that I’ve see on the ice.  That being said, that was last year, and with the success of last year came high hopes and expectations for this year.  And rightly so.  This team is on the rise.  They are young and talented, and had the cap room to keep the core in place and build consistent success.  This is clearly not happening.

Somthing is not right with this team this year. As I watch them play, I see too many individual players doing their own thing on the ice (Huselius) and not enough of the blue-collar work that this team is built for.  They play uninspired at times, and do not have that killer instinct that the great teams have.  The ability to put a team away when they have the lead late, or come back after giving up the lead or a tough goal.  I don’t like to blame coaches when the generally get an unfair amount of criticism for underachieving players, but in large part this falls on the head coach just as much as the players.  Case in point – the Jackets are 5-4-2 when Leading after the first period.  They are 4-6-3 when trailing after the first period…and a whopping 1-10-2 when trailing after two periods.  The inability to come back after adversity strikes is startling.  To ice the cake, they are 3-7 in OT and Shootouts.  GOOD TEAMS FIND WAYS TO WIN.  PERIOD.   And they are motivated by their head coach and put in the best position to win possible.  The season is slipping away and Hitchcock better right the ship quickly, or he might be out of a job.  Mid-season grade: C-

GM Scott Howson (who has my dream job). Scott, please give me a job...

V. GM and Front Office - GM Scott Howson has done a great job in shaping this roster.  He has added key veterans who are proven winners to help develop the youth and create a culture of winning.  He signed Rick Nash to a long term deal, ensuring that the Captain stays in Columbus for a long time.  He signed Mathieu Garon to back up Steve Mason.  This was the most underrated signing of the off-season.  Garon is 4-3-2 with a 2.82 GAA and .907 SvPct.  He has proven to be more than a capable back-up, as he has better numbers than Mason.   There is still work to do though.  He sent highly talented prospect Nikita Filatov on loan to a Russian KHL team.  He is a great talent and high draft pick.  Howson needs to find a way to make it work or get some compensation for him.  He will also need to make some deadline deals to either solidify the playoff run, or build up the roster for next year.  Let’s hope its the former.  Mid-season grade: B+

OVERALL Mid-Season Grade: C- The Blue Jackets have underachieved greatly so far in 2009.  However all is not lost, as there is still some time to turn it around.  Not much time, but some.  The season breaks for the olympics in early February.  If the Jackets can find a way to climb back into the top 8 by then, I like there chances to make another playoff run.  If not, I hate to say it, but it might be time for a new face behind the bench.  I’m not sayin, I’m just sayin…