Columbus Blue Jackets

Caps, Jackets Play Lets Make a Deal

The Washington Capitals and Columbus Blue Jackets officially make a deal in which Columbus sends solid left wing Jason Chimera in exchange for depth defenseman Milan Jurcina and surprisingly team captain Chris Clark

The Capitals receive probably the best player of the bunch in Chimera, who last year would have posted career highs had he stayed healthy. The 30-year-old veteran carries a reasonable 1.875 cap hit, a fair price for a grinding wing who shows the ability to put up points.

Clark, now the former captain of the Caps, admits to being shocked he was traded. This trade may mark the first time a first-place team traded away their captain, however it was the smart move. The 33-year-old sported a hefty 2.633 million cap hit this year and next, something a contending team simply should not pay for considering he posted two less points than Chimera.

In Jurcina the Jackets get a warm body on the blue line, something they needed since Rostislav Klesla went down at the beginning of the month. More importantly the Blue Jackets shake the team up, as they promised they would do. Used mainly as a depth defenseman, Jurcina posted four helpers in 27 games while carrying a 1.375 cap hit.

Columbus Finally Making a Move?

Tom Reed of The Columbus Dispatch recently reported that Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson will shake things up soon in an attempt to send a message to his team. Considered a strong team with room for improvement following their first playoff berth, the young team struggled and currently sit in 14th in the Western Conference, just one point above cellar dweller the Edmonton Oilers.

The difference between the Oilers and Blue Jackets however are injuries. The Oilers lost their number one goalie and arguably their number one scorer, if not for the breakout year of Dustin Penner and admirable job by Jeff Deslauriers thinks could be even worse in the province of Alberta.

The Blue Jackets’ problems prove not as simple. A sophomore slump from Derick Brassard and Steve Mason severely hurt their chances, as well as the deportation of Nikita Filatov. Couple those problems with the injury to top defenseman Rostislav Klesla and the Jackets lost key components to last year’s playoff team.

Nevertheless, Howson stayed the course admitting he would not make any panic moves. At this point a move seems too late. Recent rumblings around Twitter point to Karl Alzner moving to Columbus.

Waivers, Waivers and Re-Entry Waivers

Two players were placed on waivers today, Aaron Ward and PA Parenteau. Yesterday, goaltender Michael Leighton was placed on re-entry waivers. Lets take a further look at these players and the value they may have around the league.

Ward according to most Hurricanes fans has been terrible. That, however, means little when you play on one of the worst teams in the league. His contract expires at the end of the season and he carries a hefty 2.5 million cap hit. Teams like the New York Islanders or Columbus Blue Jackets have a strong need for another defender, but they just recently passed on Lukas Krajicek at almost half his cap hit.

As TSN’s Bob MacKenzie speculates, there may be more interest if he goes through re-entry waivers.Ward is a multiple Stanley Cup winner and should add a welcome addition to either team’s blueline.

Leighton sees re-entry waivers as he now is the third man out. Not starting a game until the end of October, the 28-year-old struggled to find his game winning only one game in seven appearances.