Jackets Make a Deal for Power Play Help

In an effort to bolster their NHL-worst Power Play as well as to add some depth with playoff experience, the Jackets pulled the trigger on a small deal Wednesday night. They acquired forward Jason Williams from the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for AHL-defenseman Clay Wilson and a sixth round pick. The sixth round pick was the pick the Jackets acquired from dealing Jody Shelley to San Jose last year. Williams has 18 points (7G, 11A) in 41 games this season.

This is not a trade that will bring a lot of chatter across the league, but it’s a deal that doesn’t cost the Jackets much and that could absolutely help them this season as they try to push for the playoffs. The Jackets had two major needs: a skilled centerman, and someone to play the point (defense/blue line) on the Power Play that has a right handed shot. Their current PP lineups just don’t have a scoring threat from the back-line, which makes it much more difficult to get shots and traffic, as the defense can collapse down if they don’t have to respect a shot from the point.

The club hopes that Williams, a right-handed shot with Power Play experience, will help improve that aspect of their team. He is tentatively slated to play with Fedor Tyuitin on the back-line of the first Power Play unit, and 26 of his 73 career goals have come on the Power Play. GM Scott Howson did not mince words when talking about how he hopes this deal will help the club: “When Jason was with Chicago, he really helped their power play when he was in the lineup. They were something like 11 percent without him and 19 percent with him. He can shoot the puck and he sees the ice well.”

In addition, Williams can play both center and right wing, which brings more versatility to a team whose front lines have been ever-changing due to injury over the past month. Coach Ken Hitchcock likes the deal: “He brings an element to our team that will help us at 5-on-5 and on the power play. He’s got an excellent shot, and he looks to shoot.” Williams brings one other thing to the club: after spending his formative NHL years with Detroit, he has playoff experience. “…I’m really looking forward to playing for the Blue Jackets, it’s a great opportunity. I’d love to help them get into the playoffs,” Williams said. “I missed the playoffs by just a couple of points last year with Chicago, and if I can help this team get into the playoffs this year, it would be good for the organization and myself.”

Finally, and most importantly, the deal for Williams did not cost the team a lot in terms of resources and also in terms of money. A sixth round pick in the NHL isn’t much (think: 15th-20th round pick in baseball), and this pick was not even the Jackets’ pick to begin with. Further, Clay Wilson is one of those proverbial “needs a change of scenery” to get a chance to make it in the NHL, though this is now the second time he has been traded in the past two seasons. Per Portzline and Reed of The Dispatch, “Wilson…is an interesting player. A high-risk, high-reward defenseman, he never quite fit into the Ken Hitchcock system. Look at it this way: as much as the Blue Jackets power play struggled this season, Wilson barely got a sniff in Columbus.” Williams’ contract expires at the end of the season, and the Jackets are only on the hook for roughly $1.1 million for the rest of the year: a cheap deal for a club with real playoff aspirations.

Williams will be coming to his fourth NHL team, after spending time with Detroit (2000-2006), Chicago (2006-2008), and Atlanta (2008-2009). He has 73 goals and 103 assists in 337 career games, and his most productive year came in ‘05-‘06 in Detroit when he notched 58 points (21G, 37A).