The 5-Hole: Blue Jackets News and Notes – 4/28/09 – Season-in-Review Edition

Every Tuesday, WFNY’s The 5-Hole brings you up to date with the goings-on of the CBJ…

The Year That Was

Regular Season: 41-31-10, 92 points (4th division; 7th conference)
Playoff Result: lost in Conference Quarterfinals to Detroit, 0-4

For what will be the final 5-Hole column of the spring, I thought it would be good to take a season-in-review look back on the 2008-2009 season for the Jackets. By almost all accounts, it was a season for the history books: franchise records in wins, road wins, points, and the team’s inaugural trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, in addition to many individual player records set as well. Not only did Columbus finally take the step to get to the post-season, but they definitely also got a bit of an education on what it will take to then take that *next* step in 2009-2010. But, that’s still six months away. Let’s take a look back at The Year That Was…

Team MVP – Steve Mason, G
Apologies to: Rick Nash, LW; RJ Umberger, C/LW; Jan Hejda, D

Even with his struggles down the stretch and into the playoffs, I don’t know how this could go to any other player. The Jackets were floundering up to the point of bringing Mason up and giving him the starting job. There’s no way they’re a playoff team this year without him, as there were several nights where he carried them to wins. He led the league with 10 shutouts, was second in the league in goals-against average, and is one of three finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy (rookie of the year) as well as being one of three finalists for the Vezina Trophy (league’s top goaltender). All of that adds up to the coveted 5-Hole Blue Jackets MVP award. It’s important to note that Rick Nash had another outstanding season, notching a career-best and franchise-record 79 points (40G, 39A) and led the team in his first year as Captain with the skill of a seasoned veteran. RJ Umberger also had a very solid season with 46 points (26G, 20A) while notching his career high in goals as well as being one of only three players to play in all 82 games. Umberger deserves credit for playing anywhere he was asked to play (he was shuffled around on various lines and played center as well as winger). Jan Hejda led the team in +/- rating, and also was one of the three players to play in all 82 games. Hejda was an anchor in the Jackets’ better-honed defensive philosophy this season.

Best Newcomer – RJ Umberger, C/LW
Apologies to: Raffi Torres, LW; Mike Commodore, D; Kristian Huselius, RW

This award is given to the established NHL player obtained in the off-season that most helped the Jackets this year (hence why Mason—or any other rookie—is not included in the list). Umberger—acquired on draft day for the first round pick the Jackets received in the Adam Foote deal (thus making this whole thing that much sweeter)—had a solid season with a career-best 26 goals and 20 helpers. He was often moved around as needed, and played any and everywhere without complaint and without variation in his effort and output. Umberger played in all 82 games, and was also far and away the best player on the squad cumulatively over the entire four-game playoff series with Detroit, scoring three of the team’s seven series goals. Raffi Torres made his way back from injury to put together a decent campaign, leading the team with six game-winning goals. The Jackets were 11-0-0 when Torres scored during the regular season. You can’t argue with those kinds of numbers. Mike Commodore paired up with Jan Hejda to form the Jackets top-pair defensive lineup, and had a solid season as well with 24 points and a +11 rating. Kristian Huselius played opposite of Rick Nash and was the skilled playmaker The Captain has been needing on his line. Juice was second on the team with 56 points (21G, 35A).

Biggest Rookie Contributor – Steve Mason, G
Apologies to: Jakub Voracek, W; Derick Brassard, C

I shouldn’t have to spend a huge amount of time on this, considering all that was said above about Mason’s year. Talk about getting a lift from somewhere unexpected; Mason didn’t make the opening-day roster, mostly because of his injury rehab and the fact that the club didn’t want him sitting 85% of the time on the NHL bench behind then-starter Pascal LeClaire. Mason got his chance on November 5th, and took that chance and ran with it. Jakub Voracek had a solid rookie campaign at age 19. He played all over the place, from the second line to the third and fourth lines. He finished fourth on the team in points with 38 (9G, 29A), had a +11 rating, and definitely looked like he belonged in the playoffs against Detroit. Derick Brassard was well on his way to competing for the Calder Trophy himself up until his season-ending injury in December. The centerman notched 25 points in just 31 games (at age 21) to start the year, and was fast becoming a guy that could play on the top line with Nash and Huselius before his separated shoulder ended his campaign. With those two plus 2008 top pick Nikita Filatov, the future is certainly bright for the Jackets on offense.

Best Front Office Move – Acquiring C Antoine Vermette from Ottawa for G Pascal LeClaire
Apologies to: Promoting Steve Mason; Acquiring C/LW RJ Umberger from Philadelphia for a first round draft pick; Acquiring LW Raffi Torres from Edmonton for C Gilbert Brule

While having the rocks to bring up Mason—and then to hand him the starting job full-time—was important, there was not a better move than getting Vermette at the trading deadline. The move was solid for two reasons: 1) It gave the club IMMEDIATE help to make a playoff push, and 2) It cleared LeClaire’s weighty salary off the books for the next three years. It was truly a move that made the club better in the short-term, but also had an eye on the long-term. Clearing LeClaire’s salary frees up money for an extension offer to Rick Nash—and gives the team more salary flexibility in general—and the team still has Vermette at least for the 2009-2010 season on top of that. Vermette scored 13 points (7G, 6A) in the 17 regular season games he played with Columbus, and was a bonafide top line center for them both because of his faceoff success and because of his speed and skills with the puck. He was an asset on the penalty kill, and seamlessly meshed with linemate RJ Umberger almost right at the outset of his arrival.

Biggest Team Strength – Defense
Apologies to: Goaltending; Penalty Kill

The Jackets were so much better this year than they’d ever been for one reason: they finally bought in completely to coach Ken Hitchcock’s defensive-minded system. The team tied for ninth in the league in goals allowed per game (2.72). They re-made most of the backline roster (additions included: Commodore, Fedor Tyutin, Christian Backman) and found pairings that worked. The forwards bought in, as well, and players like Nash and Umberger showed the makings of great two-way players. The addition of Vermette helped in this area, as well. The goaltending was obviously a strength with Mason, but some of that credit does go to the overall defensive effort of the club in limiting the scoring chances that the goaltenders faced night-in and night-out. At times, the penalty kill was an asset, as well. They finished the year 13th in the NHL on the PK (82.1%).

Biggest Team Weakness – Power Play
”Apologies” to: Assistant Coaching; Backup goalie

The one rather ugly part of the Jackets’ performance this year was their league-worst Power Play unit. It did improve somewhat with the addition of Jason Williams in January, but the unit finished the year dead last in the league at 12.7% (the next worst team, by comparison, was a full 1.2% better than Columbus). The Jackets lacked the ability to get pucks on the net from the blue line (Williams did help there a bit), but even more than that lacked an overall system (or perhaps commitment to a system) that allowed them to setup in the offensive zone for the Power Play.  There was a lot of dumping-and-chasing that allowed other teams to just sit back and collapse around their net, clear the puck, and block any shot attempts from the points. There is some culpability there with assistant Claude Noel, who coaches the special teams. If I can see that there’s something wrong the system, the coach should be able to as well and should then make changes. Along the lines of assistant coaching, with the loss of goalies coach Clint Malarchuk, there was never really anyone to fully step into the void. As good as Mason was this year, how much would it have helped to have had a coach? And beyond that, how nice would it have been to have had a backup goalie that the team could count on? Steve Mason started 61 out of a possible 70 games after coming up to the team, which is entirely too many for the starter on a playoff team—especially one who is only 20 years old, coming off a major knee injury, and that had never played more than one year of junior hockey. Mason clearly needed some rest by the end of the year, but because the Jackets had little faith in backup Wade Dubielewicz (and earlier backup Fredrik Norrena), Mason wasn’t able to get the rest he needed.

Most Pressing Need – Top-line Center
Apologies to: Rick Nash contract extension; backup goaltender; puck-moving defenseman; power play help

All of those things are important, of course, but another year that sees Manny Malhotra on the top line at center will be a rough year. No disrespect to Malhotra, really; he did the best job that he possibly could filling in on the top line after the loss of Brassard. Manny’s just not a top-line center. He belongs on the third or fourth line, ideally, and should be back there next season. It remains to be seen if Brassard can pick up where he left off on the top line with Nash and Huselius, but his return should be a nice shot in the arm at the center position.

The elephant in the room for the Jackets is the impending contract year for captain Rick Nash. The team can offer him an extension this July, and with the money saved in the LeClaire trade one hopes they will do so and that he will sign. It’s tough to ignore that, even with the increased attendance down the stretch, the club lost money again this year, and remains in a smaller market in NHL terms. Nash has expressed nothing but positive interest in staying with the Jackets, and one would also hope that his first taste of playoff hockey will entice him to stay as well. Other needs for the Jackets include a viable backup goaltender (see above), who may or may not come from in-house (Dan LaCosta was 2-0 in emergency starting duty this year), and some more help on the blue line both in terms of puck movement and in terms of facilitating on the Power Play. Kris Russell took a step forward this year offensively, but he’s still undersized. Needless to say, the Jackets could use another defenseman or two that can move the puck like Russell.

Off-season Calendar

Well, since the season is over for the Jackets, The 5-Hole will be retiring for the summer. We will still bring you any updates (roster moves, awards, etc.) that pop up during the off-season, but the weekly column is heading on vacation for the summer. In the mean time, here are some important dates to look forward to, Jackets fans:

April 24-May 10 – IIHF World Championship, Switzerland.

May 25-30 – NHL Combine, Toronto.

June 15 – Last possible day for Stanley Cup finals.

June 18 – NHL awards show at Las Vegas.

June 26-27 – NHL draft, Montreal.

July 1 – Free agency signing period begins.

July 5 – Deadline for player-elected salary arbitration.

July 6 – Deadline for club-elected salary arbitration.

July 10 – Deadline for eligible players to elect Group 5 free agency.

July 20-Aug. 4 – Salary arbitration hearings held.

Aug. 6 – Deadline for salary arbitration decisions to be rendered.