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Puck Rakers
A blog about the Blue Jackets and the NHL
One Signed, Two Set Free
The Blue Jackets have agreed to terms with defenseman Austin Madaisky on a three-year, entry-level contract, and the official deal should be announced shortly. Madaisky was a fifth-round pick (No. 124 overall) in the 2010 NHL entry draft.
Two other picks - right winger Petr Straka (2nd round, No. 55) and defenseman Brandon Archibald (4th round, No. 94) - have been informed by the Blue Jackets that they won't be signed, sending them back in the pool of draftable players for next month's draft in Pittsburgh.
Of those two, Straka is the mild surprise.
He had 28-36-64 in 62 games with Rimouski (QMJHL) during his draft year, but tailed off badly the last two seasons. In 2010-11, he had 10-15-25 in 41 games. This season, he had 18-19-37 in 54 games. That's fewer points the last two seasons -- 62 in 95 games -- than he scored as a 17-year-old.
However, Straka made a pretty good last-best argument for a deal with his performance in the QMJHL playoffs. He had 10-12-22 in 21 games, becoming a point-a-game player once again. The bet here is that he gets drafted his June, but certainly on Saturday (2nd through 7th rounds) and probably later in the day.
The Blue Jackets acquired the pick used on Straka with the 2010 trade deadline deal that sent winger Raffi Torres to Buffalo.
Madaisky, meanwhile, blossomed this season in his fourth year of juniors, the last three spent with Kamloops (WHL). He had 13 goals, 37 assists, 50 points and a plus-20 rating, all career highs. He also had 87 penalty minutes. He could play a fifth year of junior next season, or begin his pro career, likely with AHL Springfield.
Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson and the hockey operations department face one last difficult decision as it pertains to the 2010 draft class. Goaltender Mathieu Corbeil remains unsigned, and the Jackets still aren't sure if they want to keep him in the fold.
"We'll evaluate him in the Memorial Cup and make a decision," Howson said. "Not sure right now."
Corbeil is 50-11-2 in the last two seasons with Saint John of the QMJHL, which won the Memorial Cup last season and is a favorite to repeat. Corbeil, named the QMJHL's goalie of the year, is 16-0-1 in this year's playoffs, with a 2.18 goals-against average and .917 save percentage.
Those numbers will cause many readers to scratch their temples and wonder: "How could they possibly not want this guy?" What the Blue Jackets are trying to determine is if Corbeil is a product of a powerhouse hockey club or a goaltender with legitimiate NHL potential. These are the questions that keep scouts up late at night.
Two weeks ago, the Blue Jackets seemed to be leaning away from signing Corbeil. These days it seems to be leaning back the other direction, though no decision has been made.
-- Aaron Portzline
twitter: @aportzline
TOP GAME
Rangers 3, Bruins 0
Lundqvist gets seventh shutout of season
Henrik Lundqvist made 42 saves for his NHL-leading seventh shutout of the season, and New York beat host Boston last night to widen the gap between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.
The Rangers won their fourth straight game and opened a nine-point lead over Boston.
Ryan Callahan scored for the sixth time in four games and Ryan McDonagh and Artem Anisimov also had goals for the Rangers, who won despite being outshot 42-20. It was Lundqvist’s 42nd career shutout.
OTHER GAMES
• Senators 4, Lightning 0: Jason Spezza had a hat trick and Craig Anderson made 28 saves for his 18th career shutout as Ottawa defeated Tampa Bay.
Spezza also added an assist to give him five goals and five assists in the past four games.
• Predators 3, Blackhawks 2: Ryan Ellis scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and added an assist for Nashville, which handed Chicago its ninth straight loss.
Ryan Suter and Nick Spaling also scored for the Predators.
• Ducks 2, Wild 1: Corey Perry scored the winning goal at 12:21 of the third period, Jonas Hiller stopped 17 shots, and Anaheim Ducks beat Minnesota, handing the Wild its fifth straight loss.
• Devils 4, Sabres 1: Ilya Kovalchuk had three goals and an assist and Martin Brodeur stopped 29 shots in leading New Jersey over Buffalo.
• Islanders 3, Jets 1: P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period and Evgeni Nabokov made 37 saves as New York defeated Winnipeg.
• Flames 5, Maple Leafs 1: Alex Tanguay had a goal and two assists and Miikka Kiprusoff had 41 saves as Calgary cruised past slumping Toronto.
NOTABLE
• The Bruins signed defenseman Johnny Boychuk to a three-year contract extension worth $10.1 million.
Boychuk, 28, has three goals and seven assists in 52 games this season and is second among Bruins defensemen with a plus-23 rating.
• Montreal Canadiens forward Scott Gomez and an assistant coach got into a shouting match at practice yesterday.
Assistant Randy Ladouceur apparently was upset at what he considered a lack of intensity during a drill. Gomez is among the league’s highest-paid players but has only one goal this season for the struggling Canadiens.
The spat continued for several minutes, first in front of other players before the men left to exchange words in a corner.
— Associated Press
