Michael Arace commentary: Special players don’t come along often
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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
This week, the Blue Jackets started shopping Rick Nash, who has done more for the franchise than anyone outside of the late owner, John H. McConnell.
Nash did not request a trade. Management came to him, and there is the rub.
Granted, Nash suspected they might ask, and he knew the question was loaded. It is like asking for a separation from a partner who has been nothing but staunchly loyal and supremely dedicated.
Honey, you’re terrific, and I love you and all, and you’ve given me the best years of your life and I appreciate it — but I am thinking about seeing some other people. What do you think?
It would have been one thing if Nash had requested a trade. He is a player of stature, he is in his prime and no one would fault him for wanting out, so he could go win somewhere while the Jackets rebuild.
Last month, Nash alluded to such a situation, and his words were prescient:
“I love Columbus. I love being here. I love being a Blue Jacket,” he said. “The city of Columbus deserves a winner and deserves a good product on the ice. If it comes to that — like you said, all speculation — but if they don’t want me here, they want to move me? I’m not going to do something where it’s going to hurt the franchise just because I have that (no-movement clause) in my contract.”
Nash did not want a trade. As of last week, any team that inquired about the Jackets’ impending fire sale was told that he was not available. That is not the case anymore.
Management asked Nash if they could shop him and, of course, he said yes. There is no other answer to such a question. When your unstable partner asks to play the field, you pull your suitcase out of the closet.
There is a chance that a trade does not get done before the Feb. 27 deadline, and waits until summer — but that chance is slim. It is rare to have a player of Nash’s caliber available in-season. A number of playoff teams — the New York Rangers, San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks, to name a few — have the desire and the wherewithal to make such a trade. The price will be heavy, but some team will pay.
When a deal is consummated, it will be the official signal that a radical rebuilding project is under way in Columbus. Some have clamored for such a thing, and it makes sense on an elemental level: Years of patchwork operations have landed the Jackets in 30th place in their 11th season, so it is time to trade assets for future commodities, and construct a smarter long-term plan.
The question that nags is: If current management — team president Mike Priest, general manager Scott Howson, et al — led the Jackets into this predicament, how can it be trusted to fix it?
Howson drafted Nikita Filatov, fired Ken Hitchcock, hired Scott Arniel, stuck with Steve Mason and traded for Jeff Carter, and never mind some of the contracts (and buyouts) he has negotiated as the payroll has ballooned. Now, Howson is being charged with handling the trade of the most precious commodity in the history of the team?
Long-suffering fans want to believe that seeds of hope can be found in a deal for Nash. They want to believe in this intangible. At the same time, there is a lack of trust in management, and it is tangible. So is a sense of impending loss.
Nash was the team’s first, and only, No. 1 overall draft pick. He has played more games, scored more goals and registered more assists and points than any other Blue Jackets player. He has won the Maurice Richard Trophy as the league’s leading goal scorer and the NHL Foundation Award as the league’s leading humanitarian. He has gold medals from the 2007 world championships and the 2010 Olympics. He loves Columbus.
Yesterday morning, he addressed the media and spoke in generalities about trade rumors and in “no comment” about specifics. I swear he welled up a little.
When he goes, nothing like him will come back this way.
Michael Arace is a sports reporter for The Dispatch.
marace@dispatch.com
