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Blue Jackets
Tollefsen on way out as free agent
Tuesday,
June 30, 2009 2:56 AM
The Columbus Dispatch
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Defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, one of the toughest players to ever dress for the Blue
Jackets, probably won't play for them again.
The Blue Jackets did not extend a qualifying offer to Tollefsen by yesterday's deadline, which makes him an unrestricted free agent Wednesday. "It was actually a very difficult decision," general manager Scott Howson said. "Ole is everything you want represented in a Blue Jackets sweater. He's unselfish. He has lots of character. He's hard to play against. He has all the characteristics of our kind of player." But Tollefsen, who missed 94 of 164 games the past two seasons mostly because of injuries, had two strikes against him. To keep him, the Blue Jackets would have had to give a 5 percent raise, from the $750,000 he earned in 2008-09 to $787,500. Also, the Blue Jackets have a glut of left-shot, stay-at-home defensemen. "It's a combination of the contract and the position," Howson said. The Blue Jackets extended qualifying offers, Howson said, to left winger Alexandre Picard, center Michael Blunden, defensemen Marc Methot and Jonathan Sigalet, and goaltender Dan LaCosta. The following players didn't get offers and will be free agents Wednesday: center Jiri Novotny, forwards Petr Pohl and John Vigilante and defensemen Kyle Wharton, Jon Landry and Trevor Hendrikx. The biggest surprise of the group was Tollefsen, a 25-year-old drafted by the Blue Jackets in the third round (No. 65) of the 2002 NHL entry draft. He's one of the few Norwegians to play in the NHL. In 145 games with Columbus in the past four season, Tollefsen had four goals, six assists and 273 penalty minutes. But those numbers hardly tell the story of Tollefsen, who produced many a highlight with his hitting and fighting prowess. "Ole is a guy who can certainly play in the NHL," Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock said. "He's a really tough, competitive guy." Happy returnBlue Jackets development camp opened yesterday in the Dispatch Ice Haus. One of the more intriguing prospects is forward Stefan Legein, drafted two years ago for his feisty, combative style. A year ago, however, Legein wasn't noticeable at development camp and soon after informed the club that he needed time away from hockey to regain his passion for the game. Legein, 20, rejoined the organization at midseason, playing 26 games in the minors. "I definitely want to show them again why they drafted me and that I'm still the player I was before last summer," Legein said yesterday. "I was a little rusty and a little jittery after what happened. ... My goal (upon arriving at training camp in September) is to come here and never leave, work as hard as I can so I never have to go back to (minor-league) Syracuse." Filtering inThe Jackets had all but two of their camp prospects on the ice yesterday. Fourth-round draft pick David Savard, a defenseman, and 2008 second-rounder Cody Goloubef are expected to take part today. Story toolsToday’s Top Stories |
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