In his three NHL seasons, Blue Jackets forward Jared Boll has earned the reputation of someone willing to lose the gloves and tangle with whomever he sees fit.

With that in mind, interim coach Claude Noel recently spoke to the team, and Boll in particular, about being wise with the decision to tussle.

Boll said the main message was that every fight needs to have a purpose.

"You don't fight for yourself, you fight for the team," Boll said. "Even if you're going up against a bigger opponent or someone who's a little bit bigger, if it's going to help the team and if it's the right time, then do it.

"Sometimes it's not the right time, so he just told me to pick my spots and know when to do it. I think he trusts me, and all the guys in the room know I'll pick the right spot."

Since entering the league in the 2007-08 season, Boll has been among the top 10 in the NHL for penalty minutes every year, with a combined total of 536. But Noel said Boll's future with the Blue Jackets needs to be more than that of an energy player who excites the crowd with punches.

Boll has seen increased ice time since Noel took over for the fired Ken Hitchcock on Feb.3, averaging just under 10 minutes per game as the fourth-line right winger.

"His role is as a physical, tough player, and there is a role for that," Noel said. "He can play the game. He's exactly what we're looking for."

Wishful watching

Though R.J. Umberger was disappointed to be left off the U.S. Olympic team, he watched the gold-medal game Sunday with an appreciation for the level of hockey on display.

"When (the U.S.) scored I was pretty excited, just because it was going to continue and go to overtime and I knew it was going to get even more exciting," Umberger said. "The pace at the end was so good and I just wanted to see it continue. I didn't want the game to be over."

Umberger said his Canadian teammates have spared him from trash talk after Canada's 3-2 win.

"I think everybody knows about my situation here and that I would have liked to have been on that team," he said. "I think guys feel for me and no one's really rubbed anything in."

Umberger said he has set a four-year plan to give himself a shot at being on the 2014 team, when he will be 31 years old.

Final Olympians return

The last two Blue Jackets Olympians - Milan Jurcina (Slovakia) and Rick Nash (Canada) - were scheduled to return last night from Vancouver after Slovakia's fourth-place finish Saturday and Canada's gold-medal win Sunday. Noel said he will leave it up to the players as to whether they will be ready to play, but he expects they will be.

Minor-league deal

The Blue Jackets made a minor-league trade yesterday, sending defenseman Dylan Reese to the New York Islanders for forward Greg Moore. Moore, 25, has 14 goals and 17 assists in 62 games with the Bridgeport of the American Hockey League. He has collected 72 goals and 91 assists in 286 AHL games. Moore has been assigned to minor-league Syracuse.

Dispatch reporter Tom Reed contributed to this story.