A Second Look

There was a great article in The Columbus Dispatch on Tuesday regarding last summer’s Tyutin and Backman for Zherdev and Fritcshe trade. The article took a look at what those players have done since then, and which team got the better of the trade.

It got me thinking about some other noteworthy trades in Jackets history and how they turned out. Here, The Seventeenth Member takes a second look at five significant trades in Blue Jacket’s history and their results.

June 22, 2002: With the Columbus Blue Jackets poised to pick at number three in the 2002 entry draft, the Jackets traded up two spots to number one to acquire current all-star and captain Rick Nash. In exchange, Florida received the number three overall pick, and an option to swap picks in the 2003 draft.

With the third pick, the Panthers selected defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, currently of the Calgary Flames. Bouwmeester bounced around between the NHL club and minor league affiliate San Antonio during his first five years after being drafted, tallying a total of six goals and 30 assists in 143 games.

In the ’05-’06 season however, Bouwmeester put up bigger numbers, scoring five goal and posting 41 assists for a 46 point effort. Jay has 53 career goals, and 150 assist for 203 career points.

On the verge of becoming an unrestricted free agent, the two-time all-star Bouwmeester was traded to the Calgary Flames on June 27, 2009.

Rick Nash had an immediate impact on the Blue Jackets organization as he scored a goal in his first career NHL game on October 10, 2002. Since then, Nash has been a machine; improving his numbers nearly every year he has been in the league, culminating in a 79 point performance in ‘09.

Nash has 194 career goals, and 161 assists for a total of 355 career points in 441 games. Nash is also a four-time NHL All-Star, Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy winner as the leagues top goal scorer and 2009 NHL Foundation Player of the Year.

Nov. 15, 2005: The Blue Jackets acquire six-time All-Star Sergei Fedorov and a fifth round pick in the 2006 entry draft from Anaheim in exchange for Tyler Wright, Francois Beauchemin.

In 25 games with Anaheim, Wright scored two goals and two assists for a total of four points. He did not play another season in the NHL and currently works as a development coach for the Blue Jackets.

Beauchemin on the other hand, was a lot more productive. In 234 games with the Ducks, Beauchemin recorded 23 goals and 67 assists and was a big piece in the Ducks Stanley Cup Championship in 2007. Beauchemin signed a three-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 6, 2009 as a free agent.

In three seasons with the Blue Jackets, Fedorov tallied 39 goals and 74 assists for a total of 113 points. On February 26, 2008, the Jackets dealt Fedorov to Washington for draft pick Ted Ruth.

With the fifth round pick in the ’06 draft, the Jackets selected Defenseman and Dereck Brassard’s Drummondville Voltigeur teammate Maxime Frechette, currently with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the QMJHL.

June 30, 2006: The Blue Jackets acquire a pair of Fredriks in forward Fredrik Modin and goaltender Fredrik Norrena from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for goaltender Marc Denis.

In 50 games played with the Lightning, Denis compiled an 18-23-2 record with a 3.62 goals against average and a .871 save percentage. Denis was released by the Lightning on June 24, 2008 and currently resides with Montreal’s AHL affiliate the Hamilton Bulldogs.

In three seasons with the Blue Jackets, Fredrik Modin has appeared in 163 games, recording 37 goals and 42 assists. Lately, his production has been on the decline due to injuries, but as alternate captain, Modin still remains an important part of the club.

When Pascal Leclaire went down with injuries during the ’06-’07 season, Fredrik Norrena stepped into the starting goaltender position. In 55 games that year, Norrena tallied a 24-23-3 record with a .904 save percentage and a 2.78 goals against. The next year, he played the role of backup, appearing in 37 games, but with the emergence of Steve Mason in 2008, Norrena was waived by the Jackets and eventually signed with Linköpings HC of the Swedish Elite League.

June 20, 2008: In a trade that brought the first ever former Ohio State Buckeye to the Blue Jackets, the CBJ acquired center R.J. Umberger and a fourth round pick at the 2008 entry draft from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for first and third round picks in 2008.

With that first round, 19^th overall pick, the Flyers selected Luca Sbisa of Italy. He appeared in 39 games with the Flyers this past season, scoring no goals but tallying seven assists. At the ’09 entry draft, Sbisa was traded along with Joffrey Lupul and Philadelphia’s 2009 and 2010 first round picks to Anaheim for Chris Pronger and Ryan Dingle.

With the third round selection, the Flyers picked Marc-Andre Bourdon from the Rouyn-Noranda Huslies of the QMJHL. Bourdon has yet to appear in an NHL game.

In one full year with the Blue Jackets, Umberger recorded his best NHL season yet, scoring 26 goals and adding 20 assists for a total of 46 points. He also added three playoff goals in four games, scoring the franchise’s first ever playoff goal in a 4-1 loss at Detroit.

With the fourth round pick, the Jackets selected high school senior Drew Olson.

In one year with the Omaha Lancers of the USHL, Olson scored two goals and added six assists for eight total points in 39 games.

July 1, 2008: The Blue Jackets acquire Raffi Torres from Edmonton in exchange for former first round pick Gilbert Brulé.

With just nine points in 61 games played during the ’07-’08 season, the former first rounder seemed expendable. During the ’08-’09 season, Brulé appeared in 11 games with the Oilers after being called up from AHL affiliate Springfield. With the big club, Brulé chalked up two goals and one assist. In the remaining 39 games with Springfield, he scored 13 and helped on 11 for 24 total points.

In 51 games in ’08-’09, Raffi Torres was productive for the Jackets. Although he scored only 12 goals and tallied eight assists, it was the timing and significance of the goals that made him valuable. Six of Raffi’s 12 goals were game winners, and a Torres goal almost always lead to a Blue Jackets victory.

So who came out on top in each of these trades? That’s for you to decide.

-T17M

Nash Locked Up for Eight More Years

The most important task of the off-season for the Columbus Blue Jackets was checked off the to-do list Friday night when the Jackets resigned Captain Rick Nash to an eight year, $64.2 million extension.

The deal has Nash earning $7.5 million in 2010-'11, and raises each year until it peaks at $8.2 million in 2017-'18. He currently has one year remaining in his previous contract in which he will make $7 million.

"It's a very fair number," said Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson. "(Nash) made a statement to the team and the city that he's not out for the last dollar. He wanted to have a fair contract that allows us the flexibility to build the team around him." Nash's Agent Joe Resnick stated that "Rick did not want to go unrestricted," He continued, "He believes in what they're doing in Columbus. He believes in his teammates. He truly loves the city."

Nash is the Jackets all-time leading goal scorer with 194 goals in his six seasons. He is also the leader in points with 355 in 441 career games. He was selected by Columbus first overall in 2002, after the Jackets traded up to get him. In 2003-'04, Nash became the youngest player to lead the league in goals, with 41, and shared the Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy as the league's top goal scorer with Calgary's Jarome Iginla and Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk.

Nash a Major Impact On, Off Ice

With only one year remaining on his five-year, $27 million dollar contract, the Columbus Blue Jackets will be looking to resign captain and NHL all-star Rick Nash come July 1^st. Nash is the face of the franchise in Columbus and was the primary building block for the current team.

Nash was drafted number one overall back in 2002 when the club decided to trade up to the first spot in order to obtain the Ontario native. He has been reminding Jackets management why they selected him ever since.

Nash has been a star since the moment he put on the Jackets sweater. In his NHL debut on October 10, 2002, Nash scored a goal in a 2-1 win over Chicago and went on to make the NHL All-Rookie team at the conclusion of the '02-'03 season. In only his second year, Nash tied Jerome Iginla and Ilya Kovalchuk for the league lead with 41 goals and, along with the other two, was awarded the Rocket Richard Trophy as the leagues most prolific goal scorer. At a mere 19 years of age, Nash was the youngest player to lead the league in goals.

After scoring what many commentators called “the goal of the year” on January 17, 2008 vs. Phoenix, Nash went on to sore three goals in the 2008 All-Star Game including the fastest goal in all-star history only twelve seconds into play. On March 7^th, 2009, Nash recorded an unassisted hat trick in an 8-2 rout of the Detroit Red Wings in Joe Louis Arena. It was the first time a player recorded three unassisted goals in a single game since Maurice “Rocket” Richard scored 4 back in 1948.

In only six seasons, Nash has scored 194 goals, and recorded 161 assists for a total of 355 points. He is also a four time NHL all-star and was named MVP at the 2007 World Championships with team Canada in Moscow.

Although his impact on the ice is undeniable, his impact off the ice is even greater. At the NHL awards last week, Nash was named 2008-09 NHL Foundation Player of the Year. An award that is presented annually to a player “in recognition of his commitment and service to charities in his community.”

Since his arrival in Columbus, Rick Nash has always been one of the most active Blue Jackets in the community. Nash established the #61 club, which according to bluejackets.com encourages kids to make good choices and develop healthy habits and rewards those that do. “Through the #61 Club Good Health Challenge, he provides more than 30 tickets to every Blue Jackets home game to students who make 61 healthy choices in a month.”

Nash also gave $100,000 to The Ohio State University Athletics Department to finance a student-athlete scholarship and donated $25,000 to the John H. McConnell Scholarship Fund in memory of the Jackets founder.

"Being a professional hockey player is a privilege and I am extremely fortunate, as it has afforded me many opportunities to give back. I am honored to be this year's recipient of the NHL Foundation Player Award and am grateful that this honor will directly benefit the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation, the John H. McConnell Scholarship Fund, Tim Hortons Children's Foundation and the Pelotonia Tour," said Nash.

Nash also donates $15,000 annually to Santa’s Silent Helpers, an organization that provides holiday meals and gifts for 350-400 central Ohio families experiencing financial difficulties. These are just a few of the things Nash has done since becoming a Blue Jacket.

In his honor, the NHL has pledged to donate $25,000 to the charitable organization of Nash’s choice.

Mason, Nash Honored at NHL Awards

In his first year in the NHL, Columbus Blue Jackets rookie Steve Mason took the league by storm, and Thursday night in Vegas he was recognized for it. Mason took home the 2009 Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s top rookie beating out Chicago’s Kris Versteeg and Anehiem’s Bobby Ryan.

In only his first year, the rookie phenom lead the league with ten shutouts, was second in goals against at 2.29, and compiled a team record 33 wins while playing in 61 games.

Mason’s ten shutouts set a team record and were also the most shutouts recorded by a rookie since Chicago’s Tony Esposito posted 15 goose eggs back in 1969-’70. Mason recorded three straight shutouts between December 27^th and the 31^st when he consecutively blanked Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Anaheim respectively. Mason also set a franchise record for consecutive shutout minutes at 199:19.

Mason started the year in the minors with the Syracuse Crunch, but was quickly called up when then starting goaltender Pascal LeClaire and back up Fredrick Norrena both experienced injuries early in the season.

Mason is the first Blue Jacket to ever receive this honor, and joins team captain Rick Nash as the only Jacket to ever receive a post-season award. In 2004, Nash received the Rocket Richard Trophy as the leagues top goal scorer.

Steve Mason was also a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, given to the league’s top goaltender, but was beaten out by deserving Boston goalie Tim Thomas.

Rick Nash joined his fellow Blue Jacket in the award category Thursday night when he was honored as the 2008-2009 recipient of the National Hockey League Foundation Player Award, presented annually to a player "in recognition of his commitment and service to charities in his community,” as per bluejackets.com. In his honor, the NHL will give $25,000 to the charity of Nash’s choice.

Nash beat out Montreal Canadien’s forward Alex Kovalev and Los Angeles Kings forward Dustin Brown for the award. Previous recipients of the award include Trevor Linden, Vincent Lecavalier , Joe Sakic , Marty Turco and Jarome Iginla.