This is the exact press release from the Columbus Blue Jackets!

———————————————-

COLUMBUS, OHIO – The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed defenseman
Rostislav Klesla to a four-year contract extension that will keep the
club’s first-ever Entry Draft pick with the organization through the
2013-14 season, General Manager Scott Howson announced today. As is
club policy, terms were not disclosed.

Klesla, 27, has registered 36 goals and 79 assists for 115
points with 456 penalty minutes in 444 career games with the Blue
Jackets. The club’s first pick, fourth overall, in the 2000 Entry Draft
currently stands second in franchise history in games played (David
Vyborny, 543) and penalty minutes (Jody Shelley, 1,025) and is the
club’s all-time leader among defensemen in games played, goals, assists,
points and penalty minutes. In 2001-02, he was selected to the National
Hockey League’s All-Rookie Team.

“Rusty is an original Blue Jacket who over the years has
grown and become a leader for our hockey club,” said Howson. “It was
important for our organization and for Rusty that he continue to be a
vital part of what we are building here.”

The Novy Jicin, Czech Republic native tallied 1-8-9, 38
penalty minutes and was +2 in 34 games in 2008-09. The previous season,
he appeared in all 82 games and notched 6-12-18 and 60 penalty minutes
with a career-best +7 plus/minus rating. In 2006-07, he set career
highs in goals, assists, points and penalty minutes with 9-13-22 and 105
penalty minutes in 75 games. Prior to joining the Blue Jackets, Klesla
registered 34-65-99 and 233 penalty minutes in 112 games with the
Brampton Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League from 1999-01.

More to come, plus reaction from the Fire The Cannon Team!

Jeff will continuing feature writing and game coverage for Inside Hockey, and will likely be periodically contributing pieces to The Hockey Writers, among others.

We all believe this will be a good move for all concerned, and Jeff will continue to provide his own unique perspective on the Jackets, Hockey and the unique fan experience in Columbus!

For those of you who do not already know Jeff, he has featured on some of Eric Smith’s podcasts and here is a short introduction

“A native of the SF Bay Area, my first exposure to hockey was the SF/Oakland/California Golden Seals, including Charlie Finley and the white skates. Fast forward to the late 1980′s when Gretzky and the Kings came up to the Bay Area for an exhibition game at the Oakland Coliseum Arena, for which we had glass seats. I was at the first San Jose Sharks game in the Cow Palace, and followed them for their first few pathetic years, before moving to Columbus in 1994. I attended the first pro-NHL rally downtown, and have been a season ticket holder since Day 1, wife & I are active in the Jacket Backers, and son is an avid fan as well. I cover the Jackets for Inside Hockey, and contribute regularly to a variety of hockey sites. I maintain contact with the Jackets organization, and like to dig into stories, bringing a fresh, and sometimes irreverent perspective to hockey.“

If CBJ stands a chance at acquiring Kaberle, Toronto is going to ask for one of Voracek, Filatov or Brassard. Columbus has been searching forever for a #1 Center to play with Nash; this means we can scratch Brassard off the list. Filatov is Columbus’ top prospect and I don’t believe Howson would deal him. From these observations it may be safe to assume that Voracek may very have to be in any potential Kaberle deal. With the Blue Jackets being a budget team and not a salary cap team the Leafs would have to take salary back. Modin? Been there done that, they probablity would not want him again. Chimera? Hmmm… interesting.

Chimera and Voracek for Kaberle? Seems reasonable in my opinion. Chimmer was up and down last year and seemed to loose a step. He would fit into to Burkes plans to have a hustle/ hard to play against team and Voracek would be that young star ready to break out. Picks and other lesser prospect may be included both ways. Another thing to remember is that there still are some quality free agents out there and this could open the door for Williams to return to Columbus.

They always seem to have some sort of problem with personnel and or players. See Daigle, Yashin and now Heatley. Moving on it has been one coaching staff after the next. Maybe Dany has seen through this and wants to be apart of a stable organization that doesn’t fire their coaches every 45 games.

In the time that Howson has been here, he has basically done everything correct. He has completely turned this organization around and created a buzz. We made the playoffs, we have some of the most young & exciting talent in the league. Not to mention they are all one entry level deals that are cap friendly. (Filatov,Brassard,Voracek,Russell) We also have Goulebef & Moore on the way.

So let’s consider these Dany Heatley rumors. If the media did not make him out to be a bad guy and didn’t ask to be traded out of Ottawa, would you want him on your team? Do you think Heatley could play for a coach that is as well respected in Ken Hitchcock? I think he would do great in a system under Hitch; Heatley had his best year when Murray was behind the bench.

Edmonton had a deal that would of sent Cogliano, Penner & Smid going to Ottawa for Heater. Cogliano is a great up and coming player in this league and is lights out fast. Penner has never really panned out in Edmonton and is a player that Ottawa was most likely forced to take on due to Heatley’s contract. Even still Penner is not that bad of a player if he gets back into shape and plays like he did in Anahiem. Smid is a big bodied defensemen that plays a solid defensive game, still young and has the potential to play in a teams top 6.

Now if I were Howson he can use that deal as a basis to work off of. It’s safe to assume that Brassard will not be going anywhere as he is penciled in as the team’s top center next season. There is the possibility of Filatov moving but the Sens would have to take back some players with bigger contracts. They may even have to toss in a player with Heatley.

Is Filatov going to be better then Cogliano? I know I would rather Filatov on my team, easily.

Now moving on to Edmonton‘s Penner makes 4.25 a season, Huseluis makes 4.75. Once again who would you rather have? I’d pay slightly more for a player that can actually skate in Huseluis. Sorry Edmonton but looks like we can build an attractive offer and maybe downgrade on Filatov to say one of Mayorov, Legein and Picard.  The kicker if a trade does happen Howson is going to make sure the Modin and his 3.5 million dollars is sent packing.

If Ottawa would rather improve their blue line we could consider moving Russell, Methot or Goulebef. Ottawa has been after Russell for quite sometime now and this may be their shot at him.

If I am Howson you tell Murray you can have either Filatov or Russell, Brassard is a no. We lack depth down the middle. From there you can pencil Modin into any trade by default for cap purposes.

My proposed deals would be something like this

Filatov, Modin, Torres for Heatley

Torres is relatively young and can be replaced via free agency with someone cheaper. Filatov is the real deal and the backbone of this trade.

Russell, Huseluis, Modin for Heatley

I would not want to give up much more in a deal and remember there are still over 200 free agents out there that can help fill roles. Now is an opportune time to try and swing a deal of this nature. It is the offseason and Howson will explore all options that can improve his team. Giving Hitchcock the options of Heatley & Nash upfront would be deadly. As we know Howson is one of the smartest GM’s in the league, if he can land a 50 goal scorer and not sacrifice too much of the future I believe he makes that trade. Who knows what will happen, we all thought Heatley would be an Oiler by now anyways. Gotta love the off season…

]]> http://firethecannon.com/columbus-rumored-to-be-in-on-heatley-36399.html/feed 6 http://firethecannon.com/firethecannoncom-goes-mobile-36394.html http://firethecannon.com/firethecannoncom-goes-mobile-36394.html#comments Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:08:48 +0000 Devon Kunkel http://firethecannon.com/?p=394 Incase you have not already heard but FireTheCannon.com has introduced a mobile version of our site. When loading our site on your phone it will now display a stylized text version of the site. This will not only save help limit the amount of data you transfer, but will allow for faster loading times. Don’t worry however; you will also be able to load the older version of the site through a link at the bottom of the page.

Thanks again to everyone who has supported the site thus far. Look for many more great features coming in the next little while as we gear up for the regular season. Yes it is only 59 days away until players start reporting to training camp.

“Rick is a Blue Jacket. He is our captain, the foundation of our team and one of the elite players in the National Hockey League and we are very happy that he will continue to call Columbus home for many years to come,” said Howson. “This is an important and exciting day for our franchise and our fans.”

The contract breaks down as follows

2010-2011 – $7.5M
2011-2012 – $7.6M
2012-2013 – $7.7M
2013-2014 – $7.8M
2014-2015 – $7.9M
2015-2016 – $8.0M
2016-2017 – $8.1M
2017-2018 – $8.2M

A full no trade clause comes into effect for the first 5 seasons of the deal, followed by a limited trade clause for the remainder. Give Howson credit, Nash is only 25 years of age and this deal with end when he is 34 years of age. Unlike the 12 year deal that Chicago signed Hossa too, the team will not have to worry if Nash can still compete towards the end of his contract.

There were rumors that contract talks were breaking down and Nash was frustrated with the teams offer. This was most likely caused when the New York Rangers announced the signing of oft injured winger Marian Gaborik to a monster contract. Marian Gaborik received a five-year, $37.5 million contract from the New York Rangers that has an annual salary cap hit of $7.5 million. This probability did not help Howson’s cause but they stuck it out and got a deal done.

Would you rather build your team around Gaborik at $7.5 million a season? or Nash at $7.5 million?

My initial reaction to this deal was that no matter what number the Jackets were going to pay Nash, he had to stay with this club. Even if it came down to overpaying for him I would of be fine giving him 8 million + a season.  For what Nash means to this team, the city and the fans; every dollar would be well spent in my mind. Blue Jacket fans are going to see a player that was not only the clubs highest draft choice, franchise leader in goals and points but he has the opportunity to play his entire career in one city. This is something you do not see often in sports and for a talent of Nash’s nature, fans of Columbus should be excited. To put things into a perspective, the last player off the top of my head that spent his entire career on one team in the NHL was Steve Yzerman. We all know Yzerman is one of the most well respected individuals in the game, one of the leagues greatest leaders of all time and put his personal health on the line to help his team win.

Now Nash has a long way to go to reach the level Yzerman did but General Manager Howson is going to do all he can to help him reach that level. Howson has shown he can be an elite GM in this league. He has spent his money wisely in free agency, worked the draft board with ease and locked up the biggest player in club history. The Blue Jackets are on the verge of breaking through and will most likely catch many by surprise.

Since I have started this site, I have always said that Nash is not going anywhere. Rumors to Toronto or former GM MacLean catching on with a team to deliver Nash were crazy. Once again Leaf fans, not every player from the Toronto area wants to play for the Leafs! Since Nash is now off the market, you better start hoping for the next big player to sign with Toronto. Maybe try Kovalchuk? I heard his contract is expiring soon. Nash is a special player and will be a Blue Jacket for life, no matter what.

Also there is a great article at Light the Lamp showing off all clippings of Nash signing a contract. Check it out here.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter

Here are a couple of Toffefsen’s scraps

Hopefully this kid is able to catch on with another NHL franchise.

With free agency set to begin this Wednesday at 12:01 pm, I thought it would be wise for our readers to breakdown the free agents goalies.  I will give my input on the chances of them signing in Columbus and where I actually believe they will sign. General Manager Howson said his team needs are a backup goalie, a 3rd line center and organization depth.  Keep in mind though that it’s almost impossible to predict what happens July 1st when Free Agency opens.

Nikolai Khabibulin - Chicago Blackhawks

Record: 25-8-7  2.33 GAA
Salary: 6,750,000

Last season Chicago enter free agency with a bang, they signed Brian Campbell and Christobal  Huet to monster contracts. They entered the season with over 11 million dollars in the crease and no clear number one. Nikolai is now 36 years old and had a strong season leading this young Hawks team to the Western Conference Finals. I fully expect after the season the Bulin Wall had this year he will be looking for a team that will give him the number 1 starter’s position.

Columbus already has Steve Mason between the pipes so there is absolutely no chance of him signing in Columbus to be a back up. Khabibulin will see interest from Colorado, Edmonton or LA. I think he ends up in Edmonton as they have new ownership and are looking to make a splash.

Dwayne Roloson – Edmonton Oilers
Record:  28-24-9 2.77 GAA
Salary:  3,666,667

Dwayne is getting older, now 39 he may be more interest in term then money. He will be looking for a place to play where he could be a 1b type of a goalie. Roloson was one of the key reasons as to why the Oilers even had a remote shot at the playoffs.  Similar to Bulin chances coming to Columbus I do not see this as a fit; Roloson may look to Tampa for an opportunity in a tandem with Mike Smith. I predict he moves on and enjoys the warm weather down south and signs a 2 year deal with Tampa.

Martin Biron - Philly Flyers
Record: 29-15-5 2.76 GAA
Salary: 3,500,000

It has been reported in many newspapers that Biron is looking to cash out in a deal which right away put him out of the running in Columbus. Rumors have him asking for about 4.0 million a season. An expensive price tag for a goalie who hasn’t proved that he can win in the playoffs. Once again the four teams in need of goaltending are Edmonton, LA, Tampa and Colorado.  I could see Colorado taking a shot with Biron and signing him for 2 yrs/8million.

Manny Fernandez – Boston Bruins
Record: 16-8-3 2.59 GAA
Salary: 4,333,333

Manny is now 34 years of age and will not be brought back in Boston. Vezina winner Tim Thomas is cemented in as the team’s number one and I expect the Bruins will give the backup position to top prospect Tukka Rask. With that being said I think there may be a fit for Fernandez in Montreal. I expect the Habs will deal Halak at some point this offseason which will open up a whole for Fernandez to fill. Carey Price is the future in nets for Montreal but he needs a proven veteran to help him reach he full potential.

Craig Anderson – Florida Panthers
Record: 15-7-5 2.71 GAA
Salary: 550,000

I’ve always been a fan of Anderson and if you look at his save percentages the past three seasons (.931, .935, .924.) he is ready to step into primetime and be given a number one job. He would make a great backup for Mason but I don’t think Craig would place himself directly behind a true number one. So cross Anderson off your lists, look for Toronto to make a run at him if they loose out on Jonas Gustavsson. I see him signing a 3 year deal with the Kings, he should ring in at anywhere from 1.5 to 2.25 million a season.

Scott Clemmensen – New Jersey Devils
Record: 25-13-1 2.39 GAA
Salary: 500,000

Clemmensen saved the Devils from a disasterous season. When Broduer went down with an injury, Scott stepped up in a big way and was the main reason why the Devils held down a playoff spot. He would make a fine backup for Mason in Columbus but there is a thing with players in Jersey and being loyal to Lou. He will get a nice pay increase and stay in New Jersey to be a backup.

Ty Conklin – Detriot Red Wings
Record: 25-11-2 2.51 GAA
Salary: 750,000

He outplayed Osgood this year but found him on the bench during the playoffs. The Red Wings have already came out and said that they will not offer Conks a new contact and go with Howard as their backup next season. Conklin will probability get an offer from Columbus but will end up in Dallas as their backup with a chance to challenge for the number 1.

Manny Legace – St.Louis Blues
Record: 13-9-2 3.18 GAA
Salary:  2,150,000

Two seasons ago Manny found himself in the All star game, last year however he spent half the year in the minors. He is now 36 years of age and could be a cheap option for the Blue Jackets. There is no way he is considered a starting goalie and should be happen with 20-30 starts.  Columbus will take a long look at Legace and will be in the running for the backup position.

Antero Niittymaki – Philly Flyers
Record: 15-8-6 2.76 GAA
Salary: 1,225,000

Antero has proved he can be a quality backup goalie in the NHL, however when pushed into the starting role you start to see the holes in his game. He will most likely see his salary drop and may find it hard to find work. I do not see him coming to Columbus but rather signing to be the backup in Florida or resigning in Philly.

Mathieu Garon – Pittsburgh Penguins
Record: 8-9-0 3.12 GAA
Salary: 1,100,000

Garon started the year off in Edmonton but found himself backing up Fluery on route to winning the Stanley Cup. That’s not a bad position too find yourself in but I think he will walk and possibly sign in Columbus. He had great numbers in 07/08 and the experience of going to the cup finals could do wonders for the Blue Jackets dressing room. He is still relative young at 31 years of age and I think would be a great fit for the Blue Jackets.

Curtis Joseph - Toronto Maple Leafs
Age: 41
Salary: 700,000

His best days are behind him, no longer capable of being a goalie in the NHL.

Olaf Kolzig – Toronto Maple Leafs
Age: 39
Salary: 1,500,000

His body has broken down with age, once a great goalie but like Cujo he is no longer capable of being a goalie in the NHL.

Mikhail Tellqvist - Buffalo Sabres
Signed with the KHL

Brian Boucher - San Jose Sharks
Age: 31
Salary: 650,000

This former Blue Jacket had a great season with the Sharks compiling a 12-6 record with a 2.18 GAA. Boucher should definitely be on our radar.

Kevin Weekes - New Jersey Devils
Age: 34
Salary: 700,000

Had a chance at the number one spot in New Jersey when Brodeur went down with injury, but still found himself in the backup position to Clemmenson. May be an option for Columbus but not before all other possibilities have been explored.

Martin Gerber - Toronto Maple Leafs
Age: 34
Salary: 3,700,000

Gerber never was a number one goalie in the league but Ottawa decided to pay him like a number one. Gerber did play well in his limited time in Toronto but that may not be enough for Gerbs to find work in the NHL again. Gerber is most likely way off the radar in Columbus.

Well there you have it, there are a few lesser names still out there but they will most likely be given invites to camp or sign contracts in Europe.

Don’t forget about our message boards either, tonne of great talk going on in there.

Follow us on Twitter