Some fans are mad at Howson for driving Nash away, others are upset with Nash for wanting to leave. But who is really at fault here?

Firstly, Nash plays with little to no heart for his team as of late. I am sure being part of a failing franchise has added to this, but he is the captain. It has been obvious to me that he wanted to leave. It has also been said that he request that the GM be replaced. Guess what Rick? You aren’t the boss. That decision isn’t your’s to make, and requesting a trade after there was no change is a rather cowardly way to deal with it. Nash signed a long term commitment with this club, with the town, and with the fans. Abandoning ship with things get tough is not something that will gain Nash much respect.

But then there is the other side of the fence. Howson has failed to make any real progress towards moving this team forward. Coaches have come and gone, and at this point as GM a lot of eyes are on him to fix things. This hasn’t happened, and logic dictates that All-Stars won’t stay in, nor come to Columbus. He has created a mess, and I honestly feel that his days *should* be numbered.

So who is the villain in the Nash v Howson debacle? BOTH! Nash wanting to leave, while understandable, is absurd. After all of the talks about this being his team and town, it is a knife in the back for all of the dedicated Nash fans. I am ready to see him go, as I think it is best to move the team forward at this point, and he should bring some value back in a trade. Howson handled the whole situation poorly, and has created a mess in Columbus. After the way he handled Nash’s request, he is going to have a hard time bringing new talent to the CBJ.

This club is in trouble. They need changes. But on the plus side, how could things get any worse for the CBJ? Hopefully it’s uphill from here.

Here is what I am seeing from the fan base on the subject. You can basically divide the fans into 3 groups:

Group #1 feels that giving Arniel the ax accomplishes nothing, as this teams issues are deeper than coaching. Majority of this group want Howson, and the players themselves held accountable.

Group #2 appreciates the fact that changes are finally being made. Although late in the season, it is pleasant to see at least something is being done.

Group #3 consists of the fans that are already gone. These people have already given up on the team and will only care again when the team starts winning. To sum it up, the bandwagon fans.

Myself, I fall in the middle between group #1 and #2. While firing Arniel most likely won’t solve the issue, it is a step in the right direction. No, the roster problems are not his fault, and yes some sort of major revamp is needed. But ultimately the team isn’t winning, and that falls on Arniel’s shoulders. A new coach may not be a fix all, but ultimately it is the coach’s responsibility to build a winning team with what he is given.

I honestly expected this move much earlier in the season, and at the time I expected Howson to go to. But seeing as how they waited so long to relieve Arniel, I really have no prediction as to what the future lies. As crazy as this club is, they may decide to keep Howson in hopes that ANOTHER coaching change will fix things.

Long story short, this club is a disaster and needs fixed… By ANY means necessary.

We will also preview the Blackhawks game as we will have John Jaeckel who covers Chicago for HockeyBuzz.com. We’ll discuss what is different with the changes that Chicago made in the off season, what is the same and how Patrick Kane likes playing center.

Little of This, Little of That,” will bring in Jeff Little who will give us more Blue Jackets’ perspective and I’m guessing that the glass that his half full might get thrown up against the wall.

You won’t want to miss this show and it all starts at 7pm Friday night.

Eric Smith
“Fire The Cannon”
Host/Producer

“Fire The Cannon” past guests:

Blue Jackets – General Manager Scott Howson, Asst. GM Chris MacFarland, R.J. Umberger, Derick Brassard, Kristian Huselius, Derek Dorsett, John Moore, Grant Clitsome, Matt Calvert, Ryan Johansen, Will Weber, Cam Atkinson, Allen York, Asst Coach Brad Berry, Asst Coach Dan Hinote, Springfield coach Rob Riley

Former Jackets – Jason Chimera, Clay Wilson, Tom Sestito

Hockey Experts – CBJ radio play-by-play George Matthews, TV play-by-play Jeff Rimer, TV color analyst Bill Davidge, radio color analyst Bob McElligott, Springfield Falcons radio play-by-play Mike Kelly, Greg Wyshynski, Scott Morrison, Andy Strickland, Craig Custance, Tim Sassone, Ft. Wayne Komets play-by-play Bob Chase, Adrian Dater, Patrick O’Neal, Mike Colligan, Tom Reed, Scott Torgerson, Rob Kunz

Where: Buffalo Wild Wings, 968 W 5th Ave, Columbus.

What: Cannonfest baby!

This year marks the second year for Cannonfest, but will be my first time attending. From what I hear, you can expect to enjoy chatting it up with fellow fans, while enjoying some wings, drinks, and the debut of a brand new video by Skraut.

On top of all of that, you will have the chance to win some awesome CBJ swag! They will be raffling off several items including DVD’s by Skraut, a signed jersey, and the grand prize is an incredible Miller Lite – CBJ neon. All proceeds from the raffle will go to the Jackets Backers and donated to charity.

To sum up the event, Greg from FullMentalJackets.com put together a mosaic of images created by Tom from The Dark Blue Jacket. I am looking forward to meeting everyone at Cannonfest!

So here’s the skinny. Former Sabres Captain turned Blue Jacket, Craig Rivet apparently cross-checked rookie Tyler Ennis in the head. this resulted in a 5-Minute major that resulted in the Blue Jackets OT loss.

After some searching, I came up with a very low quality video, that shows the hit and the resulting scuffle:

Did you see it? It took me a few tries to catch a good glimpse, but it is right around the 4-second mark.

Craig Rivet’s take on it:

So was the hit intentional? For me it is very hard to tell, but I have seen a lot worse hits against the Blue Jackets with little to no consequence. I personally feel that the shot deserved a penalty, but not a 5-minute major.

And now my questions to you fans who were at/watched the game. Was the hit intentional? Was a 5-minute major appropriate?

Further Reading

While researching the hit, I found some good information/opinion from Aaron Portzline @ The Columbus Dispatch:

It was a tight game for 50 minutes, but Rivet’s penalty changed everything.

Rivet and Buffalo’s Tyler Ennis exchanged slashes after a whistle, but Rivet went a step further, cross-checking Ennis in the face to draw a five-minute major and a 10-minute misconduct.

“(Ennis) turned around and slashed me, and I turned around and slashed him,” Rivet said. “It was just a free-for-all. I thought he was going to turn around and hit me, and my stick came up and caught him.

“It wasn’t a deliberate cross-check to the face, but it happened so fast. It’s a bad time to take a penalty like that, and it obviously cost us.”

The Sabres made it 4-3 only 27 seconds later when Drew Stafford scored a spin-o-rama goal in close on Mason. Barely a minute after that, with 6:48 to go, Paul Gaustad redirected a Brad Boyes shot through traffic to push the lead to 5-3.

“I have a tough time with the penalty,” Arniel said. “I know all of a sudden we’re concerned about head shots, but I see that play happen an awful lot.

“Yeah, he used his stick and it probably should have been an extra-minor (penalty). They should have had a power play, but I didn’t think it deserved a five.”

Craig Rivet: Locker Room

RJ Umberger - Locker Room Interview

A big thanks to Eric Smith who took these videos last night, and sent them to us this morning. Boll and Umby discuss the loss to Buffalo, the controversial cross-check, and the off-season. Overall these are some awesome videos, thanks again Eric.

RJ Umberger Locker Room Video

RJ Umberger discusses last-nights loss to the Sabres, the controversial cross-check to the face, and some opinions towards the off-season. He also discusses the losing streaks, and the mental aspect of the game. Umberger is clearly frustrated, and wants to turn things around, but like everyone else doesn’t have the answers.

Jared Boll Locker Room Video

Jared Boll discusses the loss to the Buffalo Sabres, playoffs,the future, and the fans.

As a fan, I can say that it is hard to follow a team when they aren’t winning (don;t worry, I’m not going anywhere). It is obvious that these guys are hungry for a win. This season was especially disappointing for me as a fan because of the incredibly hot start the Blue Jackets had. But then the team went streaky, and sadly stayed in the losing end of things. As a fan, I was really hoping the CBJ would go out on a win last night, now I just hope for lots of off-season work, and restructuring. Hopefully next season, we will see a fresh, new, winning Columbus Blue Jackets.

Former Boston College scorer has put up some impressive numbers in his career thus far, and looks to be a good addition to the club. Atkinson will start his career in Springfield, but I personally believe that this sniper IS NHL ready.

From the press release:

The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed forward Cam Atkinson to a standard three-year two year entry level contract, club Executive Vice President and General Manager Scott Howson announced today.

Atkinson, 21, just completed his junior season at Boston College, where he registered 31 goals and 21 assists for 52 points, 28 penalty minutes and a +21 plus/minus rating in 39 games. He set a career high in goals, which led the nation for the second consecutive season, while ranking third (tied) in points and sixth (tied) in power play goals (11). He led Hockey East in goals, points (tied) and shorthanded goals (4-tied), was third in game-winning goals (5-tied) and fourth in power play goals.

The Riverside, Connecticut native finished his career at Boston College with 68-56-124, 86 penalty minutes and a cumulative plus/minus rating of +42 in 117 games. He had 30-23-53, 30 penalty minutes and was +26 in 42 games in 2009-10, helping the Eagles win the National Championship. He was named the NCAA Northeast Regional Most Outstanding Player and was selected to the NCAA All-Tournament Team. Prior to his collegiate career, he tallied 69-81-150 and 38 penalty minutes in 80 games for Avon Old Farms (Conn.) High School, helping the school win the New England Ice Hockey Championship in 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Source: BlueJackets.NHL.com

*No Boomers Allowed!

But, you just can’t deny that the Jackets are on a hot streak, and the playoffs are well within reach. I personally think that this team is more than capable of making it there, as long as they keep it together. Whether or not they do much in the playoffs is a different poll altogether.

So what do you think? Will the CBJ get to extend their season into the playoffs? Or will they fall back into another slump?

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