Goalie Season!

The Jackets offseason can be viewed as having three to five major tasks on the priority list. The top three by any stretch are fixing the goalie situation, the Draft and what to do with the #2 pick, and the Rick Nash situation. I would list hiring a new head coach and devising and executing a plan for free agency to be items four and five, but the coaching search can run concurrently and in the background and the free agent picture depends heavily on what happens between now and the draft.

Steve Mason is very young, how young? Shawn Hunwick, who just finished his college career and signed a contract with the Jackets to play the last week of the season, is older than Mason. Arguably the worst thing to ever happen to Mason’s career, on a personal level, was he Jackets winning just enough games to sneak into the playoffs in his rookie year. Had the team come up short, Mason would have gotten some Calder consideration, a pat on the back, and another year or two of seasoning in the minors. Remember this is a kid who played a total of three games at the professional level before getting the call to Columbus. THREE GAMES!

Nevertheless, it is clear that Mason’s time as the Jackets’ number one goalie is at an end. Quite possibly his time with the organization is done. It is a shame. If he can get some backup time or time in the AHL, he can be an NHL goalie again. It just won’t be in Union Blue.

Where does that leave us? See the excellent piece Ten Minute Misconduct on the NHL Goalie Mall. Jeff takes you window shopping through all of the other teams. The take away is that there are goalies available this offseason, and some are excellent. What it takes to get the right goalie is going to be the interesting part.

It seems that there are four in the mix right now: Luongo, Schneider, Thomas, Niemi. If we are talking goalies out of Boston, I would prefer the much younger Rask. He is just as good and is going to last longer. Thomas has at best a few years of top-notch play, which would be fine if the Jackets had a goalie or two who were a couple of years away. Allen York may be one of those guys but let’s not rush into anything. Niemi hasn’t been the answer in San Jose, but then again who has? He does have his name on the cup, despite nobody seeming to believe he had much to do with that. He is young and relatively cheap. Not the thrill of a big name, but maybe a good solution all things when you consider the possibilities from Vancouver.

Scheinder and Luongo can no longer coexist in Vancouver. Not because they have personal fricition but because playing time and contract requirements are going to force the Canucks to finally pick who they want to take to the prom. The apparent answer after a quick exit from the playoffs is they are going to stick with Schneider, because he is younger, costs less, and gets booed less. Which leaves us with Luongo. Despite the load of crap he takes from the hometown fans, Luongo is still an elite goaltender who can win games for teams. The tendency in Vancouver tends to be to blame the goalie no matter what, so Luo’s confidence gets criticized and beat down.

Without question Luongo gets the opposite treatment the moment he puts on the Union Blue. Barring a complete collapse, the fans will cheer for him loudly and lustily. But he will also get to enjoy playing out of the glare the spotlight every…single…minute. Let Luongo play and not worry about the wolves at the gate every time he makes a little mistake and we may see a rebirth.

Except for one thing. The Jackets have after the disaster of last season assembled what is possibly their best ever defensive corps. One problem though is Wisniewski and Johnson and their aggressive play. How many turnovers and odd-man rushes will they give-up? Don’t get me wrong, I think the risk they take can be mitigated and is still worth the extra goals they generate. But whoever is net for the Jackets better be on and ready to stop a puck at any point in any game. Does this describe Luongo? Would it describe a Luongo with the Columbus Blue Jackets?

There are other goalies available at the mall, but those are the four that I think will get the most attention. Niemi is a safe pick. A guy that backstops the Jackets to the playoffs and playoff wins. He fills the role while younger guys are developed. Luongo is the sexy pick, a veteran who may not be viable for as long, but could bring some real excitement to the party.

We haven’t even spoken of the number two position. Is Mason traded or bought out? I bet he is included in trade deal this summer. Is Mark Dekanich brought back to try again? I hope so, he deserves a chance and I would like to see it with the Jackets. What about bringing in one of the big names from the goalie mall and one of the lesser ones as a backup? A complete new start in goal might help.