Rumor Mill, that is. And same ol’ Columbus Blue Jacket Grind…
"Oh, we’re not ones to go around spreading rumors….Really we’re just not the gossiping kind…oh you’ll NEVER hear one of us repeating gossip…So you better be sure and listen close the FIRST time….(from the Hee-Haw song, which I just poached for my CBJ purposes…)So, Twitter lit up last night. There’s a rumor that Jeff Carter isn’t happy and wants a trade. And let the wild gossip begin…Let’s just say for grins that it’s true Jeff Carter is unhappy. (Of COURSE you’re unhappy. I’m sure Nash, Umby, Dorsett and the whole damn team joins you in that puddle o’ angst. So do your fans.) Will a trade help at this point? Really? Another swing of the revolving door that’s outside the CBJ locker-room? How about finishing what you started? How about doing your job? Doing what’s uncomfortable and hard and picking up the pieces of this team that was sort of rebuilt around…well…you."
For giggles let’s say it’s all true. Carter never recovered from the trade…he was depressed and unhappy. (OK, I get it…never easy, change….) But must you drown half the team in your tears? How about coming to terms with the hand your were dealt (fans have to) and moving on…at this point, it is what it is. You’re here. There are other people on your team who are counting on you and by the way…the fans welcomed you like you were a first-born child. Can’t you get some sort of strength from that? If you can’t, will you put on your big boy undies and just play?
If it’s all true, it’s easy to see why the whole team seems to have a pall over it. Our Rick Nash has never seemed so unhappy and lost. Everyone talked about how instrumental Nash was in helping secure Carter and Wisniewski. Our “Dudes with ‘Tude” our bottled badass-blondes. Could one of them be more of a pain in the ass than badass? Instead of an inspiration and energy in the locker room and ice, more of an Eeyore?
Thank the hockey gods for Prospal, Letestu and Nikitin. While plenty of effort and energy has been spent on wondering if Jeff Carter is happy (kind of like trying to entertain a reluctant guest at a holiday dinner who you had to bribe to even get out of bed and beg to come) these guys did what they’re supposed to do…they played.
I guess time will tell if Ye Ol’ rumor mill is cranking out stories or not. But there’s a brand-new marketing slogan The Blue Jackets are going with: It’s called the Shut Up and Play campaign. Not sure if that’s a rumor, but it sounds good to me.