"They say a picture is worth a thousand words. That being said, the picture of the Edmonton Oilers logo as it was held up showing them as the winners of the NHL draft, drove a stake into the the hearts of the Blue Jacket faithful. In the ensuing interview, the first question was…[Nail Yakupov is] a tantalizing talent, but this could be one of those times when the team with the first selection is in quandary.“You could take Yakupov. You could keep the No. 1 pick and take somebody else. You could trade the pick and move back in the draft, couldn’t you?” TSN host James Duthie asked Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini.“Yes, all of the above,” said Tambellini.Now the conjecture begins, and will probably not end until the actual NHL draft which is June 22 and 23. Part of these conjectures is the fact that the Oilers have taken forwards as their first picks in the past 2 drafts and need some help on defense. Since the lottery last night, there are already thousands of e-mail, and tweets going forth as to what might happen.The major draft projections have the Blue Jackets taking defenseman Ryan Murry as the 2nd choice. Sooooo, the Jackets and Oilers could trade picks. etc, etc, etc. To quote “The Oilers have greater needs on defence with Ryan Murray of Everett Silvertips and the Edmonton Oil Kings’ Griffin Reinhart very high on their list. (Edmonton Journal)”Suddenly, all the crap about the Blue Jackets not wanting to take a Russian are gone. As well as it should be. After all the Jackets have 2 Russian defensemen in Nikitin and Tyutin currently playing for them. So lets take a look at a few facts.Cam Atkinson has become the darling of the Blue Jackets fans. Cam is 5′ 7″ 172 pounds. Last year’s darling Matt Calvert is 5′ 10″ 180. Nail Yakupov is 5′ 10″ 180. All are noted for their speed. Note the similarities. I doubt that any NHL team would ever have a lineup with 3 players so small. Maybe 2 at most. Now Nail is being hailed as a “game changer” if the Jackets were to somehow get Nail, one of the other diminutive spark plugs would definitely be gone. Or maybe Nail is not a best fit for Columbus.Next lets take a quick peek at what the Blue Jackets needs are:#1 Goaltending. With just average goaltending this past year, the Jackets might be in the playoffs and not involved in the battle for the #1 pick. But the current goaltending group is intriguing. Steve Mason, Curtis Sanford, Allen York and remember Mark Dekanich who is under a 1 year contract and has not played this year due to injuries. — This group alone, could use a whole post.#2 Settle the Rick Nash issue. If Nash goes, what comes back. If for some reason Rick Nash stays, then we have a different set of needs. And remember, Nash has a no trade contract, only he can waive that and decide what team he will go to. But the Jackets decide what comes back or there is no trade.#3 All the remainder depends upon the Rick Nash issue. For the first time in years, we are not hearing outcry’s of “Defense,” or “Center“. And why is that? Well, because,Center –After trading away 3 starting centers, Columbus still has 3 centers who can start and hold their own. [a] Mark Letestu moved back to his center position. As he became re-familiarized with his position, his % face off wins increased and his passing picked up. He has shown he can play center. [b] Derrick Brassard moved back to his center position and evidently has been working on his face offs. His % has also gone up and his passing has been spectacular. However he is starting to be known for playing the last half of the season and being not so good in the first half. He would have to work on changing this tendency, but still he looks likd a NHL center. [c] Ryan Johansen moved back to his center position and started to play like a NHL center. This is only his first year and it could be that he is just starting to “get it” but he will be back for next year so hopefully his skills will continue to develop. [d] the 4th line center as played by Boyce and MacKinzie would be OK. They could be stronger and both have contracts that expire this year. Could stand improvement, but also, could be OK. MacKinzie is 3 years older than Boyce, which could be a consideration.Defense— Having just completed the season from hell in which the defense took the brunt of the lost manpower, the defense has a lot of options as the youngsters got a baptism of fire. The pairing/players of Tuytin, Nikitin, J.Johnson and Wizniewski look solid. This leaves room for a pair of starting D-men and 1 extra. The D-men “in the fold” of M Methot, J Moore and D Sevard could stand the test. A Johnson played well and makes about as many bad passes as M Methot. [which is too many] D Prout got a brief exposure to the NHL and would be on the verge of the big time. Again the bottom 3 could be stronger and since 2 of the 4 are rookies, their skill level will be going up as well as their physical strength."
"All said and done, almost every scenario for the off season and acquisitions depends upon the Rick Nash issue. Until that issue is resolved, no meaningful conjectures are possible as the possibilities are endless."
"But that doesn’t mean that we won’t make gasses and hoped for expectations. after all,"
"WE WANT THE CUP"
