Nick Foligno a top 6 LW of the Ottawa Senators was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Defenseman Marc Methot. Here is what the Hockey News has to say about Nick:
Catch the post by Lori Schmdit re Nick make sure you watch the videos We have a character on our hands, just like the Wiz
Methot has the local knock of bad passing and loosing his defensive positioning and allowing uncontested shots when he does so. Yes, he is an established D man, but I don’t think many fans are going to object to this trade. The consensus is that the Blue Jackets were pretty deep in defensive players and it just seemed like Marc Methot was the likely man out. One tweet at the draft party after the Jackets drafted Murray was to the effect that Methot was likely to be traded.
With 47 points last year and that kind of production pretty much expected of him on a yearly basis and the key words “displays outstanding work ethic and grit” seems like the kind of player the Blue Jackets would want.
In his comments during his press conference, Scott Howson had this to say:
“We’ve been talking about the Nick Foligno acquisition for about a week, going back and forth. We got into free agency a little bit and we decided now was the time to pull the trigger. We phoned Ottawa and they were willing to do it right away. We had talked a lot about it before so the decision was made very quickly. We’re excited about Nick, he’s a versatile forward coming off a career year. Where he fits will be up to him, but certainly we see him really contributing. He’ll increase our competitive level and he can be play virtually every forward position. We’re excited about that.”
And then another 1000+ games of experience
Then to add a veteran defenseman back into the mix the Blue Jackets signed Adrian Aucoin a 39 year old vet, playing for the Coyotes, a good defensive team. Experienced, yes with 1072 games under his belt. He is being touted as a defensive Vinny Prospal. The Hockey News says:
Oh yea, he also has a couple of hundred other lower level pro games and 62 NHL playoff games.
Scott Howson had this to say in his press conference:
On Aucoin:
“After we moved Marc Methot, we really felt like we’d like a veteran presence with the young defensemen we have on our team, whether it’s John Moore or if Ryan Murray makes it. Adrian’s had an impeccable track record in Phoenix mentoring some young players (and providing) leadership. He’s smart with the puck and has great hockey sense. We really think we’re upgrading right now.”
And I have to agree, it appears that the Blue Jackets got 2 players high in quality, work ethic and grit. It feels like the long awaited reshaping is happening.