Bethany's Hockey Rants
Next entry: Another loss to the Preds
Previous entry: Trades, Planes, and Injuries…
Two Trades
by Bethany on 03/04/09 at 08:04 PM ET
Comments (4)
That’s all the Blue Jackets did today, was two trades. They didn’t make a huge slash, but they did get a very good player in Vermette.
During Howson’s press conference he said that Vermette is someone that the Blue Jackets have been after for a while.
I love this move. Pascal Leclaire, while an outstanding goaltender is injury prone. Unfortunately for Pazzy he hasn’t been healthy while in Columbus. He won’t be able to play this season, but next season he will be great for the Senators. He sounded so excited to be going to Canada in his interview with TSN.
I’m hoping that Vermette is able to play tomorrow night against Nashville but he still has some immigration things to work out. Also with Pazzy we gave Ottawa our second round draft pick.
Vermette is a natural center, and is fifth in the league in faceoffs behind Manny Malhotra. Hitchcock has said that Vermette will be on the second line with Huselius. But, knowing Hitchcock, I’m sure he’ll toss Nash and Huselius back together at some point with Vermette in the middle.
The Jackets also traded one of our fourth round draft picks (we also have the Avs pick) to Calgary for Kevin Lelande. It was a good move, and we needed to fix our goaltender depth. Once Pazzy left we had Mason, Dubie, LaCosta, and Dahm. Lelande has a 1.94 GAA and .929 save % in six games in the AHL this season.
I am pretty happy with the deadline day, we didn’t sell the farm. We got rid of Leclaire, and gained a guy who is a twenty-goal scorer and well, if he doesn’t work out, he only has one year left on his contract.
Howson wanted to add someone who would help us make that final push to keep us in a playoff position and he did that. We weren’t looking for a rental, which is why he would not go after Antropov.
Here’s some player quotes on the acquiring Vermette all courtesy of Puck-Rakers:
Commodore:
“He’s a good player. He can skate, he’s good on the power play, he’s good killing penalties. I like him and he’s very easy to get along with. I’m looking forward to seeing him and he should be a good fit.”
Nash:
“Yeah, I think it’s a good move. A team does not want to have two No. 1 goalies, with one sitting on the bench. In order to improve our team, I think this is a good move, it’s not one that it going to stir up the dressing room. We’ve got a good tight group.”
Pazzy will definitely be missed, but this was the best move for this organization. I’m pretty excited for this playoff push. More tomorrow, or tonight depending on if I can this fever to go away.
Filed in: Columbus Blue Jackets, Pascal Leclaire, Scott Howson, | Bethany's Hockey Rants | Permalink
Tags: Antoine+Vermette, Columbus+Blue+Jackets, Kevin+Lelande, Pascal+Leclaire,
Comments
I think one of those quotes is a ‘whoops’...
Posted by BZArcher on 03/04/09 at 09:57 PM ET
Luongo - I really don’t think so. Especially for an injured player.
BZArcher - Indeed it was, it’s fixed now.
Posted by Bethany on 03/04/09 at 10:02 PM ET
I don’t think the Jackets would have got more Pazzy. Good Player, Great guy. But the market was uncertain. Taking on an injured goalie with a nice chunk of Salary is a tough move for a team to make.
I think the Jackets win this deal, Vermette should work out well in CBJ. He’s got good speed, good on the draw and he can finish.
Posted by Performance Parts on 03/05/09 at 09:51 AM ET
Add a Comment
Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.
Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.
Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.
Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.
Most Recent Blog Posts
About Kukla’s Korner
Kukla’s Korner is updated around the clock with the work of our own talented bloggers, plus links to the best hockey writing around the internet. We strive to bring you all the breaking hockey news as it happens.
The home page allows you to see the latest postings from every blog on the site. Subscribe here. For general inquiries and more, please contact us anytime.
Get the top online sports betting bonuses available to sports betters!
When learning from experts it’s best to learn personally from them, or from their blog. We can provide that with poker lessons blog, your home to learn poker personally.
Do you get shocked from the luck in the game of poker? Stop getting shocked and start being a Poker Shoker.
As well as reading about hockey games, you can also find info about poker like which poker sites accept American Express or which are the best Canadian poker sites and also find the top rakeback sites at rakeback.net.
Kukla’s Korner is always a free service for readers, but it costs some money to maintain. If you’re ever in a position to donate a few dollars to help out, we’d be very appreciative.
Vermette is decent, but I still think you guys got fleeced for leclaire. He may get injured a bit, but I honestly think hes a world-class goalie. No doubt that Mason has taken his starting position, but I still think you guys coulda got more for him.
Posted by Luongo-is-my-hero on 03/04/09 at 09:44 PM ET