RADICAL SHAKE-UPS?

By: Phil Krumm

The term "don't rock the boat" is not a term that the Jackets front office likes to hear. This past season we watched an incredible trade of our number one center Ryan Johansen for a promising up and coming defensmen Seth Jones. This trade shocked some and met others expectations, whatever your opinion on the matter is, the deal is done.

However in continuation of the "rock the boat" trend the Jackets have released information that they're shopping around with starting goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky AND with current newly minted captain Nick Foligno. And to put the cherry on top that number three overall pick in the draft tomorrow might change as well. Jarmo has been looking into what he can get in exchange for it. 

Trading away your number one center is one thing, but trading the number 3 draft pick, your starting goalie, and your captain as well? This is nothing short of a fire sale in the Jackets organization. The upper brass I'm sure is livid over how the season turned out for the once playoff hopeful Jackets. But how else did you expect it to go when you go 0-8-0 to start the season? And in a season that any time the Jackets one so did everyone else in the Metro. The point differential never decreased and the Jackets sat at the bottom of the division with no chance of crawling out of that god awful hole.

The question the Blue Jackets face now is, "do you wait and see how you can develop next year?" or "do you have this insane fire sale and bring in a bunch of rookies and hope for the best...in 5-7 years?"

The Cannon Crew is back and active!

Welcome back everyone. As we ramp up towards the NHL Draft we're going to give you the best looks and opinion pieces about trades and draft pics. To start off lets talk about #1 on the Jackets rummormill, Evgeni Malkin of the Pens. 

The Pissburg Pens led by captain Sidney Crybaby won the cup this year, and Malkin was a major contributor in the finals with 2 goals and 1 assist. Sources close to the Jackets front office say that Jarmo is "pushing hard" to acquire the newly minted Stanley Cup champ.

This would be the second year in a row the Jackets steal a young(ish) forward with extreme promise. This move would serve as a replacement for Ryan Johansen whom the Jackets traded for young defensemen Seth Jones in a 1-1 trade with the Predators. 

The Jackets currently hold the 3rd overall pick in the draft and will likely look to add to the defense. 

The Cannon will update as more information on this rumor becomes available.

I'M BACK!

Well cannon crew I'm back after my hiatus to work with Union and Blue as their editor.

NEW TO THE CANNON PLEASE WELCOME NICK ENGLE! Nick is an avid Blue Jackets fan and for the site will be our resident Scream Sargent, posting opinion pieces on his feelings about what has taken place both on and off the ice. ***WARNING*** Nick's language filter is broken and will not be getting repaired anytime soon. So be advised his pieces are possibly not friendly to younger readers. 

To start things off I want to voice my opinion (as this is becoming a dividing issue among jackets fans) about the beloved Columbus net minder Sergei Bobrovsky. Bob is back in the lineup and all feels well and right in the capital. Or does it? Well for this fan it is not. Bob is a wonderful asset and a great goaltender when he is 100%. But he clearly isn't 100% or at least he doesn't act like he is. He is clearly playing with some hesitation. Now weather or not that hesitation is due to him not being 100% healthy or it is in his self confidence as a net minder is up for debate. I'm leaning towards the later portion which brings me to young blood Joonas Korpisalo. Korpi has been playing the starting role now for a good chunk of the season and in 27 games the rookie has gone 14-9-4 which is better than Bob who has gone 12-16-1 in his 31 games. 

***DISCLAIMER***

I do understand that in some of Korpi's games he was facing teams who threw in their #2 goaltenders.

HOWEVER Korpi is playing with his hair on fire. He is getting beat on some play that a veteran wouldn't, and he is making some foolish calls. But that doesn't mean he shouldn't be looked at as our #1 net minder. He is growing everyday, he learns from his mistakes and has the potential to lead the league here in a few years. Where he differs from Bob is that Korpi is playing consistent and needs true experience. 

In my oh so humble opinion Bob should have been scratched or benched for the remainder of the season and we throw him in only to avoid Korpi from having a back to back game. This would increase Korpi's confidence and skill level. It could also lead the Jackets to trade Bob and Mac for a truly stellar backup that we can trow in and feel confident that we can walk out with a "W". This trade while hard to accept at first for Columbus would open up some serious salary room to get some great free agents in defensemen or even forwards (though I don't think this organization needs any more forwards).

Anyways that's all for now cannon crew I look forward to writing more later and I really look forwards to what nick has to offer us.

GO JACKETS!