Thoughts on the Future

also, if you are adding/dropping players in this fantasy-style question….don’t be afraid to put your lines together that you have in your head….who would you center captain nash, if nash would still be your captain.? Who would be at RW?

1. Fire
2.Keep
3. Modin, Clark
4. Dan Boyle, Matt Calvert
5. No, just bring in a coach who can execute it with the talent he’s given, not with his system
6. Make a big splash in free agency
7. C: Nasher, A: Umby, Vermette, Russ, Scrappy Doo, Rusty

1. Hitch need to take that long walk in retirement I think. He is just becoming obsolete in this new NHL that is starting to take shape and gain tons of momentum for the foreseeable future.

(side thought, and please comment on this, as well folks.)

You have one of the youngest, if not the youngest, teams in the NHL right now, with a coach that doesn’t want the task of nurturing some of the raw talent that Columbus has in its arsenal. Filatov, Brassard, Voracek, Russell….the list can go on. No one wants to see these guys finally get their legs in another club only to come back and bite us on the end, and for someone that is past their prime with little or no offense to contribute to an already streaky team.

Hitch needs to realize it is not a one goal game anymore….you can’t win 1-0 all the time. You need that offensive punch to pick up what your defense sets up. We have all bared witness to miracle offensive comebacks when the chips looked completely down on a team. Didn’t Chicago score 5 goals alone in the 3rd period of a game to win 5-4?

2. Please keep, this kid is dynamite, and we all know it!

3. Modin, Clark, Commodore.

4. Dan Boyle, I feel that it is a realistic option for us in the off-season, and would finally give us the puck-moving awesome-goal scoring d-man machine to will add some much needed depth at blue-line. Maybe also, someone who wants to crash net and get in the dirty areas…think of a younger Tomas Holmstrom or Mike Knuble-type player.

5. Agreed, we don’t need anything fancy, that isn’t the CBJ way. Someone who can recognize the young talent and give them a chance to provide for the team in the way they were intended to.

6. #4, make a big splash (Dan Boyle big!!!) Or since we will be probably top 5 in picks, maybe top 3…we can really grab onto a name like Tavares or Crosby. (you know what I mean) If you weren’t afraid to throw all that money at Commie, don’t be afraid to throw it at a player that would actually help the team out.

7. Nash stay ‘C’ , A to Umby and Klesla.

1. Fire – done.

2. Keep. We never got to see what Filatov unleashed is all about. Okay, so he’s a bit of a liability on defense. Give him more than 4 minutes a game and then see what happens to his points and plus/minus.

3. Boll or Pahlsson (I don’t see a need for both), and at least one of our D men (perhaps Commodore)

4. Any significant center. It’s hard to say who, but until Brassard gets better, we need to make sure Rick Nash has someone to feed him that makes all teams fear Rick Nash 24/7.

5. Adjust to the skills of the team. This means a distinct change from Hitch, but also means that we don’t keep on/off the gas as the team evolves. Perhaps this means a hard-line but offense-oriented strategy now to reign in the youth but kick up the scoring. Then, as the team ages, adjust to what they become – perhaps a bit more freedom (assuming they’ve learned discipline, etc at this point).

6. Don’t bother too much with huge moves this year – we’d need a miraculous turn-around for playoffs now. Instead, drop some salary (see number 3) and then get as much talent/production as we can out of free agency.
That said, if something lovely comes up as we close in on the trade deadline, I’m cool with that too. But I’m not expecting big things.

7. C – Nash. A – Klesla, Umberger. If they add more, then I’d say Voracek and Russell.

Torres is a hard-nosed player, so was Chimera (I miss you already) but you like to see guys like that rewarded especially since I think Torres sees the potential of Columbus and likes it here. Why not sign a guy who is only a positive piece of the team.

What draft position do you think we will get this coming draft season?

Top 3? Top 5? Def. Top 10…

Who we going to try to get our hands on out of the crop of rookies coming into the league next season????