Shrapnel - 9/1/11

Welcome to September. There are now 15 days before the Blue Jackets officially open training camp. :)

This is an exciting day because we're finally less than a calendar month away from hockey, but also because we're going to be ramping up to get ready for the season here at The Cannon - you're going to be seeing a flavorful burst of delicious content and savory opinion pouring out as we shake off our rust and get our legs pumping. Can't wait to see what you all think!

It's also a somewhat bittersweet day as the hockey world continues to react and reflect on the passing of Wade Belak. Puck Daddy talks about Wade as a true fan favorite, while PHT collects some of the words from around the hockey world.

On the Jackets' side of things, we continue to hear reactions to Fedor Tyutin's new contract extension from LTL, Bart Logan over at Hockeybuzz, and Rob over at Jackets Report. The general reaction from around Columbus has been supporting Howson locking up the core d-man at a league average rate for his responsibilities. The reaction outside Columbus that I've seen (or heard, given it was discussed on XM radio during my drive home) has generally been a "the money is OK, but 6 years?" - I think this may be where the post 2012 CBA NHL changes from the current environment. Right now, term is as (if not more) important than dollars - you want to bring down that cap hit and keep your assets locked in. Sooner than later, I think the emphasis is going to be on team models like the Panthers or Islanders, where one or two players are "locked up" long term, but otherwise 2-3 year contracts are the norm, and they simply accept that they'll dump a good portion of their roster back onto the UFA market and reload every few years.

Do you want value and flexibility, or do you reward loyalty and development? That'll be a very interesting philosophical battle to watch play out.

Puck Daddy takes a look at former OSU Buckeye Nick Mangold's photobombing competition against the Canucks Ryan Kesler. Gotta agree about the "benevolent troll with a keg" thing, but the picture of Kesler just hanging out and eating a pizza while Raffi Torres gets interviewed? That's seriously gold.

The Dispatch's weekly chat has returned - and not surprisingly, the Tyutin extension was a big discussion point.

There's a quiet turf war going on between the NCAA and Candian major junior hockey for young prospects. Between losing prospects in sports like hockey or baseball to going pro at younger ages. the utter joke that is the "1 and done" rule in NCAA basketball, and the pay to play scandals in College Football, is it time for the NCAA to re-write their rulebook?

The Blue Jackets have put up video of James Wisniewski going out to the ballgame, including his throwing out the first pitch.

Jose Theodore takes one small step for a mask, one giant leap for hockey fans who happen to be furries.

Over at Fire The Cannon, Jas takes a look at the forwards on this year's Traverse City roster.

Unfortunate news for Marc Savard - not only is he going to be unable to play due to continuing post-concussion symptoms, but it's looking increasingly like his NHL career has come to an end. In not unentirely related news, the OHL will switch to safer "soft caps" on all of their protective gear next season.

Have a good one - we'll be back later!