Welcome to a post-ASG edition of Cannon Blasts. Hopefully you have recovered from the festivities and got a chance to enjoy a few things in Columbus (or on television at the very least). A LOT of links today, let’s hit it.
- Rick Gethin (FSO) writes that Foligno and Johansen served themselves well as ambassadors for Columbus and the Blue Jackets organization.
- Joey writes a Thank You to the fans.
- The cannon got a workout on Sunday, and many were none too pleased. By the way, Luongo and Brian Elliott were hilarious follows on Twitter this weekend.
- Ovechkin’s real reason for wanting that car is heartwarming, and Honda stepped up. Ovi is a great dude off the ice, imo.
- Sad face for no Black Tie Event this year, but its replacement seemed to be a hit over the weekend.
- The Union Blue says the real All-Stars were the fans and city of Columbus.
- Fletcher Keel (Union and Blue) tells us to think of the festivities like high school prom, and focus on that and not the product on the ice.
- He also picked out his Three Stars of the Weekend.
- Ratings, however, seemed to struggle compared to prior years.
- That said, Travis Hughes (SB Nation and Broad Street Hockey) thinks the All-Star Weekend is perfect.
- If I haven’t bombarded you with enough All-Star related links, here are some links courtesy of Union and Blue./
Ok, take a breath. We now move to the non-ASG portion of the program.
- Sort of ASG-related in that the Outdoor Games for next year were announced, but ProHockey Talk reports that Gary Bettman and the NHL have had “internal discussions” on holding an outdoor game at Ohio Stadium. Please. Let’s make it happen soon.
- Nash received some boo birds all weekend – is he public enemy #1 still or is it time to move on? There’s always been talk he would like to return to Columbus – perhaps pulling a LeBron?
- With the announcement of the World Cup returning in 2016, what are the chances we see any Jackets there?
- Ugh, yes we know…the Jackets playoff hopes are not realistic.
- A good read on the Chill courtesy of Along the Boards.
- Should Jody Shelley be the first Blue Jackets player to have their number retired?
- CBJ prospect Markus Soberg making his case for an NHL contract (via Hockey’s Future).
- I found this very interesting – a 30 game look at “CHIP” or Cap Hit of Injured Players. Surprise…the Jackets led the entire NHL. This link shows it to you in chart form – only Anaheim can even come close. The concept is really easy to understand – take the % of games missed of a player and multiply it by their cap hit. If player X misses 41 games and has a cap hit of $5 million, his “CHIP” is $2.5 million. The Jackets number may be a bit low considering Murray and Jenner are still on ELC’s.
- Wow – from Deadspin, Jack Johnson’s parents are just the worst. Before defrauding Jack (their son), they did the same thing to Jack’s grandfather. All three have the same name, so it’s a bit confusing.
- Lastly….LOL Penguins./
Hope you found these interesting, informative, and entertaining. Feel free to post anything in the comments you’ve seen that caught your interest that I missed here.