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Clitsome Up, Commodore Down

In a move that should shock almost no-one, the Blue Jackets have announced that Mike Commodore is being assigned to Springfield, and that Grant Clitsome will be brought up to the big club.

For now, it seems to indicate that if Scott Howson is indeed working the trade options, he hasn’t found a deal that has satisfied him – he has mentioned in several press interviews that meeting Commodore’s trade request was his first priority before deciding to send the veteran defenseman to the AHL.

His replacement in Clitsome should hopefully bring a physical presence and some decent puck moving skills – he has shown flashes of ability in previous appearances, with a goal and two assists in 11 games last season at the NHL level, and is on pace for a career year with Springfield, delivering 5 goals and 10 assists in 32 games. If Anton Stralman or Marc Methot continue to struggle, health wise, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Clitsome is inserted into the lineup Tuesday.

While this move is likely to dampen trade speculation, another interesting possibility for this move is that it might be to set Commodore up for re-entry waivers. If a team is interested in Commodore at a reduced price (which is certainly possible), 1.9 million a year might be much more palatable. I’d keep an eye on what happens with the waiver wire Monday. If Scott Howson thinks he has an interested team lined up (perhaps with claiming Commodore off re-entry waivers as a condition of making a larger move), I wouldn’t be surprised if he was brought up in a relatively short time.