Well, some of the questions about how the Jackets would handle Marc Methot’s defensive minutes have been answered. The Jackets have agreed to a one year, two million dollar deal with veteran D Adrian Aucoin, who is expected to fill out the bottom pairing as a mentor for Ryan Murray and John Moore.
Regarded as a savvy, big minutes defender, Aucoin should provide a good shutdown option for Todd Richards and the Blue Jackets, and will hopefully be a good voice in the room – think of him as the defensive equivalent of Vinny Prospal. He knows the right way to play, he’s got a great work ethic, and he’ll join the new voices in the room in helping to rebuild the culture of the team from the ground up.
At 38, Aucoin may be reaching the end of his road, but he does bring a great set of tools and would easily fit on the penalty kill. He also possesses a booming slap shot that could potentially fit into the power play depending on how the Jackets need to set the lineup.
At this point we can expect the lineup to look like this:
Tyutin – Nikitin
Johnson – Wisniewski
Aucoin – Murray
Moore
So, what do you think? Good move?