It’s Tuesday, which means you’re mostly through the Mondays, you’re not quite making your way over Hump Day, and Friday still seems far, far away.
Good thing we’ve got some reading material for you, huh?
First and foremost, again, thank you so much to everyone who attended, sponsored, assisted with, or promoted Cannonfest. Now that we’ve managed it three years in a row, I’d say it’s officially a tradition, and one that I’m incredibly proud to have played a part in establishing.
We’ve also got some great recaps from Doktor Z, DBJ+, OG DBJ, Bluejackets.com, and a 2 hour extravaganza podcast from The Cannon Report in which I may or may not have taken part in a brief moment of barbershop.
Over at DKM, there’s discussion of Blue Jacket Pride, and I get his points, but I also wonder if actual winning product on the ice would go a long way towards addressing some of his concerns.
Burnside Carbine takes a look at the year ahead for James Wisniewski, and if you’ve been wondering who Puck Daddy would ask to take care of the Essential Columbus Blue Jackets feature, breathe a sigh of relief as you read the superb writeup by the DBJ crew.
In the wider NHL, Mike Chen has some excellent ideas to bring the CBA negotiations closer, why Gary Bettman being in touch with his inner mustelid is good for the business of the NHL, and Cam Charron discusses the importance of player unions.
Interestingly, even as the NHL owners complain they need shorter contracts, yet another player was locked up when Scott Hartnell inked a new 6 year deal with the Flyers. Anyone shocked that reports indicate a full no movement clause? Didn’t think so. On the more reasonable side of things, Mr. Carrie Underwood is also sticking with his current club, though he only committed to a 2 year deal in the Music City.
The Dallas Stars recently decided to consolidate their medical care needs. Which is great, except it looks like the deal was done as much for the advertising partnership as it was the quality of care. Think players feel good about that? The Blue Jackets may partner with Ohio Health a lot, but I doubt they’d ever tell a player that they couldn’t see a specialist at OSU or Mt. Carmel, for example, because they’re not “official providers.” It should be about the best possible care first, advertising message…I don’t know, probably 35th?
The Union Blue has a look at another schedule showcase game (and you can see our take as well), and last but not least it looks like there’s some goaltending discontent over in the Verizon Center…