With a fairly quiet day for the Jackets following the win against Carolina on Saturday and preparation for facing the Bruins tomorrow, some minor news updates (and interesting observations) have appeared, mostly through reports and announcements on Twitter.
Here’s a look at what’s going around the Blue Jackets today, both for the team and its’ fans.
Goodbye, Mr. Clark?
After leaving the game against Carolina in the third period with an undisclosed lower body injury, Chris Clark was absent again from today’s practice, and the Dispatch’s Tom Reed reported on Twitter that Clark could miss the next three to four weeks – almost certainly ending his season unless the team should manage to battle back into the post-season. The team has made no official announcement, but it appears extremely likely that this could be it in Columbus for the veteran winger, who is an upcoming unrestricted free agent.
Hello, Mr. Blomqvist!
In other player news, the Blue Jackets have also brought Swedish prospect Anton Blomqvist over to the Springfield Falcons, where he will play out the rest of the AHL season on an amateur tryout contract. The 2009 draft pick saw 8 games in the European Trophy series, and another 27 games with the main Allsvenskan club. registering 2 assists and 36 PIMs. According to reports in Sweden, Blomqvist has also signed his entry level NHL deal, but that has not been confirmed by the Jackets at this time.
Foundation Dishes The Assist
The Blue Jackets Foundation will be completing voting for their 10th anniversary “$10,000 assist” contest, where Jackets’ fans were encouraged to nominate local charities, and the Foundation selected 10 finalists that fans could vote on using Facebook. The contest ends today, and the winning charity will be announced on March 17th. (Disclaimer – I nominated Local Matters for the competition, and they are one of the finalists.)
Tickets…?
Much has been written this year about the Jackets’ box office woes, and the rise of services selling tickets on the secondary market such as SeatGeek. When looking into tickets for the next few games, it appears that some groups may be attempting to take advantage of that market, as tickets for upcoming games appear to be harder and harder to find through secondary sources, and services like TiqIQ are reporting that the average price for Blue Jackets games tends to jump from $25 a week prior to the event to $150 or more within two to three days of the game. If you’re looking for tickets on the cheap, outside of the Huntington Green Seats or similar deals through the club itself, it looks like you’d better buy early if you want to try and find a deal.
With two Original Six matchups this week, followed by another weekend set of back to back games, it promises to be an interesting week for the club. Please keep dropping by The Cannon for more news and updates as the team continues through the week!