This will be the last year I draft Rick Nash

[Money99]

I am so sick and tired of waiting for this guy to break out.
I'm in a keeper pool and this will be my last year where he's on my roster.

This kid is big, fast and has great hands and yet I don't know if he'll ever come close to 100 points - which he has the talent for.

I know he doesn't have the greatest linemates, but I can't tell you how many games I've watched where he has one breakaway after another and flubs it. Actually, in this season alone, after two weeks, NHL on the Fly showed THREE highlights of big #61 on a breakaway and got stoned every time.

I've had it waiting for this giant star to finally break out. He will be a 70-point guy forever it seems. Certainly not worth the hassle or fantasy salary to protect him year after year.

/rant.

[mkharsh33]

Re: This will be the last year I draft Rick Nash

i am a big-time jackets fan and i feel your pain...

the problem is that first line 1) is out of sync, and 2) needs to be reconfigured. hitchcock, i believe, is trying to force a style on this team that they're just unwilling to play. umberger was valued way too high and he's NOT a #1 center. i'd move brassard up with nash and also consider playing voracek with him on the other side.

nash is a great player...he is NOT the problem. it's that this team has failed repeatedly to put a number 1 center next to him. they should have tried harder to make a deal (patrick marleau?) this offseason, but once again, this franchise keeps going the cheap route and they believe that a bunch of underachievers who should be "hungry" can get it done.

trading away zherdev could go down as one of the biggest blunders that scott howson could have ever made. yes, he had his issues...but he's too damn talented to just send away for d-men who, in my estimation, aren't that good.

but i'm very frustrated and still want to believe that franchise might get it one day.

truthfully, now that ownership has changed (due to the death of the father of the current owner) i would not be surprised to see them move this team down the road. it might actually be best in the long run. the columbus fans have been faithful to that franchise, but sadly, they're not being rewarded.

[Money99]

Re: This will be the last year I draft Rick Nash

i am a big-time jackets fan and i feel your pain...

the problem is that first line 1) is out of sync, and 2) needs to be reconfigured. hitchcock, i believe, is trying to force a style on this team that they're just unwilling to play. umberger was valued way too high and he's NOT a #1 center. i'd move brassard up with nash and also consider playing voracek with him on the other side.

nash is a great player...he is NOT the problem. it's that this team has failed repeatedly to put a number 1 center next to him. they should have tried harder to make a deal (patrick marleau?) this offseason, but once again, this franchise keeps going the cheap route and they believe that a bunch of underachievers who should be "hungry" can get it done.

trading away zherdev could go down as one of the biggest blunders that scott howson could have ever made. yes, he had his issues...but he's too damn talented to just send away for d-men who, in my estimation, aren't that good.

but i'm very frustrated and still want to believe that franchise might get it one day.

truthfully, now that ownership has changed (due to the death of the father of the current owner) i would not be surprised to see them move this team down the road. it might actually be best in the long run. the columbus fans have been faithful to that franchise, but sadly, they're not being rewarded.

I would be PISSED as an NHL fan if they moved that team out of C-bus. My wife and I have made trips down there to watch games and we love it!
And you're right, the fans have been extraordinarily patient with this club. Didn't they sell out every home game for the first 3 or 4 seasons?
The fans are there! It's just that the wins are not.
Out of all the teams that SHOULD be relocated, Columbus is not one of them.

In my opinion the problem is Hitchcock. He's trying to install a defensive system and it's not helping them win games. He has some good players on there that need the leash taken off of them. I feel it's very similar to Washington's situation from last season. Hanlon tried to be conservative and they were losing. They brought in Boudreau and he lets the horses run, and what happens?
The same could be said for the Jackets.

Let Nash, Huselius, Brassard, Umberger, use their talents.
Looking around the NHL, while it's still very much system based, it's been shown that aggressive play wins more games than sitting back.

Nash is one of my favorite players (hence why I always keep him). I'm just tired of watching him under a stifling system. This kid could easily be a 50-goal man every year if they allowed him the freedom to play like his talent allows him.

[mkharsh33]

Re: This will be the last year I draft Rick Nash

^^ i couldn't agree with you more...glad to hear of a fellow jackets fan.

i grew up in ohio all my life, but my wife and i moved our family down to tampa, fl 5 years ago...now i get to watch the barry-minus-the-mullett lightning play - and i've never seen a team so out of sync in my life.

the blue jackets are coming down here this year so i'm hopeful to get some tickets and take my sons.

[slickdtc]

Re: This will be the last year I draft Rick Nash

I would be PISSED as an NHL fan if they moved that team out of C-bus. My wife and I have made trips down there to watch games and we love it!
And you're right, the fans have been extraordinarily patient with this club. Didn't they sell out every home game for the first 3 or 4 seasons?
The fans are there! It's just that the wins are not.
Out of all the teams that SHOULD be relocated, Columbus is not one of them.

In my opinion the problem is Hitchcock. He's trying to install a defensive system and it's not helping them win games. He has some good players on there that need the leash taken off of them. I feel it's very similar to Washington's situation from last season. Hanlon tried to be conservative and they were losing. They brought in Boudreau and he lets the horses run, and what happens?
The same could be said for the Jackets.

Let Nash, Huselius, Brassard, Umberger, use their talents.
Looking around the NHL, while it's still very much system based, it's been shown that aggressive play wins more games than sitting back.

Nash is one of my favorite players (hence why I always keep him). I'm just tired of watching him under a stifling system. This kid could easily be a 50-goal man every year if they allowed him the freedom to play like his talent allows him.

Oh, how I despise the Hitchcock system.

It's a safe system, but personally I'd rather see a team risk it all for the big reward. At least then you can say we really gave it all, which is all you can ask for. With these defensive systems you sit back and then all the sudden the game is over and you lost. It's so unfulfilling.

[Money99]

Re: This will be the last year I draft Rick Nash

Oh, how I despise the Hitchcock system.

It's a safe system, but personally I'd rather see a team risk it all for the big reward. At least then you can say we really gave it all, which is all you can ask for. With these defensive systems you sit back and then all the sudden the game is over and you lost. It's so unfulfilling.

Tell me about it.
Hitchcock was the same coach who once told his Dallas team that 'goals don't matter' after losing to the Expansion BlueJackets 1-0 a few years back.
Brett Hull was playing with the team at the time and took major offense to this line of thinking.
So what did he do? The next practice he would fire the puck into the stands every time he got the puck. When Hitch asked him what he was doing, Hull simply replied "Goals don't matter".
Apparently Hull got an early start on his golf game that day as he was sent home immediately after this exchange.

But that's what's wrong with some of the dinosaurs still coaching in this league. "Goals don't matter"??? Really? Because I'm pretty sure you need to score at least one goal to win.

Looking around the league, this season seems to be different than last. There are far more shots going on net, and I'm seeing a lot more games where more than 1 team scores 2 goals or more.
It's time for these old defensive hacks get put out to pasture. I want to see more up-tempo type games where a team will actually send in more than one forechecker.

Minnesota's doing well this year, but with the talent they have, they should be competing for a Cup already instead of fighting for playoff spots. I fully believe that if Lemaire let his guys skate more, they'd win more.

Hopefully if C-bus continues to lose, Hitch gets the axe in favor of someone who likes to have his team score more than 1.5 goals per game.

And I'm sure the fans there would appreciate seeing their stars shine instead of hooking a plow to their back.
I've always been of the opinion that if my team were to lose, I'd rather it be in a blaze of glory instead of in a boring defensive struggle where there's nothing exciting going on the ice.

[Donovan]

Re: This will be the last year I draft Rick Nash

So stop drafting Nash in the first few rounds then. The point of fantasy hockey is to outperform other picks in that round, so while Nash is a horrible first round pick, a bad 2nd round pick, and a marginal 3rd round pick, he's probably a good 4th round pick and a great 5th round pick. He's still a 55-70 point guy with potential for more.

[OSUFan_88]

Re: This will be the last year I draft Rick Nash

Rick Nash will now be the number one center on the Blue Jackets.

I hate my life as a Blue Jackets fan. God Bless Jakub Voracek and Derrick Brassard.

[mkharsh33]

Re: This will be the last year I draft Rick Nash

i saw filatov got sent down today...sad to say, but the most exciting line on this team was the one with him, brassard and voracek.

i still can't believe they just handed zherdev away...kinda like when the indians decided to give brandon phillips away because he was deemed a cancer. whoever thinks umberger is a #1 center ought to have their head examined...

[OSUFan_88]

Re: This will be the last year I draft Rick Nash

i saw filatov got sent down today...sad to say, but the most exciting line on this team was the one with him, brassard and voracek.

i still can't believe they just handed zherdev away...kinda like when the indians decided to give brandon phillips away because he was deemed a cancer. whoever thinks umberger is a #1 center ought to have their head examined...

I would trade Nash for Zherdev right now.

Unfortunately, our brilliant GM, Scott Howson, found it better if we traded one of the most talented skaters in the NHL for two average defensemen.

[mkharsh33]

Re: This will be the last year I draft Rick Nash

they seem to think that character will win them a championship...

has the steve mason-to-columbus clock started yet??

[OSUFan_88]

Re: This will be the last year I draft Rick Nash

they seem to think that character will win them a championship...

has the steve mason-to-columbus clock started yet??

God I hope so. Dr. No Save is horrible and should be traded for a 7th round pick instantly.

Pazzy will get hurt again.

I think Mason will be up around the beginning of Feb. 1st.

[Money99]

Re: This will be the last year I draft Rick Nash

So stop drafting Nash in the first few rounds then. The point of fantasy hockey is to outperform other picks in that round, so while Nash is a horrible first round pick, a bad 2nd round pick, and a marginal 3rd round pick, he's probably a good 4th round pick and a great 5th round pick. He's still a 55-70 point guy with potential for more.

We don't have a traditional draft. We bid on our players. We're also allowed to have 'x' amount of keepers depending on how you finish.

I decided to make him a keeper at $3.00 (with a $25 cap). After a tremendous World Championship I thought this price was a steal. Especially when you look around and see that other top line 'stars' were going between $6 and $12.
But this kid is not doing well in Hitch's system.

I remember hearing Hitch say he wanted Nash as a centre this year and it looks like he finally convinced Rick to try it out. I didn't see the game last night, but since he didn't get any points I consider it a failure. This dude is on pace for 40 points. Nice.

[mkharsh33]

Re: This will be the last year I draft Rick Nash

it's not nash's fault...he needs a great center next to him...umberger, so howson thought, was the answer. the failing of this offseason was the inability to acquire either patrick marleau or olli jokinen, pure and simple. and the one playmaker they had, zherdev, they shipped him off for a pair of crappy defensemen.

they're too damn cheap...

[Money99]

Re: This will be the last year I draft Rick Nash

i saw filatov got sent down today...sad to say, but the most exciting line on this team was the one with him, brassard and voracek.

i still can't believe they just handed zherdev away...kinda like when the indians decided to give brandon phillips away because he was deemed a cancer. whoever thinks umberger is a #1 center ought to have their head examined...

I think Tyutin was considered to be a great prospect around the league. That remains to be seen. But Zherdev is sure looking good for the Blue Shirts. He's been their best player on many nights the last couple of weeks.

But I think that deal had more to do with getting Hitchock type players in.
Umberger is now a LW, like he was in Philly. And you're right. If Howsen really thought this guy was a #1 centre, he should be shot.

If the Nash experiment at centre works, they have a bright future up front. With Nash and Brassard centering wingers like Filitov and Voracek, they'll have a couple of great one-two combo's out there.

My feeling is that Hitch won't last the season. This team screams "Washington 07" to me. They were horrible under Hanlon's defensive system and then in comes Boudreau who let the horses run and...voila! They're a winning team and in the playoffs.
The same should be done for the Jackets. This isn't a team like the Flames or Bruins. They're young with great wheels. Let them force the play instead of sitting back hoping to win games on other teams mistakes.
There's no reason why this team shouldn't make the playoffs, but under Hitch's system, I don't see them making the postseason.