This season has not gone the way that the Columbus Blue Jackets envisioned. They spent big in the offseason, hired Mike Babcock and looked like a team with real playoff aspirations. Well, things got off the rails very early and the latest chapter involves one of their top prospects, David Jiricek, who sounded off about his lack of playing time in the NHL. Patrik Laine also announced he is stepping away from the team for mental health reasons.
Frank and Jason started things off by talking about the Jiricek situation before getting into Laine. Frank talked about the uptick in players taking mental health leaves.
From there, the guys got into the Brendan Gallagher suspension. Gregor said it should have been closer to ten games while Frank thinks this whole situation reeks of the Department of Player Safety wanting to avoid a potential appeal from the player.
The New York Rangers were dealt a big blow over the weekend as they announced that Filip Chytil will miss the remainder of the season with an upper-body injury. That creates a big hole in their lineup that they’ll need to fill ahead of the deadline. Frank thinks they could add two centres before March 8th.
They also hit on the playoff races in each the East and West before getting to Tyler with a new edition of Fill in the Blank, where he asked the guys about the Art Ross race, the Blues heater, and who’s the comeback player of the year.
1:22 – Jiricek speaks out
10:20 – Laine steps away
20:50 – Gallagher suspension
24:05 – Rangers deadline plans
26:10 – Playoff races
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8 Comments
I know Seravelli has limited knowledge of Columbus and often acts like he doesnt care about them but man… Boqvist has been fantastic, hes not a novelty PP specialist. Peeke does suck though, he got that right. Jiricek is not their 2nd best defenseman yet, not even close. He has to build up his skating and strength a considerable amount and most fans dont want him simply surviving in the NHL. We dont want him to adjust his game and lose what makes him special, we want his deficiencies to build up to match his IQ and aggression.
Also yes, Jarmo has to go. I dont know whether to laugh or cry at this management/ownership group, its pretty pathetic what has happened and what has been allowed to happen.
Thanks Guys
Lead 4 to 1 then take multiple penalties to give the game away, they are a more solid team than their record shows, that game was ridiculous, trying to lose and they did s great job.
Vincent is a puppet coach. As many times as he has used the phrase "organizational decision," which means it came from above, shows me that. This team is a dumpster fire and it starts at the top. JD has been invisible except for trying to control Elvis' comments after the fact, That shows me a complete lack of communication between the players, coaches, and GM. It reminds me of Maloney's last days in AZ. Total disconnect.
the kings miss vilardi, iafalo and kupari. bad bad trade.
LANIE would be a star right away again if he goes back to Winnipeg, he hated Columbus before he even got there till this day
I can’t even begin to wrap my head around this argument that mental health and performance are two separate issues and how a player not performing well is “just a performance issue and not mental.”That is quite possibly the single most asinine thing I’ve ever heard a broadcaster say and I’ve had to listen to Kelly Hrudey call games
What do the fans want out of the franchise? Do they want a Stanley Cup to the extent where nothing else is good enough or, do they want a place to go in the winter where they can drink a beer and see some entertainment? I'm the former of the two. That said, the problem with the Blue Jackets being a true contender is a complex problem. The same troubles can be found in Ottawa and Buffalo. They develop players only to see them leave for greener pastures when the players enter their athletic prime. And of course these franchises have a tough time attracting the top free agents. The root problem is that neither the cities, nor the franchises, are attractive to young men. What can be done about it? Well, the situation can be overcome. Once upon a time Pittsburgh did it. It likely takes a combination of luck and maybe one, more likely two or more HOF-level players fully, completely and passionately buying into the franchise/city.