30 for 30 in 30 - Columbus Blue Jackets

**AS OF TIME OF WRITING**

TJ Molland: Alright Bik, round 2, the CBJ. *heavy sigh* I literally don't know where to start....because this team was SO bad last year. The only major stat the team wasn't in the bottom third in was shots for. GF, GA, PP, PK, all awful. They finished 9 points back from EDMONTON! I had higher hopes for this team last year, as exhibited when I drafted 3 Blue Jackets in my work hockey pool (#instantregret). Their GM, Scott Howson, has thrown their best player under the bus, made several poor trades to fix previously made bad trades, and still they are going to allow him to call the shots. It's good they are bringing back Richards as coach so they can see what he is capable of doing with a full off-season to prepare the team but it’s a small positive drowned in despaire. So long story short, there....uh....may be a bright side...?.....maybe?

You know what, I will actually say there is. Their defense is shaping up rather well. Lead by Wisniewski, Tyutin and Johnson the defense should be alright. But when your team features only three....yes THREE 15+ goal scorers, you aren't exactly putting together a winning formula. Oh hey look, I found a place for us to start! How are the CBJ going to fix their goal scoring woes? Draft? Free Agency? Trade Nash?

Bik Nizzar: Ummm.... can we just skip Columbus – seriously........ Oh man what a mess – When you write Wisniewski as 1 of the first things about their team – you know you have a bad team. Ok the good things: Jack Johnson is a solid piece and now he’s the lead d-man on the team. I’m not a big fan of his but even I’ll admit he performed way better than I thought he would in the short stint to end the season. Hopefully they don’t “Brassard” Ryan Johansen (and yes I just used Derek Brassard’s name as a verb). You hope his potential doesn’t become as ruined as Brassard’s. I like John Moore, played a bit soft this year but still too early to say he’ll make it or won’t. I like Matt Calvert and Boone Jenner + David Savard has been a pleasant surprise for that franchise. So they have a few pieces coming together but still a far cry from a full team.

As for the bad: Rick Nash.... He’s not bad – but the situation that Howson created is beyond terrible. Nash obviously doesn’t wanna be there – Howson played it as if the team doesn’t want him there. So for the sake of your franchise, you’ve gotta move him. If I were them, off to San Jose he goes. If you could get Pavelski and another piece I think you do pretty well in that trade. The thing is if you trade the face of your franchise, most popular player, etc, how do you replace that and keep the fanbase still supporting your team? A player like Yakupov might be able to do that, but the bad luck continues as they pick 2nd. And it just gets worse for them when you look at the goaltending. Yikes. Steve Mason was at such a high point coming off his Calder Trophy and he’s taken such a catastrophic fall that I’m calling him “Humpty Dumpty” from here on out. Maybe if Edmonton takes Yakupov they look to trade down to grab 1 of the 3 highly touted goalies..

TJ Molland: For a man wanting to skip CBJ you sure ran on for a while there. You mention their prospect pool and there is some talent there for sure. I won't say they can "Brassard" Johansen, because Johansen is actually a capable player. Brassard was rushed to save a franchise that he had no business saving. Johansen has enough raw talent to at least not collapse completely. It is no question this team needs to be turned over to the young guys now though. You pray that Edmonton takes a d-man and then you take Yakupov and start the new face lift.

Bik Nizzar: Truth be told – their first solution may very well be firing Scott Howson, but for whatever reason they seem  content sticking with him and letting this mess continue. Moving Nash, again is catastrophic but seems like it’s the end of the road and the only logical solution is to move him and replenish. To get Yakupov you could move up to #1 with Edmonton and snag him and still acquire another 1st rounder if/when you move Nash.  Still this team has so many holes and long-term projects that it’s more than likely gonna be another dark year for the Blue Jacket fan (singular; because I can’t imagine there’s more than one).  It is hard to gauge their lineup next year without Nash in it, so that makes it difficult to see what they should target in free agency. Veteran leadership to show some of the younger players the ropes to set them up in the future would be ideal. They should put themselves in the hunt for guys they don’t have to over-pay for again (see Wisniewski, James). I dunno if they can take chances on players like Lee Stempniak, Chris Kelly and hope they can replicate previous production. As you said, too many problems to solve in one year and I got a feeling we’ll be doing their game plan next year early as well.