Columbus Blue Jackets: Hainsey and Peca negotations stay on backburner

From Puck-rakers:

Columbus GM Scott Howson has not had any contract negotiations with Jackets’ free agents Ron Hainsey or Michael Peca. The GM said he would "have some dialogue” with those players before July 1, the beginning of the free-agent season.

No surprise here for me.

Some fans may grumble about Hainsey, but seriously, where will he fit?

We've got our two shutdown guys locked up in Rusty Klesla and Jan Hejda. We've got our bottom pairing defensemen in O-K Tollefsen, Aaron Rome, Marc Methot, Kris Russell and Clay Wilson. What we need are high-end guys.

Is Ron Hainsey that guy because he's going to want to get paid like one?

To me the answer to that question is an indisputable no, no, no.

Sportsnet.ca's profile on Hainsey:

AssetsHas great mobility, size and reach. Can play on either side of the ice. Displays plenty of offensive upside. Is capable of logging a ton of minutes.

FlawsIs far too soft for his 6-3, 211-pound frame. Needs more polish in the defensive zone. Is still a bit raw in all three zones.

Career potential
Top four defenseman.

We've seen what Hainsey can do when being the #1 option for the Jackets offensively from the blueline and nothing against Hainsey, but it just ain't good enough. The Jackets need a whole lot more if thoughts of playoffs are dancin' around in their heads.

The Jackets had the 28th-ranked PP in the league. Hainsey was its quarterback.

Granted, most of the Jackets were bad down the stretch and Hainsey was no exception. Over the last 20 games he had one goal and three assists and was a -8. Not nearly good enough.

He can log lots of minutes and he does stay relatively healthy but he doesn't hit, has a helluva hard time getting shots through and is terrible on the transition and power play.

Hainsey will get his money from somebody. He's come a long way from where he was when MacLean first claimed him on waivers from Montreal but he's not the answer for us at this point. Howson has a unique opportunity to remake the defense and he's going to shoot for the, no pun intended, stars.

Will he get the guys he wants?

That remains to be seen, but I think there are many guys that will be on the market who, given Hainsey's position and PP time could produce similar stats for less money -- what Howson is looking for are guys who are much better than that.

You need consistent production from the blueline, especially on the PP and we just did not get it last year.

Our defense needs at minimum two huge upgrades. We need guys who can work the point on the power play to free up our guys down low. Right now all teams do is pressure our D because they know we don't have the skill on the back end to move it, a la pretty much any playoff team.

Why do you think Holmstrom is so open in front of the net in Detroit when they are on a PP? It's because opponents have to respect Detroit's skill on the blueline.

Ain't nobody respecting Ron Hainsey's skill on the point of a PP. Howson knows that and Hitch knows that, hence why he won't be re-signed.

Now of course Howson is not going to land a Lidstrom-caliber player but there are guys expected to hit the UFA market who could certainly help - guys like Campbell, Liles and Redden among others. Then there is always the trade route with potential targets like Kubina, Kaberle, Pitkanen & Whitney among others.

As far as Peca. Nothing at all surprising with him. He won't be back. The organization has plenty of guys who can fill bottom-six roles. Howson needs top-six guys and that's where his dollars need to go. Peca did a decent job for us under the circumstances (Svitov bolting) but it's time to move on and think bigger.

-LTL