Columbus Blue Jackets Quick Hits

Just a quickie today, but there is a short interview up over at THN.com with Rick Nash:

THN.com: It has been a busy offseason for the Jackets, adding players such as Kristian Huselius and R.J. Umberger. What’s your take on your team’s moves this summer?

RN: It’s been good. We added a lot of depth to our team and a lot of strength. It should be good, we got some scoring up front. I guess you’ll never really know until the season starts and you see how guys gel together, but on paper it looks pretty good.

Also, a buddy of mine sent me over this link to a preview of NHL2K9 with our boy on the cover. Check it out here.

For me I'll be buying the NHL2K9 game on the Wii, and then the EA game on the Xbox. That should cover all my bases.

Crunch blogger Lindsay Kramer talks about Shane Willis, who is invited to camp on a PTO:

One of the forwards invited on a tryout deal is Shane Willis, 31. He's a legit, proven AHL scorer, posting 20 goals and 23 assists in just 43 games for Albany two seasons ago. He's also played 174 NHL games. With the team's depth at center, he'd look pretty sweet at wing.

There's a couple of catches, though. He missed all but one game last season with a neck injury. And there's no guarantee if he doesn't make Columbus that the Blue Jackets would sign him for the Crunch.

"He's a proven AHL commodity. We're going to have a look and see how he does,'' said Columbus assistant GM Chris MacFarland. "It's simply an opportunity for us to see Shane and see where he is. Where it goes from there is wide open.''

Hey, the more depth, the merrier!

Also, I guess the Jackets have an ECHL affiliate change. According to Puck-rakers, the Elmira Jackals are out and the Johnstown Chiefs are in.

Cool logo!

-LTL