Sidenote: That was probably a terrible sentence. I just was trying to get a lot of alliteration in there, but I may have gone overboard. What I meant to say is this: Columbus hoped that Fedorov would do well, so their first line wouldn't suck. Happy?
Now? The Jackets think that they've found their answer. We're only a pickle, a shake, and a side of fries away from finding out though...
Painting with Pascal Colors…
After dealing with Marc Denis for a couple of seasons, Columbus seems to have found the road to salvation—at least for the next few seasons.
Fredrik Norrena has proved that he has the ability to be a stable NHL backup, and spot-start (as he did in his first season) while Steve Mason is quickly eying an NHL career—although Columbus management would be wise to let him get some seasoning in the AHL before moving him up. Emergency callup (from the OHL) last season or not.
Ahead of both of them on the depth chart however, is franchise netminder Pascal Leclaire, recipient of a shiny, new, three-year deal with the Blue Jackets.
For those of you that missed it though, and are wondering "why the new deal?", well last season was truly the 25 year-old Leclaire’s coming out party.
In his first year as a full-fledged starter, Leclaire posted a 24-17-6 record—his first above .500 season, and his first 20+ win season—with a 2.25 goals against average, a .919 save percentage, and nine shutouts. Nine shutouts which put him second in the league in that stat.
While those stats look like that of an emerging star over the course of a season, Leclaire’s next step will be to prove that he can remain effective for said entire season.
Of his nine shutouts, six came in the first two months of 2007/08, and from February to April Leclaire won only five games, losing six in regulation and three in overtime or a shootout. An improved offense may be able to help out Leclaire’s cause, but we’ll get to that in a second.
Tyutin my Rusty Commodore…
That's probably the dirtiest headline I've published during this entire series. And yes, my mother is proud of me.
If you were to just briskly graze the standings of last season, you'd see that Columbus missed the playoffs—probably a result of not scoring enough goals.
What they miss however, is how effective the Jackets were defensively.
The Blue Jackets’ defense was their biggest strength last season. Columbus was eighth in goals-against per game (2.56), ninth in penalty killing (83.3%), and the Jackets allowed the sixth-fewest shots per game—all of that seems like a recipe for success in the new NHL (well....if you had an offense it would be).
Over the offseason, the Jackets continued to change around their defense as Mike Commodore, Fedor Tuyutin, and Christian Backman were added to a backend which features carry-overs Rostislav (Rusty) Klesla, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, and Jan Hejda.
Hejda may be the most overlooked member of this blue line, as he played in the second-most games by a Columbus defenseman (81), garnered 13 assists, and led the team with a +20. The only player to beat Hejda in games played on the backend was Rostislav Klesla, who began to emerge as the leader of Columbus’ young defense, and began taking in number one minutes.
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