Columbus Blue Jackets Miss Out on Brad Richards

It was said that Richards narrowed his list of teams to Vancouver, Dallas, and Columbus. All three were offering good packages, but at the end of the day Dallas had the most in terms of assets and playoff potential.

The cap didn't do us any favors by going up another $3 to $4 million, giving teams like Dallas a lot more flexibility to add a guy like Richards.

It really is a kick in the you-know-where if you're a Columbus Blue Jackets' fan, but I give Howson credit for being aggressive and trying to address a major hole in this lineup in a big way.

To me it came down to the goaltenders. Dallas offered Mike Smith and we weren't willing to give up Leclaire or blue chip prospect Steve Mason.

Back to the drawing board for Howson to try to address that No. 1 center need. Marleau and Jokinen are rumored to be on the block, maybe Langkow in the offseason. Regardless I don't expect a deal for No. 1 now until the offseason.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Foote and Fedorov today. With no news of a Foote signing I am now leaning toward both of these players getting deal for picks or prospects or roster players if they can the right ones.

Looks like Howson may be cleaning house after this Richards domino has fallen.

You would think that if Howson landed the big fish in Richards, Foote would be kept and a playoff push realized. With Richards out I think Howson has no choice but to get what he can in terms of assets and try to address needs this offseason via more trade option or unrestricted free agency.

If all he can get are picks perhaps those could be packaged for legit help around draft time in June. The only problem is that now he will have to fill No. 1 center, No. 1 defensemen, and a shutdown defensemen. That's a tall order.

By this time tomorrow this team may indeed be Rick Nash, Nikolai Zherdev, and Pascal Lelcaire's. They've carried it this far. With the possibility of veteran leadership like Foote leaving can they keep this boat afloat or will everyone pack it in? Better yet, how does Hitch keep this team from imploding and how does this franchise expect season ticket renewals to come rolling in?

Wish I had those answers but I don't. The only thing I know is that whoever is left standing by 3 p.m. can use this as a rallying point and look toward themselves to keep a playoff push alive...or they can use it as an excuse.

Nash, Zherdev & Leclaire will have to lead the way.

-LTL