2008 Trade Rumors: Now we're talkin!

According to Puck-rakers former Ohio State producted RJ Umberger could be on the Jackets radar:

Rumors are spreading in Ottawa that Umberger, who attended Ohio State, could be headed to the Blue Jackets at some point this weekend. No word on what the Blue Jackets would be trading to Philly.

The Flyers just re-upped with center Jeff Carter, according to Sportsnet.ca. Carter, who could have been a restricted free agent on July 1, signed for three years and at least $15 million.

Perhaps this makes it easy for Philly to move Umberger, who is not the No. 1 center lots of Blue Jackets are wanting, but he would significantly upgrade the position.

Now we are making some sense.

RJ of course is not the end all be all at center but as Portzline suggests, the man is an upgrade over anything we've got here.

Umberger is 6'2" 200 lb center. He's 26 and has got 3 seasons of NHL experience. He's scored 50, 28 and 38 points respectively. His 37 assists last year were 28th best in the league for centers.

Not earth shattering, I know, but do you want to know where the closest Jacket was? 63rd...and that was Michael Peca with 26 helpers.

Heck, with his 50 points, Umberger was 40th overall in scoring for centers. The closest Jacket - 82nd overall in Peca with 36 points.

Umberger put up these point totals behind Daniel Briere, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. With top 6 minutes I don't think its too far of stretch that he could step into the Jackest lineup and put up better numbers playing next to Nasher and getting quality PP time.

He also had 64 hits (good for 10th on team), 59 blocked shots (8th), 40 takeaways (4th), 143 shots (8th) and gave the puck away only 32 times (13th). A drawback, however, is that he was only 38% in the face off circle.

Dude was also a beast in the playoffs with 10g, 5a in 17 games.

Sportsnet.ca's breakdown:

Assets
Is a confident offensive player with excellent size and shooting ability. Can also pass the puck with aplomb, and is capable of playing both center and wing.

Flaws
Still needs some work in the defensive zone, and must play a more consistent brand of hockey in order to thrive at the NHL level.

Career potential
Top six forward.

The best thing about him is that he isn't going to break the bank both finacially and in terms of assets it will take to acquire him. His current team, the Philly Flyers, just resigned another young stud center in Jeff Carter to a 3 year 15mil deal which puts them dangerously close to the cap. RJ is an RFA and I just don't see how the Flyers can fit him, so it appears he is the odd man out.

So what's it going to cost? I start with our 2nd round - the 37th overall - and their choice of Dan Fritsche, OK Tollefsen or Gilbert Brule. They get a low cost roster player and pick. This allows Howson to retain the 19th overall to bring in another body as well as make the pick at 6.

He's probably not the headline grabber Jackets fans were thinking. However, this would be a smart add and he is a natural center who can play wing as well. He scored more than a guy like Marleau last year and should only get better. Not a premier playmaker but he makes plays. I would think he'd sign for 3 million per year over a couple of years.

Umberger in the top 6 would be a start - especially if we don't have to move the 19th for him which we could use to grab another body (Kubina anyone?). Howson then could also bring in another center (Morrison?) via UFA, and then we'd start looking decent down the middle. If a guy like Brassard is ready, then the beautiful thing is that RJ can play wing, or someone can bump down to the 3rd hole.

Don't forget that he's entirely familiar with this area which is icing on the cake.

Keep your eye on this player.

Only a few hours to go!

-LTL