Columbus Blue Jackets: Projections for Newest Members of the Union Blue

This offseason has clearly been one of the most aggressive offseasons in the Columbus Blue Jackets short 10-year franchise history.

As soon as the most recent season was put to rest, general manager Scott Howson made it clear that changes were going to made and the Jackets would have a new look come next October.

That goal was reached with two months left before the new season begins with the team's two biggest additions in center Jeff Carter and defenseman James Wisniewski.

Although two of the teams biggest needs were reached in Carter and Wisniewski, the Jackets still needed to fill spots left by players who choose to sign with another team (Jan Hejda) and offseason injuries (Kristian Huselius).

In two lower budget moves, the Jackets signed long-time New York Islanders defenseman Radek Martinek as well as former New York Ranger Vinny Prospal to fill in for Huselius after his torn pectoral muscle shelved him until possibly January.

In able for the Blue Jackets to get to the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history, each one of their new additions will have to step up in their own way and if they can, the Jackets could make it past the first round for the first time.

Center Jeff Carter

Out of all of the newest Blue Jackets, the player with the most pressure on them is clearly Jeff Carter.

Ever since the team drafted captain Rick Nash back in 2002, the team has been searching for a top-line center to play alongside Ontario native.

The team finally has that in Carter. All eyes will be on the All-Star and he'll be expected to make the immediate impact he was brought in to make. 

Soon after he was acquired, coach Scott Arniel already penciled him in on the top line with Nash. This could cause problems because both players clearly like to shoot and there was a question of whether or not there would be enough shots to go around.

Although Carter is a scorer, his stats have shown that he isn't afraid of passing the puck. His assist totals have been impressive in the past two seasons, with 28 in 2009-2010 and 30 during last season.

Nothing has been more impressive during Carter's six-year career than his 2008-2009 season when he recorded career highs in both goals (46) as well as assists (38). If Carter is able to reach those kind of numbers again, the Blue Jackets top line could be one of the best in not only the Western Conference, but in the league.

With Nash being the star on the top line, look for Carter's assist totals to increase from the past couple of seasons. His goal total will decrease, but not to the point where his first season in Columbus would be seen as a disappointment.

Jeff Carter 2011 Projections:

Goals: 29

Assists: 40

+/- : 20 

Defenseman James Wisniewski

Close behind in handling the pressure for the Jackets hopes next season is defenseman James Wisniewski.

Hours before the beginning of the free agency period, Columbus locked up the Michigan native to a six-year, $33 million contract, one that some have said is too much.

Wisniewski is coming off a career year that saw highs in  goals (10), points (51), power-play goals (eight) and shots on goal (158).

The Jackets are counting on "The Wiz" to continue his rise as one of the top defenseman in the league by putting up the same or even better numbers than last year.

The pressure will be on Wisniewski and he is ready to prove that he is worth the money.

Wisniewski's statements have made Blue Jacket fans optimistic, but talk can only go so far.

Wisniewski has never had the spotlight on him like this before and having the pressure of bringing the Jackets power play back to relevance could go to his head.

Wisniewski will act as quarterback for the Blue Jackets man advantage, but having players like Jeff Carter and Rick Nash, as well as Vinny Prospal around him, Wisniewski's numbers should improve next year.

Wisniewski 2011 Projections:

Goals: 11

Assists: 45

Power Play Goals: 6

Shots on Goals: 171

Goaltender Mark Dekanich

One of the Blue Jackets under-the-radar signings was finding a back-up goaltender for Steve Mason. General manager Scott Howson feels that the team has found that in Mark Dekanich.

The signing of Dekanich was a surprising one when the free agency class was full of talented goaltenders that had plenty of experience and could help mentor a still young Mason.

Instead of choosing to sign well-known goalies like Ray Emery, Jose Theodore, or Jean-Sebastien Giguere, the Jackets chose to go with Dekanich, who has only played one game in the NHL, and he was not too convincing.

Howson feels that Dekanich is ready for the big leagues, but if Mason continues his struggles with consistency, turning to Dekanich as a replacement could be fatal when matched up against the powers of the Western Conference.

In my opinion, Mason's consistency will improve this season. Columbus has made the moves in finding a full-time goaltending coach in Ian Clark, which will only help Mason.

For the first time since his rookie season, Mason will handle the bulk of the Jackets starts and there will finally be a clear number one and backup goaltender in the Jackets' locker room.

Mason playing for most of the season will prove to be the best thing for Dekanich. This will allow him to slowly be brought into the NHL as he continues to improve his skills

Mark Dekanich 2011 Projections

Starts: 20

W-L-OTL: 7-9-4

SV%: 0.902

GAA: 3.03

Defenseman Radek Martinek

Radek Martinek is a talented shut-down defenseman who will fill the void that was left by the departure of long time Blue Jacket Jan Hejda.

Columbus will be only the second team for Martinek as he spent the first ten years of his career with the New York Islanders.

In his time in the NHL, Martinek has been one of the more underrated defensemen. Last season, he stopped an impressive 128 shots.

Martinek is known for doing whatever it takes to block shots, even if it means getting down and putting his body on the line.

With this style of play comes a lot of injuries and Martinek has had his fair share. A broken leg, torn knee ligament, and his most recent concussion are just a few of the injuries Martinek has had to deal with.

The Blue Jackets training staff thoroughly evaluated Martinek before they decided to offer him a contract and Columbus GM Scott Howson is fine with the chance of the Slovak defenseman only playing 70 games in a season:

"We know what his history is. It's because of the way he plays. He plays hard; he's competitive. His injury history would indicate he's a 60- to 70-game player, and we're OK with that."

With the severity of the concussion and spinal injury Martinek suffered back in April at the World Championships, it will be interesting to see how he comes back from it.

Martinek's health could be one of the team's biggest questions next season and I don't see him playing at least 70 games. If an injury surfaces, the Jackets may have to do some emergency free agency shopping.

Radek Martinek 2011 Projections:

Games Played: 57

Goals: 2

Assists: 9

Blocked Shots: 116

Winger Vinny Prospal

When Kristian Huselius went down with a pectoral injury, the Jackets wanted a cheap replacement that they could sign for one year.

The first name that was brought up was former New York Ranger Vinny Prospal and the team was quick to sign him. Prospal will most likely fill Huselius' spot alongside Rick Nash and Jeff Carter.

With both Nash and Carter being the goal scorers that they are, Prospal will most likely be the top-line's assist man and he may be the most qualified to do so.

With Prospal, the Jackets have a player that can consistently put up 50-point seasons. In his 17 year career, Prospal has registered eight 50-plus point seasons, including two years where he put up 79 and 80 points while playing with Tampa Bay.

However, in the past few years, Prospal has struggled with injuries, including his most recent knee injury that sidelined him for 53 games last season.

With the injury issues, Prospal's play in the past few seasons has been streaky, but according to Andy Newman over at Jackets Cannon, he's due:

"He can be a streaky player, similar to Huselius, but if you look at his point history, Prospal's streakiness applies to entire seasons. Based on that history, he's due to have a solid year this season, and the team likely hopes for a good 50-plus point season."

If Prospal can stay healthy, playing alongside such skilled All-Stars in Nash and Carter could make reaching the 50 point plateau a piece of cake.

In returning from his knee injury, Prospal will get off to a slow start. But as the season goes on his point total, especially assists, will increase as he becomes more comfortable with his new linemates.

Vinny Prospal 2011 Projections:

Goals: 17

Assists: 36

Points: 53