Weaving Hockey Magic in Columbus

The general manager in Columbus must be some kind of magician. He consistently drafts higher than almost every other NHL team. He has a $6 million centerman, a scoring champion on the wing and an all-star leading the blueline. He obviously works for a patient owner. Yet Doug MacLean continues to assemble hockey teams that lose 40 games every year.

Call it the least surprising NHL story of 2006-07: The Blue Jackets stink. Again.

Given their enviable draft picks (Rick Nash; Nikolai Zherdev; Dan Fritsche; Gilbert Brule), bold free agent signings (Adam Foote; Anson Carter) and trades for veterans (Sergei Fedorov; Fred Modin), it's hard to believe they can be this bad, year after year. The track record confirms Columbus as the most poorly run franchise in the National Hockey League.

The usual suspect was thrown overboard today. So has Columbus hit rock-bottom? Not as long as the architect of this mess remains on the job.