COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
NHL expansion teams are supposed to play safe, no-nonsense hockey, with the emphasis on chokehold defense. It’s the only way they can win a few games. But Columbus was having none of it, opting instead for goals, goals, goals! By last season the Jackets ranked in the top 16 in NHL scoring, not bad for a three-year-old team.
Predictably, they get pounded in their own end of the rink, allowing 24 more goals than their nearest Western rival last season. Starting goaltender Marc Denis earns good reviews, but when 31 shots is an average night’s work, endurance becomes a more reasonable goal than making the playoffs.
So defense is in vogue for the new season. By dispatching Mike Sillinger and leading scorer Ray Whitney, Columbus subtracts 119 points from last year’s lineup. But almost half those points came on the power play. Their even-strength ratings of minus-21 and minus-26 were not quite so admirable. Enter Todd Marchant and Trevor Letowski, heralding (hopefully) a new era of two-way hockey.
But what to do about the equally intolerable breakdowns on the blue line? Opportunity knocks for Darryl Sydor. The former Dallas Star is expected to take over the power play and whip the defense into shape, while maintaining his usual 40-point pace.
Can it all come together? Like any 15th place team, the Jackets must hope for further upgrades from the young men, like defenseman Rostislav Klesla and 2003 rookie-of-the-year finalist Rick Nash. The new players bring speed and mobility, always important in the West. With a healthy year and a better effort in their own zone, a significant leap up the standings is not out of the question.
Trouble: Defensemen who fill limited but perfectly adequate roles elsewhere always seem to have their worst seasons when they arrive in Columbus.
On the Spot: Marchant and Sydor instantly become the two best players on this team. They will be the focus of everything that goes right or wrong.
The Forecast: If a couple of last year’s playoff teams – like Edmonton and Minnesota – take small steps backwards, the Jackets should be in contention for a playoff spot going into the final days of the regular season.
The Call: 8th in the Western Conference.
Who's in:
Goaltender Fred Brathwaite (free agent from St. Louis)
Defenseman Darryl Sydor (trade from Dallas)
Center Mark Hartigan (free agent from Atlanta)
Center Todd Marchant (free agent from Edmonton)
Center Trevor Letowski (free agent from Vancouver)
Who’s Out:
Defenseman Jamie Allison (free agent to Nashville)
Left winger Ray Whitney (free agent to Detroit)
Center Mike Sillinger (trade to Phoenix)
Right winger Matt Davidson (free agent to Calgary)
2002-03 Regular Season Numbers:
Payroll:
$28,212,500, 27th overall
(Hockey News, November 15/02. Bonuses not included.)
- Record: 29-42-8-3 for 69 points.
- At home: 20-14-5-2.
- On the road: 9-28-3-1.
- Finish: 28th overall, 15th in the Western Conference, 5th in the Central Division.
- Goals for: 213 (2.60 per game), 16th overall.
- Goals against: 263 (3.21 per game), 29th overall.
- Goal differential: Minus-50, 26th overall.
- Power play: 17.3 percent, tied for 12th overall.
- Penalty kill: 85.3 percent, 8th overall.
Goaltending:
- Marc Denis, 77-27-41-8, 3.09 GAA, .903 SV PCT, 5 SO.
- Jean Labbe, 11-2-4-0, 3.59 GAA, .884 SV PCT, 0 SO.
Leaders:
- Scoring: Left winger Ray Whitney, 81-24-52-76.
- Power play points: Ray Whitney, 81-8-34-42.
- Game-winning goals: Center Andrew Cassels, 5.
- Ice time: Defenseman Jaroslav Spacek, 24:47 per game.
- Plus/minus: Right winger David Vyborny, plus-12.
