For The Post | be375607@ohiou.edu
Without a doubt, fall is on a power play in Ohio. The NFL has finished week four, and the Major League Baseball playoffs are underway. As the temperature begins to drop and jeans and sweatpants are starting to return around town, we are reminded that another sport besides football is also about to get started.
The 2011-2012 Hockey season begins Oct. 7 for the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Blue Jackets look to be real competitors for the playoffs and perhaps even the division crown. They play in the Central Division, one of the toughest in the Western Conference. Chicago, Detroit, Nashville and St. Louis will all be fighting for the top spot as soon as the first puck drops.
The good news is that Rick Nash finally will have some relief this year, and no longer will he have to be the Atlas of the organization. Nash led the team in goals (32) and assists (34) last year. Also last year, Nash made his fifth All-Star game appearance and showed his face regularly on ESPN’s Top 10 Plays. Nash was the only Blue Jacket to make the All-Star game.
After finishing the 2010-2011 season in last place in the Central Division, the Jackets’ front office realized that it needed to make some moves this season. Rick Nash is a great player, but it is unrealistic for him to win a championship by himself.
After some solid play by young gun Matt Calvert, Derek MacKenzie and R.J. Umberger, the Jackets decided to take a gamble and traded one of their top players, Jakub Voracek, as well as their first and third round picks in the 2011 draft for Philadelphia Flyers center Jeff Carter. Shortly after that transaction, the Jackets also received the rights to James Wisniewski from Montreal for a fifth round pick.
The addition of Jeff Carter means that the Blue Jackets are a much deeper team. They now don’t have to rely solely on Nash to create the magic. Carter had 36 goals and 30 assists last year for the Flyers. Both Nash and Carter ended last season with 66 points.
Brining in Carter will finally give Rick Nash a center to work with, something he has never had in Columbus. Umberger, last year’s main center, was also re-signed this summer to a five-year contract extension. That could create havoc for defenses across the league this season.
At the other end of the ice, Wisniewski should become a solid addition on defense as the season goes on. Wisniewski split time last season with the New York Islanders as well as in Montreal. Wisniewski had 41 assists last season, which is not too shabby for a defender.
If you are a Columbus fan, you have to love the Wisniewski addition just as much as you love Carter coming to play in C-Bus. Those two new weapons should not only create a much more competitive offense, but it should also give the defense a break.
Ironically, the capital city in Ohio has only two professional teams (Unless you count the Ohio State football team) — the Columbus Crew and the Blue Jackets, two sports that are nowhere near as popular as football is in the fall.
Hopefully, with some new faces on the Blue Jackets this year, they can create some national attention and show the country that Ohio is more than just a football state.
