Carter shrugs at reports he’s on the trade block
With still four weeks to go before the NHL trade deadline, Blue Jackets center Jeff Carter already is caught up in the swirl.
Multiple sources confirmed to The Dispatch that Carter has been put on the trade block by the Blue Jackets, barely seven months after he was acquired from Philadelphia and deemed the No. 1 center the club has always needed.
“There’s not much I can do about that,” Carter said. “That’s something I can’t worry about or control. My main focus right now is just getting healthy and getting back into the lineup.
Jackets would love to move Carter*I know the Columbus Blue Jackets would like to divest themselves of Jeff Carter’s contract (He is in year one of the 11-year package, with a cap hit of $5.272 million), but this is a tough sell because he just turned 27, which means his deal doesn’t end until he’s closing in on 40. Carter and Rick Nash seemed like a fit the day of the Philadelphia Flyers trade last June, except that both like to shoot.
Blue Jackets looking to trade Mason and CarterA new goaltender for next season is a certainty.
The Blue Jackets appear ready to cut the cord with Steve Mason, who has endured three brutal seasons since his award-winning rookie season carried the Jackets to the playoffs in 2008-09.
Trading Mason won’t be easy, and it might require the Blue Jackets to eat a bad contract in return. Mason is signed through next season at a salary-cap hit of $2.9 million, and has a $3.2 million salary for 2012-13.
Report: Jackets looking at FergusonCould John Ferguson Jr. be the next general manager in Columbus?
The former Toronto Maple Leafs GM is being mentioned as a possible successor for Scott Howson, according to a report from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun.
Howson, who is still under contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets, is expected to be let go at the end of the season. The Blue Jackets already fired head coach Scott Arniel last week.
Ferguson, who was the Maple Leafs' general manager from 2003-2008, struggled during his tenure in Toronto. His teams did not make a playoff appearance after the lockout in 2005.
BLUE JACKETS FIRE COACH ARNIEL; ASSISTANT RICHARDS TAKES OVERThe Columbus Blue Jackets have fired head coach Scott Arniel. The move comes a day after the Blue Jackets were defeated 7-4 by the Anaheim Ducks.
Assistant Todd Richards will take over on an interim basis for the remainder of the season.
The Blue Jackets are 11-25-5 this season, which has them last in the Western Conference with a league-low 27 points.
Blue Jackets players face uncertain timesBlue Jackets general manager Scott Howson said he intends to change the makeup of his last-place team. He has until the Feb. 27 trade deadline to do so.
In the interim, Blue Jackets players will walk softly, waiting to see who stays and who goes. It is a white-knuckle road traveled by every pro athlete without a no-trade clause in his contract.
“It’s nerve-racking coming to the rink and not knowing what is going on,” forward R.J. Umberger said. “It’s a lot of extra tension.”
Anyone interested in a Nash?Around the league ...
Anyone interested in a Nash?
Word out of Columbus has it the Blue Jackets are maybe ready to blow things up and start over. That could mean premier forwards such as Rick Nash and Jeff Carter could be on the move, and plenty of teams would be interested. The Avs not having a first-round pick in next year's draft could hurt if that's the kind of thing Columbus will want. Rick Nash in an Avs uniform would certainly be attractive, and this team has shown the ability to pull off blockbusters before, plus they have the cap room.
For Brassard, leaving may be his only optionSooner or later, probably later, the Blue Jackets will trade Derick Brassard. He will be moved for two reasons:
His career has stalled, and his agent, Allan Walsh, has made a trade all but inevitable.
Walsh last week issued a statement to Dispatch reporter Aaron Portzline. It went like this:
While I have tremendous respect for (general manager) Scott Howson and the rest of Columbus’ management team, the situation regarding Derick Brassard has become untenable. The coach has a history of burying players and using them as scapegoats to mask his own lack of success on the ice. Derick has been singled out, almost since the very beginning of the season, to be the fall guy in case things don’t go well. The Columbus organization cares about Derick and has been good to him, but at some point, one has to say, enough is enough.
Brassard's Agent Slams ArnielBlue Jackets center Derick Brassard is expected to be a healthy scratch for the seventh time in 10 games tonight when the Jackets face the Calgary Flames in Saddledome. This has not sat well with Brassard, but he has said all the right things and declined to air his frustration with the media.
His agent, Allan Walsh, reached the boiling point today, however. He issued a scathing statement directed at Blue Jackets coach Scott Arniel.
More Columbus trade rumours :/I think Steve Mason is 3-12-1 or something. Not very good considering he is an NHL goaltender....among other things. Rumors have been circulating that the Jackets have shown interest in Jonathan Bernier from LA, but their asking price is Ryan Johansen....a price too high for Howsen.
