Blue Jackets Get Different Look After All-Star Break

[Virtual Jarmo]

After a terribly disappointing road trip, losing three straight and getting outscored 15-7 by the Islanders, Coyotes, and Avalanche, the consensus opinion in the Blue Jackets locker room on Wednesday night in Colorado was "Uh oh". Their fears were realized, as GM Adam Burke traded away two well-liked, veteran players to bring in offensive reinforcements. Brad Stuart had barely slept off the jet lag before being informed that he had been traded to Pittsburgh, while Jeff Halpern was informed very late Saturday night, after watching the All-Star game with his kids, that he was going to Tampa Bay. The deal is pending league approval.

Stuart, a player who lead by example and signed a two-year deal with the Jackets last offseason, was diplomatic in his approach to being traded. "I'm going from a contender in a tough conference to the favorite in the other conference," Stuart said via text message. "I can't be upset with where I'm going. I enjoyed my time in Columbus and made some friends over there, but the Penguins are more of my kind of style. I'm excited."

Halpern, meanwhile, who has not been friendly with the media this season, due in large part to dwindling ice time and a lack of respect from the younger players, didn't have much to say. "Whatever," Halpern said when asked about the trade. "I got traded for a [expletive] fourth-round pick. That's what they thought of me," he added before hanging up the phone. Halpern does return to Tampa where he won a Stanley Cup way back when, but the Lightning are nowhere near a playoff spot. With Halpern on the downside of his career, showing some regression this season, a roster crunch pushed him out of the picture.

Burke said that the transactions were hard trades to make, but added that they had to be done. "It's a numbers game. We have two kids in Springfield knocking on the door. I hate to lose Stuey, he's a competitor and a leader. I'm glad we were able to send him to a team with a great shot at a Stanley Cup. We like our chances, but, we're lying to ourselves if we think we have a better chance than Pittsburgh. Bern (GM Matt Bernier) wanted him and we got a player we like as well. More importantly, from a salary cap perspective, the deal made sense."

When pressed about the Halpern deal, Burke took a higher road than the one that Halpern took. "Obviously, it's not within league policy to discuss a trade that hasn't been approved yet. Suffice to say, the player involved was unhappy here and we tried to find a taker for him that had playoff aspirations. Unfortunately, there was no market for him. We wish him the best. At least the weather's nicer."

The collective return for the Blue Jackets was Daymond Langkow, a first-round pick swap for what should be a higher draft selection, Chris Stewart, and the aforementioned fourth-round pick. "Langkow gives us a better third line center than what we've had. He has offensive upside, he can win draws, he leads more by words than actions like Stuart, but he's a nice fit to our club," Burke said of his newest forward. "What we like the most about Langkow is that he gives us more balance in our bottom six. We're 11-15-2 on the road with a -28 goal differential. We don't match up well with other teams when we have the last line change. I think, and Hitch (coach Ken Hitchcock) agrees, that it's because we don't have anybody capable of getting the puck out of our zone. We spend entirely too much time chasing and not enough time attacking. Langkow will help us exit the zone and take some pressure off."

The first-round pick swap sends Los Angeles's first rounder, acquired in the Steve Mason/Mattias Ohlund trade, to Pittsburgh for Detroit's first rounder. "We insisted on this swap of picks because of the extra year of salary to Langkow," Burke noted. "We hope the gap is about six spots or more, but that's also up to us. We play Detroit four more times this season."

Chris Stewart was swapped for Springfield leading scorer Patrick O'Sullivan. Burke insisted on Stewart being in the deal. "He'll give us options next season with a cheap team option at 1.1 million and he gives us a very reliable 13th forward."

When asked about more moves in the upcoming weeks, Burke said to stay tuned. "We'll definitely be making a couple moves on Tuesday when play resumes. We'll have some new faces in our lineup and create some financial flexibility. Hell, our best move might be the schedule. We have 10 more home games than road games the rest of the way. That makes me very confident that we'll stay in the playoff picture and maybe even make a run at Chicago."

[Jets GM]

Halpern, meanwhile, who has not been friendly with the media this season, due in large part to dwindling ice time and a lack of respect from the younger players, didn't have much to say. "Whatever," Halpern said when asked about the trade. "I got traded for a [expletive] fourth-round pick. That's what they thought of me," he added before hanging up the phone. Halpern does return to Tampa where he won a Stanley Cup way back when, but the Lightning are nowhere near a playoff spot. With Halpern on the downside of his career, showing some regression this season, a roster crunch pushed him out of the picture.

Still feels like yesterday....

[Penguin]

Always a pleasure to read about my moves. Get Gaunce ready for the playoffs and pound SJ please!