COLUMBUS, Ohio - It was a somewhat somber group of Blue Jackets players that took the ice for the morning skate ahead of Tuesday night's tilt with the Washington Capitals. Although they skated with some pace, one could see that their thoughts were with James Wisniewski.
One day after seeing one of the character guys in the room get traded to the Anaheim Ducks, it was a quiet dressing room after a brief practice.
"It was tough to see him go," said left wing Nick Foligno, "but at the same time, I think the organization felt that they have a lot of guys waiting in the wings to take over and wanted to go in a little bit different direction."
The guys waiting in the wings were called out by general manager Jarmo Kekalainen in yesterday's post-deadline press conference. He specifically mentioned Alex Wennberg, Marko Dano and Kerby Rychel on the forward lines, in addition to the three-year contract extension for Cam Atkinson. On the blue line, he mentioned David Savard, Kevin Connauton and Ryan Murray.
In order to give the youngsters a chance to step up and shine, something had to give.
"That's what happens when you have a losing season," Foligno said. "Things happen that you might not necessarily want to have happen. That's the nature of the business. If you're not doing well, they're going to make changes."
Kekalainen, along with president of hockey operations John Davidson, are starting to put their stamp on the organization in a bold way. The mandate is on building a winning organization, starting with the draft and moving forward. Unfortunately, that means that sometimes a good player and a character guy have to be moved.
The future of the team has already started to materialize in the form of Ryan Murray and Boone Jenner, in addition to Wennberg, Dano and Rychel. Sonny Milano is waiting for his chance at the brass ring behind others that are already in Springfield playing with the Falcons. Add to that the fact that the team has six picks in the first three rounds of this year's draft.
"The forwards look promising," said right winger Scott Hartnell. "The young guys that have come up, like Kerby and (Josh) Anderson; obviously Marko and Alex, they're going to be good players in this league. We need bigger and better things from them.
"And we need bigger and better things from the veterans, Joey, Foligy, Dubi and myself. Cam is going to be here for a few more years. For a team to get to the next level and obviously to get into the playoffs, you need a big year from your young guys, but especially your veteran guys. We have to be good pros and be sure that everyone is held accountable."
The somber mood will pass and the guys in the room will look to the future as they strive to take the next step in the continued growth of the team. The onus is not only the younger players within the organization, but also on the veterans to be "good pros" and lead by example.
"The way I look at it," said Foligno," is that they obviously have a ton of faith in these players. Now it's on those players to make sure they make good on the opportunity they've been given. This is a big step for them. They're getting a great opportunity. Now, run with it."
Excited Cam
The diminutive Cam Atkinson signed a three-year extension yesterday and he's pretty excited to be a part of the team moving forward.
"I think that any time that a business invests in you for a lot of money," Atkinson said, "it means a lot. This is where I want to be. This is where my career started, and I would love for it to finish here.
"I want to help bring a winning culture here, and with this group of guys, I think we can do it."
Atkinson will be paid $2.5M next year, $3.5M in 2016-2017 and $4.5M in 2017-18 and will be an unrestricted free agent when this deal comes to term. He was slated to be a restricted free agent this summer.
Projected Lineup
Forwards: Foligno / Johansen / Atkinson
Hartnell / Wennberg / Clarkson
Gibbons / Anisimov / Dano
Tropp / Letestu / Boll
Defense: Johnson / Savard
Tyutin / Goloubef
Prout / Falk
Goal: Bobrovsky with McElhinney as back-up
