By ZACH DAVIS
FOXSportsOhio.com
March 1, 2011
As the Columbus Blue Jackets celebrate their 10th season in the NHL, the team traded its last original member Monday at the trading deadline.
Rostislav Klesla was sent to the Phoenix Coyotes, along with minor-leaguer Dane Byers, for Scottie Upshall and Sami Lepisto.
"It was hard to move Rusty," general manager Scott Howson said. "He's a good person, really good in the community and a really good player for us. That wasn't an easy deal.
"It's the end of a chapter in his career. I hope he has fond feelings of Columbus."
The 28-year-old defenseman was the first player ever selected out of the amateur draft by the Blue Jackets franchise, taken with the fourth pick in the first round in 2000.
Klesla's injuries, especially in the past few years, made him expendable. He has missed 120 games in the past three seasons, more than half the Blue Jackets' games.
Although losing a player who had been with the franchise since its beginning was not ideal, Columbus made up for the loss with a return that could be the key to making a serious run at the playoff contention. The Blue Jackets sit four points behind the Western Conference's No. 8-10 teams (tied with 72 points) for the final spot in the playoffs.
Upshall is just the kind of gritty wing player they needed while bringing a big boost in offense. The 27-year-old was tied for the most goals (16) on Phoenix this season and now sits behind only Rick Nash (29) and R.J. Umberger (20) in goals on the Columbus roster.
The sixth overall pick in 2002, Upshall has 27 points this season, five shy of a career high, and a plus-five rating.
"We hope he's going to give us an offensive jolt," Upshall said. "He's got speed, tenacity and some experience."
The Jackets also received Lepisto, who's not much of a step down from Klesla. The 26-year-old defenseman from Finland isn't much of a scoring threat (11 points, four goals) but is still young and has time to develop. The Jackets also recently added Craig Rivet off waivers last week, giving them a fairly deep unit on the blue line.
Moving Klesla's contract
