Let's Go Jackets - EHM:2005 Edition

[TurnerONU22]

Well, I worked on a dynasty with Columbus for the freeware version of EHM about a year ago, and since I just bought the new game, I thought I'd give it a spin with Columbus and see how it goes!

Here's how I started:
- Installed some very nice graphical add-ons, such as the Minstrel Metel skin w/CBJ look, Trading Card pics, jersey pics for the news updates and new logos for the schedule.

- Downloaded the data update that has most of the fake names "unfaked" so now the Jackets will play at Nationwide Arena instead of the Columbus Ice Hall.

- Started the game up with NHL as the only league enhanced, but with the AHL, ECHL, and the other 2 american leagues, the CHL, and a few Euro nations, which I believe were Russia, Germany, Czech, and a couple others (the ones that RPI-Fan suggested in the EHM thread).


Right now, I've just finished the first regular season game, but I'll go back to the beginning.

[TurnerONU22]

Starting back at the beginning of the game, I take a look at the team and see that we have some work to do, but on a small budget. The board gives us a player budget of 35.5 million dollars, so if we intend to make improvements, its going to have to be done at a cheap rate.

For FA:
Goalies - No need, because we have Marc Denis, a mid-20's goaltender who the CBJ's acquired in their expansion season from Colorado. Also, we have Pascal Leclaire in Syracuse who is the goaltender of the future. For Denis' backup, we have Arturs Irbe, who is almost 40 and will probably be playing his final season for us.

Conclusion - No needs

Forwards - With Rick Nash, last year's Rocket Richard winner with 41 goals, at left wing, and Nikolai Zherdev, who could have won ROY if he had been with the team for the entire year last season, we have our cornerstones at these positions. Depth is at the center position with Andrew Cassels and Todd Marchant, two FA signings over the past two seasons, Alex Svitov, aquired mid-season from Tampa Bay, and Tyler Wright. We also have a good youngster in Danny Fritsche, who could make the big club instead of ending back up in Sarnia. Overall, our depth at the wing positions could be a little better, with Geoff Sanderson and David Vyborny on the second line, and gritty Trevor Letowski, a good PK and 3rd line guy.

Conclusion - Unsure, I would like to pick up a guy who is very versatile, but I have to do it on the cheap.

Defensemen - Here's where we need a little help. Rusty Klesla was the CBJ's first ever draft pick, but he's been a little bit of a disappointment. Jaroslav Spacek needs to be re-signed, but that shouldn't be much of a problem. Luke Richardson and Scott Lachance would be run out of town if it were up to the fans, but Richardson and LaPylon are too expensive to be cut. We have a couple good prospects in Aaron Johnson, who has a shot to make the club for the full year after playing parts with the CBJ last year and Mark Methot, a London Knights D-man who has lots of potential.

Conclusion - First priority is picking up a D-man who can play both L and R Defense, and hope that we can make a big FA splash cheaply.

Our target is LD/RD Alexi Zhitnik, a 31-yr old who has had excellent seasons with the Buffalo Sabres. Our hope is that he'll accept our contract that is a little over 8 mil for 4 years with a moderate signing bonus. We also keep an eye on C/Rw Pavol Demitra, another solid player who has done some damage with the Blues. We offer him a similar deal to the one we offered to Zhitnik.

Well, Demitra turns us down, so we don't really consider him an option anymore. However, Zhitnik comes aboard, which is a huge pickup! Besides him, the only other moves we make are some re-signings, which included Spacek.

At this point, we invite a ton of players to training camp, where we plan to have about 60 guys, so about 15 players on 4 teams.

[TurnerONU22]

We come through training camp uninjured, thankfully, and with a good idea of what our team will consist of, but i figure that the waiver draft will add a guy or two to the roster to help us out a little bit.

Things go along very will until the second exhibition game, where both Trevor Letowski and Marc Denis play horrible games (5 rating), so I decide to give them both an official warning, Letowski takes his like a man and accepts his, but Denis goes off the deep end, telling me that it wasn't deserved and on top of that, he now wants to be traded. Huh? If he can't accept his warning and wants out that quickly, I'll be glad to find someone to take him. This leaves me shorthanded, with only Arturs Irbe as the main goalie, but I decide to let Pascal Leclaire have a go at it, and he'll be up with the big club, unless I find a cheap good goalie in the waiver draft.

So, when I put Denis up on the block, he has a few intrested teams, which include Carolina, Vancouver, Pittsburgh, LA, and Toronto. I hear from Carolina, Vancouver and LA first, a couple days before the roster freeze. Carolina and LA both offer me medoicre prospects, of which i negotiate to better ones and they proceed to turn me down. However, Vancouver offers me D Bryan Allen, a 24-yr old who has lots of talent. I try to get a little more out of Vancouver by adding a 3rd round pick, but they reject it, and then I try a 6th rounder, but they reject that as well. So, I go back to the original offer of Denis for Allen straight up, but they appear to have gotten fed up with me, and they reject that one as well! Either this is a bug (ala old FOF, where the computer will offer you a trade, but if you do it manually, the other team won't accept it) or the GM didn't like how I was trying to get a little greedy. I sure hope its the latter.

Well, the roster freeze comes with Denis still a Blue Jacket and I decide to protect him the in the waiver draft, because I know someone would take him and I wouldn't get any compensation. I do make two pickups in the draft: LD/RD Brad Ference and LW/C/RW Mike Rupp. Ference gives us some more depth on the blue line and Rupp, an Ohio native, gives us some versitility and will be a good 3rd liner. Both guys have salaires around 500,000, so we should be good to go.

After the roster freeze, we negotiate with Vancouver, Pitt and LA. We try to get a first rounder for Denis, and neither team bites. However, when we try to get a second rounder for him, the Canucks bite on it.

Columbus trades Marc Denis for Vancouver's 2005 2nd Round Pick

Bryan Allan would have give us more value, but we just needed to get Denis out of here at this point, and hopefully we'll turn this pick into a decent prospect. I feel like this trade made a lot of sense for both teams, but I still felt that maybe I could have gotten an additional lower draft pick for Denis as well, but oh well.

We decide on a final roster, and we don't have any rookies make the team, so here is how it looks:

No.Name                        Position(s)    Nation         Born        Age  Height      Weight      Wages    Expires     Reputation
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
25   Cassels, Andrew             C              CAN            7-23-69     35   6'1''       183         $2,600,00Jun. 2005   V. Good  
5    Ference, Brad               RD             CAN            4-2-79      25   6'3''       209         $575,000 Jun. 2005   V. Good  
49   Fritsche, Danny             C              USA            7-13-85     19   6'1''       191         $700,000 Jun. 2006   Good     
1    Irbe, Arturs                G              LAT            2-2-67      37   5'8''       189         $2,300,00Jun. 2005   Good     
44   Klesla, Rostislav           LD             CZE            3-21-82     22   6'3''       205         $1,100,00Jun. 2005   V. Good  
7    Lachance, Scott             RD             USA            10-22-72    31   6'1''       213         $2,000,00Jun. 2006   V. Good  
31   Leclaire, Pascal            G              CAN            11-7-82     21   6'2''       183         $250,000 Jun. 2006   Good     
10   Letowski, Trevor            RW-LW          CAN            4-5-77      27   5'10''      174         $725,000 Jun. 2006   V. Good  
27   Malhotra, Manny             C              CAN            5-18-80     24   6'2''       213         $1,000,00Jun. 2005   Good     
26   Marchant, Todd              C              USA            8-12-73     31   5'10''      176         $3,200,00Jun. 2009   V. Good  
12   McDonell, Kent              RW             CAN            3-1-79      25   6'2''       205         $925,000 Jun. 2005   Good     
61   Nash, Rick                  LW             CAN            6-16-84     20   6'4''       205         $1,200,00Jun. 2005   V. Good  
22   Richardson, Luke            LD             CAN            3-26-69     35   6'4''       209         $2,700,00Jun. 2006   V. Good  
14   Rupp, Mike                  LW-C-RW        USA            1-13-80     24   6'5''       229         $375,000 Jun. 2005   Good     
8    Sanderson, Geoff            LW             CAN            2-1-72      32   6'0''       189         $3,000,00Jun. 2006   V. Good  
45   Shelley, Jody               LW             CAN            2-7-76      28   6'4''       224         $600,000 Jun. 2005   Good     
33   Spacek, Jaroslav            LD             CZE            2-11-74     30   5'11''      205         $1,400,00Jun. 2006   V. Good  
15   Suchy, Radoslav             RD-LD          SVK            4-7-76      28   6'2''       202         $425,000 Jun. 2005   V. Good  
11   Svitov, Alexander           C-LW           RUS            11-3-82     21   6'3''       196         $1,100,00Jun. 2005   Good     
9    Vyborny, David              RW             CZE            6-2-75      29   5'10''      187         $1,000,00Jun. 2005   V. Good  
28   Wright, Tyler               C              CAN            4-6-73      31   6'1''       189         $900,000 Jun. 2005   V. Good  
13   Zherdev, Nikolai            RW             RUS            11-5-84     19   6'1''       187         $2,100,00Jun. 2006   V. Good  
4    Zhitnik, Alexei             RD-LD          RUS            10-10-72    31   5'11''      213         $1,800,00Jun. 2008   V. Good

And here is the schedule:

================================================================================================
 2004-05 Schedule
================================================================================================

Date      Opposition               Venue   Competition         Result      Attendance  Scorers                                 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9-16-04   Capitals                 A      Exhibition          6-2         11903       Cassels, Nash 3, Sanderson, Vyborny
9-18-04   Hurricanes               H      Exhibition          4-4         15514       Letowski 2, Nash, Klesla
9-20-04   NY Islanders             H      Exhibition          1-4         17128       Zherdev
9-22-04   Sabres                   A      Exhibition          3-7         15065       Nash, Zherdev, Sanderson
9-25-04   Bruins                   A      Exhibition          3-3         12929       Nash 2, Zherdev
9-28-04   Canadiens                H      Exhibition          1-1         15362       Zherdev
10-8-04   Canucks                  H      NHL                ---         -           -
10-10-04  Avalanche                A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
10-12-04  Mighty Ducks             H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
10-16-04  Blackhawks               A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
10-18-04  Lightning                A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
10-19-04  Predators                H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
10-23-04  Kings                    A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
10-25-04  Mighty Ducks             A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
10-26-04  Coyotes                  A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
10-28-04  Stars                    A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
10-30-04  Flyers                   H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
11-1-04   Blues                    A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
11-2-04   Coyotes                  H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
11-7-04   Predators                A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
11-9-04   Avalanche                H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
11-10-04  Red Wings                A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
11-12-04  Flames                   H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
11-14-04  Red Wings                H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
11-16-04  NY Islanders             H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
11-18-04  Oilers                   A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
11-20-04  Wild                     A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
11-22-04  Flames                   A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
11-26-04  Kings                    A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
11-28-04  Coyotes                  A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
11-29-04  Mighty Ducks             A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
12-3-04   Maple Leafs              H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
12-6-04   Devils                   A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
12-7-04   Stars                    H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
12-11-04  Red Wings                H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
12-12-04  Sharks                   A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
12-14-04  Sharks                   H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
12-18-04  Sabres                   A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
12-19-04  Red Wings                A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
12-21-04  Penguins                 H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
12-23-04  Blues                    H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
12-26-04  Blackhawks               H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
12-28-04  Red Wings                H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
12-29-04  Flyers                   A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
12-31-04  Wild                     H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
1-2-05    Kings                    H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
1-4-05    Oilers                   H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
1-7-05    Canucks                  A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
1-8-05    Flames                   H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
1-11-05   Avalanche                H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
1-12-05   Blues                    A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
1-14-05   Red Wings                A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
1-18-05   Mighty Ducks             H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
1-21-05   Canucks                  A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
1-22-05   Blackhawks               H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
1-24-05   Blackhawks               A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
1-27-05   Wild                     A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
1-29-05   Oilers                   A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
1-30-05   Flames                   A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
2-1-05    Bruins                   A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
2-3-05    Canadiens                A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
2-11-05   Predators                H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
2-14-05   Senators                 H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
2-15-05   Panthers                 H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
2-19-05   Kings                    H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
2-22-05   Blues                    H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
2-24-05   NY Rangers               A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
2-25-05   Blackhawks               A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
2-27-05   Blackhawks               H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
2-28-05   Thrashers                H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
3-1-05    Predators                A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
3-3-05    Hurricanes               H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
3-5-05    Coyotes                  H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
3-7-05    Oilers                   H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
3-11-05   Penguins                 A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
3-12-05   Panthers                 A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
3-14-05   Sharks                   H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
3-17-05   Capitals                 H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
3-19-05   Wild                     H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
3-21-05   Stars                    H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
3-23-05   Avalanche                A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
3-25-05   Canucks                  H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
3-27-05   Blues                    A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
3-28-05   Blues                    H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
3-30-05   Predators                A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
4-1-05    Predators                H      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
4-3-05    Stars                    A      NHL                ---         -           -                                       
4-4-05    Sharks                   A      NHL                ---         -           -                                      

[DeToxRox]

Nice so far, keep it up.

I'll be reading for sure.

[condors]

good luck

i will be reading

[TurnerONU22]

Games 1-5:

10-8-04   Canucks                  H      NHL                2-3         18081       Wright, Shelley
10-10-04  Avalanche                A      NHL                3-4         18007       Malhotra, Vyborny, Letowski
10-12-04  Mighty Ducks             H      NHL                1-6         17988       Malhotra
10-16-04  Blackhawks               A      NHL                4-2         14297       Sanderson, Marchant, Cassels, Svitov
10-18-04  Lightning                A      NHL                2-3         18295       Zherdev, Vyborny

The lines looked roughly like:

Nash-Cassels-Zherdev
Sanderson-Marchant-Vyborny
Svitov-Fritsche/Rupp-Letowski
Shelly-Malhotra-Wright/McDonnell

Klesla-Zhitnik
Richardson-Suchy/Lachance
Spacek-Ference

Irbe/Leclaire


Game 1: Vancouver jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and then just played a solid defensive game and hung on. Our 4th line gets two goals in this one, but we can't seem to make up ground in the game and lose 3-2.

Game 2: Leclaire sees his first action in the net, with the trade of Marc Denis. Colorado gets an early goal, but we hop on them with 3 in a row over the next period and a half. However, we let the lead crumble away and Leclaire gives up a softy with about 30 seconds left in the game, and we lose 4-3.

Game 3: After a tough loss, the team appears to have things under control with a 1-0 lead in the first. However, the wheels fall off and the team proceeds to give up 3 goals in each of the next 2 periods, losing 6-1.

Game 4: We finally get a pretty bad team, and we put Irbe back into the net. We play a really close game at their place, tied 2-2 late in the 3rd, but Andrew Cassels puts it in to take a 3-2 lead, and Svitov caps it off with an empty netter for a 4-2 win.

Game 5: At the home of the defending champs, we play a pretty solid game, hanging close with them up until the final whistle. We lose 3-2, but I'm pretty happy with the effort in the game.

League Happenings
I know I haven't done a good job up to now of letting you know who went where in the beginning, so here's a little update:

Free Agents
Kariya - OTT
Lindros - SJ
Palffy - MON
Stillman - MON
Osgood - DET
Anson Carter - NAS
Demitra - VAN
Kovalev - DET
Marchment - WSH
Selanne - NYR

Trades:
Philly picked up D Derek Morris from Phoenix for a 2nd and 3rd rounders, plus two prospects

Chicago acquired D Henrik Tallinder, a 25 yr old great player from Buffalo for a 4th rounder and three prospects

Edmonton picked up G Ari Ahonen from New Jersey for a 2nd and a pair of 4th rounders

Over the past week:
- Vancouver picks up Bryan Berard from Chicago for Jesse Schutz, Ryan Kesler and a prospect. Chicago works on getting younger by getting some good prospects, and Vancouver picks up a talented D-man. I'd give Chicago the edge, just because the three guys look like NHL players someday.

- Chicago made another move, getting another young player from Buffalo, C/LW Adam Mair for Duncan Keith and Jim Vandermeer, a couple of defensive prospects. I'd give Chicago the edge in this one as well, as Mair seems to have a better skill set than the 2 defensemen.

- Colorado picks up Nathan Dempsey from Los Angeles for G Philippe Sauve. Colorado wins this trade, as they pick up some D depth for a goalie who was 3rd on the depth chart behind Aebischer and Joseph. Yes, that Curtis Joseph who was signed by Detroit, and they decided they didn't want him anymore, so they put his 8 million dollar contract up for the waiver draft, where Colorado selected him.

Team Thoughts
I'm disappointed in our top 2 lines, as having Nash and Zherdev together doesn't seem to be doing much for us. I think I'll drop Nik and Cassels to the 2nd line, having Nash play with Marchant and Vyborny, and Zherdev and Cassels with Sandy. It looks like Leclaire is struggling up here, so it will be Irbe's job to lose. I'm not sure where this team is heading yet: to the playoff race or to the Crosby race.

[TurnerONU22]

Games 6-10:

10-19-04  Predators                H      NHL                2-4         18136       Zherdev, Nash
10-23-04  Kings                    A      NHL                2-3         17676       Vyborny, Nash
10-25-04  Mighty Ducks             A      NHL                1-1         15293       Lachance
10-26-04  Coyotes                  A      NHL                2-4         17306       Suchy, Sanderson
10-28-04  Stars                    A      NHL                2-5         18532       Zhitnik, Letowski

Game 6: Seeing both of our young studs get onto the board early is a very good thing, and we are tied after 2 with Nashville. However, we have two defensive breakdowns late in the 3rd and lose 4-2, very frustrating at home.

Game 7: LA jumps all over Leclaire in net, getting a goal in the 2nd, 7th, and 16th minutes of the first period, going up 3-0. The Jackets don't give up, however, and manage two goals, but can't get the third and lose 4-2.

Game 8: One of our best defensive efforts helped only to allow one goal, but the team doesn't get the win, but Lachance gets one early to post a 1-1 tie.

Game 9: And the wheels start to fall off.... We're up 2-1 late in the third, but Irbe and the defense manage to play terrible hockey, giving up three goals, resulting in a 4-2 loss.

Game 10: Leclaire comes in and falls flat on his face, giving up 4 goals in the first 6 shots he faced. Its hard to come back from a 4-1 lead, and each team ends up netting another goal, resulting in a 5-2 loss. Jagr (yes, that Jagr) gets 2 goals and an assist in one of his first games with Dallas.

Team Thoughts
We're in a free fall right now, as we can't seem to put together a complete game, and when we do, it seems like the other team is playing well too. I'm desparate for some goalie help, and I look around at some teams and find G Sean Burke from the Flyers, as they have Esche and Nittiyami playing now. I know Burke makes over 4 mill, but I think he could be had cheaply, so I start some negotiations with Philly, offering up D Luke Richardson and his hefty 2.7 mill contract for Burke and cash.

League Happenings

Three big guys get moved over this time, but first:

Pittsburgh picks up D Mike Van Ryn from Florida for a prospect and Phoenix picks up LW Travis Moen from Chicago for a prospect. Both seem like very fair trades.

- The first big trade was the Rangers sending Jagr to Dallas for two prospects, B.J Cromben and Tobias Stephen, both former 2nd rounds picks for Dallas. I thought NY could get more out of Jagr than some good-to-very good prospects. However, I guess Dallas didn't want to give up a lot since NY wouldn't cover his salary.

- The next big trade has the Avalanche picking up LW Sergei Federov from the Mighty Ducks for a couple of young prospects. A very similar deal to the Jagr one, as the Avalanche could afford the contract. This should put them in great shape in the West.

- The final trade was LA sending RW Martin Straka to the Maple Leafs for LW/RW Jeremy Williams and D Ian White. This deal was much more favorable to the team giving up the star, as they get two 20 year old players and who have a shot to play with the big club now. Straka helps give the Leafs some more offensive depth.

[TurnerONU22]

Sitting at (1-8-1-0 - 3 pts), we're not looking so good.

Games 11-20:

10-30-04  Flyers                   H      NHL                0-3         16405       
11-1-04   Blues                    A      NHL                1-3         18873       T. Jackman
11-2-04   Coyotes                  H      NHL                3-3         16649       McDonell, Nash, Zherdev
11-7-04   Predators                A      NHL                3-1         17113       Cassels, Rupp pen, Letowski
11-9-04   Avalanche                H      NHL                2-1         17130       Zherdev, Fritsche
11-10-04  Red Wings                A      NHL                3-1         17698       Sanderson, Letowski, Zhitnik
11-12-04  Flames                   H      NHL                2-3         16693       Marchant, Zherdev
11-14-04  Red Wings                H      NHL                6-3         18136       Nash 2, Sanderson 2, Svitov, Vyborny
11-16-04  NY Islanders             H      NHL                2-3         17155       Vyborny, Letowski
11-18-04  Oilers                   A      NHL                2-4         16244       McDonell, Vyborny

Game 11: We come out looking very flat, getting very few scoring chances against a tough Flyers defense. Irbe didn't look too bad, even though he gave up 3 goals, losing 3-0.

Game 12: Two early goals kill us vs St. Louis, who gets all three of their goals on the PP. We don't look so hot in this game either, and lose 3-1.

Game 13: This game is a battle back and forth, with no team having more than a 1 goal lead. The Yotes are up 3-2 and Zherdev ties it up to send it into OT.

At this point, negotiations had been going back and forth with Philly for Sean Burke, as it appeared they had no interest in bringing in Luke Richardson. So, I made what I feel might have been a stupid move.

Blue Jackets trade a 2005 5th Round Pick to Philadelphia for G Sean Burke

The reason I say this was stupid is two-fold
1) I didn't have the budget to bring in a 4 million dollar guy and send no salary back, so I'll have to find a buyer for Richardson down the road.

2) I looked at the FA goalies and must have missed Ron Tugnutt available for pretty cheap, at about 500,000 a year. I only noticed him when he played for Team Canada at the Deutchland Cup. I wish I would have brought him back to Columbus at that price, rather than bringing in Burke.

However, I still think Burke will make a difference in helping between the pipes, allowing Leclaire to go back down to Syracuse and get some work.

Game 14: Irbe in net, as Burke is still traveling to make it with us. Our best game yet as we totally dominate Nashville on the road, the team seemed to come to life, especially after Rupp scores on a PS to take the lead. We win 3-1.

Game 15: Burke steps into the net for the first time as a Blue Jacket and he manages to put up an excellent game and help Columbus beat Colorado at home, 2-1 as Fritsche puts up a winner in the 3rd.

Game 16: 3 in a row!!! We completely dominated Detroit up at Joe Louis Arena and put two early goals up on the board and never looked back to win 3-1.

Game 17: Only a few minutes into this game, we find ourselves down 2-0 to a tough Calgary team. However, unlike the Jackets from the beginning of the season, we claw back and Zherdev gets a goal w/13 seconds left to send into OT. We end up losing though, but get our point and lose 3-2.

Game 18: Detroit wanted revenge after the last game against the Jackets, but Columbus makes sure that doesn't happen, with Nash putting up a goal 31 seconds in, and Sanderson scoring 1:52 in, resulting in a 2-0 lead. By the end of the first, it was 5-1! We win 6-3 w/39 shots on goal.

Game 19: We end up with a tough loss at home, as Burke plays his worst game yet, giving up three goals to the Isles in the 3rd, losing 3-2.

Game 20: Same as the last game, Burke gives up 3 in the 3rd, as Edmonton comes from behind 2-1 to win 4-2.

Team Thoughts
Burke seemed like a spark plug for this team, as they stepped it up when they found out he was coming aboard. He looked very good until the last two games, but that could be a result of being overworked. Our offense and special teams seem to be clicking, and this could be a result of letting the coach not only coach the games and choose the tactics, but letting him now choose the team and the lines. Gallant is doing a good job of rotating everyone in and keeping them fresh. While the last two games weren't that good, I still am impressed with the turnaround on the team.

League Happenings
Buffalo seems to be having a fire sale already, as they are fading in the standings. They shipped JP Dumont to Boston for 3 prospects and a 3rd round pick in '05. Then, they reacquire C Derek Roy and 2 prospects from the Rangers for RW Maxim Afinogenov. After this, they send C Daniel Briere to Chicago for 3 prospects and a 3rd rounder in '05. The next day, they send another center, C Chris Drury to the Blues for 2 prospects and a 2nd round pick in '05.

By the way, after the next update (which will be games 20-29), I'll post an update of the league standings and stats, and my stats. Also, the format will change to be day by day, and do a little more depth. I'm just trying to catch up with where I'm at in my game.

[TurnerONU22]

Games 20-29:

11-20-04  Wild                     A      NHL                0-2         18600       
11-22-04  Flames                   A      NHL                0-2         17445       
11-26-04  Kings                    A      NHL                2-1         17981       Vyborny, McDonell
11-28-04  Coyotes                  A      NHL                3-3         16827       Nash, Zherdev, Sanderson
11-29-04  Mighty Ducks             A      NHL                1-2         14699       Richardson
12-3-04   Maple Leafs              H      NHL                4-4         15799       Svitov, Nash 2, Marchant
12-6-04   Devils                   A      NHL                1-4         15685       Hartigan
12-7-04   Stars                    H      NHL                3-2         17704       Zherdev 2, Svitov
12-11-04  Red Wings                H      NHL                4-3         18136       Marchant, Spacek, Nash, Zherdev

Game 21: We had nothing in the tank against the Wild, we just looked lifeless, and Burke didn't play well either. I don't know how we only lost 2-0.

Game 22: With Irbe in net, one thing didn't change: our offense. We get no goals again, but we looked better defensively. However, that doesn't help us and we lose 2-0 again.

Game 23: Irbe remains in net to give Burke a break, we don't give up any goals in the first two periods, but we don't get any either. With a 0-0 tie, Zherdev steps up again and he and McDonnell get on the board and we hang on for a 2-1 win.

Game 24: Against Phoenix, we battle them tough again like we always do. Down one late in the third, Sanderson gets a PP goal to take a point on the road.

Game 25: Tough game on the road, as JS Giguere was like a brick wall, we lead 27-17 in shots, but we end up losing 2-1, which is bittersweet.

At the end of the game, the Penguins announce that RW Matt Bradley is up on waivers. At 25, he's got a lot of talent, so we put a claim in on him.

Columbus claims RW Matt Bradley off waivers

However, he gets hurt in our first practice and will be out for two weeks, so he won't join the lineup just yet.

Also, we send feelers out to teams to see if they are interested in Luke Richardson, as we feel Aaron Johnson is ready to play full time with the big club.

Game 26: Hang though with a good team in the East, down 3-2 after two and down 4-2 with 10 minutes left, the top line of Nash-Marchant-Zherdev steps up, scoring and assisting on two goals in the third to tie 4-4.

We find that Boston is interested, so we get a mid pick for Richardson

Columbus sends LD Luke Richardson to Boston for a 2005 4th Round Pick

I feel like that's fair value for him, more than I expected to get for an old, overpaid veteran.

Game 27: Irbe falls apart on the road in the second period, allowing 3 goals in 5 minutes, leading to a 4-1 loss to a good New Jersey team.

Game 28: Big win at home for us, as we beat Dallas 3-2 and Zherdev gets the game winner (its a common theme for us lately) with 2:30 left in the game and important points in the standings.

Game 29: Awesome game for the fans against Detroit. Nash gets a PP goal to tie it up at 3 late in the 3rd period. We send it into overtime, where Zherdev gets the game winner (still a common theme). We win 4-3.

Team Thoughts
Zherdev has stepped his game up lately, and seems to come up huge in situations where we need him too. He's overshadowed Rick Nash, who has came out of an early season slump to post some stats. I really like where we're headed right now, we got rid of some of the salary we needed to, and we picked up a young winger off of waivers. We'll see how Bradley fits into the lineup for us.

League Happenings

The most important news was the firing of Anaheim's coach, Mike Babcock by GM Al Coates, who name himself interim coach.

Trades were numerous over this time and some big trades, especially with young guys.

C Kyle Wellwood, a 20-yr old from Toronto that looks like he could become very good, ends up on 4 teams over these 9 games. He is sent to Anaheim for D Ruslan Salei, as Toronto needs the D help. Then, Anaheim turned around and swapped young centers with Pittsburgh, who sends C Maxime Talbot to Anaheim. Later, when Pittsburgh wanted a solid D-man, they shipped Wellwood to Nashville for LD Marek Zidliky and 2 prospects. He better be getting frequent flyer miles for all the traveling between teams.

Buffalo continues their fire sale as they send LW/C Jochen Hecht to Florida for 3 prospects and a 3rd round pick.

Montreal picks up D Darius Kasparitis from the Rangers, but at a price: top prospect LW/RW Andrei Kostitsyn

Boston picks up another D-man, D Janne Niinimaa, but at a big price as well, C Patrice Bergeron

[TurnerONU22]

================================================================================================
 2004-05 Season Total Stats
================================================================================================

No   Name                     GP  G   A   P   +--  PIM  SOG  ShAv R 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
24   Beauchemin, Francois     1   0   0   0   -2   0    0    -    7.00 
-    Bradley, Matt            0   0   0   0   0    0    0    -    ---- 
35   Burke, Sean              9   0   0   0   0    0    0    -    6.78 
25   Cassels, Andrew          27  2   5   7   -6   6    31   6.5  7.26 
5    Ference, Brad            28  0   1   1   -13  77   20   0.0  7.46 
49   Fritsche, Danny          18  1   3   4   -6   12   17   5.9  7.33 
63   Hartigan, Mark           6   1   0   1   -1   2    6    16.7 7.00 
1    Irbe, Arturs             16  0   0   0   0    0    0    -    6.94 
47   Johnson, Aaron           3   0   1   1   -1   2    1    0.0  7.00 
44   Klesla, Rostislav        26  0   8   8   2    16   24   0.0  7.50 
7    Lachance, Scott          19  1   0   1   -1   10   20   5.0  7.53 
10   Letowski, Trevor         24  5   0   5   -7   8    41   12.2 7.21 
27   Malhotra, Manny          28  2   4   6   5    2    36   5.6  7.29 
26   Marchant, Todd           25  4   9   13  2    10   55   7.3  7.52 
12   McDonell, Kent           24  3   6   9   1    24   28   10.7 7.42 
61   Nash, Rick               28  9   5   14  -2   10   71   12.7 7.39 
14   Rupp, Mike               23  1   2   3   -3   18   25   4.0  7.39 
8    Sanderson, Geoff         26  6   5   11  -2   2    60   10.0 7.38 
45   Shelley, Jody            20  1   4   5   0    69   10   10.0 7.15 
33   Spacek, Jaroslav         28  1   14  15  0    20   41   2.4  7.61 
15   Suchy, Radoslav          29  1   10  11  2    22   37   2.7  7.66 
11   Svitov, Alexander        27  4   6   10  -6   56   43   9.3  7.37 
9    Vyborny, David           28  7   6   13  -6   10   69   10.1 7.50 
28   Wright, Tyler            6   1   1   2   4    4    6    16.7 7.33 
13   Zherdev, Nikolai         28  9   11  20  3    10   83   10.8 7.64 
4    Zhitnik, Alexei          28  2   7   9   -2   54   35   5.7  7.57 

================================================================================================
 2004-05 Tables
================================================================================================

Eastern Conference

Pos     Team                     Pld    Won    Lst    Tie    OTL    Pct     GF   GA   Pts  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st     Lightning               30     16     8      6      0      0.633   86   72   38   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2nd     Senators                29     18     10     1      0      0.638   92   71   37   
3rd     Devils                  27     13     8      5      1      0.593   74   56   32   
4th     Canadiens               30     15     8      7      0      0.617   90   73   37   
5th     Bruins                  29     16     9      4      0      0.621   83   67   36   
6th     NY Islanders            28     14     11     3      0      0.554   86   68   31   
7th     Maple Leafs             29     14     13     2      0      0.517   80   76   30   
8th     Penguins                26     13     10     3      0      0.558   68   59   29   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9th     Sabres                  28     12     12     3      1      0.500   85   84   28   
10th    Flyers                  27     11     11     5      0      0.500   69   61   27   
11th    Hurricanes              26     13     13     0      0      0.500   58   59   26   
12th    Panthers                29     9      15     4      1      0.397   72   86   23   
13th    Capitals                29     8      16     3      2      0.362   58   82   21   
14th    NY Rangers              28     7      16     4      1      0.339   58   80   19   
15th    Thrashers               29     6      17     6      0      0.310   65   88   18   


Western Conference

Pos     Team                     Pld    Won    Lst    Tie    OTL    Pct     GF   GA   Pts  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st     Flames                  27     18     3      4      2      0.148   81   54   42   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2nd     Red Wings               31     17     12     1      1      0.032   92   85   36   
3rd     Sharks                  29     14     7      7      1      0.241   82   64   36   
4th     Avalanche               28     17     10     1      0      0.036   82   70   35   
5th     Canucks                 29     14     8      6      1      0.207   85   74   35   
6th     Coyotes                 29     13     7      9      0      0.310   82   78   35   
7th     Stars                   28     13     7      8      0      0.286   64   67   34   
8th     Blues                   25     14     7      3      1      0.120   68   56   32   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9th     Wild                    29     11     14     2      2      0.069   59   74   26   
10th    Oilers                  28     9      13     6      0      0.214   69   76   24   
11th    Kings                   29     9      14     6      0      0.207   71   82   24   
12th    Blue Jackets            29     8      16     4      1      0.138   63   83   21   
13th    Mighty Ducks            29     7      16     6      0      0.207   54   76   20   
14th    Predators               27     6      16     4      1      0.148   61   81   17   
15th    Blackhawks              27     6      18     3      0      0.111   53   88   15   

================================================================================================
 2004-05 Goals
================================================================================================

Pos   Player                   Nation                   GP     Gls    
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1st   Todd Bertuzzi            Canucks                 29     17     
2nd   Markus Naslund           Canucks                 29     16     
3rd   Paul Kariya              Senators                29     14     
4th   Michael Ryder            Canadiens               27     14     
5th   Jaromir Jagr             Stars                   28     14     
6th   Alex Tanguay             Avalanche               28     14     
7th   Dany Heatley             Thrashers               29     13     
8th   Mark Parrish             NY Islanders            28     13     
9th   Marian Hossa             Senators                29     13     
10th  Miroslav Satan           Sabres                  28     13     
11th  Shane Doan               Coyotes                 29     12     
12th  Glen Murray              Blues                   25     12     
13th  Keith Tkachuk            Blues                   25     12     
14th  Zigmund Palffy           Canadiens               30     12     
15th  Daniel Alfredsson        Senators                29     12     
16th  Mats Sundin              Maple Leafs             29     12     
17th  Jarome Iginla            Flames                  27     11     
18th  Vincent Lecavalier       Lightning               30     11     
19th  Eric Lindros             Sharks                  29     11     
20th  Alexei Kovalev           Red Wings               31     11     
21st  Mario Lemieux            Penguins                26     11     
22nd  Luc Robitaille           Kings                   29     11     
23rd  Alexander Korolyuk       Sharks                  29     11     
24th  Ilya Kovalchuk           Thrashers               29     11     
25th  Sergei Samsonov          Bruins                  29     11     
26th  Alexei Yashin            NY Islanders            28     11     
27th  Fredrik Modin            Lightning               30     11     
28th  Brendan Shanahan         Red Wings               31     10     
29th  Jochen Hecht             Panthers                27     10     
30th  Ales Kotalik             Sabres                  28     10     


 
================================================================================================
 2004-05 Assists
================================================================================================

Pos   Player                   Nation                   GP     Asts   
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1st   Martin Straka            Maple Leafs             28     24     
2nd   Saku Koivu               Canadiens               30     21     
3rd   Alexei Yashin            NY Islanders            28     21     
4th   Eric Lindros             Sharks                  29     20     
5th   Jordan Leopold           Flames                  27     20     
6th   Zigmund Palffy           Canadiens               30     19     
7th   Dan Boyle                Lightning               30     18     
8th   Tomas Kaberle            Maple Leafs             29     18     
9th   Alex Tanguay             Avalanche               28     18     
10th  Petr Nedved              Coyotes                 29     17     
11th  Nils Ekman               Sharks                  29     17     
12th  Sergei Gonchar           Bruins                  29     17     
13th  Dmitri Kalinin           Sabres                  28     17     
14th  Kristian Huselius        Panthers                29     17     
15th  Jay Bouwmeester          Panthers                29     16     
16th  Ed Jovanovski            Canucks                 29     16     
17th  Ray Whitney              Red Wings               31     16     
18th  Pavel Kubina             Lightning               30     16     
19th  Pavel Datsyuk            Red Wings               31     16     
20th  Zdeno Chara              Senators                29     16     
21st  Kenny Jonsson            NY Islanders            24     16     
22nd  Nicklas Lidstrom         Red Wings               31     16     
23rd  Markus Naslund           Canucks                 29     16     
24th  Daniel Tjarnqvist        Thrashers               29     16     
25th  Viktor Kozlov            Devils                  27     15     
26th  Todd Bertuzzi            Canucks                 29     15     
27th  Jeff Friesen             Devils                  25     15     
28th  Marcus Nilson            Flames                  27     15     
29th  Joe Thornton             Bruins                  29     15     
30th  Todd White               Senators                25     15     


 
================================================================================================
 2004-05 Average Rating
================================================================================================

Pos   Player                   Nation                   GP     Av R   
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1st   Martin Straka            Maple Leafs             28     8.04   
2nd   Alex Tanguay             Avalanche               28     8.04   
3rd   Owen Nolan               Maple Leafs             5      8.00   
4th   Eric Lindros             Sharks                  29     7.97   
5th   Mike Rathje              Sharks                  29     7.97   
6th   Miikka Kiprusoff         Flames                  24     7.96   
7th   Dan Boyle                Lightning               30     7.93   
8th   Jaromir Jagr             Stars                   28     7.93   
9th   Mats Sundin              Maple Leafs             29     7.90   
10th  Alexei Yashin            NY Islanders            28     7.89   
11th  Jordan Leopold           Flames                  27     7.89   
12th  Todd Bertuzzi            Canucks                 29     7.86   
13th  Joe Thornton             Bruins                  29     7.86   
14th  Markus Naslund           Canucks                 29     7.86   
15th  Brenden Morrow           Stars                   28     7.86   
16th  Cory Sarich              Lightning               14     7.86   
17th  Lubomir Visnovsky        Kings                   28     7.86   
18th  Robyn Regehr             Flames                  27     7.85   
19th  Jeff Friesen             Devils                  25     7.84   
20th  Chris Pronger            Blues                   25     7.84   
21st  Nicklas Lidstrom         Red Wings               31     7.84   
22nd  David Cornacchia         Wild                    12     7.83   
23rd  David Legwand            Predators               6      7.83   
24th  Zigmund Palffy           Canadiens               30     7.83   
25th  Kenny Jonsson            NY Islanders            24     7.83   
26th  Tim Gleason              Kings                   29     7.83   
27th  Tomas Kaberle            Maple Leafs             29     7.83   
28th  Pavol Demitra            Canucks                 29     7.83   
29th  Daniel Alfredsson        Senators                29     7.83   
30th  Alexander Mogilny        Maple Leafs             17     7.82   


 
================================================================================================
 2004-05 First Star
================================================================================================

Pos   Player                   Nation                   GP     MoM    
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1st   Eric Lindros             Sharks                  29     6      
2nd   Jarome Iginla            Flames                  27     5      
3rd   Roberto Luongo           Panthers                26     5      
4th   Jaromir Jagr             Stars                   28     5      
5th   Marc-Andre Fleury        Penguins                18     5      
6th   Sergei Samsonov          Bruins                  29     5      
7th   Nicklas Lidstrom         Red Wings               31     5      
8th   Marcus Nilson            Flames                  27     4      
9th   Marty Turco              Stars                   25     4      
10th  Ray Whitney              Red Wings               31     4      
11th  Peter Forsberg           Avalanche               27     4      
12th  Alex Tanguay             Avalanche               28     4      
13th  Alexei Yashin            NY Islanders            28     4      
14th  Fredrik Modin            Lightning               30     4      
15th  Markus Naslund           Canucks                 29     4      
16th  Mats Sundin              Maple Leafs             29     4      
17th  Viktor Kozlov            Devils                  27     3      
18th  Todd Bertuzzi            Canucks                 29     3      
19th  Dan Boyle                Lightning               30     3      
20th  Shane Doan               Coyotes                 29     3      
21st  Vincent Lecavalier       Lightning               30     3      
22nd  John LeClair             Flyers                  27     3      
23rd  Brenden Morrow           Stars                   28     3      
24th  Dwayne Roloson           Wild                    20     3      
25th  Michael Ryder            Canadiens               27     3      
26th  Geoff Sanderson          Blue Jackets            26     3      
27th  Sheldon Souray           Canadiens               28     3      
28th  Eric Staal               Hurricanes              26     3      
29th  Steve Sullivan           Predators               27     3      
30th  Ty Conklin               Oilers                  23     3      

[TurnerONU22]

December 12 - Columbus (8-16-4-1) @ San Jose (14-7-7-1)

Before the game, we send down D Francois Beauchemin to Syracuse and call up LW Mike Pandolfo. This keeps us a little more balanced, as we had 8 defensemen.

Scratches for tonight's game: Suchy, Pandolfo, Hartigan

Scoring Summary:
G 	Per 	Time 	Team 	Scorer 	        First Assist 	     Second Assist 	     Info
1 	1 	15:44 	SJ 	Alexander Korolyuk 	Marco Sturm 	Scott Hannan 	-
2 	1 	16:56 	SJ 	Miroslav Zalesak 	Kyle McLaren 	Mike Rathje 	-
3 	2 	39:02 	CLB 	David Vyborny 	       Alexander Svitov 	  - 	  PP
4 	3 	48:09 	SJ 	Eric Lindros 	  Jonathan Cheechoo 	  Brad Stuart 	-
5 	3 	55:28 	SJ 	Patrick Marleau 	Mike Rathje 	Kyle McLaren 	SH

We don't look so good in today's game, as we manage to get hit pretty hard in the first, and as we start to make a comeback, Lindros and Marleau close the door and hand us a 4-1 loss.

December 13 - Boston picks up LD Martin Skoula from Anaheim for two prospects, a 5th rounder in '05 and a 3rd rounder in '06. Boston adds another piece to their defensive puzzle with their third trade in two weeks.

December 14 - Columbus (8-17-4-1) @ San Jose (15-7-7-1)

We play the second game of a home-and-home series against San Jose.

Scratches: Shelley, Suchy, Pandolfo
In Net: Irbe

Scoring Summary:
G 	Per 	Time 	Team 	Scorer 	First Assist 	Second Assist 	Info
1 	1 	16:23 	SJ 	Brad Stuart 	Scott Hannan 	- 	-
2 	1 	17:18 	SJ 	Jonathan Cheechoo 	Nils Ekman 	Scott Hannan 	-

Our offense decides not to show up to this game, as we don't get that many shots on net (18) and we let them get a 2-0 lead at the end of the first that we couldn't come back from.

We discipline C Mark Hartigan after his '5' rating in the game and he accepts it.

December 18 - Columbus (8-18-4-1) @ Buffalo (12-13-3-1)

Buffalo is getting plenty younger, but they're still hanging in the playoff race.

Scratches: Lachance, Shelley, Hartigan
In Net: Irbe

Scoring Summary:
G 	Per 	Time 	Team 	Scorer 	First Assist 	Second Assist 	Info
1 	2 	23:17 	BUF 	Ales Kotalik 	Jeff Jillson 	Miroslav Satan 	-
2 	3 	50:24 	BUF 	Thomas Vanek 	Duncan Keith 	Rory Fitzpatrick 	-
3 	3 	51:18 	BUF 	Rory Fitzpatrick 	Jason Pominville 	Duncan Keith 	-
4 	3 	52:46 	BUF 	Thomas Vanek 	Mike Grier 	Brad Brown 	-
5 	3 	57:07 	CLB 	Alexander Svitov 	Mike Rupp 	Trevor Letowski 	-
6 	3 	58:38 	BUF 	Duncan Keith 	- 	- 	-

We hung in there, only down 1-0, but we fall apart in the last half of the 3rd as young Thomas Vanek gets two goals and helps the Sabres beat us 5-1.

December 19 - Columbus (8-19-4-1) @ Detroit (19-12-2-1)

RW Kent McDonnell is now 100% healthy, so we call him up off of IR, and we send C Mark Hartigan down to Syracuse.

We face Detroit at their place on the 2nd game of a back-to-back

Scratches: Johnson, Fritsche, Letowski
In Net: Irbe

Scoring Summary:
G 	Per 	Time 	Team 	Scorer 	First Assist 	Second Assist 	Info
1 	1 	03:11 	DET 	Alexei Kovalev 	Pavel Datsyuk 	Nicklas Lidstrom 	PP
2 	1 	08:13 	CLB 	Rostislav Klesla 	Alexander Svitov 	- 	-
3 	1 	19:26 	CLB 	Jody Shelley 	Tyler Wright 	Andrew Cassels 	-
4 	2 	37:54 	DET 	Pavel Datsyuk 	Jiri Fischer 	- 	-
5 	3 	52:08 	DET 	Bryan Helmer 	Jiri Fischer 	Tomas Holmstrom 	-
6 	3 	57:11 	CLB 	Alexei Zhitnik 	Nikolai Zherdev 	Rick Nash 	PP
7 	3 	57:39 	DET 	Darren McCarty 	Peter Vandermeer 	Nicklas Lidstrom 	-
8 	3 	59:53 	DET 	Brendan Shanahan 	Robert Lang 	Derian Hatcher 	EN

This was a crazy game, as we really hung around with Detroit until the final empty net goal. We needed a tie out of this one, but we don't manage to do that and lose 5-3.

December 20 - The Bruins put RD Ian Moran up on the trading block, and since he's from Ohio and he could help our D cheaply, we send some scouts to watch him.

December 21 - Pittsburgh (16-11-4-0) @ Columbus (8-20-4-1)

Pittsburgh is a nice surprise this year and they hope to keep it up behind the awesome play of rookie G Marc-Andre Fleury, the 2003 #1 pick.

Scratches: Shelley, Cassels, Lachance

Scoring Summary:
G 	Per 	Time 	Team 	Scorer 	First Assist 	Second Assist 	Info
1 	1 	08:30 	PIT 	Mark Recchi 	Aleksey Morozov 	Ric Jackman 	PP
2 	1 	11:49 	PIT 	Tomas Surovy 	Lasse Pirjeta 	- 	-
3 	1 	17:49 	CLB 	Kent McDonell 	Tyler Wright 	Danny Fritsche 	-
4 	2 	24:04 	PIT 	Aleksey Morozov 	Marek Zidlicky 	Ryan Whitney 	-
5 	2 	27:53 	CLB 	Geoff Sanderson 	Rostislav Klesla 	Alexei Zhitnik 	-
6 	3 	49:01 	PIT 	Mario Lemieux 	Ryan Malone 	Mark Recchi 	-
7 	3 	54:51 	CLB 	Todd Marchant 	Nikolai Zherdev 	Rick Nash 	-

We get down early, and we couldn't put together two goals in a row to catch back up. Irbe is still in net as Burke is really low in morale, and it is hurting our team, as Irbe is struggling, and the team loses 5-3.

December 22 - Our scouts feel that Moran is a No. 5-6 guy, so we don't really have any further interest in him.

December 23 - St. Louis (18-8-4-1) @ Columbus (8-21-4-1)

Since the scouts have done all of my Entry Draft scouting for the year, we send 5 of them to watch our team and their games, and 5 to watch Syracuse and their games. Hopefully we can have a better feel after this of who has potential and who does not, especially with Syracuse.

Also, RW Matt Bradley is now 100%, so he gets to play in his first game for us, giving us a tough decision on who to send down. We are inclined to send down a few different guys, but we settle on tough-guy LW Jody Shelley, who has to clear waivers first, but we are at 23 now.

Scratches: Lachance, Fritsche, Malhotra
In Net: Irbe

G 	Per 	Time 	Team 	Scorer 	First Assist 	Second Assist 	Info
1 	1 	02:48 	STL 	Teppo Numminen 	Doug Weight 	Keith Tkachuk 	PP
2 	2 	21:20 	STL 	Dallas Drake 	Petr Cajanek 	Mike Sillinger 	-
3 	2 	22:48 	CLB 	Jaroslav Spacek 	Alexei Zhitnik 	Alexander Svitov 	-
4 	2 	34:23 	CLB 	Nikolai Zherdev 	Alexei Zhitnik 	- 	PP
5 	2 	38:47 	CLB 	Matt Bradley 	Todd Marchant 	Radoslav Suchy 	SH
6 	3 	48:48 	STL 	Ryan Johnson 	Mark Rycroft 	Peter Sejna 	-
7 	3 	49:33 	STL 	Keith Tkachuk 	Doug Weight 	Glen Murray 	-

Another one goal loss for us, and another game lost in the 3rd. We get a goal from Bradley in his first game, but it isn't enough. This team has always had a bad habit of getting leads and then letting them slip away in the last period. We need some players that can break that habit.

December 25 - LW Jody Shelley clears waivers and can now help Syracuse out.

December 26 - Chicago (8-20-5-0) @ Columbus (8-22-4-1)

We need to win here, and we should, its that simple.

Scratches: Johnson, Fritsche, Svitov

Scoring Summary:
G 	Per 	Time 	Team 	Scorer 	First Assist 	Second Assist 	Info
1 	1 	08:16 	CLB 	Mike Rupp 	Manny Malhotra 	Kent McDonell 	-
2 	1 	14:36 	CHI 	Eric Daze 	Jassen Cullimore 	- 	PP
3 	3 	44:11 	CHI 	Rene Bourque 	Steve McCarthy 	Scott Nichol 	-
4 	3 	52:19 	CHI 	Andrew Ference 	Stephane Robidas 	- 	-

Can't do it, as we manage to let Chicago get a needed boost, and further put our team into a terrible slump that we can't seem to get out of. I thought we'd put this behind us by now, but we need to do something soon.

The Board is unhappy with the performance, and I can't blame them!

December 27 - At this point, we decide to make a move to get rid of some salary. We offer up C Andrew Cassels, who has been underachieving this year, to Boston for D Ian Moran and the rights to RW Ashton Bure, a blue-chip prospect.

December 28 - Detroit (22-13-2-1) @ Columbus (8-23-4-1)

We read a media report that suggests that New Jersey is interested in RD Radoslav Suchy. Even though we're way out, we feel Suchy has two things going for him: young and cheap. So we deny the rumor.

Okay, we need this game.

Scratches: Rupp, Fritsche, Johson
In Net: Irbe

1 	1 	06:49 	DET 	Robert Lang 	Tomas Holmstrom 	Kirk Maltby 	-
2 	1 	08:10 	DET 	Steve Yzerman 	Brendan Shanahan 	Mathieu Schneider 	PP
3 	1 	13:01 	CLB 	Todd Marchant 	Nikolai Zherdev 	Rick Nash 	PP
4 	2 	28:16 	CLB 	Trevor Letowski 	Matt Bradley 	Jaroslav Spacek 	-
5 	3 	56:55 	DET 	Pavel Datsyuk 	Ray Whitney 	- 	-

Same thing happens again, as we have a chance at a tie, and let it go at the end of the game. We just can't do anything right at all, and we need to turn it around quickly.

December 29 - Columbus (8-24-4-1) @ NY Islanders (16-13-6-0)

Our trade w/Boston is rejected, so we counter with Casses for a 1st in '05 and a 4th in '06.

Let's go to the game....

Scratches: Marchant, Fritsche, Johnson
In Net: Irbe

Scoring Summary:
G 	Per 	Time 	Team 	Scorer 	First Assist 	Second Assist 	Info
1 	1 	04:44 	PHI 	Mike Knuble 	Michal Handzus 	Danil Markov 	-
2 	1 	13:16 	PHI 	Donald Brashear 	Eric Desjardins 	Turner Stevenson 	-
3 	2 	24:49 	PHI 	Jeremy Roenick 	Simon Gagne 	Danil Markov 	-
4 	2 	26:00 	PHI 	Todd Fedoruk 	Keith Primeau 	Tony Amonte 	-
5 	2 	29:55 	PHI 	Sami Kapanen 	Derek Morris 	Jeremy Roenick 	-
6 	2 	30:51 	PHI 	Michal Handzus 	Mike Knuble 	- 	-
7 	3 	47:15 	CLB 	Nikolai Zherdev 	Rick Nash 	Radoslav Suchy 	-
8 	3 	48:52 	PHI 	Sami Kapanen 	Danil Markov 	Simon Gagne 	-
9 	3 	54:28 	PHI 	Turner Stevenson 	Donald Brashear 	Branko Radivojevic 	-

I really don't think it gets much uglier than that game, I really don't. Irbe, Burke and Ference all come out of the game with '5' ratings, and its just totally frustrating. Its the definate low point of the season so far. I decide to warn the 3 players, and Burke and Ference accept it, but Irbe becomes unhappy. So, I decide that I'm going to send Irbe down to Syracuse, by putting him on waivers and calling up G Karl Goehring to be Burke's backup.

December 30 - Boston rejected our offer, so we decide to make it Cassels for a 2nd in '05.

December 31 - Minnesota (13-19-3-2) @ Columbus (8-25-4-1)

We have a good game to start the almost new year out on a good foot.

Scratches: Fritsche, Wright, Ference
In Net: Burke

G 	Per 	Time 	Team 	Scorer 	First Assist 	Second Assist 	Info
1 	1 	03:57 	MIN 	Wes Walz 	Pierre-Marc Bouchard 	Andrew Brunette 	-
2 	1 	09:41 	MIN 	Brian Rolston 	Andrew Brunette 	Filip Kuba 	-
3 	1 	11:07 	MIN 	Marian Gaborik 	David Cornacchia 	- 	-
4 	1 	14:32 	MIN 	Erik Reitz 	Christoph Brandner 	Marc Chouinard 	-
5 	1 	15:55 	CLB 	Mike Rupp 	Manny Malhotra 	- 	-
6 	2 	23:07 	CLB 	Manny Malhotra 	Aaron Johnson 	Matt Bradley 	-

Burke wasn't ready for the job yet, as he didn't wake up til about 15 mins into the game, and we find ourselves down 4-0. Can't do much from there, but we do get 2 goals to cut the lead in half, but can't do anything from there.

Good news on another front..

Columbus sends C Andrew Cassels to Boston for a 2nd Round Pick in '05

We end the year by getting our player budget down to where we needed it to be.