Columbus Blue Jackets

In their first move during the free agency period, the Philadelphia Flyers brought back a familiar face to fill their backup goaltender position, signing Michael Leighton to a 1-year, $900k contract. Leighton replaces Sergei Bobrovsky, who was traded from the Flyers to the Columbus Blue Jackets on June 22 in return for three draft picks.

The Columbus Blue Jackets selected defenseman Ryan Murray with the 2012 NHL Draft's second overall pick.

Murray is a two-defender known for his cerebral approach to the game. The 18-year old is lauded as a natural born leader and is projected by many as a potential future captain at the NHL level.

He stands at six-feet tall and is pushing 200 pounds but has a calm skating motion that allows him to remain stabilized in the defensive zone and frustrate attackers.

His fluid style allows him to be a presence in the offensive zone as well even though he isn’t an offensive defenseman by nature. The presence of a high-hockey IQ allows him to contribute on...

I can pretty much talk about hockey 365 days a year, and do. When a friend asks me a question about the AHL or the Sound Tigers, they will get an answer. It took me a while to realize that because they asked me something about the game I love, did not mean they shared my enthusiasm. I first noticed it in the spring when a friend for years asked me to explain what a ‘developmental team’ was. Listening to my response as I explained the roll the AHL was intended to play in the development of players for the NHL, his eyes began to glaze over when I approached the V-260, V-320 (veteran of 260 or 320 professional games) grey areas. An “urgent call” took him from me, and the next day I was ‘un-friended’ on Facebook. That is when I decided it would best to write about the game. While it is still boring to many, at least the number of ‘Happy Birthday’ wishes I get from Facebook friends won’t diminish.

One of the most frequently asked questions I get is “How much do the players get paid in the AHL?” Were I a man of few words, the answer for this 2011-12 season would be a short “The league minimum is $39,000 the highest paid is getting $6,500,000.” This is true though misleading, and as I am not a man of few words and don’t want to mislead you, let me bore you from bottom to top.

The Blackhawks rolled into Columbus holding a 5-0-0 series lead over the Blue Jackets, and left by making it a perfect sweep for the season.

Brandon Bollig and Jared Boll dropped the gloves early to warm things up for the teams; Bollig got the better of Boll and both went to the box with five-for-fighting majors.

Andrew Shaw opened up the scoring not long after that, at the 4:12 mark in the first. Duncan Keith would get his first of four assists for the night. The Blackhawks put a goal past Steve Mason exactly 2:05 later, twice in a row - first Patrick Sharp and then Brent Seabrook, to close out the first 3-0.

After stopping the bleeding for most of the mi...