Last summer, the Columbus Blue Jackets signed defenseman James Wisniewski and traded for center Jeff Carter, and there was much rejoicing (yea!). Well, save for the people who thought $33 million over 6 years was preposterous for Wisniewski … and probably save for Jeff Carter as well.
Wisniewski did a bad, bad thing in the preseason to earn an 8-regular-season-game suspension. Carter earned three assists in five underwhelming games for Columbus — with the acknowledgement that any Columbus games these days are underwhelming — battling the flu and a hairline crack in his foot that was aggravated on Oct. 15 on a blocked shot. It was the last game he's played for the Jackets; Wisniewski's first game back was Oct. 25.
Aaron Portzline of the Dispatch reports that Carter will be in the lineup for Columbus against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night, marking the first time GM Scott Howson's summer prizes will play a regular-season game together. Carter skated with Rick Nash and RJ Umberger in practice.
If you wonder why Coach Scott Arniel is still in a job after a 2-12-1 start, this might be one reason why: He hasn't yet coached the team Scott Howson put together in the offseason. If there's a spark of something here for the Jackets — lord knows they can get healthy against Winnipeg like Chicago got healthy against Columbus earlier this week — maybe some jobs are spared for the time being. Or maybe Steve Mason gives up another goal in the two minutes of the game, and the sad trombones come out.
These absences are no excuse for the putrid start for this team, which as been like if the Titanic hit the iceberg, sunk, landed on a submersible sea-mine, blew up, and then was swallowed by a whale. (Get to work on that sequel, Cameron.)
The Blue Jackets, off to a franchise-worst 2-12-1 start, are including themselves in an embarrassing conversation. The last club to have five points or fewer on Nov. 11 was the 1992-93 Ottawa Senators, who were 1-14-1 (three points) on Nov. 11. The Sens finished that season — their first — with a 10-67-5 record.
And on top of all that, Kate Formica says the Philadelphia Flyers have already won the Carter trade.