[Hockey News]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -With injuries to captain Adam Foote and goaltender Pascal Leclaire, the Columbus Blue Jackets added defenseman Filip Novak and goalie Ty Conklin to the roster Monday.They were called up from the club's AHL affiliate in Syra...

Injuries force Blue Jackets to make roster moves

[Gotham Dark Knight]

If there is one thing that can put a damper on the current winning streak is injuries...hate to lose Foote...and our #1 keeper...funny how we keep winning though...

[soriano33]

At least we know Norrena is just as good as LeClaire, and our D isnt that spectacular, but Foote is our best

[cbuscru]

I tend to disagree calling Foote "our best" He's darn good don't get me wrong but I think Klesla is just as good...Erickson is probably the best positionally just not all around and who I think is the best right now and is only going to get better is the young Aaron Johnson...Now offensively on the blueline I'll take Hainsey over Foote anyday, Hainsey has just been making too many mistakes in his own end but in the offensive zone he's money!

[soriano33]

Hes the leader of the team, and he is the most sound all around D-man. Klesla is great but if you had to count on someone it would definitely be Foote. Thats all I meant by the "best". THere is definitely young talent on the D that will, if not already, surpass his overall ability. However, consistency is just as important, so I give that one to the experienced vet

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by soriano33

Hes the leader of the team, and he is the most sound all around D-man. Klesla is great but if you had to count on someone it would definitely be Foote. Thats all I meant by the "best". THere is definitely young talent on the D that will, if not already, surpass his overall ability. However, consistency is just as important, so I give that one to the experienced vet

Got to agree with Soriano...Klesla is work in progress ...Foote by default is currently the best due to his experience...

[cbuscru]

He may be experienced but I find it hard to call him consistent when he's a team worst -13??!!

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by cbuscru

He may be experienced but I find it hard to call him consistent when he's a team worst -13??!!

That's just another way of saying he has been on the ice a lot for a losing team...

[cbuscru]

so he's the only defensive player on the ice??? Erickson's a +4?! Johnson's a -1?? It seems to me he's the one on the ice when the opposing team is scoring! I love Footer but he's not our best...sorry...

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by cbuscru

so he's the only defensive player on the ice??? Erickson's a +4?! Johnson's a -1?? It seems to me he's the one on the ice when the opposing team is scoring! I love Footer but he's not our best...sorry...

He is +4 during the winning streak...and normally logs 4-6 minutes more than Johnson or Erickson on any given night... I stand by my statement...he is a victim of more ice time than others on the team....it has a lot less to do with the level of play then some one logging ice on a team palying poorly...

[cbuscru]

Originally Posted by Gotham Dark Knight

He is +4 during the winning streak...and normally logs 4-6 minutes more than Johnson or Erickson on any given night... I stand by my statement...he is a victim of more ice time than others on the team....it has a lot less to do with the level of play then some one logging ice on a team palying poorly...

Actually Erickson's a +4 for the season and has lead all defensemen in the +/- all year....more ice time or not if he's the "best" or "most consistent" why are the goals being scored against us when he's on the ice? I'm just saying..I'm not trying to get anyone ticked I just don't think Foote's our best defensemen and the stats support my opinion.

[soriano33]

All I remember being a Sabres fan most of my life is that our best defenseman was Alexei Zhitnik. Most agreed he was at the top of the league in talent during most of his tenure in Buffalo. I do recollect that he didnt have a sparkling +/-. Why? Because he logged so many minutes, and the Sabres didnt score a lot of goals back then. It wasnt because he wasnt a sound defenseman, it was because he took the brunt of the leagues top lines and had to kill all the power plays. Same goes for Foote. In my mind +/- is a mostly useless stat

[cbuscru]

Oh and we can argue about Foote forever but I believe the loss of Passy can be more devistating to the team then Foote. Hitch has said and I agree that there are very few single goaltenders who can carry a team on their own and that's why we are fortunate to have 2 technically #1 goaltenders. Norrena's good but what makes him and Passy so good is that they can trade off and stay fresh...

[cbuscru]

good news...the MRI on Passy's knee revealed it not to be as bad as originally thought..they're actually saying he could return as early as Saturday! No definite time line on Footer though....

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by cbuscru

good news...the MRI on Passy's knee revealed it not to be as bad as originally thought..they're actually saying he could return as early as Saturday! No definite time line on Footer though....

Good...we definitely need him at full strength...more so than Foote...