The Blue Jackets already have traded for one goaltender this off-season, and they may not be finished in their attempts to reshape that position.
The Dispatch has learned through NHL sources that the Jackets have had discussions with the Los Angeles Kings regarding 24-year-old Jonathan Bernier, a highly touted goalie who has been stuck behind award-winning starter Jonathan Quick.
Bernier is not being shopped by the Kings, per se, but he is available for the right price, sources said. Bernier, who played only 16 games this season as Quick took over, told a radio station in Quebec this week that he expects to be traded before the 2012-13 season.
The Blue Jackets would be just one of many potential suitors.
The initial discussions between Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson and Kings GM Dean Lombardi took place before last month's NHL draft and before the Blue Jackets acquired goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky from Philadelphia.
The Jackets plan to let Bobrovsky and Steve Mason compete for the No. 1 job in training camp, but talks with the Kings could be rekindled soon. The Jackets own the Kings' first-round pick in the 2013 NHL draft, obtained in last season's Jeff Carter-for-Jack Johnson trade.
Bernier was the No. 11 overall selection in the 2006 draft and was once seen as the Kings' future franchise goaltender. But Quick, the Conn Smythe Tr
Jackets talked with Kings about backup goaltender
Columbus Dispatch 7/14/2012
Brendan Smith became the social media poster boy for all that went wrong for the Red Wings in the Game 1 debacle Wednesday against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Smith is young and inexperienced — just 24 years old — and he made several costly mistakes in the 4-1 loss. He was criticized during the n
So far in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs, third periods are not the Red Wings' best phase.
The Blackhawks and Ducks have outscored them, 15-5.
But how much does it matter, and is there a specific cause?
Through eight games, the Wings have scored more than their opponents in the third period
Spirits were pretty high in Boston Thursday night after the Bruins took Game 1 against the Rangers on a Brad Marchand overtime goal.
But beyond the celebration and revelry, there was a sobering fact: Tyler Seguin once again failed to show up. Worse, he hurt the Bruins on more than one occasion.
A rare two-day layoff allows the Rangers to decompress from Thursday night’s 3-2 overtime loss in Game 1 here to learn from their mistakes and calm their frustrations (read: Henrik Lundqvist).
That process began Friday afternoon back at the scene of the crime, where John Tortorella walked his pla
The Islanders met together at Nassau Coliseum yesterday for the last time this season and spoke optimistically of a bright future, full of playoff berths and runs at Stanley Cup titles.
But now, the real questions begin.
And they revolve around three key veterans — goaltender Evgeni Nabokov,
Rick Nash has been around long enough to know that he will score another goal.
Two seasons ago, he went eight games without one for the Columbus Blue Jackets, then had an 11-game drought later in the year. He still finished that campaign with 32 goals.
Playing 75 games in 2010-11, Nash's goal
The Penguins took a step backward Friday.
Their timing was perfect.
A 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators at Consol Energy Center staked the Penguins a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven second-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
“Not a situation you want to be in,” Senators defenseman Chris Ph
It wasn't just the earthquake shifting the ground around Ottawa.
There's a strong possibility Senators' centre Jason Spezza could return to the lineup for Game 3 of the club's playoff series Sunday night at Scotiabank Place against the Penguins.
Coach Paul MacLean told reporters Spezza is cont
Defenseman Kris Letang and winger Craig Adams are not participating in the Penguins' game-day skate at Consol Energy Center today.
There was no immediate explanation for that absence and their status for Game 2 of the Penguins' second-round playoff series against Ottawa tonight at 7:38 is not known
As Maple Leafs GM Dave Nonis wrapped up his season-ending news conference, there was only one player on the roster who received his unwavering support: Phil Kessel.
When he mentioned the names of others — such as pending unrestricted free agent Tyler Bozak and No. 1 goalie James Reimer — there
Bruce Boudreau of the Anaheim Ducks, Paul MacLean of the Ottawa Senators and Joel Quenneville of the Chicago Blackhawks were named Friday as the finalists for the Jack Adams Award, presented "to the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success."
Both Boudreau and Quennevi
The Bruins were faced with an interesting predicament as they began their Eastern Conference semifinal against the New York Rangers last night at the Garden.
They had to somehow get past the euphoria of their amazing comeback victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 on Monday, yet at the sa
Dustin Brown pounced on a loose puck and swatted it into the back of the net with 1minute, 43 seconds remaining in the third period of Game 2 of the Kings' second-round playoff series against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night at Staples Center.
Bedlam.
Trevor Lewis guided a long rebound in
San Jose Sharks forward Raffi Torres has been suspended for the remainder of the second round for his illegal check to the head on Jarret Stoll of the Los Angeles Kings in Game 1 on Tuesday.
Torres attended an in-person hearing at the NHL offices on Thursday.
Stoll did not return to the game f
Carolina Hurricanes captain Eric Staal was injured while playing for Team Canada on Thursday at the World Championships, leaving the ice in severe pain.
Late in the first period against Sweden in a quarterfinal game, Staal -- Canada's captain, too -- was playing the puck in the offensive zone on
The Capitals have confirmed Ovechkin’s injury.
Alex Ovechkin played the final two games of the Capitals’ first-round series against New York with a hairline fracture in his left foot, according to a league source with direct knowledge of the winger’s injury.
In the first period of Game 6, Ov
Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom underwent successful sports hernia surgery Thursday in Philadelphia and is expected to be ready for the 2013-14 season, Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher announced.
Backstrom, however, will be a free agent.
He was injured during pregame warmups for Game
It appears the Boston Bruins will have to go without their three injured defensemen in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Rangers on Thursday.
Andrew Ference (lower body), Dennis Seidenberg (lower body) and Wade Redden (undisclosed) all are not taking part in the mor
Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks, Matt Moulson of the New York Islanders and Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning have been named the finalists for the 2013 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, awarded "to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduc
Was something lost in translation, or is Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov feeling lost in the woods again?
Bryzgalov gave a lengthy interview to the Russian sports site Championat, and it was translated on the Deadspin website Wednesday.
It should be noted that in the past, Bryzgalov has claimed s
The Senators don't need to put an SOS out just yet.
Trailing their Round 2 series to the Pittsburgh Penguins after a 4-1 loss in Game 1, the question whispered in the bowels of the Consol Energy Center Wednesday was whether Jason Spezza will be parachuted in to join this series.
The club's top
San Jose Sharks forward Raffi Torres will have an in-person disciplinary hearing in New York at Noon et on Thursday for his hit on Jarret Stoll of the Los Angeles Kings in Game 1 on Tuesday.
The in-person hearing means Torres could be suspended for five or more games.
Stoll did not return to t
There has been heavy speculation that Red Wings star Pavel Datsyuk will return to play in his native Russia when his contract runs out after next season.
That's not going to happen, Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said Wednesday.
"You mean how long is his deal and how much is he gonna make? Well,
Take this to the bank: it’s going to be a while before the Avs name a new coach.
My spies tell me there will be no new coach in the near future. This probably means the following:
- The Avs would like to see if Dave Tippett will be available. The Phoenix coach’s contract runs out June 30.
Faster skating, dictating the tempo more, firing a plethora of shots at the opposing goaltender: that is Chicago Blackhawks hockey. And it was more evident Wednesday night than in any other postseason game they’ve had thus far.
Patrick Sharp had a three-point night and Johnny Oduya scored the g
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