Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets: Martin St. Louis Will Try to Pump up Power Play PAGE 03: the Athletic: Blue Jackets Hire Martin St
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Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips Jan. 22-25, 2019 Columbus Blue Jackets PAGE 02: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets: Martin St. Louis will try to pump up power play PAGE 03: The Athletic: Blue Jackets hire Martin St. Louis as a consultant to give special attention to short-circuited power play PAGE 05: Sportsnet.ca: Martin St. Louis joins Blue Jackets as special teams consultant PAGE 06: Columbus Dispatch: Michael Arace | Rick Nash finds there's life after hockey PAGE 08: The Athletic: From 3 to 91: Blue Jackets sweater numbers equal interesting stories PAGE 13: Sportsnet.ca: Blue Jackets GM doesn’t close door on trading Bobrovsky, Panarin PAGE 15: Columbus Dispatch: Editorial: Columbus welcomes back favorite former NHL All-Star Rick Nash PAGE 17: Columbus Dispatch: He's just 24, but Seth Jones has All-Star consistency PAGE 19: The Athletic: Out of the spotlight: Jared Boll and other former Blue Jackets adjust to life once the cheering stops Cleveland Monsters/Prospects NHL/Websites PAGE 25: Seattle Times: Look for Seattle NHL team to hire a GM this summer rather than next PAGE 27: The Athletic: DGB weekend power rankings: Why the recent flurry of trades could mean a busy deadline period PAGE 32: Sportsnet.ca: Four interesting GMs to watch around the NHL trade deadline PAGE 35: Sportsnet.ca: Why it's time for NHLers to get over their Olympic love affair PAGE 37: TSN.CA: The undeniable link between save percentage and the Jack Adams Award PAGE 39: Seattle Times: Puck and player tracking gets TV test at All-Star Weekend PAGE 41: The Athletic: Down Goes Brown: A detailed breakdown of the subtle differences between the NHL and the WWE PAGE 44: Sportsnet.ca: John Shannon's Top 25 NHL Power Brokers 2019 PAGE 51: Sportsnet.ca: NHL Power Rankings: Step Your Game Up Edition PAGE 55: The Athletic: The Surge: The NHL’s influx of 100-point scorers and why it’s unlikely to end anytime soon PAGE 58: The Athletic: Goaltending, weaponized: How the next generation of goalies is ready to dominate PAGE 62: Sportsnet.ca: 31 Thoughts: What’s next for Oilers after Chiarelli firing 1 Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets: Martin St. Louis will try to pump up power play By Brian Hedger – January 22, 2019 Mired near the bottom of the NHL rankings in power-play percentage, the Blue Jackets are calling in some Hall of Fame-caliber help from the outside. The team announced Monday that retired NHL forward Martin St. Louis, inducted last year into the Hockey Hall of Fame, was hired as a special-teams consultant. “I’ll try to help from my own experience and my own, I guess, reps in the trenches and what it feels like – and with that, along with feedback from the coaches, I think I can add something to the equation that is hopefully going to bring more success,” St. Louis told The Dispatch. “This is a good team that has had a tremendous amount of success. They’re just looking to get a little sharper in an area that is a very important area. They’re looking to get better and I’m hoping I can help with my knowledge.” Columbus, which is two days into a mandated five-day break, is ranked 28th of 31 teams on the power play at 14.6 percent success rate. The Blue Jackets went through a recent 0-for-25 drought that spanned 12 games (Dec. 13 to Jan. 8), but were more productive going into the break, having scored on the man-advantage in four of their past six games. The hope is to use St. Louis’ expertise as a player to help keep that going. During his 17-year NHL career, playing for three teams, St. Louis racked up 101 goals, 216 assists and 317 of his 1,033 career points on the power play. “Marty St. Louis made himself into a Hall of Fame player through sheer determination, hard work and a great understanding of how to play the game the right way,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said in the team’s press release. “We’re still developing his role, but he has so much knowledge about our game and what it takes to be successful, both individually and within the team concept, that he’ll be a great asset to our players.” St. Louis won the 2004 Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning, with Tortorella running the bench. He has also spoken by phone a few times with Blue Jackets assistant Brad Larsen, who coordinates the power play, and anticipates a good working relationship. St. Louis resides in Greenwich, Connecticut, and coaches his three sons in hockey but is expected to be in Columbus after the break. “I talked to Torts a few weeks back and he asked me if I would consider it, and it sounded like everybody was on the same page, which I believe we are,” St. Louis said. “I’m really busy with my kids, but I think I can help with my knowledge from a distance and come in every now and then and help out the group.” 2 The Athletic: Blue Jackets hire Martin St. Louis as a consultant to give special attention to short-circuited power play By Aaron Portzline – January 22, 2019 COLUMBUS, Ohio — Despite rampant systemic and personnel changes in the past two-plus seasons, the Blue Jackets’ power play has been the organization’s black hole — a massive void of endless emptiness with a strong gravitational pull away from confidence and momentum. It has prompted Blue Jackets fans to turn to media and to social media to call for the firing of assistant coach Brad Larsen, rare in a sport that seldom shines much light on assistant coaches. It also prompted the Blue Jackets to announce a significant move Monday. NHL Hall of Famer Martin St. Louis has been hired as a special teams consultant effective immediately, meaning he’ll be in place when the Blue Jackets return to practice Sunday. “Marty St. Louis made himself into a Hall of Fame player through sheer determination, hard work and a great understanding of how to play the game the right way,” John Tortorella said in a statement. “We’re still developing his role, but he has so much knowledge about our game and what it takes to be successful, both individually and within the team concept, that he’ll be a great asset to our players.” Tortorella coached St. Louis with the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2000-08, and they’ve remained close friends. Tortorella spoke at St. Louis’ sweater retirement ceremony last season when the Blue Jackets played in Tampa Bay. St. Louis will not be on the Blue Jackets’ bench with Tortorella and assistants Larsen and Brad Shaw during games, and it’s unlikely he’ll be present for every practice. It remains to be seen how often he’ll be in Columbus, how often he’ll join players on the ice for practice, etc. The news release indicated that St. Louis would continue to live in Connecticut. “I have been coaching my boys since my retirement (in 2015),” St. Louis said in a statement, “so I am excited to share my knowledge while still being able to coach my kids. I’m looking forward to working with the coaching staff and players in Columbus.” Larsen has coached the Blue Jackets’ power play for the past several seasons, and it hasn’t all been a disaster. Through the first 35 games of 2016-17 — nearly a half-season — the Blue Jackets had the best power play in the NHL, firing at 27.5 percent. But since Jan. 4, 2017 — a span of 176 games — the Blue Jackets are last in the 31-team league at 15.1 percent, scoring only 72 goals in that span. More perspective since Jan. 4, 2017 … • Tampa Bay has scored 147 power-play goals, almost twice as many as Columbus. • Metro division rivals Pittsburgh (133) and Washington (122) have scored 61 and 50 more power-play goals, respectively • The Vegas Golden Knights, who have played 44 fewer games (they didn’t join the league until last season!) have scored more power-play goals (81) than Columbus in that span. 3 This season the Blue Jackets have settled near the bottom again. After the 2-1 loss Saturday in Minnesota, the Jackets (14.6 percent) are 28th in the NHL, ahead of only Nashville (13.5), Philadelphia (13.3) and Montreal (12.6). It should also be noted that St. Louis killed penalties extensively during his 1,134-game career with Tampa Bay, Calgary and the New York Rangers, but it’s unclear whether he’ll help with the Blue Jackets’ penalty kill. That’s been pretty good this season. The Blue Jackets are ninth in the NHL (82.9 percent), including a current 25-for-25 streak that stretches to Dec. 28. 4 Sportsnet.ca: Martin St. Louis joins Blue Jackets as special teams consultant By Michael Singh – January 22, 2019 The Columbus Blue Jackets announced Monday that Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Martin St. Louis has joined the club as a special teams consultant. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018, St. Louis was a six-time all-star who boasts an impressive resume. He won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player in 2003-04, the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top scorer twice in 2003-04 and 2012-13, the Ted Lindsay Award in 2003-04, the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy three times in 2009-10, 2010-11, and 2012-13, and he led the Tampa Bay Lightning to the 2004 Stanley Cup championship.