Buh-Bye Smiley

Well, Scott Howson has decided Aaron Johnson is not in the mix for us Jackets. I am a little upset about it. We decided not to make him a qualifying offer. The Dispatch spoke to Howson about it saying, "It was a tough decision but (Johnson) was going to get a one-way contract in an arbitration hearing, and we just weren't comfortable with that decision. We like the player. That's not the issue, we weren't willing to sign a one-(way) contract at this time." (A one-(way) contract means he will get the same amount of money in the minors as he would in the NHL.) It's not that I am upset that Johnson is leaving, but you do get attached to these guys but when I think about what he did in the time he was here...he didn't do a lot. So, I am sure that Howson and Hitch chose the right thing. Svitov, Murray, Glencross, Tollefsen, Lindstrom, and Goertzen were all given qualifying offers. I'm not going to lie seeing Howson make a decision like this is really setting him apart from MacLean in a good way. And, I am confident that he made the correct decision. Now, I'm just wondering about Erikkson. Mr. Howson plans to offer long term contracts to Svitov, and Tollefsen which I think is great. Those 2 are great players especially Tollefsen who I even noticed developing over the course of the season.
I am pretty happy that we qualified Glencross too. I absolutely love that guy and it takes me back to the days when I was first falling in love with hockey. So I love seeing him down on the ice. Anyway, I'm proud of our organization and what they have done so far.