Oh Nikolai...

Scott Howson met with Nikolai Zherdev in Ottawa on Wednesday. I am glad he had this meeting. Nikolai needs to know what will be allowed, what won't fly, what is to be expected, yada yada yada.

"It was good to get to know (Nikolai), to learn about him and his family," Howson said. "He's been through a lot; he's experienced a lot, and he's still a young guy. It was a productive meeting. I wanted him to get a feel for me -- it's the first time we've ever met -- and I wanted him to know what we're trying to do in Columbus. We talked about some of the issues in the past, and I heard him out on that. And I told him why I came to meet with him, what our expectations are for him this coming season."

I really hope that Nikolai has a break out season and just does amazing for us. If not then it's onto the trading block...I think at least.

"Nikolai can certainly make a big difference as far as getting us to a higher skill level," Howson said. "He could make us a bigger threat. But it's more than that. We want to have a strong team, and to get that, everybody has to be important, and everybody has to know they're important. We wanted Nikolai to know and feel that he's a big part of what we're trying to do."

Apparently Zherdev wants to be one of the top players in the NHL. Well Nik prove it.