Join TSN in a 30 teams in 30 days tour of the NHL in preparation for the upcoming season. Teams will be unveiled in reverse order of the pre-season TSN.ca Power Rankings, and the Columbus Blue Jackets are up next. Get the lowdown on their off-season, the issues they face this season. Use the Your Call feature to give us your take on the Blue Jackets!

Columbus Blue Jackets
2009-10: 32-35-15 (14th in West, missed the playoffs)
General Manager: Scott Howson (4th Season)
Head Coach: Scott Arniel (1st Season)

What they did in the off-season:

After firing coach Ken Hitchcock during the season and having Claude Noel finish it as interim coach the Blue Jackets brought in an entirely new coaching staff in June. They turned to Scott Arniel, head coach of the AHL's Manitoba Moose, who chose assistant coaches Dan Hinote, Brad Berry, and Bob Boughner, who is coming of back-to-back Memorial Cups with the Windsor Spitfires.

Scott Arniel isn't promising any miracles -- not a bad idea for the first-year coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team that missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs last spring and posted a losing record for the eighth time in the franchise's nine seasons.

"I don't want to put expectations and say, all of a sudden, we've got to get into the playoffs or be here by January," Arniel told NHL.com. "I'm going to move forward and take things day by day. Guys are going to know their job and their role and what I expect them to do and how I want them to play. There won't be any secrets; I have to let things evolve and allow these players to go out and show me in person."

In Arniel, the Blue Jackets should become more of an up-tempo, puck-possession team. That's precisely what general manager Scott Howson is hoping for in the ultra-competitive Central Division.

Former Blue Jackets forward Dan Fritsche will attend training camp later this month on a professional tryout agreement, The Dispatch has learned. The 25-year-old is hoping to resurrect his NHL career after spending 2009-10 in the American Hockey League.

If Fritsche does not land an NHL deal with the Blue Jackets or another club, he's likely to head to Europe to continue his NHL career, rather than return to the minors. Switzerland would be the most likely destination, as Fritsche holds citizenship both there and in the U.S.

Fritsche has been skating with a group of players -- including about 25 Blue Jackets -- in recent days at Nationwide Arena.

A teenaged shoplifter in Kelowna has learned not to mess with Hitch. Don Plant of the Kelowna Daily Courier reports that well-known hockey coach Ken Hitchcock, who hangs out in Kelowna during the summer these days, “was in a parked car outside clothing shop Cruzwear Unlimited on Bernard Avenue on Wednesday morning. A 14-year-old boy left the store with three pairs of shorts as employee Sherrie Lessare grabbed his pack sack and held on.

When she called for help, Hitchcock and a man riding a motorcycle seized the thief and pinned him against the store window. Lessare phoned the downtown security patrol while the two men detained the youth.

“They were both just wonderful people,” she said later. “Both guys, no questions asked, just came and helped.”
The youth ended up being banned from the store and also was informed that he would be charged with trespassing were he to return.

Here is the Blue Jackets roster for the annual rookie tournament in Traverse City, Mich., Sept. 11-15:
Forwards: Matt Calvert, Nick Czinder*, Justin Feser*, Chris Francis*, Oliver Gabriel*, Marek Hrivik*, Ryan Johansen, Michael Kantor*, Tomas Kubalik, Jordan Messier*, Kyle Neuber, Dalton Smith, Ted Stephens*, Petr Straka, Nick Sucharski, Scott Tanski*, Stephon Thorne*.

Defensemen: Brandon Archibald, Anton Blomqvist, Steven Delisle, Cody Goloubef, Austin Madaisky, John Moore, Dalton Prout, Theo Ruth, David Savard.

Goaltenders: Mathieu Corbeil, Riley Gill*, Jason Missiaen*.

Former Blue Jackets player and current development coach Tyler Wright completed the Subaru Ironman Canada yesterday in Penticton, British Columbia, swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and running a marathon (that's right, 26.2 miles) in 12 hours, 29 minutes and 59 seconds.

"Deep down inside, I was hoping to get done inside of 12 hours," Wright told The Dispatch this afternoon. "But from mile 13 to 19 during the run, I had one of those `What have you gotten yourself into?' moments, where your body is just fighting you with everything it's got.

"It's an experience I've never felt. It's you vs. you out there, and at times I was talking to myself and playing games with myself to get through it. But getting over that finish line ... it was a thrilling day."

Prior to Wednesday's game, Jared Boll, Derick Brassard, Derek Dorsett, Mathieu Garon, John Moore and Kris Russell will shag fly balls in the outfield during batting practice and sign autographs for fans from 5:45-6:45 p.m. Arniel will visit the FOX Sports Ohio broadcast booth during the game

When Scott Arniel talks about his style of hockey, he tends to mention the word up-tempo. For a player, that probably means two things. It's going to be fun to play but it also means you better be in good shape.

Maybe that's why more than a dozen Blue Jackets players are back in Columbus already, getting ready for the season. New strength and conditioning coach Kevin Collins has the team going through some intense workouts, making sure conditioning is not one of the reasons the Jackets struggle. Camp is still weeks away so to see so many players back already and working out is a good sign.

"I think it's great that we all get a chance to get together before the season starts, have a hard and competitive camp, have some fun together and work hard together to get better," said forward Kristian Huselius

Crew President and General Manager Mark McCullers said Crew Stadium remains an iconic soccer site, but the team needs to look out five to 10 years for its facility needs. The club continues to seek a site for a new practice facility, possibly on Columbus’ suburban east side, he said, and it remains interested in finding a downtown location, especially in the Arena District, for a stadium.

McCullers also said the Crew is closely watching the Columbus Blue Jackets’ effort to improve its lease at Nationwide Arena through a possible public purchase of the privately owned venue. One of the financing scenarios under discussion is tapping tax revenue from the new Columbus casino to fund an arena buyout by Franklin County and the city.

“My message to those that have an ongoing interest in that,” McCullers said, “is we shouldn’t just fix the Blue Jackets’ situation but fix the professional sports infrastructure situation in Columbus. That includes us.”

#CBJ to have 3 games on VERSUS. Oct. 8 vs. SJ (Sweden, 3pm ET), Dec. 27 vs. Minnesota & Mar. 31 at Washington.

The ice is going in at Dispatch Ice Haus. Veterans are starting to roll into town, with left winger Kristian Huselius arriving on Sunday and joining ranks with the kids in Nationwide Arena this morning. You can almost smell a whiff of vulcanized rubber in the air these days.

Here's a list of the players who have arrived: Jared Boll, Derrick Brassard, Derek Dorsett, Nikita Filatov, Trevor Frischmon, Mathieu Garon, Kristian Huselius, Tomas Kana, Chad Kolarik, Tomas Kubalik, Maksim Mayorov, Marc Methot, John Moore, Kris Russell, Jake Voracek, Some of those guys have been here a long time. Also, that's not an official list. There could be some stragglers we missed.

Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash told The Dispatch earlier today that he plans to arrive in Columbus "for good" next week, putting him in town about two weeks before training camp gets started. One would have to assume that defenseman Jan Hejda and center Sammy Pahlsson -- both with school-aged kids -- will be arriving soon, if they aren't here in town already.

Scott Howson's summer was relatively calm. The Blue Jackets' general manager flirted with only one big name, making some inquiries on Tomas Kaberle, but nothing came to fruition. So it's mostly low key, status quo, in Columbus.

That's not to say Howson did nothing. Along with bringing back the bulk of the team -- no easy feat these days -- and acquiring Edmonton captain Ethan Moreau on waivers, Howson also hired a new coaching staff.

Here again, the Blue Jackets were under the radar. The pick for head coach, Scott Arniel, has worked his way up in methodical fashion as a minor-league assistant, an NHL assistant, an AHL head coach and now Columbus, but his name recognition is minimal. The Blue Jackets aren't going for flash, they're going for a stealth approach while trying to get back to playoff-worthy. Few headlines now, with the hope of gaining a few next spring.

Marc Methot is one of the Blue Jackets' strongest skaters on the blueline. He plans to make better use of the asset this season.

Entering his third full season, Methot has reached a point where he says he feels comfortable skating with the puck out of the zone. He's not about to lead rushes, but Methot is excited to know the new coaching staff wants its defensemen up the ice with more regularity.

"I'm just trying to build on what I was doing the last 25 games or so," said Methot, who registered two goals, six assists and a minus-8 in 60 games."I'm a pretty good skater and at times I can get out of trouble by skating the puck out of our zone."

Don't expect the Jackets to make any substantial plays for the remaining unrestricted free agents. Yep, Ben Guite might be it. I'm sure that acquisition will move some pre-season tickets starting tomorrow.

-- The Jackets, along with other teams, are still talking with the Canucks about defenseman Kevin Bieksa, but there's nothing serious at this point -- at least with the Jackets. Canucks GM Mike Gilles did not attend the Research, Development and Orientation Camp in Toronto.

-- Defensemen Kris Russell and Marc Methot have arrived in town and have joined the dozen others working out in Nationwide Arena with strength coach Kevin Collins.

Individual game tickets to the Columbus Blue Jackets' four home preseason games at Nationwide Arena will go on sale Friday, August 20 at 10 a.m., the club announced August 19. The home schedule opens with Eastern Conference match-ups against the Washington Capitals featuring Alexander Ovechkin followed by a visit from the Pittsburgh Penguins led by Sidney Crosby. The home schedule follows:

Wednesday, Sept. 22 vs. Washington Capitals - 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 24 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins - 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 28 vs. Minnesota Wild - 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 2 vs. Atlanta Thrashers - 6 p.m.

Tickets priced starting at $22 will be available at the Nationwide Arena Ticket Office, The FOX Sports Ohio Blue Line Team Store at The Mall at Tuttle Crossing, The Chiller Ice Rinks and all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers. Fans can also purchase tickets by phone at (800) 745-3000 or online at www.BlueJackets.com, the official club web site, and www.ticketmaster.com.

Sporting at least an opening-round series' worth of growth, Rick Nash is already in the right mindset to get his Columbus Blue Jackets back to the playoffs.

The 26-year-old captain was at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto Wednesday to promote the release of NHL 2K11 for Wii but admitted that his priority this season is to grow a beard come spring for its more superstitious reasons.

"We got to make the playoffs. That is by far the expectations going in," Nash told sportsnet.ca. "Obviously it is going to be tough, but we need to get back to where we were in '08/'09."

The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed forward Ben Guite to a one-year contract, General Manager Scott Howson announced today. As is club policy, terms were not disclosed.

Guite (pronounced GEE-tay), 32, was scoreless with four penalty minutes in six games with the Nashville Predators in 2009-10. He also had 8-13-21, 87 penalty minutes and was +3 in 64 games with Milwaukee of the American Hockey League. He added 3-1-4 and six penalty minutes in seven playoff games for the Admirals.

The Montreal, Quebec native has registered 19-26-45 and 97 penalty minutes in 175 career NHL games with Boston, Colorado and Nashville. He set career highs with 11-11-22, 47 penalty minutes and was +1 in 79 games with the Avalanche in 2007-08. In 487 career AHL games with Bridgeport, Cincinnati, Providence, Albany and Milwaukee, he has registered 82-134-216, 425 penalty minutes and a +8 cumulative plus/minus rating. Prior to his professional career, Guite spent four seasons at the University of Maine, where he tallied 47-49-96 and 107 penalty minutes in 146 career games.

Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson is headed back to Toronto this week to watch the NHL Research, Development and Orientation Camp. The two-day event features many of top draft-eligible players in 2011 testing various potential rule changes and rink modifications. Howson figures to be one of many GMs on hand.

The players will scrimmage both days under the watch of a pair of former Blue Jackets coaches, Dave King and Ken Hitchcock. The NHL Network will televise highlights on Wednesday and Thursday nights, at 9 p.m. Interesting stuf.
-- The Blue Jackets offered no players from their NHL roster in trade talks with Toronto for Tomas Kaberle, the Dispatch has learned. This is hardly surprising given that Kaberle had only one season remaining on his deal.
(Some of the projected proposals -- i.e. Jake Voracek -- were entertaining.) It's believed the Jackets' offer was centered around draft picks and prospects. While Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke said he was looking for a top-6 forward -- hey, there's nothing wrong with putting that out in the media, right? -- it's thought he was amenable to draft picks or prospects or a combination of both.

Defenseman Tomas Kaberle remains a Maple Leaf, the franchise has confirmed. The midnight deadline has come and gone.

If Toronto general manager Brian Burke is going to move the 32-year-old defenseman it will be on Kaberle's terms. His no-trade clause is back in effect.

Jackets general manager Scott Howson did make a play for Kaberle -- who has just one year remaining on his deal -- but there was "no fit there," a source told the Dispatch. Apparently, there was no fit that satisfied Burke.

Heading into Blue Jackets training camp, the position battle with the least intrigue is starting goaltender. Jackets management, coaching staff and fans have to hope it remains that way.

Steve Mason entered and exited last season as the franchise's top goalie. But there were long, sometimes tumultuous stretches in between when it hardly appeared the case.

The 2009 NHL Rookie of the Year struggled through a trying second season, and the Jackets followed his lead to a 14th-place finish in the 15-team Western Conference.