Crunch Get What They Need?

 by Jeff Parzych

Many a time Mick Jagger crooned the immortal words “you can’t always get what you want”. Those lyrics may have added meaning to some Crunch fans of late. Frustrated by the lack of big time moves this off-season, feelings that are exacerbated each time long-time rival Rochester announces yet another veteran signing, Crunch fans anxiously surf the net everyday searching for that big headline.

That search may have ended Tuesday evening. The only difference being the headline grabber wasn’t the Crunch, but the parent Blue Jackets. Nevertheless, the move that was made should have a major impact on the Syracuse roster this year.

Three players are currently house hunting as of Tuesday thanks to a multi-team deal between Dallas, Phoenix, and Columbus. The Jackets got things started when they shipped veteran center Mike Sillinger and a second round draft choice in 2004 to the Stars for defenseman Darryl Sydor. Dallas in turn sent Sillinger and a conditional draft pick to Phoenix for long-time Coyote Teppo Numminen.

How this effects the Crunch is painfully evident. Anytime Columbus receives an upgrade in talent; the trickle-down theory comes into play. Simply put, by adding the likes of a Darryl Sydor, there is one less spot available on the Jacket blue line. The person who gets bumped from that spot likely will start the season wearing a Syracuse sweater. Who that may be is fodder for weeks to come as fans anxiously await the opening of training camp and their ensuing battles.

What is known is that one thru five the Jackets are the strongest they have ever been on the blue line with Richardson, Spacek, Sydor, Klesla, and Lachance. Candidates for number six and realistically seven, since Columbus is likely to start the season with that number, are numerous and talented.

Heading the list has to be the surprising Duvie Westcott. Signed as a free agent basically out of nowhere just two seasons ago, Westcott burst onto the scene and was just rewarded with a two-year guaranteed deal worth close to $500,000 per. That, and the fact that Mr. Everything Doug MacLean firmly believes that the Jackets are a better team with Westcott in the lineup, lead one to believe that Duvie makes the big club.

Next in line is wild card Alexander Gusjkov, Columbus’s seventh round selection in this year’s Entry Draft. Gusjkov is no rookie at 27 and he has plenty of international experience. He also recently inked a contract with the Jackets and how he performs in camp will determine whether he is ready to step into the Columbus lineup.

It would behoove the Crunch if Gusjkov does make his NHL debut this season. The reason being is that per his contract terms, Gusjkov can return to Russia if he doesn’t open the season in Columbus, leaving Syracuse with that all too familiar feeling of being left high and dry.

The almost forgotten Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre falls into the mix somewhere, even though he has seemingly fallen off the Jacket radar. Two scenarios seem to surround Grand-Pierre with the most likely being a trade prior to the start of the season.

If he remains Columbus property he actually has chance to play in Syracuse at some point. The Blue Jackets, for the most part, with Radim Bicanek being the most prominent, have shown a penchant to eat a salary if they have to.

The problem that arises however is that it is quite possibly a no-win situation considering that if Grand-Pierre flourishes while demoted, his stay will most definitely be brief. And if he struggles, besides boosting the blood pressure of all fans in attendance, he may end up helping another AHL club chase the Calder Cup.

That leaves us with what may be the only certainty. Derrick Walser begins the year with the Crunch. Wally would need to just blow-up in camp to make Columbus’s opening roster, especially since his two-way deal makes his demotion the easiest financially.

Now that may not have been the news fans have been hoping for or it may not have been news at all. Either way, Walser, with the proper attitude, is a damn good American League defenseman. Plus, one can never tire of hearing Mr. McElligott drop the infamous “Cha Wally Wally, Cha Bang Bang" after every Walser tally.

The other positive is that the trickle-down theory also works on the Syracuse roster. Meaning that when injuries occur, either up top or at home, depth on the blue line cushions the blow and it doesn’t leave the cupboard bare here on the farm.

Either way Syracuse fans can crack a slight smile. After all, you can’t always get what you want, but as Mick said all too often, “if you try some time, you get what you need” and the Crunch may have gotten just that.