$500,000 apart? Defenseman? Colorado? Where have I seen this before? Maybe it was the Dman he was paired with for a while in 07-08...
Not to be too sensitive about this, but the situations and the men could not be more opposite.
One is arrogant, conceited and pompous. Petty and vengeful, wanted desperately to get out of town; he had responsibility, wore the C, and ended up abandoning his team in the heat of a playoff race.
The other took a discounted contract, was a quiet warrior who lead by example & was humble; He never complained, shirked responsibility or blamed others. Willingly gave everything and left it all on the ice. Jan did not negotiate in the newspapers or try to force GMSH's hand. Rather, publicly stated his desperate desire to STAY in Columbus.
In my view, we could have signed him for 4 years and still paid him less in buying out the fourth year to get three years of adequate service - and had a loyal, character vet to mentor the young pups. Yes, he may have lost a step, but is that really critical for a defensive, stay-at-home d-man?
I think we have wasted much more on end-of-the-line, washed up ex-captains and received much less for the $.
Good luck, Jan. You will be missed.
Last edited by Inquiring Minds: 07-04-2011 at 01:21 PM.
Reason: clarity
Not to be too sensitive about this, but the situations and the men could not be more opposite.
One is arrogant, conceited and pompous. Petty and vengeful, wanted desperately to get out of town; he had responsibility, wore the C, and ended up abandoning his team in the heat of a playoff race.
The other took a discounted contract, was a quiet warrior who lead by example & was humble; He never complained, shirked responsibility or blamed others. Willingly gave everything and left it all on the ice. Jan did not negotiate in the newspapers or try to force GMSH's hand. Rather, publicly stated his desperate desire to STAY in Columbus.
In my view, we could have signed him for 4 years and still paid him less in buying out the fourth year to get three years of adequate service - and had a loyal, character vet to mentor the young pups. Yes, he may have lost a step, but is that really critical for a defensive, stay-at-home d-man?
I think we have wasted much more on end-of-the-line, washed up ex-captains and received much less for the $.
Good luck, Jan. You will be missed.
Great post. Any comparison between the two is a pretty big reach.
Best of luck to him.
Avs fan here how does Hejda compare to the other defensive d-men in the league say like Scott Hannan? Is it safe to say hes a top 4 guy with above average defense? We really need that calming defensive presence in our defense.
Not to be too sensitive about this, but the situations and the men could not be more opposite.
One is arrogant, conceited and pompous. Petty and vengeful, wanted desperately to get out of town; he had responsibility, wore the C, and ended up abandoning his team in the heat of a playoff race.
The other took a discounted contract, was a quiet warrior who lead by example & was humble; He never complained, shirked responsibility or blamed others. Willingly gave everything and left it all on the ice. Jan did not negotiate in the newspapers or try to force GMSH's hand. Rather, publicly stated his desperate desire to STAY in Columbus.
In my view, we could have signed him for 4 years and still paid him less in buying out the fourth year to get three years of adequate service - and had a loyal, character vet to mentor the young pups. Yes, he may have lost a step, but is that really critical for a defensive, stay-at-home d-man?
I think we have wasted much more on end-of-the-line, washed up ex-captains and received much less for the $.
Good luck, Jan. You will be missed.
Not meaning to rip on Jan by any stretch of the imagination...I was well aware that he desperately wanted to stay a Jacket and appreciate that.
I just thought the circumstances led to an interesting coincidence comparing the two, especially the $500k.
Avs fan here how does Hejda compare to the other defensive d-men in the league say like Scott Hannan? Is it safe to say hes a top 4 guy with above average defense? We really need that calming defensive presence in our defense.
IMHO He is at least as good as Hannan, possibly better. He began to struggle in CBus as of late, but for two years here he was a combined +23. He was amazing for us during our playoff year, and was one of our best pickups in franchise history.
It is surely safe to say that he is a top 4 guy with above average defense. I can see him being on your go-to shutdown pair and PK guy. He will be rejuvinated in Colorado and bring it all to the table to prove he was worth that pretty penny that you all are depositing into his bank account.
Enjoy the Jan!
I wish he re-signed with us 1 year and 500k apart? zzzzzz --> 'tis ONE tarnish on the splendidly best offseason in CBJ history...
It truly depends on which Jan Hejda shows up for the Avs. He looked slow last year. Really slow. He plays a positional game so don't expect too many hard checks. He plays ok along the boards, doesn't move the puck very well and he doesn't pass extremely well either. Honestly I'm not crying over the fact we didn't re-sign him, and anyone that thinks he's better than Hannan has never seen Hannan play.
His knee injury in 09-10 slowed him down quite a bit. He will be unnoticeable on the ice meaning he is doing his job. Occasionally he will get burnt by a forward going wide around him, but for the most part he is a good 2nd pairing shutdown guy.
From what I heard, his knee was finally feeling better this year from the injury he had, but played thru against doctor's orders, two years ago. That "step" he lost may have been found.
If Jan gets his legs back, this will be a good move for the Avs, but I'm not optimistic. I really enjoyed this guy's stay in Columbus, he was a very pleasant suprise 3 seasons ago.
--> 'tis ONE tarnish on the splendidly best offseason in CBJ history...
