My predictions for both the new coach and General Manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets were incorrect. While Ken Hitchcock was not my first choice to go behind the Blue Jackets’ bench, his half-season in Columbus demonstrated that he is in fact the right man for the job. However, the selection of Scott Howson as the team’s new GM leaves me befuddled.

We don’t know much about Howson, and the Blue Jackets' management has not helped this by simply delivering its standard “sales pitch” to the fans regarding Howson’s selection as the new GM. Most fans would have preferred either Steve Tambellini or Neil Smith, as both could provide the proven track record to grow the Blue Jackets into a Stanley Cup contender. The hiring of Howson has to be viewed as a “risk” by many of the team's fans, given that he has never held a top post at the NHL level.

That said, Howson does have an impressive resume as an assistant with the Edmonton Oilers; he has handled personnel decisions and contract negotiations and is viewed as a salary cap specialist who was credited with helping small-market Edmonton reach the Stanley Cup finals in 2006. These skills could really help the CBJ as they are going to be faced with contract/salary cap issues in the near future.

Still, Howson’s expertise in contract and salary cap issues did not aid Edmonton in retaining key player Ryan Smyth; this might indicate that Howson is willing to “cut bait” with long-time team contributing fan favorites in order to improve the team in the long term by avoiding a contract hurdle the team cannot afford.

In his press conference Howson stated, “I'm the kind of person who doesn't like to over-promise and under-deliver,” but this really isn’t an attribute that CBJ fans want to hear right now. Howson is going to be thrown directly into the line of fire with several key decisions looming on the horizon: in particular, what steps to take regarding Sergei Fedorov, Nikolai Zherdev, and Pascal Leclaire. Howson could have all three of these players on the trading block come draft day.

And speaking of the NHL 2007 draft, this raises another immediate challenge for Howson, as the draft is being hosted this year in Columbus, Ohio. CBJ fans are looking to Howson to provide some fireworks on draft day, or at least a measurable “splash” to keep the CBJ fans engaged and energized about the team’s future. In short, Howson has big shoes to fill immediately.

As CBJ Club President Mike Priest said, “Our number one priority was to find the best person we could to lead our hockey organization,” and the selection of Scott Howson as GM can only be measured over time. From the “Monday morning quarterback” position, it does seem that better choices were available to fill the GM post.

Given the criticism that Mike Priest has been making about former CBJ GM Doug MacLean’s decisions, it is difficult to think of Priest an authority on what is the best fit for the CBJ. It is not statistically possible that all of MacLean’s decisions were flawed and even MacLean’s biggest detractor would believe that. MacLean’s failure as GM was more a progressive series of bad luck and unfortunate player injuries, combined with an unrealistic over-selling of team expectations at the beginning of every hockey season.

Howson’s first priority will have to deal with the CBJ’s selection in the first round, with his second priority the selection of the team goaltender. The time has come for the Jackets to have a “money goaltender,” as it was obvious under Hitchcock that this could have made the difference in the outcome of many games last season. The best news for CBJ fans is that Hitchcock’s previous teams have a track record of making the playoffs, and Howson can help Hitchcock with some solid direction.

Howson could prove to be a good fit for the CBJ. However, it is going to take time for the Blue Jackets to contend while the team takes on the personality and attitude that is being set by the new GM. The good news for the organization is that Howson has indicated that he is giving everyone a “clean slate” to start with and is not coming in with any preconceived notions. In the end, Howson’s skills will quickly be put to the test by an impatient fan base that is tired of hearing excuses.

Fan attendance has dramatically declined over the past couple of seasons and Howson will have his hands full trying to retain unhappy PSL owners and win back thousands of disillusioned fans (evidenced by the growing number of “Boo Birds” at home games). Let’s hope that Howson can put his skills learned at Edmonton into play and replicate the success of the Edmonton franchise in Columbus.