Columbus (AP) - The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that they made a large deal that saw two veterans Philippe Boucher and Dean McAmmond leave Columbus for the US Capital. Also included in the deal were underachiever Shawn Horcoff, young defenseman Josef Melichar, prospect Tony Salmelainen and a 2nd Round Pick in 2006.
Coming to Columbus are all-star defenseman Tomas Kaberle, gritty skilled wingers Mike Knuble and Mike Johnson as well as prospect Zbynek Michalek.
"We are overjoyed about getting Kaberle, even though we lost the superior defensive defenseman." GM Trotta stated, "Tomas should make an immediate impact on the PP which was been atrocious to date and cost us too many games already."
On Knuble and Johnson: "After last year's disappointing finish, we knew we needed two-way players and these two guys are very good at that. Defensive presence with scoring ability will keep us in tough games and win some we might not deserve. Knuble and Johnson are tough guys who can score goals, that fits our design perfectly."
On Michalek: "We love to stock up on young defensemen with NHL written all over them here in Columbus, and we can proudly add Michalek to the mix that already featured Garnet Exelby, Dennis Seidenberg, Andy Rogers and Zach Fitzgerald... we liked Salmelainen, but his size and age were a definite concern."
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