Sergei returns to Central Division

Any Wings fans still holding on to the last vestiges of fanship for Sergei Fedorov will now get a healthy dose of the former Wings star in the course of an NHL season. Yesterday's trade puts him on one of the worst teams in the NHL and in a division dominated by two teams, the Wings, as usual, and the upstart Predators. There are six games against the Jackets still on the schedule and four of them are at the Joe, giving Wings fans ample opportunity to boo the team's most famous runaway.

Personally, I look forward to seeing Sergei play more often. Even if he isn't anything like his former self, I appreciate nostalgia enough to want to see him play. I'm especially happy that the tickets I recently acquired will get me into the December 20th game against the Jackets down at the Joe. That game has a bit more appeal now, to be sure.

Anyone worried that this trade will cause the Blue Jackets to suddenly become Cup contenders needs to read this dismal assessment of Fedorov's time in Anaheim from the Orange County Register. (registration required - BugMeNot)

It looks like it's more a sign of mismanagement in a terrible organization, that the Jackets would pick up such a hefty salary and a player who has been hampered by injuries so far this season. Still, they are desperate to get something going and so it's understandable that they took advantage of Anaheim's salary dumping and acquired a risky player with a large upside.

Given Sergei's feelings of having to play in Yzerman's shadow while in Detroit, I'm not sure how he will react to playing with Rick Nash, who is the franchise player for Columbus, no way around it.

Barry Melrose wins the award for most obvious article title: "If healthy, Fedorov will make Jackets better." That's sort of like saying, "if it rains, the ground will get wet." At this point, the Jackets would be hard pressed to find something that would make them worse so pretty much anything is an improvement.

I'm sorry that Sergei's career has come to this but at least he has a chance to help save a franchise. Those six games against Detroit must loom large, though.