from Aaron Portzline of hte Columbus Dispatch,

When the trade went down, Howson and the Blue Jackets were blistered by many in the national hockey media.

“This is a disaster for the CBJ,” said former Blue Jackets GM Doug MacLean, who now works for Canadian TV network Sportsnet.

ESPN’s Barry Melrose said, “I don’t think that’s enough (in return).”

TSN’s Aaron Ward said, “I feel bad for Columbus.”

Clearly, the Blue Jackets gave up the best player in the trade. Nash is a perennial All-Star, an Olympic gold medal winner, etc.

But the trade had a transformative effect on the Blue Jackets, both on the ice and in the room. Dubinsky and Anisimov helped set the tone for what became a much faster, hard-working team.

“It gave us depth,” Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said. “We went into the season knowing our strength was our defense, but with Arty and Brandon being able to play so well down the middle, it really stabilized our lineup, gave us more competitive lines, and we used those guys in just about every aspect of the game.”

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