I know that some think I'm exaggerating when I mention that most people consider the Jackets an AHL+ team which exists solely to put the finishing touches on a promising rookie for a "real" team to acquire and for older players to finish out a career. Consider this. Jiricek wasn't even in a car and headed for Cleveland before the first story claiming that the Jackets intend to trade him popped up online. Every day, there are several stories stating that one team or another are in talks to acquire Jiricek. This despite stories with Waddell saying that he's not trying to trade Jiricek and Portzline publishing a story about Waddell where Waddell states that, while he always listens to trade offers, he's not actively shopping anyone and that he will only trade Jiricek if someone overwhelms him with an offer. Yet, "insiders" are 100% sure that Jiricek will be traded in the next few days. Why? Because he was sent to Cleveland. That's all. Jiricek is sent to Cleveland to work on his defense and play away from the puck, and every self-appointed expert knows that he's about to be traded.