"Using the second-person style of famed boxing writer Jimmy Cannon is difficult, but it can be helped along by utilizing the voice of Hubie Brown. Try it:

OK. You are Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson. You have a top-six winger in the form of Kristian Huselius who has a torn pectoral muscle and will be out of the lineup until mid-November - or mid-January. This is not good. You have spent two months upgrading your talent, and now this.

What do you do?

You can make a trade and give up a good prospect to get a proven scorer. But why go this way? You do not want to give up a prospect, you do not want to take on more long-term money. And besides, the trade market is not exactly vibrant at the moment.

You can sign a free agent. There is not much left on the shelf, but can you find a top-six winger? You can. But what do you pay, and for how long?

Do you sign Vinny Prospal, who is 36? Former Blue Jackets general manager Doug MacLean was talking up Prospal 10 years ago, when LeBron James was in high school.

Is Cory Stillman, who is 37, the one? Is Kyle Wellwood, who is 28 but spent half of last season playing in Russia?

For your purposes, Prospal, Stillman and Wellwood are probably the best free agents available. Steve Bernier, Sergei Samsonov, J.P. Dumont, Marek Svatos and Jason Williams are also out there. This group is not exactly the 1972 Lakers, if you know what I'm talking about.

OK. You have another option. You can wait. This is your MO, anyway. Some of the so-called wags refer to you as the "Reluctant Professor." Hah. You can wait and see what shakes out after the arbitration hearings."