Howson spent five seasons with the Jackets and made the playoffs once, thanks to Steve Mason's Calder Trophy-worthy performance in the 2008-09 campaign. The team was swept in the first round by the eventual Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings. Other than the playoff appearance,
Howson's tenure in Columbus was spent mis-managing assets and negotiating flimsy returns on trades. In his five years, he finished 4th, 4th, 5th, 5th and 5th.
Before the start of last season, the Jackets and Howson made a big splash by signing a big-name free agent in James Wisniewski. He also traded the 8th overall pick and Jakub Voracek to the Philadelphia Flyers in an ill-fated trade for Jeff Carter, who spent just 39 games with the Blue Jackets before being traded to Los Angeles for Jack Johnson and a pick.
This summer, Howson made the biggest move of his career trading Rick Nash, arguably the only superstar the Blue Jackets have had, to New York for a pretty good package including Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon and a first round pick in this upcoming draft. The return didn't help Columbus compete this season, as they've started just 4-7-2 in their first 13 games and are last place in the Central Division.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-p...eral-manager-scott-howson-012237271--nhl.html