Saad: "We'll See When The Puck Drops"

Blue Jackets forward Brandon Saad had strong words for those in Chicago who think him being traded to Columbus is some form of punishment.

Was it hard to be traded by the Blackhawks?

"Absolutely," Saad said. "When you go through what we went though, you build relationships and you get really close with teammates. It's an experience you'll never forget."

Was it hard to be traded to Columbus?

"Absolutely not," Saad said. "This is a really young team with a lot of talent, and I've met a few of the guys already. The one thing that keeps coming up is how tight-knit the guys are, and that's a really important element.

"There's going to be an adjustment period, I'm sure, for both (free agent signee) Gregory (Campbell) and I. But the talent is here, it seems like a great group of guys, the city is young and vibrant, and I'm ready to get to work."

The Blue Jackets acquired Saad from Chicago, along with two prospects, on June 30, sending forwards Artem Anisimov, Marko Dano, Corey Tropp and Jeremy Morin, and a fourth-round pick in 2016 to the Blackhawks.

The next day, Chicago Tribune columnist Steve Rosenbloom theorized that Saad was traded -- and, of all places, to Columbus -- to punish him for not accepting a salary-cap friendly contract offer from the Blackhawks.

Rosenbloom wrote: Brandon Saad will get his money from the Blue Jackets, and he'd better enjoy it because he just got buried. I could be wrong, but I don't think it's a coincidence that Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman consigned the young, talented, money-hunting winger to one of the NHL's maximum security prisons. This seems as much a trade as a sentence. That's my theory, and I'm sticking to it."

Saad's response: "I didn’t hear too much about it. (Blue Jackets VP of public relations) Todd (Sharrock) told me about it this morning. People are going to say whatever they like; that’s how it is. Really, I’m coming to a great team with a lot of potential and a lot of great players. People can say what they want, but we’ll see when the puck drops."

Blue Jackets president of hockey operations John Davidson gets his back up when people throw spears at Columbus, just as he used to defend St. Louis with a passion. (True story: he once had a department of travel and tourism send piles of brochures to TV analysts after the skewered his city.)

Here's Davidson: Our city stands on its own. We’re the 15^th largest city in the country, the seventh-youngest city in the country. Everybody who comes here loves to play here. It’s a gem. It’s a bit of a hidden gem, but just ask the players who play here.

"Honestly, I couldn’t care less what somebody like that wrote or said about this city. I know the truth. The truth is pretty good."