Dec. 20--COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Jeremy Morin never seemed to gain enough trust from coach Joel Quenneville to secure a regular spot among Chicago Blackhawks forwards.
Now with the Columbus Blue Jackets following Sunday's trade that brought defenseman Tim Erixon to the Hawks, Morin is hoping to win over his new coach, Todd Richards.
"Anytime you have a coach you try to build his trust and play in his system," Morin said following the Blue Jackets' morning skate in advance of Saturday night's game between the Jackets and Hawks at Nationwide Arena. "(Richards') system is a little different, I'm trying to pick it up as quickly as possible and play my game. (I'll) ry to win him over and just help the team win."
Morin, who played 55 games over the course of four-plus seasons with the Hawks, described his time with the team as "great," but was looking to move on with the Blue Jackets.
"Obviously, I didn't play the hockey I wanted to play in the beginning of the season," said Morin, who was held scoreless in 15 games with the Hawks. "That's in the past. I'm just looking forward here to try to start a new chapter in my career here."
When asked if he was given a fair shot to play a major role with the Hawks, Morin said, "I don't really want to get into that. It's in the past. I'm here now and I'm excited about the opportunity."
With the Blue Jackets banged up, including Boone Jenner being placed on the injured list Saturday with a stress fracture in his back, Morin will get plenty of opportunities.
"When you're making those types of transactions it is about going into a situation and then making the most of it.," Richards said. "There's a great opportunity here right now based on the number of players that we have out of the lineup. Losing Boone, it opens up some power-play minutes. You'll probably see Jeremy out on the power play (Saturday night). We got him in here (and) he's played a couple of games for us. It was about his five-on-five game and now that we've lost a couple of guys there's going to be more opportunities for him."
That would suit Morin just fine as he yearns to play more minutes than he did for the Hawks.
"I'm going to have to keep earning that ice time when I'm here," he said. "It's just not going to be given to me. Just go out there and play my game."
Morin said he expected to here from some of his former teammates while out on the ice Saturday night, specifically agitator Andrew Shaw.
"Everybody expects to hear from that kid," Morin said with a grin. "I'll try to tune him out as best as possible."
