Off Season Issues
Well here we are, 3 weeks into the seemingly endless off season. 1 month until the draft. 2 months until the start of free agency. 5 months from the start of training camp. Nothing but time on our hands….
I don’t know about you, but I have had a really tough time staying interested in these NHL playoffs. I’m not sure what it is, but since the Sens were eliminated I’ve probably watched 2, maybe 3 full periods of hockey. I feel oddly satisfied with how the Sens season played out and to tell you the truth I honestly could not care less about which of the 4 remaining teams lifts the cup at the end of the season.
I feel like I’ve been so emotionally invested in this unbelievable Senators season that no other story line or media rumbling or potential matchup in the Cup final can interest me in the way this team did for the entirety of this past season.
This Senators season was amazing. Truly a fun and exciting experience from start to finish, but now that its over its time to start biding our time to do it all over again next year. So in an offseason that is already feeling like it’s been going on too long I thought I would start to outline some potential story lines over the next few weeks that we can all think on while we count down the days until our boys are back on the ice. This week:
FREE AGENTS
UFAs: Auld, Carkner, Gilroy, Kuba, Klinkhammer, Konopka, Winchester
My opinion?
Auld is gone, Gilroy is gone.
Kuba could be back, but I have a hard time believing he will take a pay cut on his $3.7 mil salary when he will be looking to cash in one last time as a free agent. There are better options out there for the Sens and I wouldn’t be surprised if they let Kuba take a walk.
Klinkhammer can still play a role in this organization but I think the writing is on the wall in terms of a roster spot on a team chalk full of up and coming prospects. He’s probably gone too.
Konopka however has etched out a nice little place on this team and has stated his strong desire to resign here. The guy will play for peanuts and can be a real nice role player and dressing room presence on a team with a bunch of kids finding their way.
Jesse Winchester is a tough one for me. I love the way he plays the game. He is a noticeable upgrade on the fourth line and I would be thrilled if he were to come back, but after a scary year in which he had 2 serious concussions it might be time to cut ties and find a healthier option to fill that spot. If he can shake his ongoing concussion issues I’d love to see him back in a Sens uniform.
RFAs: Foligno, O’Brien, Daugavins, Karlsson
Bryan Murray has challenged Nick Foligno to be the second liner this team needs him to be. Expect him to be re-signed, but if he doesn’t take a significant step forward again next year he might be the subject of trade talks come the deadline. Nicky has the ability to be a solid second liner but consistency has always been his problem. He either needs to step up or slot in solidly on the third line.
O’Brien and Daugavins will stick around. They both had solid years and developed into regular NHLers.
Erik Karlsson will be back. There is no doubt about that, but at what cost? I get the feeling he will do 1 of 2 things: Sign a short(er) term deal for a bigger cap hit, or sign a longer term deal at a lower annual cost. I’m thinking a 4 year deal worth $7+ mil, or a 6 or 7 year deal worth $5 or $6 mil give or take. Either way he will be back, but the Sens do have a little bit of leverage (but not much) with Karlsson coming off of his first entry level contract.
Expect negotiations to heat up sometime after the NHL awards once we know whether or not Karlsson has won the Norris Trophy (he will…..right? He will.)
So that’s it for my quick take on the Sens free agent situation. Let me know if you agree or disagree in the comments section or on Twitter @TomSENS.
I pretty much agree with all you have said.
Kuba will be gone, as we will not match the amount a desperate team will overpay him with, and I say good riddence.
Gilroy was a mistake, and he will have to expect to play in the minors to improve his game, I do not see him agreeing to this and therefore will be gone
Carkner should fit in as the 7th D-man once again, as he is only too happy to play or sit, and can help out when needed
Leaving two open spots for the top 6 D, one for Boro, and another for UFA, or another promotion
Forwards
I completely agree with your assessments,
but I think the most pressing needs will be a top 3 proven player to play with Spezza, this will be a must, and plugging a Greening type in there simply will not cut it.
We have had a couple of good discussions on possible forward UFA's that could fit, and so far most agree that Parentau or Fillpula could lead the way, we would all love Parise, but that may be more a dream than a reality.
I do think though Kuba is a bit of a wild card. We do need another top D man, but probably need more of the defensive type. Depending how tough that hole might be to fill, I could see Murray paying something similar or slightly less to keep him, but not more unless we think we could move him at the deadline. There *will* be demand for him for sure, who knows what he could have fetched us at the deadline this year, but it sucks to see these guys walk for nothing...
But yes a top dman is a huge need for us, to what extent we can address this remains to be seen.
miguel is also right about the top line winger. We have a glut of guys who could toil on the second line, doubly so now that Stone and Silfer will probably make strides... but if we want to be back in the dance next spring this is one of the big two elements we currently lack.
Will it be more of a standard rebuild year or will Murray try to add *two* key pieces to put us over the top? It will be interesting to watch all this unfold. I truly believe we are 1 solid top line winger and 1 stalwart defensemen to put us in contention.
So question, if we could make a huge free agency splash and get either and "A grade forward + a B grade dman" or a "B grade forward and an A grade dman" which would you guys prefer?
For example Parise + Garrison.
or
Parenteau and Suter.
Also, looking at Foligno's point totals this year proves he stepped up. When you add to that fact that he was buried in the bottom 6 for significant stretches, I don't feel like he's getting enough recognition for the positive jump he did make this year. The 2nd line only really produced this year when he was on it. He still has room to grow, but he's still very young. I'm getting tired of the impatience shown towards this kid!
Anyways, praising Winchester or Daugavins for being slightly better than useless doesn't make much sense to me. I hope the only people we retain from those lists are Karlsson, O'Brien, Konopka, Carkner and Foligno, the rest are completely replaceable.
Agree with pretty much everything stated so far. Kuba wont be resigned.
Well said Rush,
Interesting perspective on the UFA's, or as you said will he go with the rebuild plan and keep promoting?
But I think that would not be fair to Spezza.
It is time enough that we give him at least one more top 3,
So I guess I am more of the Parise/Garrison wish list, or at least I can dream :)
Trading Lee for Gilroy gave us a risk free opportunity to take a look at a player we were clearly interested in signing as a UFA and to form an opinion on him. Now we can either let him go for nothing (as we would have done with Lee) or sign him.
I don't think Gilroy added much of anything and wouldn't be keen to have him back, but I still think the trade was worth doing.
As for UFA I'm completely on board with only bringing back winchester if healthy, and maybe konopka but meh. Konopka really only had any worth in the playoffs and that was just because of his face off abilities. There are plenty more servicable, quicker more efficient Face off guys in the league. His fighting is not that important to us
Carkner same thing, he struggled to find a spot in the line-up, and only reason he actually did was because Murray gambled and traded lee for gilroy. I'm pretty certain Lee would have drawn into every game vs rangers. We can replace carkner as well
auld/klink/gilroy gone
As for RFA, daug and klink will be given an opportunity to find full time employment elsewhere, if not its 2 way contracts for them
Sure Foligno's point totals jumped, but he is far from an impact player on the 2nd line. He only scored 4 goals from January 1 to the end of the regular season. In the 3 months prior to that he scored 11. His problem has always been consistency. He needs to find a way to balance it out and become more consistent or he will have to embrace a significant role on the 3rd line.This was his 5th season in the NHL and he has been given tons of opportunity. I'm not suggesting he isnt capable, I just think that this next season will be one that defines the kind of play we can expect from him.
Keith Ballard and Mason Raymond
I guess it depends on your definition of impact player. Foligno is a power forward, he plays bigger than he is, but still has some touch with the stick. He's one of the only phsyical presences this organization has that can skate with top 6 skill. Obviously it's not enough to please fans, but he came into this league extremely young because the Sens had a bare cupboard. Some players reach consistency in their first 3 years, others take until they are 26-28 to get there. It's all about patience, which this fan base has very little of when it comes to players with high expectations. I would argue he's actually one of the only players that shows up every game and gives his all. Yes that leads to penalties, some deserved, but he's a playmaker and can't make plays when he's on a line with bottom 6 players. It's all about the context of his TOI and he helped get the team through the first half of the season when the roster was weak skill wise and then was used as a scapegoat the rest of the year.
Exactly - if they were not planning on re-signing Lee it was worth it
Add me to the group that thinks the Lee trade was horrible.
Sorry I will have to disagree, although your points on many coaches passing up on Lee is very valid, I believe that there were more factors in that decision than just talent. Lee was not on our forecast as top 4 D, and was never really given that opportunity, whereas others were.
Question for you Apostle, do you think that Lee may have been better suited for our playoffs than either Gilroy or even Kuba? I really do believe that he could have helped us more in that series vs. the Rangers, and therefore we could have traded Kuba instead, and get a better value, while we could instead of losing him for nothing?... IMO of course
Ballard is a giant waste of cash/cap space. Vancouver is probably going to buy him out.
When ballard plays on left side and plays full 82 games he is 25 35 point dmen plus player blocks shots and hits ...Sounds perfect for beside Karlsson ..
If Van buys or wavies him id take him forsure .at 4.5 id ask for raymond as part of package
I was one that could not see his value regular season but playoffs were another story.
Add me to the A top shut down D
A top forward would be nice but not as much of a hole there unless Alfie retires
If Alfie retires whole other story.
I personally did not understand the Regin signing to a one way contract if we already have Spezza, Turris and Smith as our top 3 centres. We all know Regin doesn't play well on the wing, so what is he going to be? A 4th line centre. He's clearly not big enough to play in that position.
I also agree with what RUSHRLZ said, but if those players are not available, it might be a good idea to also consider the trade route since we are running out of roster spots for our prospects that are ready to make the jump. Also, rather than Garrison, I would take a hard run at Justin Schultz. He's a young D-man that would fit perfectly into our rebuild or re-tool (whatever you want to call it) and we wouldn't have to give anything up for him.
No thank you. Ballard is way overpaid and he's barely a 5-6 d-man. Raymond has a lot of speed but he seems to be another Foligno, as he struggles with consistency.
I can see Kuba being signed and then traded later on depending on how the farm hands progress or a better fit comes in via trade. It mitigates risk and we would get a draft pick back. Of course the $$ would have to be right.
Go Go
Go anyone but Rangers Go
I gues this thing does not like brackets
Silverburg Turris Stone
Petersson Regin Zibby
Foligmp Smith Neil
Condra Greening Butler as extras
Mix them around all you want
Defense is a whole other story,
23 allowed on the team including press box, 20 dress for games
Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge Foligno fan and I agree with what you are saying, but IMO consistency is what will drive him up the depth chart, or send him down it. I have all the patience in the world for a guy like Nick Foligno, but when you look at some of the other options that can fill that 2nd line winger role you start to think that maybe Nicky isn't the right fit if he keeps playing a "streaky" game. My only point is that he has all the tools to be a top 6 impact player for this team, but he needs to show he can put it all together on a nightly basis.
I hope we give Gryba a shot first before Boro Cop - think physically he's more prepared.
Also - think the SENS are going to Shop Spezza - just a feeling I have(probably at the draft). Would he wave his no-trade. Don't think MacLean is his biggest fan. Body language I seemed to pick-up from the Coach and Spezza.
I dont think that would be the case. We are basically going to add 1 or 2 players through free agency. The rest will come from within. I think its a little early to assume that Zibanejad and Stone make this team straight out of camp (although they do have the ability to do just that). With that said, the rest of the guys I think might be back are more 7th dman/13th forward types who can plug in and out of the lineup.
Don't forget about Noesen, Da Costa and Puempel! All 3 had great seasons this year and will give the others a run for their money at camp.
I will have to reserve the urge to look internally to fit in the top 3,
Last year we had such high hopes for Butler, Filatov, even Condra and Greening on the top 3 and really no one took off with that role.
And I am really starting feel for Spezza, he has not had a legit top 3 player on his line since Alfie/Heatley days, and we can sense his frustration by trying too hard to do it all alone.
It is time to get Spezz a legit top 3 proven player, and stop trying to fit guys into this role.
No doubt one of Stone/Silfver/Z ibby may fit one day, but that day will not be next year.
Lets get him a top 3 UFA for next year
I understand, and I agree it will be nice when he gets to that stage. I just think we also have to realize he can only be as good as the line mates he's put with. Daugavins, Condra, Neil, O'Brien, Konopka are not players that can finish his plays or really even do give an gos with him. Hell last year Kovalev couldn't even take advantage of all the opportunities Foligno gave him. If Spezza needs finishers on his line, so does Foligno imo. He's a natural center, we can't forget his natural game is to bring the puck up ice and try to setup his teammates or drive to the net for a rebound.
He made a huge jump this year in production and hopefully next year is more about consistent offensive production, but he needs a consistent role! I would say he's no more streaky than Michalek or Greening though, and no one seems to be questioning their place in the top 6.
Good discussion though Tom, appreciate the back and forth!
For sure, really just saying we have options for the forward position, lots of talent that can step up.
I have to think if Stone Silverburg were good enough to bring in for playoffs chances are they could play regular season.
There is one thing we know for certain, Kuba has come full circle in his overall production, back to where he was when he first signed with Ottawa in 08-09. Sure he's 8 points off his 40 point total from that year, but his +/- was an astounding +26, in comparison to his -26 last year. In fact he's been a - his entire Ottawa career without exception to this year. Yes, much of it has to do with playing along the NHL's defense leading scorer, but lets not forget that EK is also a defensive liability from time to time. So it's not all rainbows and lollipops. I guess what I'm sayhing is Kuba has shown his worth this season and that will result in some teams knocking on Kuba's door.
The outcome will be based on what he values his expected contract to be in Ottawa. Will Kuba be happy to sign the same or lower value in order to continue playing in an organization that's on the rise, makes him a top D pairing playing with EK? Or will he sign for more money, testing the market and not having the same opportunity.
Going elsewhere has two options. He'll either sign with a contending team, where they are looking for that 1 last peice to get them over the top, which means he would probably fit somewhere into a second pairing situation as most contending teams already have a top pairing D. Or he'll land a spot on a desperate team, who would slot him into a top pairing role, without the promise of post season at hand.
Agreed, I think Silfverberg is pretty much guaranteed to be in the NHL at the end of camp, and at least one of Stone or Zibanejad. Personally I like Stone because him and Spezza have always shown chemistry when put together and I think they look at the game in the same way. Stone may be a slow skater, but his hockey IQ is pretty high.
Tom is right though, 5 months away seems like an eternity, I can't wait to see the battles between all these prospects in camp!
I learned my lesson last year with all the high hopes, and really never filled out our top 3.
I can just see Spezz rolling his eyes, if management thinks that a rookie can slot right into the top 3 role.
We owe it to Spezz to get him some help, if not then please people we have to stop bashing Spezza, cause he is doing more than he can given the tools we give him to work with.
we may disagree from time to time, but by all means I always respect your opinions, and dare I say, open my eyes to points I may otherwise would miss,
keep it up :)
Clouston was let go with one year left on his deal.
you're missing my point. Regardless of what Lee did for the rest of the season the senators clearly had no interest in re-signing him. Brian Lee was not going to be a difference maker in the playoffs - with him in the line-up we would have ended up pretty much exactly where we did and then he would have left.
You believe we lost Lee for nothing because we aren't likely to keep Gilroy. I said we gave Lee up for an exclusive close quarters look at Gilroy. I would rather we did that than sign Gilroy this summer to an actual deal and discovered he sucked with 18 months left on a contract.What would you rather have, Gilroy play 10 games and be gone or play 80 next season like the 10 he played this year?
Brian Lee played 167 regular season games with the team (that's 2 full years worth) and was with the team since 2007. How much more of a chance to impress do you think he needed? He was drafted in 2005-that's seven years he had to convince Murray he was worth keeping and he didn't manage to do it.
The sens spent the last 2 years begging people to trade for Kuba and we couldn't seem to get anything decent in return, I''m sure if he could have been gone, he would've been gone. I think Lee is a better dman than Gilroy, I don't particularly want either of them here next year though.
Thanks Apostle, respect you opinion, and agree to points, but still think Lee was blackballed from the beginning, and that we could have gotten something better for Kuba at the deadline, only time will tell though
there is plenty of merit in this comment, Lee was always going to be second fiddle to Murrays prospects, and I cannot phathom the mind games Lee had to be forced with, playing in and out, and always bottom 6 pairing.
Again he should get a legit shot now in Tampa, and time will tell, but I think we let a good one go, and now we will have nothing to show for Lee, Gilroy and possibly Kuba, so as brilliant I know Murray is, I think we made a mistake here.
Wilson plays for Plymouth and was rated as the hardest hitter in the Western Conference of the OHL. He only had 27 points in the regular season, but had 13 points in 13 playoff games. Stefan Noesen may be consulted by the Sens management regarding Wilson.
Pierre Dorion did say that they should be able to find an NHL player with the 15th pick. Don't know much about these guys but statistically speaking they sound pretty good.
Thanks
@thepez - I had brought up a few of those names many posts ago, when it came to the draft prospects. Faksa and Wilson are two guys who could be ready for NHL minutes after a solid year or two in the AHL.
I don't think anyone is forgetting Noesen or Puempel, but these are young guys who will not be thrown into the NHL straight from the OHL. You don't see that jump often and I think Ottawa would rather have them in the AHL and available for call up purposes. They may look at Stone and Zibby as more potential to hit the NHL, but even then, a good stint in the AHL could do them all wonders.
I'm not worried if they don't make the team next season. I'd rather see them all progress through the proper stages, instead of rushed into a Sens uniform. Ottawa will add Silverburg as a full timer next season. Beyond that, a potential D signing depending on Kuba. If they still need it, they'll use the FA pool to snag another forward.
He's probably deciding whether to leave school or not. I'm sure his agent will be busy should he decide to turn pro. Last I heard he was 6'8 but very skinny, he may want to fill out before leaving school.
Daugavins was servicable but he might as well have played with a shovel, he can't score.
Yes to O'Brien, konopka , Foligno and Carkner for me.
(Obviously EK65)
I think at least 1-2 of the players not named Zibanejad or Silfverberg will surprise us in camp and be hard to send back down. We are still desperate for real offense and all 7 of them (Zibanejad, Stone, Silfverberg, Stone, Noesen, Da Costa and Puempel) are offensively inclined players. Just saying it will be a fun camp, they'll all probably get some games at both levels at some point next season.
He made his NHL debut in 2007/08 after being drafted in 2005. I think he played 5 or 6 games that first year, so those 160 games are from the last 4 seasons. I would have thought that is a significant sample size to make a determination on whether he was worth keeping.
I agree that there was too much chopping and changing going on with him in and out of the line-up, but I think people forget that the games aren't the only time the coaches see this guy. He's had 4 or 5 years of practice with the team,he's had 6 or 7 training camps, he's had rookie tournaments and at the end of that the senators decided he wasn't worth keeping.
Maybe there was something from Lee's camp where they indicated he didn't want to sign another contract with the organisation and I don't blame him for that - if that is the case it's even better that they did what they did at the deadline.
You can argue that he wasn't given a fair shot if you like, but I think 7 years in any one place is enough time to give the people who far more qualified than you or I to make an accurate determination of what a guy can offer in the future. And whatever that was, it wasn't enough for Murray or MacLean.
It's unfortunate for Lee that we couldn't move Kuba, that would have given him the space, it's unfortunate for him that our later first round dmen picks are so much better than him but fair chance or not he clearly didn't convince the people that matter that he should be kept.
I'm on the side of not liking the Lee trade. He was playing pretty well in the lineup for the Sens.. Not going to blow you away but was steady. Was better in the lineup than Gilroy. I think when thinking of Lee it was not that he was drafted.. but what position he was drafted in.. when there was so much better to pick by Muckler. Lee could have been picked much later in that draft.
And no the Sens are NOT, NOT, NOT trading Spezza. Not every team in the league has a true #1 centre.. Spezza is that. 4th overall in scoring in the NHL this year. He has his faults... sure.. but what player in the NHL is absolute perfect. There is no one to take Spezza's place in the lineup. Turris is good.. but he is not a #1 centre.
Silfverberg make the Senators.. I think Stone & Zibanejad start the year in Binghamton. Petersson's in Binghamton as well.
Giving that the Sens are re-building I doubt they sign Kuba. Murray will try to go the UFA route or bring up BoroCop or Gryba..
Question is.. with his play with LA in the playoffs.. will Penner becoming a hot commodity this offseason?
Sens need to focus on the defense...
It's not like Murray didn't have any idea of what was going to happen with Lee if the off season, clearly he didn't want to re-sign Lee or Lee had made it clear he wouldn't want another contract with the Senators so what was the point of keeping him?
Was Brian Lee really going to be a difference maker for the rest of the season and in the playoffs? No. Was he going to be the missing piece that delivers us the Stanley Cup? Of course not.
If we traded a potentially signed Lee for Gilroy I wouldn't like it.
We traded Lee for a free look at somebody with no risk attached to it whatsoever. For that reason I liked the trade.
Gilroy didn't pan out either, so he won't be signed. Lee was gone this summer no matter what. It's not a matter about who was better, lee or gilroy (lee wins in my books however). It's just a matter of Lee being gone no matter what, so might as well get a trial on Gilroy...as apostle said.
The Sens have a little over 37M committed to 15 players.. leaving about 6 or 7 players to sign with about 14M left to get back to the cap payroll the Sens had this season.
Give Karlsson about 6M of that 14M -- leaving 8M to sign about 5 more players.. How much will Melnyk let Murray spend..
There is talk of a 'free buyout' in the next CBA -- a one-time only thing... will the Sens make use of this and for who?
Will the next CBA be settled without a lockout or a strike? I don't even want to think about that now..
why not keep the better asset in the fold?
its not about giving assets away, it is about getting the best value, and in this case I feel we did not... that is all.
And sorry but judging by what I say in the playoffs and Kuba resorting to his old ways of shying away for contact, Lee would have been a better fit for us. Would he have made a difference, when one goal seperated two teams, probably not, but who is to say?
Great debating boys, and very good points raised by all, but I still feel that we will lose Gilroy, Lee and Kuba all for nothing, when I am sure we could have at least got something for Kuba at the trade deadline...agai n just my opinion only
Interesting break down Sandy,
and when you say one buyout are you talking about Gonchar?
And yah please I beg, we do not want another strike/holdout, it hurt us the last time, and will certainly not help us this time around again!
It's very simple - Murray didn't see Lee as an asset worth keeping or Lee made it clear he didn't want to be kept.
And if a player isn't good enough he isn't worth keeping because he is the lesser of 2 or, in this case 3 evils. If I'm given a choice of two things to eat and I don't like either of them I am going to choose not to eat either of them unless I have to.
We didn't have to keep Lee so Murray doesn't think he is good enough, why bother?
I think you're so intent on examining what you would have done or what you would have liked to have seen happen that you aren't looking at this from Murray or MacLeans POV.
IMO Murray should not re-sign Kuba, Auld or Winchester we no longer need them. O'Brien has already taken over Winchester's role & Bishop has replaced Auld. The defence as a whole can & will replace Kuba's minutes including Boroweicki who can some limited minutes of Kuba's time. However, lol there is no way that Boro can replace Carkner's heavyweight role on this team, he would get killed. Boro is a middleweight at best, I would slot him somewhere around Foligno for toughness. Klinkhammer should get a two way & be a call up. Since Murray brought Gilroy to Ottawa I`m going to guess that he re-signs him for depth.
RFAs - O'Brien, Foligno, Karlsson & Daugavins
I agree with you on Karlsson 5 to 7 yrs sounds about right. Foligno should also get a decent raise to around $3 mil for almost hitting 50 pts. He continues to get better & should have another good yr whether it's on the 2nd or 3rd line. O'Brien replaces Winchester IMO.
Although I like Daugavins & understand that he is a well liked guy on the team but he just doesn't score enough to re-sign. I think there are plenty of other options that would improve this team in the organization. Z. Smith would be my first choice to move over to left wing with Klinkhammer & Dzuirzynski as other options. Bigger & tougher guys who can do the job just as well. Butler could be gone too.
Silfverberg - Spezza - Michalek
Foligno - Turris - Alfredsson
Greening - Regin - Stone
Z. Smith - O'Brien - Neil/Konopka/Condra
Cowen - Karlsson
Phillips - Gilroy - Gilroy could replace most of Kuba`s pts
Boroweicki - Gonchar/Carkner
Anderson - Bishop - goaltending should be even better next season
ok slow day,
the point is that we had 3 assets Lee, Gilroy and Kuba, all three will be gone for nothing.
All 3 are NHL assets, just like having property you would not dump it for nothing, you want to maximize its potential.
Had we traded Kuba at the deadline (2nd rouund pick?), we would have had a decent return for him, and then judging by how Lee finished, he could be resigned or he could be let go, but in the end we would have something to show for it (or in your analogy nothing to eat like BBQ Chicken).
But now we lost a first round pick Lee, we do not want what we we got for him, and we will likely let Kuba go.
And nothting to show for it ( so we are left starving )
Capgeek has him has a UFA
http://capgeek.com/charts.php?Team=23
go here
www.omaha.com/article/20120502/MAVS/705029778/1001
191 (30) Hax
184 (27) DonnyG33
184 (24) Misaow
183 (27) PaskySensFan
182 (21) Glencho10
179 (32) acameron56
178 (27) sens23
177 (13) DenisVial
175 (18) Bradweiser
175 (17) Kratos71
We aren't starving, we have food in the fridge (Gonchar, Karlsson, Cowen, Carkner) and we have food in the cupboards (Borowiecki, Gryba, WireCock) if needs be we can order some take-out (UFA).
Lee was gone regardless of who was left on the blueline. Gilroy we nibbled at and we haven't decided whether we like him or not yet. Kuba might be on the menu for another team or we might put him back in the fridge.
You can't say we are letting 3 assets go for nothing because Gilroy and Lee are the same asset. We swapped Lee for something else on the menu and didn't like it. I've been saying for six months that I can see a scenario where we re-sign Kuba. Lee being let go is part of that scenario.
I'm not convinced Kuba would have got a huge amount, but either way Murray decided to not make so many changes and reward the players who had given the fans one of the most unexpected and pleasant surprises we could have hoped for. I'm ok with that.
not to toot my own horn but last year in december i predicted we draft puempel in top 10 and with our other 1st round pick we draft zibanejad at arround 15-20 and i was more than shocked to see i predicted we drafted exactly who i hoped for... but that doesnt answer your question.
this year i really think we go after ceci or reinhart. we need a 2way dman. karlsson and cowen are the future top pair. we need another good D kid for the top 4. these 2 guys both are basically 2 way forwads just ceci is better offencivly and reinhart is much bigger at arround 6'4 with a monster slap shot. and if the organization really wants to stick to the swedish route. depending if they want a forward or a dman, ludvig bystrom who has quickly jumped up scouts ranks 2way Dman.
the kid i want the most out of this draft if we chose to go for a forward is sebastian collberg. dont let his 0points in 40games this year in the SEL fool you, this kid has the top 3 shots (arguably the best) release of this years draft.
other interesting kids are zemgus girgenson big strong very high skilled latvian 6'3 center.
slater koekkoek, for one. he has an awesome name. but he is just a textbook tough, physical shutdown Dman.
Interesting stuff from @t_json: the scoring race discrediting secondary assists: https://p.twimg.com/AtDXwwCCAAET9Xs.jpg
milo went form 56th to 25th on this rank
First of all his value is high right now season 80+ points.
Sens are still a good 3 years away from truly contending.
Alfie will most likely retire and there will be no Parise or Suter.
His Cap hit is 7 million and if his production drops he'll be difficult to get rid of as a 30+ year old.
We're in a rebuild and what is the point of finishing 7-8-9th for the next few years and drafting a la Montreal Canadiens(spinn ing our wheels).
Sure once in awhile you might get a Karlsson but history shows mid to late first rounders more often than not turn out to be Jim O'Briens.
We have a nice accumulation of young players and we have to get them some playing time.
Now that being said Spezza has a no trade clause. So he would have to accept a trade to the other team. Where could he go. Well 1)Toronto - he grew up a Leaf fan and his family would love to see him in T.O.
2)Edmonton - Spezza would love to center Hall and Eberle. With Nugent-Hopkins would be a deadly 1-2 punch.
I for one don't buy that you need a great number one centerman - Hell Guy Lafleur won 4 cups with Jacques Lemaire as his center(100+ points a year for the Flower)
Look at Stamkos most production with wee martin St-Louis.
So just to give examples of moves
1) to Toronto - Spezza for Kessel and 5th overall pick(if we have to throw something in we can.
2) To Edmonton - Spezza and wiorcioch for Yakupov and Gagner
ok lineups
1)(Toronto scenario)Michalek-Turris-Kessel
Greening-Regin-Silfverberg
Foligno-DaCosta-(Zibby or Stone)
Condra-Smith-Neil
Karlsson-Cowen-(Dumba or Rinehart)-Gryba -Phillips-Gonch ar-Boro
Michalek-Turris-Yakupov
Greening-Gagner-Silfverberg
Foligno-Regin-(zibby or Stone)
Condra-Smith-Neil
Ideally Zibby one year in Ahl centering Puempel and Noesen
So no way he comes to Ottawa...
Toronto scenario. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAGAG AGAGAGAGAGAGAGA GAGABAHAHAGAGAV AGAGAGAHAHAHAHA HAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHA
Would be a good time to do it cuz Columbus looking to tarde Nash but cause a bidding war over these two and send teams into a frenzy.
Ok Sandy don't get mad at me(haha).
Lakka Sum Boodie.
Please come back in September after you have received treatment for what ails you.
So if certain folks insist on trying to trade Spezza, please at least come up with fantasies that involve us ending up with a top 10 NHL center.
Not to mention the trickle down effect of having Regin somehow come back from a year off to be a legit #2C, DaCosta go from being an AHLer to a legit #3C etc, etc.
Let's trade all our good players because YOU think we will not contend.
Not only that trade our good players and get players from a shit team that can"t contend.
Great idea. NOT
Any player that plays for Toronto is a loser, if they weren't when they came they will be when they leave, it is Leaf culture to be losers.
Out in the quarter finals
We will probably slip in official rank, which now puts us in a much tougher pool in the Olympics as these Worlds were the final qualifying championships before Sochi!
Awesome!!
Way to go Lowe, I hope you enjoyed your scouting work on Murray, and liked the job of a quincey-russell -murray-schenn- phaneuf-keith-m ethot defense!!!
They could've used SPEZZA!
Well said Alcatraz and my sentiments exactly,
I am always a Canadian first, and have always cheered on my nation over all other priorities, so when a GM, clearly puts their own interests ahead in taking home players or potential draft picks, or even weaker players over superior players, it forces me to question the motives, and if his motives are not the best for the nation, then I have issues with cheering on that team
Dumb Dumb Lowe decided he would use the worlds for his own personal agenda, Congrats idiot, you emabarrassed a nation that has hockey as it religion and politics.
You should be ashamed of yourself!
Hey idiot here is an idea, next time take the best Canadian players available, and not the ones that interest you and your Oiler priorities.
Hope you enjoyed your stint as Canadian GM, you should set your sites on being the next GM of the Maple Leafs, fool!
end rant
As a foreign type person who has the luxury of not caring about international hockey I've always had the impression that the World's is very much 4th on the list of hockey things that Canadian fans and players care about winning.
Stanley Cup
Olympics
World Juniors
Worlds
I figure this is to do with the fact that the tournament takes place at a terrible time of year when something far more interesting to the average hockey fan is still going on.
Is this perception right? Are the worlds even relevant when a lot of the best players are either involved in the playoffs or refuse invitations?
Yes you are bang on and I would have to agree,but to get knocked out in the Quarters? When you take this world stage, and put in your own personal agenda, then I find it offensive. They clearly left some of the better players off the team, for other interests.
Spezza
Stamkos
Neal
Bieksa
St Louis
Teows
Thorton
Marleau
Lucic
Boyle
Bergeron
etc etc, this is just off the top of my head,
Granted I know some may have turned down, but many were never even asked, which I find more than strange,
and all kidding aside I could have picked a team that could have beaten Lowe's Team Canada team, which is truely a shame.
The tournament could be changed next year NHL GMs are suggesting to have it in September and the hockey federation is looking into this. I hope it does because it would make more sense for players wanting to play in it as a warm up for their seasons in Europe and in North America
nhlnumbers.com and hockeybuzz both have him listed as RFA:
http://www.hockeybuzz.com/cap-central/team.php?team=OTT
http://stats.nhlnumbers.com/teams/OTT?year=2012
Capgeek might say UFA, but I'm pretty sure that is a mistake. He's only 25 years old with 16 career NHL games. It normally takes 7 full seasons of playing in the NHL or turning 27 years old to become a UFA.