*-> Kirill Kabanov is in the news again. The troubled Russian has been dumped by his agent JP Barry. Barry claims he and his client are a bad fit and it would be best for the two to go separate ways. Kabanov has said it's because of his on going fued with the Russian Federation who referred to him as American Bubble Gum. Another twist to the Kabanov story, Barry clearly knows something about his client or wants to get his name off the free falling Russian. Kabanov is set to slip so Barry is covering himself and his name with all this turmoil. Once again I don't believe Kabanov has issues except for the fact the Russian Federation is out to get him for snubing the KHL.
*-> Another rumor going around today about Jason Spezza. The Ottawa Senator is rumored to be attracting interest out of Columbus. The Blue Jackets are tempted to dangle their 1st round pick this year. The Sens would love a high draft pick but I feel they won't pull the trigger on that one unless they can get a player who can help them offensively now.
*-> Jim Slater was resigned to a 1 year deal by the Atlanta Thrashers this week terms of the deal are undisclosed but rumored to be around the 850k mark.
*-> Scotty Upshall was resigned to a one year deal by the Phoenix Coyotes yesterday. The deal is also undisclosed but expected to be above the 1.7 mark.
*-> The Buffalo Sabres have reportedly stopped contract talks with prospect Zack Kassian after his assault charges have surfaced. Kassian punched a man in the face at a Windsor bar this month. Sabres GM Darcy Regier has said although the deal is off for now they will not give up on Kassian and hopes to guide him through his problems to ensure he's on the right path. All I can say is atleast he didn't rob a cabby..
19 comments:
Haha Cody is gonna hate me for this, Spezza for Columbus first + Filatov + salary dump.
If we drafted one of those high profile defenceman in the 4 spot, our future on D will be looking golden. Murray can then magically dump some salary and sign Kovalchuck, and just watch as Filatov breaks out playing alongside him. In two- three years our D will be all-world and the cup will be ours (with plenty of beauty snipes from our Russian comrades along the way)
A man can dream!
Adrian
NHLnumbers has the Bluejackets sitting at about 48 million in salary for next year. So it wouldn't be out of the question for them to eat Spezza's 7 million, assuming they sent a small amount of salary our way.
Believe it or not Aids, I would take that trade. Anyone would, that pick is just too high not to. I may be the most die-hard Spezza fan on the planet but I also recognize a good deal when I see one. Also, I believe Filatov would happily come here for a fresh start. He still wants the NHL, I'm sure of it. What I don't think will happen is Kovalchuk coming our way. If that trade goes down, what do you think of trading 4, 16 and Filatov to Boston for 2 and the Leafs' second rounder?
CA
That's essentially trading a #4, #6, #16 for a #2, #32.
I like the idea of taking Seguin, but I'd rather take a top d-men at #4, keep Filatov who I am expecting to be a ppg type player(finger crossed), and take a solid center with the #16 pick.
Bet you within 5 years you'd take that deal when you see how Seguin is doing compared to others in the 4 and 16 spots + Filatov. I don't think Connolly, Skinner, Etem or Howden will be in the same neighbourhood to be quite honest.
I understand the value of drafting a D-Man (they fetch more in trades), and even buy into BPA, but wouldn't you, in an ideal world, like us to draft a forward who can put the puck in the net that we can build around? I think that's one of the problems with this franchise: We try to plug holes on D and trade away forward prospects thinking they're easy to develop when in reality, top 6 forwards usually only come from top 15 picks. Don't get me wrong, I think D is the most important position out there, but Ottawa already has a future top 3 in Karlsson, Cowen and Wiercioch whereas our forward corps is very thin...
Maybe I'm just tired of Cody Bass/ Mike Fisher/ Chris Kelly / Chris Neil/ Jim O'Brien / Zach Smith type players being the only prospects who get attention in this town.
Thank God for Regin.
CA
I think Filatov will be the type of player that puts the puck in the net. He's had some trouble getting into the league, but he had to go through a pretty tough coach in Hitchcock (work your way up through the fourth line kinda coach) and he had to deal with his smaller size in the western conf. Even though he's more of an eastern conf kinda player.
But to be honest I think either option would be great. I just value a great defenceman over a great forward. The more competition and the more options you have on D the better. Teams that can roll 3 great lines of D will end up getting much greater production from all their forward lines because of it.
Plus I'm still not sold on Cowen and Weircoch, as both of them still have some huge question marks. The same can also be said of the massively over-hyped Erik Karlsson. The kid needs a solid partner of at least the Chris Philips caliber to play alongside him or else he pretty much gets owned in our end.
Also getting rid of Spez would definatly screw us over for AT LEAST next year, we would be totally screwed. But are we really gonna win the cup with this lineup? I dunno seems like we would have to get really lucky with no injuries and amazing goaltending. I'm not on a trade Spezza bandwagon or anything I just think we need a changeup and if we can get an amazing deal for him then I trade him. I trust Murray not to do anything stupid though.
Would you trade our first rounder this year plus one of our abundant grinder prospects for Dustin Penner? I think he would be auwsome with Spezz on our top line. Get friggin Michalek of there unless he decides to start putting up some points. I just have this feeling that Penner would cut through the Eastern conf like butter and provie some much needed toughness up front for spezz and alfie.
And by up front I mean the top 6. We're gonna need it if we ever get back to the SCF. Especially with the makeup of these western teams.
Great post Adrian,
obviously there are some question marks on the D side. I think there are realistic doubts about any player who hasn't made the league yet, but the logic in the NHL is that your blue chippers will be players someday, to varying degrees of success. I think the biggest factor is committment: if a guy with all the tools then he just has to have the desire to do the work outside of the 60 minutes that puts him over the top. I believe Cowen and Wiercioch are primed for top 4 blueline duty. Cowen I see being a potential hamhuis type player while his downside is more of a mark eaton. Wiercioch I see as being more of a boom or bust guy. I'm thinking potential Shea weber on the high end, Tim Gleason maybe, and if he busts he'll be out of the league.
Filatov has shown glimpses of brilliance, but so have alot of bust prospects. Igor grigorenko comes to mind.
CA
CA & AB:
Spezza is NOT going to be traded, quit standing in Hemp's exhaust trail.
In fact, I'm going to punch you both in the face for not only suggesting it, but actually proceeding to talk about it.
AB - If you make one more dumbass comment about the question marks surrounding the Sens D prospects Karlsson, Wiercioch and Cowen (odd you didn't think to mention Gryba), I'm going to bitch slap the taste right out of your mouth.
You knuckleheads keep discussing major team overhauls...if you actually paid attention, you'd realize that beating the 'Pens would've seen the team in the Finals.
This team needs, in order:
- consistent goaltending (hope what we saw from Leclaire wasn't a fluke and he doesn't get hit by a bus)
- better overall play from the backend (a lot of hope needed here, but with luck Kuba is moved out, Karlsson doesn't regress, and Wiercioch is ready to play (Cowen needs another year post knee reconstruction) or BM finds a high-end top 3 somewhere)
- some consistent secondary scoring (Regin should help, and Cullen would be nice)
The sum total of those needs are far less than needing to find a number one centre.
- Jalen
Jalen,
you know damn well how I feel about the Spezza situation, and nobody appreciates his value more than I do... Which is why I think the only feasable trade would be one in which we receive another generational talent like seguin in return. You yourself have said Spezza may be run out of town by years end, would it not be wise to reinvest in another superstar if the opportunity arose? He can't go for filatov or any other marginal star: non- top 15 centers need not apply.
As for the defense, I acknowledge the optimism surrounding Ottawa's blueline, and will concede that the eventual success of both wiercioch and cowen seems to be a likelihood; however you more than most fans should be able to recall countless prospects who fell far below expectations. While we have absolutely no reason to believe this is the case here, cautious optimism has never hurt when employed as a fan's perspective.
CA
CA,
If you want to speculate and apply some cautious optimism, let's contemplate the probability of either of you two donkeys getting a date some day....
Yes, it would be wise to re-invest Spezz in another (potential) superstar - but not before all efforts to build around Spezz here in Ottawa have been exhausted.
I said "potential" because you will not get another superstar, at best a prospective one. Which is exactly why you don't move Spezz until there's no other choice.
Yes, a lot of prospects have proven busts, but rarely a Murray-drafted prospect. Short of injury, Wiercioch and Cowen will be solid players and Karlsson will be a star.
And you're still getting a punch in the face.
- Jalen
Jalen,
Why would I actively search for a date when I routinely relieve myself in my spare hockey gloves which you borrowed two weeks ago?
As for building around spezz, obviously that would be the ideal situation IF this market supported him. My point is, being realistic and using forsight (instead of frustration, ignorance and stubborness) is a better predictor of how the chips will fall for this franchise. This situation is worrysome and has me fearful for what kind of moves the senators may make out of desperation that have the potential to cripple the franchise. Why ignore that possibilty? Why not look at intelligent options? Let's hope Murray and Spezz are strong enough to ignore the pressure.
And why don't you try punching a few of my setups into the back of the net first gramps?
CA
I would like to see a change in this town too, but instead of shipping out franchise players, lets start with Murray. Hes a good GM, and he has done a satisfactory job overall, but hes been here for a long time without winning. Jacques Martin was a satisfactory coach, and he needed to go because he wasnt winning. Icing a decent team should be the goal in this town, we need to get more serious about a championship. Imagine the Sens had landed Yzerman......
Well it seems as though I've found my way to the very front of the spezza bandwagon, with two semi-capable donkeys hauling the load.
Our team has 49.571 million committed to salary next season.
Our back-end currently looks this:
Phillips-Karlsson
Kuba-Carkner
Lee-?
?
That is one of the worst defenses Ottawa has had going into a season in a LONG time..
Bryan Murray has about 7 million to sign Peter Regin, Nick Foligno, Chris Campoli, Jesse Winchester. On top of that he has UFA's Andy Sutton, Anton Volchenkov, Matt Cullen and Shean Donovan to sort through.
We are gonna have to pray that Wiercioch or Cowen are ready to step up or else our D will get roasted. So yes our future on D does have some huge question marks.
Well 'Adrian Banks' (man I hope that isnt a real name....) maybe some Sens fans over-support Spezza, but what pisses me off is people like you who think fringe players on this team are valuable just because they play for your team - "needing Campoli and Winchester".
The Campoli deal was one of the worst in the team's recent history; the guy is a 7th Dman at best, and we sent a pile of talent the other way (plus a 1st round pick). I'm sure you think Winchester and Shannon are solid NHLers too, but if you take off the rose-coloured glasses for a minute, youll see that they are just the next generation of Josh Langfelds and Danny Bois playing as regulars for this team. Keep up the douchey rants.
Well this Spezza debate has caused much verbal joisting so I think I'll weigh in.
Everyone knows how I feel about Jason Spezza. I think he's a great offensively gifted center. Yes he does make lots of mistakes but thats his game. Ottawa fans knew that going in to this marriage. He isn't a two way player he's a top line playmaker plain and simple. I personally feel it's not in Ottawa's best interests to dump him. Unless however Sens fans would be happy icing a top line of Alexei Kovalev, Mike Fisher and Ryan Shannon. Alfie is starting to fade and less ice time would help him out greatly but there is nobody left to fill in for Spezza or Alfie. To put a entire teams offense on the back of two almost 40 year olds is not the solution to Ottawa's offensive woes. Love it or hate it Ottawa needs Spezza unless they can land an offensive minded player in the same age bracket for Spezza plus some more salary in return. Take a look out there and try and find another team willing to part with a number 1 center of that calibre? Plus Bryan Murray has already been burned by one cap eating situation already by the name of Jonathan Cheechoo. Find a team yet? Maybe Boston with Marc Savard, Patrice Bergeron or David Krejci but then Ottawa would deal a star player to a rival which wouldn't happen. I have also heard rumors involving the Blue Jackets their 1st and Derrick Brassard who still has yet to find his potential. Even by pulling the trigger on that deal it would symbolize Ottawa is in a rebuilding mode and would be several years before they are back on top. While AB would love Filatov its hard to see Ottawa taking yet another risk on a Russian who has heavy KHL ties. They've been on the receiving end of several flighty Russians in the past few years Zubov, Nikulin, and Kaigorodov. Many are suggesting Ottawa should pull the trigger on a deal and look to get a young winger in return, sign Cullen and go after a center on the market this summer such as Marleau, Plekanec, Prospal or Koivu. Apart from Plekanec who has great chemistry with Kovalev the rest would just be a bandaid. In my opinion the Sens should try and move Fisher and Chris Neil who no longer is needed in part to Carkner. He also can be replaced by many of the Cody Bass's or Zack Smith's. Throw in a Cheechoo buyout and the Sens have quite a bit of cap space to go around. They could even dump Kelly and sign Cullen as his replacement for the same price. Getting rid of Spezza is not the solution to this mess.
On Tom's note about firing Bryan Murray, I agree the time is coming. Ottawa needs a change in culture as they can no longer keep re-living the Stanley Cup finalist memories and it's time to start a new era. Murray needs to make or break this season.
To AB on his Ottawa defense comments, I do agree something is very missing this season and they need to find a number one guy till Karlsson is ready to fill that spot. The roster spot that you donated for Brian Lee is also a waste, might as well keep Campoli.
Well first of all Tom that first paragraph you wrote makes little to no sense to me, primarily because you are quoting me on things I never said. I don't remember ever writing that we "need Campoli and Winchester"..? Or that I consider them "Solid" NHL'ers I was just listing the RFAs Bryan Murray has yet to sign. I made no allusions to the fact that they need to be re-signed or that I specifically want them re-signed.
And yes Tom, AB is my real name. I don't feel the need to hide behind an anonymous name on the internet in order to feel comfortable voicing my opinions.
Mike: that defence I posted was the players that we have signed heading into next year. Obviously it will change a bit, but how much it changes will depend on what Bryan Murray's got up his sleeve for this summer.
PS. Any word on how Kovalev and Michalek's surgeries went?
My mistake Lloyd Banks. Though it is pretty tough to hang on every word with your 10 long-winded posts in a given thread. I would say that Ill read more carefully next time, but the truth is I wont.
Good breakdown of the Sens, Scoopz. I think any team would want Neil and Fisher as role players, but sadly they were just given too much money since the cup run. Too bad.
Fair enough.
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