Friday, December 3, 2010

Ice Scoopz: Friday Morning

*-> Libor Pivko of HC Paradubice has agreed to a deal with Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk of the KHL.

*-> Sergei Korostin of the Dallas Stars has agreed to a deal with Dynamo Tver this morning.

*-> Brayden Schenn of the Los Angeles Kings has been sent back to Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL for some fine tuning.

*-> After all that fuss yesterday with Marco Sturm, Boston GM Peter Chiarelli has said there was no official deal in place with the Los Angeles Kings. He claims he indeed did ask Sturm to waive his no trade clause and has been speaking to several teams but no deal is in place at the moment and Sturm will skate with the Bruins as a member of the B's until further notice. I'm not buying into Chiarelli's statement, I do believe he had a deal in place but Sturm's injury has held a deal back with the Kings. TSN's guys are extremely reliable and usually where theres smoke there's a little fire. Chiarelli has to move a body soon and who better than Sturm since moving him will not effect any team chemestry at the moment since he's been out. I guess that means the rumors about Marc Savard will continue to swirl (read the next paragraph) till a deal is done for Sturm or another Bruin.

*-> On the Ottawa situation it's apparent that something is in the works for the Senators. Bryan Murray has been talking to several GM's the past few days and now the rumors have begun to spiral. Many are saying that they are working on a package deal right now that includes Brian Lee and a young forward. The waiving of David Hale yesterday symbolized the need to get rid of cap space so it looks like the deal will involve the Sens taking back a bigger contract their way. Remember Hale was a guy they really liked and thought they'd lose for free in the past weeks hence the Brian Lee waiving. There are rumblings out of Calgary, Boston, Edmonton and Phoenix right now in regards to a possible deal. Some are saying it's going to be a minor deal while many believe it could be a blockbuster trade. I was joking with Jalen and CA a few weeks back saying would you make a deal for Calgary's Jarome Iginla? well some reports have Murray attempting to swing a deal for Iggy which would be a packaged deal of Kovalev, Lee, and Regin and a 1st for Iggy, another forward and a 2nd. I'm not too sold on this deal as A. Iggy would have to lift his clause and B. why would the Flames want this deal? Kovalev is playing no where near Iginla on a bad day. I do agree it might be time for Jarome to move on but this one doesn't quite add up. The Bruins deal revolves around bring Marc Savard back to his hometown Ottawa and their cap situation. With the B's not being able to move Sturm due to injury concerns they're looking at their next best option Savard. Edmonton has always been on Ottawa's radar since the Heatley ordeal so it's only fitting the Sens may try a deal for Andrew Cogliano who the Sens still reportedly covet. Dustin Penner is another Bryan Murray favorite and could fit well with Jason Spezza. The last deal I've been hearing is to Phoenix and all I'm hearing at the moment is Wojtek Wolski's name. Finally I've been told by a reliable source it may not be a trade we see first, which leads me to believe he is hinting on a possible firing. Corey Clouston is the first name that comes to mind as I highly doubt Murray will be out the door as Eugene Melnyk has said he has faith in his GM less than a week ago. It's a tough situation in Ottawa and if anyone else has been hearing any Ottawa trade rumors because I know there's a ton out there post them up, I'd love to hear em.

*-> The Atlanta Thrashers and the Toronto Maple Leafs are talking trade. GM Rick Dudley has been seen an awful lot around Toronto the past few weeks. Could Brian Little be in the Leafs sights?

More this afternoon folks!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Unfortunate situation indeed Scoopz. Don't forget, Melnyk endorsed Clouston in that interview as well. Plus, Euge just filed for divorce. Not sure how Barbados divorce law works, but if its anything like here, he could lose a ton of money. Watch for him to become more frugal with team spending: paying coaches and players to go away is a poor financial strategy, and that will change from years past.

Murray just needs to fix things by moving out some of our talentless players. You want to know why guys like Hale and Shannon look so good on the Sens? Because the rest of the team (Spezza, Alfie and Karlsson aside) are terrible and lack the skill necessary to compete at this level. Last night was embarrassing. Guys can't pass the puck without throwing it four feet behind the target, or seeing the puck skip over their sticks. Nobody hits anymore, not even Neil. The defence looks like they are standing still. Carrying the puck into the zone looks like a lost art that only Spezza can pull off. Poor guy has to make an amazing play just to open up a pass, because his linemates are incapable of forming a play. Maybe this is the "old guard" that Heatley mentioned when he wanted out.

I love the Sens, and the core guys like Phillips, Neil, Kelly, Fisher who have formed the backbone of the club for a long time. But if a team cannot evolve, and keeps overpaying role players who can't get the job done, the GM needs to make some tough choices. I'm tired of the automatic: "Oh Phillips will be re-signed, he's a tireless worker and a dedicated member of the community." Yeah, but he can't skate anymore and he gives the puck away in his own end. Reality sucks but we have lots of young talent on defence that could take his place next year. Why not move him out at the deadline and try to get an asset in return??

Want to know the key to perpetual success? Asset Renewal. The only thing teams get for free are 7 draft picks per year. Its up to good management to maximize the value of those picks. Can anyone tell me where our 2nd overall pick in the 1992 draft is? Yup, Spezza (Yashin traded for Chara, Muckalt and 1st rounder). How about our 12th overall pick in 1997? Ah right Michalek. How about pick 55 of the 2000 draft? Robin Lehner and Leclaire. Here's a good one: 3rd overall in the 1994 draft, is AHL prospect Jason Bailey. Trading away young players or picks for aging vets who don't re-sign is a terrible road to take.

CA

Jalen said...

Great stuff, Scoopz.

And an excellent post CA, we're on the same page vis a vis asset renewal.

Last night wasn't just awful, it was quite sad. Their performance wasn't due to lack of effort, but lack of skill and physicality.

I was thinking the same thing, no one on this team hits any more, a particularly glaring fault on the back end that allowed the Shark forwards to dominate below the face off dot in the offensive zone.

I wanted to put my fist through the tv when Kuba lost a "battle" to Thorton on the Sharks PP by putting up as much resistance as an inebriated $10 junkie ho.

We've got 9 capable third and fourth line forwards and no d-men worthy of top 3 status outside the still developing E-K.

Gochar could be a good complementary player in the 4 spot, but (as I pointed out when he was signed) he's not the player he was and shouldn't be on the PK, matched up against top lines, or playing big minutes.

It's time for some of the vets like Phillips, Kuba, Kelly, Neil, and Ruutu to move on.

- Jalen

Jalen said...

Scoopz,

Love Iggy, but I liked your LA suggestion better.

I want to see some forward talent brought in that's no older than Spezz or Fisher.

I'd also like to see some forward prospects brought into the system.

With the Kings depth and Schenn in the system, is there no way to pry Oscar Moller out of LA?

- Jalen

Tom said...

Wow, fiery post CA. Ill chock that Heatley sympathizing line to some true frustration.
Btw, a powerman like Melnyk I think will fine financially in a divorce, hes got a ton of hidden money, plus resources and tactics that make him above the law. There has been an open and shut case (I have heard the audio) for insider trading on Mark Cuban for years, and yet hes still smoking cigars and buying sports franchises...

I dont think that Iggy deal is as far fetched as you may think Scoopz. Its sad if its come to the point the both Iggy and the team think its time for him to move on, but it may be. While I dont want to see the Sens bring in more has-beens (ie. another Bondra situation), but Iginla has 2 gold medals around his neck and knows how to win.
Also, with Sutter at the other end of the negotiating table, I think Murray could easily swindle that tomfool.