The Ottawa Senators and General Manager Bryan Murray continue to work on a possible deal with the Florida Panthers to pry Jay Bouwmeester out of the Sunshine State. According to a couple different sources today Ottawa may in fact have tabled the best offer for the puck moving defenceman thus far but Panthers GM Jacques Martin would like to get the bidding war going for the blueliner.
It looks as though the Senators have made their pitch and now must sit back and wait to see what direction the Panthers wanna go.
There are those who suggest that Bouwmeester may not be the answer for this team but I am of the belief that hes exactly what the Senators are missing right now. Bouwmeester is one of the league's fastest skaters and can make that outlet pass that has plagued the Senators to date. While he has struggled this season, a change of scenery and a return to Canada may be just what Bouwmeester needs to get back on track. The obvious challenge for the team that acquires the slick skating defenceman will be getting him signed before he reaches UFA status this summer.
38 comments:
There's no doubt J-Bo is a good d. I just think that the last thing this team needs is another 7 mil salary, and if they aren't going to sign him, why trade for him. The sens aren't winning the cup this year. I would like to see the sens land him, I just think they would have to unload a lot of salary to do so. This team has so little talent on the ice and in the pipe that they can't be giving up picks or prospects.
Oh, man. I honestly hope the sens can land Bouwmeester. I agrree he is exactly what the team needs. The obvious reason why the sens have been doing bad at the end of last year and this year, is because the lack of a puck moving defense men. I really do hope this happens.
If he's not coming with a signed extension for at least 3 years, I say Murray should pass on the deal. We're unlikely to go deep enough in this year's playoffs to make it worth giving up what Martin wants from us. (Vermette, Lee and our SJ First round pick next year).
Actually I sort of hate to say this, but I hope they throw in Fisher. He is an amazing playoff player, but not worth the $5M salary to carry throughout the year for the Sens. We have some broken pieces to fix, and we need to sell off what commodities that are not giving us full value for their price tags.
Have you heard what package has been offered JC?
if he doesnt agree before the move to sign then no deal imo
This is going to end up like the Corvo & Eaves/ Commodore & Stillman.
We're going to lose some good players/prospects to get some player, who'll end up signing with another team comes July 1st.
It'd be great to get rid of fish and his albatross contract, but forget it. No one's taking on that salary for someone with the very limited offensive abilities. Giving up a pick for J-Bo is bad. This team has so little talent outside the 3, we need a future, the supporting cast can't do it. Imagine getting rid of Fish and Schubert for J-Bo? That'd be sweet. Hey Bruce!
stupidest trade i've ever heard.
-mitchell
Still think there is animosity between Martin and the Senators?
Because J-Bo is in a one-year deal right now, isn't it true that you can't even negotiate with him until Jan 1st?
What if we trade Vermette, the SJ first and Schubert for him. Then come trade deadline, if he's not signed, trade him for a king's ransom.
Not a bad deal.
J-Bo will be looking for a multi year deal at $7M per. We can't afford that. Which means that if we land him, we won't be able to re-sign him.
We'll end up giving up assets for nothing. Keep in mind that we need to sign a number one goalie in the off season as well, because Gerber come off the books.
Trading Fisher is absolutely ridiculous. He is exactly what this team needs for the playoffs. Everyone keeps talking about him being overpaid. He took a discount to play in Ottawa. He would have gotten a whole lot more if he had become UFA. Thank God people like you don't run this team. Fisher is the heart and soul of this team along with Alfie. The Sens have made mistakes in the past, but this would top them all if they traded Fisher.
Bringing Bouwmeester to Ottawa WOULD cost us a hefty long term contract or else you WOULD lose him to free agency in July. That's a fact. The question is: Is Murray prepared to pay?
JBo is not going to be a rental player for any team in this league at this point in his career. He is a proven player with very specific skills that we desperately NEED here in Ottawa. In fact, this guy would bring back much of what has been gradually thrown away in the last few years, defensively speaking.
He's still young, can skate, carry the puck, make the first pass, is responsible defensively and while he has never produced the numbers that a Lidstrom or a Markov has, that has yet to be fully determined given the fact that Florida has never had much as far as offensive power to begin with.
AS much as I would hate the idea of losing a guy like Vermette, who I think is totally underappreciated here, or Lee, who still needs a bit more time to develop, or worse, run the risk thinning an already weak farm team by giving away precious draft picks, I don't think Ottawa can pass up a guy like Bouwmeester if we have a chance of getting him.
This deal should have been done this summer IMO.
You add an impact guy like JBo to the Sens current defensive group and suddenly, you've given the team a new identity and a much needed confidence boost.
(And once that's done, then you figure out what to do with Gerber...)
JC, is the package still the same revolving around Vermette, Lee/Schubert and the SJ 1st?
Thanks for the update, this is very exciting news. Do you hear anything more about Stephen Weiss being part of the package?
J-Bow would help but he is not the answer. Just a piece of the puzzle missing. I really wish Murray would focus on secondary scoring. Teams have found out that if you shut down the Pizza Line then all you have to do is score a couple goals and you win. We are just not good enough with the team we have, plain and simple. A couple decent play-makers/goal-scores on the second line and PMD and the Sens will be able to compete. McGuire said it on the Fan590 this morn, I hope Murray has something in the works and is just keeping it quiet now.
Yeah I doubt the panthers will ever trade with the senators, martin HATES the SENS!!
I don't think we should be dealing multiple players for J-Bo. Although Spezza has played relatively well the last couple of games, I don't think he's worth the cap hit. He'd be a good trade for J-Bo and it wouldn't hurt the Sens future with prospect losses.
Unless Bo goes through rehab (got a penchant for the booze), there is no point in bringing him over. Only upside would be if they can send some dead weight salary such as Fisher/Gerber package, but who the hell would want that? Including Brian Lee in this deal is "Bad Idea jeans".
I think the last thing the sens need right now is trade. We are just starting to play like a team. I don't think Murray is looking to pull the trigger on a trade just yet. HE is probably going to wait at least till the new year before making a trade. I know i personally don't want to see a trade just yet, as we are just starting to get momentum. And all this talk about trading Fisher, you guys are idiots. We just signed him to a new contract, there is no way in hell Murray is even considering trading Fisher. Just cause he makes 6mil(cap hit of 4 point something mil) and doesn't put points up like the big three. There is a lot more to hockey than the stats that you look at. You cant judge a player by the points that they get and compare it to the salary that they make. Fisher was not signed to this deal to put up 100pts a season. He was signed to get 50 or 60pts and give it everything he has every night. Hard on the forecheck, hard back checking, and crushing people into the boards. Fisher is an all round player that you can put in any situation. He is priceless and could not be replaced by anyone. Anyone in the league would want this player on their team. And don't even get me started again about the idiots who think we should trade spezza.Like thepez said, I'm glad you idiots don't run this team.
who cares about gerber his salary ends next year
Let's not kid ourselves. Fisher signed for full market value and that's fair. The argument that there's more to hockey than stats is usually reserved for checkers and energy players which confirms that's what Fisher is. Nothing more.
I do agree, however, that Fisher is great in any situation. As long as it's not 5-on-5 as his +/- will attest. Not that stats matter.
Alex Auld will get the start in net Thursday when the Senators host the Maple Leafs. Forward Mike Fisher will make his return to the Sens lineup after missing the past two games with a knee injury. Forward Ryan Shannon has not yet been cleared to play after suffering an apparent concussion. He is set to meet with team doctors later in the day. Forward Dean McAmmond missed the morning practice du to the flu. He is questionable for Thursday. - TSN
First off, we have a number one goalie. His name is Alex Auld and he's a steal at $1 mil/year and he's locked up for this season and the next. No need to worry, Elliot should definitely be ready either once Auld is gone or to back him up next season. Imagine how inexpensive our goaltending would be then.
Secondly, regarding J-Bo. He's great and all, and he definitely is exactly what the Sens need, but giving Lee up for him is ridiculous unless they can find a way to sign J-Bo long-term. Lee could potentially be that good puck mover in the future.
Thirdly, Spezza isn't going anywhere. He's a great playmaker and is part of the future of this team locked up for 7 years.
and finally, lol, i agree that the Sens DON'T need a trade. Let's stick to the same game plan we all saw in the 2 games vs. NY and the game against the Habs. If the refs get some glasses and we keep playing the way we have, we'll have no problem winning.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, we don't need a top caliber offensive D, we just need an offensive D. A Corvo-esque player with a similar salary would be a better acquisition IMO
Stats don't tell you everything, Meszaros always had "good" stats, but he still played like crap on D, Picard is our new Meszaros.
j-bo isnt a 7mill player...he'll get 6. the question is, can ottawa fit 6. it would be 2.75+0.885 off the cap if vermette and shubert go, so that alone is 3.6 off, and whatever else added. say he gets 6, its only a 2.4 mill/per add on. of course this is all assuming but im just trying to reason out whether or not this trade would work based on numbers
Cap wise, anywhere from 6.5-7 million is manageable for Bouwmeester. We do not need to resign anyone important other than Chris Neil, or Brian Elliot.
Melnyk will likely sink Gerber's contract and get his salary off of the books if it means getting someone like Bouwmeester, and I suspect Vermette would be going the other way. All totals calculated and you hover around 1 million left in cap space when you factor in call-ups and Elliot's promotion. We'll still have some space to work with next year as Fillip Kuba's contract is up that year, likely with Bouwmeester replacing his puck movement.
As far as secondary scoring goes, we might be able to get a bargain in the free agency market along with Zubov and Foligno putting up better numbers.
Secondary scoring is important, but if you have Phillips, Volchenkov, Bouwmeester, Picard, Smith, and Bell, that's not a half bad D-group. If Auld and Elliot form a solid tandem, we might be able to pull of that rock solid Defensive game we're looking for.
Fisher is great yeah, but not when he's nursing injuries in the press box 30% of every god damn season.
There he's useless to us...
I'll never disagree that the guy has heart and intensity. But so do guys like Shean Donovan. And the league has tons of gritty players like him at one fourth of Fisher's salary.
Fisher's a great guy, but I'd rather see Bo hitting up vermette in stride than fish. Oh, and teams need more than 1 puck moving d. In the finals sens had redden mezaros, corvo, and, at to a lesser extent, preising. Bo isn't enough. Don't give up Lee or picks, this team needs a future.
So you are comparing the talent level of a Donovan to Fisher? Donavan is an expendable role player, Fisher is a player who can make a difference in winning a cup. I'll take Fisher on my team anytime and you can have Donovan and any other 4th line role player. I know who will win every time, it wouldn't even be close
If you can land Bouwmeester...do it.
don't ever question fisher's value. a smart hockey fan understands that points arent everything. this guy brings so much to the plate that other players cant that he's worth every penny. if you want to dump on a guy, make it vermette, because no matter how many chances he gets he cant do anything with them. useless
Sorry, but fish has had each and every chance vermette has, if not more so. He has proved that he is a good player, who does bring a lot to the table, but flat out isn't worth the money. I don't put fish in with 40 seconds and the goalie pulled down a goal. He's a very valuable player, but he's not a second line center and never will be. But he is an amazing 3rd line centre, maybe the best in the league. But 4.2 mil is much too much for a third line center, imo.
This proposed trade is not good for the long-term future of the team. Every NHL team should be able to compete every night regardless of who's in the lineup. This is the best league in the world. Why do people keep talking about the lack of skill - we have three of the best players in the league. When this team plays hard they do just fine. Notice our goals against is way down this year and with the big three back together and the rest of the team chipping in here and there we'll be just fine. A cap league is a competitive league, deal with it.
Huge Fisher fan - hes a third line center at best. He's proven time and time again throughout his career that he can't put up second line points no matter what. That added to the fact that he is injury prone makes him vastly overpaid. He brings SO much to the Sens in locker room and on ice, but not $4 mill a season worth. Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to trade the guy away unless absolutely necessary or the offer was just too good to pass up, hes just overpaid. And whoever said that salaries aren't based on stats is an idiot. Points = money. Spezza, Heatley, Alfredsson, Jason Blake, Dustin Penner...the list goes on and on and on, but one thing is obvious - more points=more money every time. 47 points last year for a career best, on pace for 29 points this year and one of the streakiest scorers in the NHL.
Whoever made the point about Meszaros - fuck yeah. His numbers were half decent, but he lost us so many games, singlehandedly, that it was ridiculous that he was not traded sooner when his stock was higher.
Sens are a couple pieces away from being a real contender again. I would usually say top tier goalie, but Auld is playing good enough right now, that's a secondary issue that can be addressed later on. Right now we need a consistent 60-70 points scorer for the second line and a GREAT first passing defenseman like JayBo. He'll be costly, but Martin is DYING for Vermette, and is pissed off at Bouwmeester. Weiss would be a suitable replacement for Vermette as a second line center, making Fisher our 3rd string C, where he fits best.
the ONLY way i'd see Fisher go is if he keeps getting injured. I'll never say he doesn't play with heart because that is a total lie, but we can't be paying him all season while he sits out because of injuries
Has ANYONE said here that he doesn't play with heart?
I actually like the deal a lot if Weiss comes back our way. That is the only way I could see us giving up Lee.
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