After practice this morning, Paul MacLean indicated he will go with Craig Anderson against the Isles tomorrow. After a rough night in Boston, it's important for MacLean to back to his number one.
Another update from practice this morning as Chris Phillips was back on the ice.
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The NHL Trade Deadline is now just a few weeks away and the Sens continue to cling to a playoff spot in the East. Based on what I’m hearing right now, I do not expect the Senators to be active leading up to the deadline. They have the cap space to make a move but still appear reluctant to take on salary.
With that said, the Senators have been connected to a few of the players believed to be on the market leading up to the deadline. If they do make a move, a top six forward is at the top of their wish list.
Here are five names floating around the rumour mill…
Ales Hemsky
The high risk/high reward option on the list. At his best, Hemsky is a dynamic forward that can contribute to any team’s top six and can take a regular shift on the power play. At his worst he’s an injury and turnover prone forward that would do little to help the Sens. Hemsky is in the final year of his contract and will be a UFA at season’s end. The Oilers will be looking for defenceman in return.
Brenden Morrow
My personal favourite on this list. Exactly the type of player the Sens need in the top six but at what cost? If the Starts decide to move their Captain (and that is a huge if), they will be looking for a premium return. Morrow has one more year on his deal at $4.1 mil.
Vinny Prospal
Of the five guys listed here, you would think Prospal is the most affordable option. Prospal has 31 points on a bad Columbus team and is in the last year of his contract. I would expect the Sens will be one of a few teams calling the Jackets about the 36 year old left winger
Danny Briere
For many, this will be the most surprising name on the list. I know I was baffled when it was first suggested to me. I know very little in the way of details but I can say that at some point, the Sens were rumoured to have an interest in Briere. Would assume there would have to be a big contract going the other way in that scenario. I really don't think this is a realistic option but it does make for interesting discussion
Tuomo Ruutu
By all accounts, Ruutu could be the first big name player on the move leading up to the deadline, perhaps as early as this weekend. The Sens will make a call on Ruutu but if the asking price is as high as some are speculating (a 1st and a prospect), the Sens would be wise to steer clear.
What do you think Sens fans? Do any of the names on this list grab your interest? Are there any players missing from this list that you think could help the Senators this year or beyond?
If we could get him for a prospect and a 2nd or 3rd, then I would consider it.
But one question... Brandon Wheat Kings are teetering on not making the playoffs.
Stone is signed to a contract.. could he come in to a few games in April and play in the playoffs?
Based on what I’m hearing right now, I do not expect the Senators to be active leading up to the deadline. They have the cap space to make a move but still appear reluctant to take on salary.
Thank you.
That is all.
so...pass...
If his contract was signed prior to December 1st I believe he can. Turris had to sign for the same reason. I believe it's the Glen Anderson rule so you can't parachute ringers in to your lineup before the playoffs.
On another note, I would have no problem giving up a third rounder to bring Vinny P. back. The only way we would get Briere would be if Gonchar and high pick/prospect were going the other way. He also has 3 more years on his deal at 6.5! That's way too much for his age, and his diminishing skill set.
To contradict myself, Morrow would be a good acquisition and one more year on his contract give him the incentive to play well.
All I really know, is I'm glad I'm not Brian Murray!
Win the next 4 maybe they teeter back the other way a bit.
completely agree, cannot drop our first for Ruutu.
like your observations, I too think Vinny could not hurt, and he has been here before, and could fit in anywhere in the top 6
Shows you how badly we need wins and how little faith we have in Auld...
Prospal may also be willing to come back on another one year contract as he's familiar with Ottawa. That would take some pressure off Zbad, Peterson or Silfverberg to step right in to our top six. He's also not looking for big bucks based on his current contract.
Vinny(is a bad)Proposal...
yes no way Auld start Saturday... I think it is time to give Lehner a few games if you feel we cannot put in Auld anymore... no way Anderson can keep taking about 35-40 tough shots a game and play over 70 games and not get tired.
why?
cheap,
has been playing well for a couple of years,
wouldn't cost much to get,
couldn't hurt too much...no?
Unless you feel Greening and Condra are better up there
I have to find new material if I have to start explaining my jokes...
sorry got the joke... but thought you were serious about no deal, or should I say Proposal
This leaves Prospal. He's always struck me as good but not exceptional. Some say he's not an upgrade to our top 6 and that's somewhat fair, but I disagree. It takes Conrda, Greening or Butler out of our top 6 and replaces them with consistent scoring.
He's old but we wouldn't have to mortgage any of our future to get him.
Precisely.
Hemsky is too off and on and he gets hurt way too much. We don't need a player like that.
Ruutu's price is just too high for what he brings. He's at best a decent 2nd line winger. That is not what we need right now.
If we're going to make a move, it should be something worth doing. Not just for a rental. Murray is trying to build the team to be a contender for years to come. So unless we're going after one of the big guns (Morrow, Carter, Nash... etc)
I know I may get heckled for mentioning Nash and Carter, but they're both great players in the prime of their careers. Carter's contract may be long, but think of how much of a bargain it will be a few years down the road if we have a 30-40 goal scorer on Spezza's wing being paid roughly $5.4 million.
I also think we should be looking for a defenseman while we're at it. Our defense is not the greatest and needs improvement. I'd look at dealing either Kuba or Phillips. Not quite sure which player I would look for in return at this point though.
What's your preoccupation with purposely phrasing paragraphs in perplexing (ph)orms?
- who is an experienced warrior who plays a good tough two way game with some offence to his game.
- he would bring character & leadership to a young team needing some to help them in the playoffs.
- he has another yr on his contract which would allow our young prospects (the two Swedes) the time to adjust to the NHL/NA game
- if we could also get Grossman out of Dallas we would solidify the defence for not just next season but a few yrs.
- not sure what it would cost for Morrow & Grossman but it might be worth it if they are willing to take quantity rather than quality.(Filato v, Regin, Butler, Lee, Petersson)
I'd love to get both of them but the price would be steep. First off they would want home state boy Stefan Noesen, two roster players, maybe Lee and Foligno (Morrow Lite), and probably our first round pick. If Grossman did a sign and trade it might be worth it. I don't think Butler, Regin or Filatov have much trade value and Dallas will want NHL ready guys to fill out their roster. High risk/reward trade.
Five other players Murray should be looking at are.
1.Rick Nash
2.Ryan Smyth
3.Chris Stewart
4.Eric Fehr
5.Taylor Pyatt
Out of the list you mention Chirp, i think Morrow would be my top option by a mile. He's a leader, a very physical presence and can still play top 6 minutes and contribute. He could potentially be an upgrade on Greening for the 1st or 2nd line and a good mentor for him.
Hemsky I guess as a very distant 2nd. Briere has 3 more years at 6.5mil per year cap hit, which I don't think makes much sense for the team right now and he would likely not come cheap.
Other non-franchise players I've heard mentioned I like are
Ray Whitney
PA Parenteau
Teemu Selanne (if he's willing & ANA is out of playoffs at the deadline)
Nabokov or Harding
Folingo Spezza Milo
Filatov Turris Alfredsson
Instead of Nabokov or Harding -- why not Ben Bishop?
I refreshed the page this afternoon and the title was still the same and then I refreshed it right after ffor the fun of it right after and sure enough the title was different. Too bad again I can't go or else I pprobably would have got the free tickets
This was exactly the reasoning I used after hearing the name. Cap hit on Briere isn't great but the fact that he has those two low years left on the deal makes him a player you would look at.
His health and declining production still make it a huge risk. $12 million in actual salary left over three years Is reasonable but I still don't think Melnyk opens his wallet for a 34 year old when Murray has committed to a rebuild. He is clutch in the playoffs and definitely a character guy. If it was Gonchar and a late pick or Butler, I'm sure Murray would be tempted.
1. One of those ASG ticket lanyards.
2. One of those 'Alfie' Scotiabank heads
I'm doing up an ASG scrapbook type thing and am missing those. Would be willing to pay for both items. Please let me know if you may be willing to part with one.
Thanks
Definitly a big fan of the no move idea though, this quote by you made me happy: "Based on what I’m hearing right now, I do not expect the Senators to be active leading up to the deadline."
That is the only downside to being in a playoff spot.
We need to stick to the rebuild with young guys, if we add any players they need to be young and fast.
Kuba does not fit into the rebuild and Gonchar does not fit into the rebuild, Gonchar we have another year on his contract but Kuba needs to go the end of his.
I would rather pay big for long term young superstars than go the geriatric route we have gone in the past, that does not seem to work for us.
S. Noesen, 1st and Lee
To Ottawa
B. Morrow
Call up Borowiecki. Anyone other than Morrow is a waste.
The fact that he still has a year left is GOOD for Ottawa. Kids won't be ready next year.
Greening, Spezza, Morrow
Michalek, Turris, Alfie
If it's not Morrow then turn off the phone and just let this team play it out. If it's 9th place, 13th or a playoff spot, then so be it.
A) Trade a couple players (Kuba, etc) for picks and stand pat.
or
B) Offer a big package for a top 3 forward or top 2 Dman for long term.
They should keep their prospects and picks, unless bringing in a top notch young player in return (E.g. Turris).
The goal should be to build a dynasty (as much as you can these days), not just try and make the playoffs and win a round this year (which may happen without making a trade).
i compare the 2 because they are both power forwards and have very similar stats, similar age, pretty similar injury consistancy. pretty similar cap hits fisher at 4.2 ruutu at 3.8 only difference is ruutu has just this year remaining and fisher had (i think) 3 years remaining. but im not sure how much that part can affect his trade value.
The problem with Stewart is that if we wanted to retain his rights this summer he would have to be qualified over 3 million, otherwise he walks as a UFA. He's certainly not earning his keep this year. We have Greening with more points at 1/3 the price.
they scored a similar goal against Ottawa at the very end of the game which had to be reviewed and turned out the clock had expired....
Throw in Nik Grosman and you have a deal Mr. Nieuwendyk.
Ben Bishop would be nice, I was surprised by the Elliott long term contract. If he's available he'd be worth taking a chance on, can always trade Anderson down the line and let Lehner and Bishop battle it out.
Morrow should not cost anything close to that. If Dallas wants to up the price just cause of his captaincy it's not worth it. He's a temporary piece to bridge us to Noesen/Puempel/ Zibanejad/Silve rberg ... don't' sell the farm for that, especially in this coming draft year!
FREEBIRD !
How many players weren't "earning their keep" last year, that we're happy with this year? Don't necessarily judge a player by one year. I like Greening, brings alot of intangibles. Stewart would be similar, tougher, and more upside. Gotta think he'd be a nice compliment to Jason Spezza.
I also did say it'd be risky...
But better idea than Morrow, Ruutu or players like that.
Wait in the silent auction room by those stairs after the game. Some players will come out there and sign an autograph or two. Depends if they have a game in another city after or not though.
A.K.A. top of the stairs to basement level at Gate 3
seriously?
ottawa needs:
1. stud shutdown d-man. cowen is great, but phillips is absolutely shit and nosediving...so metimes gradually sometimes very fast. borocop and gryba are our next two options, but an nhl level high intensity player would be much better. doesnt have to be a star level guy either, someone who just will shut guys down and not let midgets like marchand get away.
2. extra goalie depth. this is very very important. i think anderson is slowly burning out, that seidenberg goal just got rated a major dud on tsn and seriously it looks like it too. auld is no use. we need one more goalie.
fix these two things....and yea remove butler from that fourth line please and thank you and all shall be good.
then looking at next year, the forward depth is something absolutely not to worry about with crazy depth screaming onto the roster from everywhere...zi banejad and silfverberg followed closely by petersson and stone and then by noesen and peumpel. it sure looks GOOD.
hell they should maybe give Mark Parrish a try instead of butler too.
I've actually connected with a Bingo reporter that will be providing monthly/biweekl y Binghamton Senator updates. Hope to get his first article up over the weekend.
nice, chirpy connections lol
I'm concerned that this hint of success could cause Murray to trade a piece of the future for the present, only to come crashing to earth between the deadline and missing the playoffs in April. Kinda like when Murray traded for Stillman and Commodore when the team looked okay and then sucked from the trade on to elimination. Unless any deal fits with the plan for 3 years from now, I suggest that Murray forget it.
Great work Chirp, we could use some consistent feedback on how the farm is progressing.
O'Brien seems to be taking a step back from last year... why
And like to know how
Hoffman, Grant, Gyrba, DaCosta, are all progressing other than just their points,
thanks
I am happy about Kuba better play, but only so that we can get a better pick for him at the deadline... I absolutely do not want to be complaining about having to keep him again in the future... ala Chris Philips
Yes, it would be nice to bring in these Big Name/Proven players,
but that means it's a rental, or no room for prospects in the future.
Now, if I was to think like all of you, I would say,
1st Pick, Foligno, Zbad, for Nash.
I think it's a realistic, and fair trade.
Ofcourse, It's a Muckler situation, and it will only f*ck us up in the end.
I'm in favour of doing nothing. Let the cream rise to the top.
Still there! Unfortunately the timing didn't work out on the last article Tom sent in but I've sent him a message to see what he has in mind for his next post.
Only a matter of time!
What we need, in my opinion, is a good rugged shutdown dman. Were playing great run and gun hockey, but if we make the playoffs(and i think we will!) we'll need to be much better defensively(and when I say better I mean tougher and grittier).
That is all.
They are going to burn Anderson, he's probably going to play vs the Leafs aswell, he's gonna be dead come playoff time.
Well after an 8pts night vs the Blackhawks I'm all for getting Sam Gagner, LOL!!
I like the D man route... I think that's more of a need now...