As always, any rumours and speculation need to come with the budget disclaimer. The Sens are not a big spending team and continue to be cautious when it comes to money spent on player salaries. Although it’s important to note that there is flexibility here if the right deal comes along.
So with that in mind, here are a few names that have been kicked around the rumour mill as of late.
Ryan O’Reilly is still out there and the Senators will continue to keep a close eye on that situation. The Sens have an interest but will obviously be wary about “over-paying”. Important to remember that not only would they need to trade for the Avs centre, they’d also need to get him signed to a reasonable deal. This is obviously something that the Avs have struggled with to date.
The question you’d have to ask is what is Ryan O’Reilly really worth- both in terms of assets given up in a trade as well as contract value. And would he fit in with the organization’s long term plans?
I think O’Reilly is a solid player but if I’m Bryan Murray, I’d be really cautious about overpaying for a guy that doesn’t really fill a particular need in the organization. Just my opinion.
While O’Reilly remains the most talked about option, there are a few guys that I can confirm the Senators are keeping close tabs on and that list starts with the guys in Anaheim. Pierre LeBrun addressed it this morning but the red-hot Anaheim Ducks continue to make signing Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry a priority.
But if they do decide to move either one of them, I expect Murray to be heavily involved.
Ottawa will also keep an eye on the Jarome Iginla situation in Calgary. There are gonna be a bunch of teams that make a call to Jay Feaster if they decide to move their Captain and I would expect the Senators to be one of those teams. Really not sure how serious Ottawa’s interest will be on this front but it’s a name they have at least looked at.
Derek Roy is another name I’ve heard mentioned recently. The UFA to be is having a decent year in Dallas (9 pts in 14 games) and could be made available if the right offer came along. Compared to the other guys mentioned above, the asking price would certainly be significantly lower for Roy.
Obviously some big names floating around right now but I want to emphasize that nothing seems imminent for the Sens. The organization loves the way the young guys are stepping up in the face of serious adversity and really don’t feel like they’re in a situation where they need to make a deal.
Perhaps the biggest additions this team can expect will come in the form of some injured players getting back into the lineup. Milan Michalek may travel with the team to Boston, Craig Anderson was on the ice for the second straight day and Jason Spezza is still hoping to make a return before the end of the season.
Sens held an off ice workout this morning and will return to the practice ice tomorrow morning. Ottawa is in Boston to take on the Bruins on Thursday night.
Staying the course looks pretty good right now although if either of the guys in Anaheim officially becomes available, you have to take a look.
http://senators.nhl.com/club/blogpost.htm?id=14589
Yeah, honestly them, and maybe E Kane are the only ones I would be willing to give much up for.
Assuming Murray determines trading for them now instead of signing in the summer is the better option then yeah.
Stay the course and make a splash this summer in the free agent market.
There was talk about moving him previously but I just don't see how they can do that with Karlsson down. Return would be pretty low at this point anyway.
More valuable to us this year than any mid-round pick would ever be.
I would suspect even Murray isn't sure at this point...I mean if Spezza and Michalek are back, and somehow miraculously Karlsson comes back for the playoffs who knows.
Roy, if the price is right I think could be an interesting addition. Local guy. Hard working. Consistent. Has some serious talent. I think he could compliment this team nicely. I also think being a local guy, we may be able to get him at a decent price.
And I agree with SC on the Anaheim duo...Murray has to kick the tires there and see what happens.
I could see sending Bishop and a 2nd -- maybe even a 1st if that's what it takes -- to Colorado for him.
Worst part of that trade would be the crying in this comment section....unti l everyones realizes we're still stacked at G, have a ton of prospects and are set for years down the middle.
Wow horrible trade...why would we want him? we already have too many capable centers for our top 2 lines.
Frequent flyer, first post ... Compelled by this comment to throw a comment out there of my own. Just curious why looking into the possibility of adding a young-"ish" superstar like Perry or Getzlaf is gross? What the hell? Getzlaf to a lesser extent, but a signed Perry for next season with continuing contributions and growth from the youth movement (Turris, Zib, Silf, Gryba, etc.) solid goaltending, and a healthy line-up with the likes of Karlsson, Spezz, Cowen and Michalek puts us in the contender discussion, no doubt.
Doesn't look so gross to this guy anyway ...
Teams deep at center seem to do well in this league. He's a young guy on an upward trajectory.
I see Spezza, Turris, O'Reilly and Smith at centre on a Cup contender. Zibanejad to the wing.
???
Confused by your post...but my gross comment came prior to the Ana comment...it was in regards to the 3 in the main post
i think staying pat is the best move possible. its keeping the fans riveted because with the injuries each guy is giving his all and it is making it for an exciting run. not to mention 4th in the east given the circumstances is not a fluke.
for me, as a fan, i want to see this roster make it to the playoffs intact, with the only addition being our injured players coming back. i think this year, it looks like its anyone's game with some teams being very slight exceptions.
Trade Alfie and tank? F*** that, we'll take Iggy please and go on a run.
Probably not the best asset management this year with Karlsson down and Spezza iffy.
Turris is plenty as a 2C for years to come. Getzlaf is overkill behind Spezza, O'Reilly wants way too much salary, let alone what they want in exchange for him, and Roy again feels like overkill at C.
I'd consider Iginla if the goal was to make a run this year and next year with him, but I imagine he ends up in Pitt if anywhere.
Confused by your post...but my gross comment came prior to the Ana comment...it was in regards to the 3 in the main post
Damn, I wrote that up prior to your Anaheim comment… Too slow to post I guess!
I just wanted to comment that with the addition of Perry, a healthy lineup, and more contributions next year from the youth movement… That this team would be a contender.
Probably not but intriguing option
Aside from the fact that the wildcard system seems to contradict division-only playoffs, The East gets burned by taking 2 extra teams, making it harder to qualify compared to the West.
Great to have yet another poster.
I think the only negative or question is what's the cost to essentially rent Perry before signing him versus just signing him in the summer.
If Murray believes that we can't sign him in the summer and need to get him now to start working on an extension then fine of course.
Getzlaf is great and all but doesn't fill any need we have really.
Except for Perry... If we can get the anaheim boys, then I would consider it
Agreed when it comes to the imbalance. I say screw Columbus and keep them in the west so you still have 15 in each and stick with similar playoff format as today.
Expand to Quebec and one more West city to get to 4x8.
And if Carolina, one of the Florida teams or some other East team ends up relocating West then maybe Columbus moves East then.
I like it
The good teams will make the playoffs regardless, and with scheduling within the divisions heavier, I don't think it will be an issue, those 2 extra teams will fall to the bottom of the league. I highly doubt you will see all 5,6,7,8 all competing for the 4th spot.
They're going to want Zibanejad or Smith for O'Reilly.
haha give them smith!!!
They'd rather play somewhere else and that's just a fact we need to accept.
I know we all hope a family connection will entice Perry here, but let's get real: History shows us that just isn't a factor for big time UFAs.
I'll be happy to eat my words if he signs here of course.
My concern is more that teams in a 7 team division will lure more players with the idea that there's a better shot at playoffs. If they at least go with 15/15 East/West then that minimizes that concern. But the proposed 16/14 split worries me a bit.
Also, only perry and Ryan seem like a good fit but the cost would likely be too much, lets hope BM lures perry in free agency. And chirp, any word on the sens trading one of our goalies at the deadline? Or is the plan to trade one in the offseason?
You think O'Reilly would play 3rd fiddle to Spezza and Turris at 5+Mil a year, LOL...
We would have to move Turris to wing or O'Reilly to wing, we dont need another C, we need scoring wingers.
what should the sens offer? and by that i mean what is the max offer you think the sens should make and stick to? sort of line-in-the-san d mark.
also, i feel the media has something against the sens depth and their success to constantly keep suggesting trade rumors involving o'rielly, anderson and alfie.
I think teams like Florida and Columbus will eventually fold and move to cities in the West (balancing both conferences in the end). Thus leaving room for expansion to other eastern areas like Quebec City.
You may be right. Though I can't help but look at recent cup winners and finalists and envy their strength down the middle.
Great question and this is where I get stuck.
- What are the legit chances of signing Perry this summer?
- What will other teams pay to "rent" Perry for the rest of this year?
- Is it a sign-and-trade for us so we KNOW we've got him long term? Or is it a gamble?
Nailed it
i would assume that first of all if he is traded at all to anyone, its a trade-and-sign. if that is not the case, i don't think anaheim recoups Perry's full value in the trade then because of the risk of him bolting.
the reason i pose the question is that i personally have a hard time figuring out which sens plyrs/prospects /rookies will be made available as even a minimum.
zib - non-starter for ANA, but smart for Ott?
silf - if not zib then will have to be incl.
stone/noesen/puempel - ???
ceci - ?
MM9 - ?
Prior to this season the speculating was a lot easier...after seeing what our young guys can do I don't really want to give up any of them.
OK here's another way of looking at it. As I said above, blue chip UFA's in their prime mostly likely won't sign in Ottawa.
This is why Murray goes after the Turris and Andersons around the league to find the NHL-ready skill we need to compete.
If he can turn Bishop (who he paid a 2nd for) and an unknown pick into another young guy with skill, he'll do it and figure out exactly where he plays later.
Of that list I think Silfverberg and Noesen are untouchable. Zibanejad is tough to give up but if the rest of the package isn't too bad and the extension for Perry is reasonable I'd live with it.
I love Ceci but he's unproven still.
which in turn reduces the pieces going in any trade involving Perry basically nothing because at most some team will trade a 2nd rounder to negotiate with him.
Getzlaf will sign. Perry will hit UFA and at that time Melnyk probably has to take a leap of faith with his wallet.
from the ducks point of view, their GM probably has to watch his job now considering Burke is back in their organization. they already lost schultz through walk-out. made a questionable trade of beauchemin for gardiner+lupul. now its perry. unless ofcourse the ducks ownership is really stingy and probably hates burke for their previous salary cap debacle.
1st round pick
puemple or noesen
conditional first if Perry Re-signs
OR
2nd round pick
Zibby or silfver
conditional first...
going rate for a star caliber rental has traditionally been a first and second, or a first and a prospect, or an elite prospect and a 2nd
The conditional first should be obvious why its there
I wouldn't give up anything more than this, and if ANA wants more, screw em
take our chances in free agency
I know that that is likely realistic, but if that is what it takes I would just sit back and see what materializes with our guys.
If its going to take either of those packages, I'll pass.
Well... things aren't free, especially when Perry is a GOld medal winner and Stanley Cup Champion.... (i believe he won the Rocket Richard trophy too)
Think about it... what would you want for Perry if he was on your team?
I fully agree. The packages are hefty but very realistic. I'm sure its a trade that neither team would be fully happy making.
That means its probably equal for both sides
I know we're a budget team and all and I've made peace with that. But we're also about to enter year three of a three year plan (according to Melnyk very recently). So one can hope that the plan was to end with a cup run and some spending.
Not to the cap I guess, but since we've been at the floor since the rebuild/retool started signing Perry to Gonchar/Kovalev dollars or whatever doesn't seem too far fetched for me.
Sign him for 4 years or something and put his picture up on the building etc.
Am I dreaming?
Honestly I think it would take a little more than either of those packages if he is truly being shopped and other teams are bidding.
He's a multiple trophy winning superstar still in his prime. If you were Anaheim, would you take Noesen and a mid-to-late round 1st for that?
Think about it... what would you want for Perry if he was on your team?
I'd want a lot haha, but our prospects have such high ceilings there's just no way I'd be comfortable seeing Zibby or Silf scoring 40+ on another team, just not worth the heart break for me.
If we can sign him in the offseason for a Heatley like deal of 7.5 I'd be all for it, but I am a firm believer in the fact that players give their all for the team that drafted them.
If we can do a sign and trade,
Would you consider trading Turris + Assets/picks/et c for Getzlaf and Perry? (Getzlaf and Perry signed before being traded to Ottawa)
Just a fantasy question. It looks very tempting IMHO.
Personally, I think Getlzaf is a huge upgrade to Turris, and Perry and Getlzlaf are only 27.
And I mean, a trade that works for both sides, and a fair trade.
(Simillar to Hossa, De Grives for Heatley) = Fair trade.
As long as Getzlaf is cool being #2C (or 1B) and Melnyk is cool paying what Getzlaf and Perry would cost then yeah.
Hard to see Turris go but agree Getzlaf is an upgrade (especially considering the chemistry with Perry).
Because in this scenario, it'll be like Pittsburgh with Crosby + Malkin.
We can potentially have TWO 1st Lines, and a third/4th Line.
For an Unsigned Perry, Hells no.
Quoting Mitchell:
Because the Idea of getting sure-fire superstar, sure-fire top-3/top-6 player vs a "Potential" scorer (who might fizzle) is just too risky.
Take your Homer-glasses off. You're counting chickens before they hatch.
And I agree that moving Puemple (and to a much, much lesser extent Noesen) for a guy that's already "there" is smart. But only if the rest of the package isn't crazy and Perry is signed to an extension etc.
I still think Noesen will be a huge star for us in 3-4 years so I'm not keen on moving him out either.
Good thing I'm not GM I guess. LOL
The answer to this is very easy for me- to contend for the Stanley Cup next season.
This post by Mitchell actually brings another idea to me:
The Ducks know very well what Murray's drafting record is like. So maybe that gives us an edge in putting together a package of prospects that Murray's staff selected. i.e. The Ducks might think "Hey if Murray drafted ____ he might be the next Perry!"
i think Anaheim is in tough and will have to do with not trading him before the deadline. teams won't bite the risk as the deadline approaches and passes with Perry unsigned and the risk of him not signing along with the crazy return req'd by Ana pre-deadline. the easy path for every other team is to go at him post-deadline when they know Ana doesn't have any cards to play.
its tougher for anaheim because fasth is doing great and they are in contention.
2 players that come to mind is Simon Gagne and Ray Whitney.
Gagne has 5 points in 11 games while playing 13-14 minutes for the Kings, he is a UFA this year, and was scratched a couple of times, he could be had for a 4th-3rd rounder.
Whitney has been considered Edmonton's top pairing guy the past few years, new coach and system, plus new players have really set him back, it seems he could be had for a late pick. He is a stanley cup winner with PIT, roughly Methot's age, a UFA and a puck mover for the top 4 if he finds his game, could replace Gonchar next season.
I agree that the price is going to be really high for sign-and-trade so thinking maybe we hope for the Ducks to cut bait and trade him as a rental for a 1st rounder or something. Let some other team overpay to rent him and target signing him in July.
you spoke too soon, gagne traded to Philly.
So does this mean Ray Whitney is getting traded for 5-7th rounder?
no, he loves it down south and is not leaving. he could have left in the summer but chose not to.
the other wild card in the perry trade rumors is Glenn Sather ofcourse, i wouldnt be surprised if he pulled a Rick Nash - for - Corey Perry trade. or even the flyers who might just trade all of coutourier+w.e else there is on that team for him lol
Down south? Left in the summer? I don't think you know which player I am talking about.
Ray Whitney from Edmonton.
Ironically, there's no money in being a Prophet...
If Perry ends up in Ottawa, Alfie is coming back for one last shot at the cup next year. I would trade Noesen in a sign and trade for Perry. He is probably the first player they would ask for.
Zack Smith the last few weeks has been a momentum changer in the wrong direction unfortunately. 2 games ago he lead a 3-1 into the other teams zone and we didn't manage a shot. turnover upon turnover. don't get me wrong I love the guy but nothing he does amounts to much.
Unlike others I like Soezza-O'Reilly -Zibby-and Grant as our centres moving forward. all have good size and can skate. TUrris on the wing can convert Spezza's work and is a solid back checker.
I thought that there would be at least one Ottawa/Columbus rumour on SC's list.
No sense of haha today? Or was it just that bad?
Theres a character limit for a reason
Spot on! And for that you receive a thumbs up. Noesen is comparable to Perry as per TSN. Same two way minded style of plays and has sick hands, gets a lot of deflection goals. Don't know much about Puempel aside that he is a pure goal scorer and having a sniping one next to Spezza doesn't seem like a bad idea. Not saying he'll become a Heatley type of sniper but you'd have to think that Murray wouldn't have traded two 2nd rounders to grab a third 1st rounder. He simply would've let the draft continue on.
ANA is going to laugh in your face with that offer...
It would take more and I would give more, are you kidding me, Perry alongside Spezza for 5 years. Its exactly what we need. With Gonchar's 5mil off the books, it just go directly to Perry +2Mil, there ya go.
I would give up any of the following players for Perry.
Any current Bingo player (except Lehner), Zib, Silf, Michalek, Cowen, Smith, any of our prospects (except Noesen) any 1st round pick in the next 5 years.
But preferrably something like this:
Michalek
Zibanejad
Puempel
Bishop
1st round pick 2014
for
Perry + mid level prospect.
This is of course sign & trade...otherwi se wait for UFA and throw 7+ mil to him for 5 years!
Sens have:
Spezza, turris, zibby, regin, smith, da costa, o'brien, hoffman....that 's 8 centers in or heading towards the prime of their careers. Why the hell would they need to trade valuable assets, and pay 5 mil for a guy who would play on the 3rd line?
The short answers is: because he wouldn't...
Since this is year 2 of our re-build, I think we should see what our prospects can do in the later part of the season and into next year. If Noesen, Stone, Hoffman, Silf, Zibby, and Puemple are as good as Murray thinks they are (and let's face it, this guy has an uncanny ability to spot diamonds in the rough) we should have a stacked team for the next 3-4 seasons.
I would rather wait a year to really make a run and do it with our home grown players than try to buy our way into the finals.
I personally say let the kids play. They know how to be winners and it's somehow gotten them this far even though we should be losing every game. I really don't see any risk in sticking with them.
Have you lost your hockey sense ??
You would trade 4 good to great players +
a First Round pick in 2014, for Perry and
a mid level prospect??
Nobody in today's NHL is worth that kind of return value ( maybe Erik Karlsson )
Unbelievable fantasy trade !!
Don't usually disagree with you but..
Four 1st rounders (2003, 2011, 2011, 2014) and Bishop? Honestly even NHL 13 would deny that trade. In their eyes it would be insufficient. Back on earth, it's just too damn steep. That can potentially be an entire line, plus a goalie, plus another pick? Esti.
Stone
Hoffman
Zibanejad
Noesen
Puempel
Silfverberg
Pageau
Prince
Plus an abundance of other prospects, there's no way they all get a chance to play here, at least at the same time. Something's got to give.
Tookie's fantasy trade is crazier than the Kessel deal with bruins !
uhhhhh ray whitney plays for dallas...ryan whitney plays for EDM.
Be honest... are you really Brian Burke???
Quite possibly the dumbest trade proposal I have ever seen on Senschirp. Thanks for the laugh Tookie, ya bonehead!
All good prospects but how many years do you figure before they are NHL players? And is there room for them all?
At some point the Sens are going to have to cash in some of the prospect depth to add legitimate NHL talent. I really think next year might be the time to take a bit of a run.
Cole to Dallas for Ryder.
I don't know, Condra has gone from someone I wasn't big on last year to a beauty. The man is consistently one of our best players and seems to get a lot of quality chances. Seems to be great on the PK to.
Michalek
Wiercioch
Puempel
1st 2013-2014
San Jose
Anaheim
Los Angeles
Phoenix
Vancouver
Calgary
Edmonton
Dallas
Colorado
Winnipeg
Minnesota
Chicago
St Louis
Detroit
Columbus
Nashville
Carolina
Tampa Bay
Florida
Washington
Ottawa
Buffalo
Boston
Montreal
NY Rangers
NY Islanders
New Jersey
Pittsburgh
Philadelphia
Toronto
Works geographically and seems decent for rivalries as well.
For playoffs the first two in each conference make the playoffs and then everything else is based on overall standings. I know that means you'd have playoff match-ups all over the board but why is that a bad thing?
There's no way to split into two equal halves geographically (except the current model with maybe flipping Columbus and Winnipeg) so why not go for three groups?
Or split the conferences into two divisions each and then you could have 32 games within division (8x4), 30 more within conference (6x5) and then one each with the other two conferences (if you want to have them play every team at least once).
I don't agree with the money he's asking for (yet), but this was sent to me from Travis Yost earlier today,
I was looking for something to shut most of you haters up
http://www.hockeyprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1423
This is all based on stats. Not the opinion of the writer
Somebody made a comment he would play on the 3rd line.... no, that's where he played as a rookie
You have lost your mind. We would be getting HOSED. Only teams that should be trading for him are teams that are going for a good cup run THIS SEASON. Otherwise you wait until UFA. Take out Zibanejad or Puempel and first and it starts making some sense.
GMs of every other team would laugh in the face of Murray if that deal went through
They traded several .... including their best pitching prospect and Travis D'Arnaud who is pretty much the Robin Lehner of catcher prospects .... for proven all-stars.
The message was clear: We want to win. We know we are a hard sell for top-tier free agents (they came right out and said it!). So we are going to mix it up, keep some of our home-grown talent and augment it with players we can pick up for blue chip prospects.
Not that different from the Sens situation right now.
That was actually pretty impressive and worth a read. Certainly a great all around talent and while the hold out raises some red flags, there is obviously a lot to like about the player.
Thanks for sharing
http://www.senatorsextra.com/main/professional-hockey-meets-research-and-development
I've been pretty critical of Panzeri in the past, but this is a really solid read and provides some excellent insight into how Murray and Maclean see this team. Solid local sports journalism.
Agreed.
Some really important elements in there to consider when throwing out trade proposals. Developing talent is something this organizations takes great pride in and it's going to have to be a pretty special deal to give up on any of them.
Won't change much for the Sens in my opinion. Who's in your division matters much more in a sport like baseball where fewer teams make the playoffs and there is no cap. You risk getting stuck behind perennial contenders.
Also, i dont know that OReilly fits our needs but everybody saying he's over rated is unwarranted...t he comparable player is Toews which is one hell of a comparison. A few people have scoffed at the idea of moving Turris to the wing but there is several players with similar size playing the wing (havlat) comes to mind...if Murray is interested in Getlaf do you really think he wouldn't slot into the 2C spot?
Moving a center to the wing isn't like moving a winger to center..,
God I hate the Blue Jays. Your comparison isn't bad really but (dating myself here) as an Expo fan I can't support the Blue Jays. Much less considering they're neighbors to the Leafs.
Spezza
o'Reilly
Zibby
Grant
As our guys down the middle people. trust me.
We need Gonchar more than ever. He's playing well, especially when you consider the added workload at his age.
I still here people mentioning Michalek as potential trade bait. There's no reason to get rid of a player who is fast, big, strong and in his prime. All this plus he can score and backcheck.
Bishop will be a top-tier starter to whoever we trade him to, so I really hope we don't undervalue if he ends up being traded.
I thinking adding the wrong person via a trade could mess up this insane Binghamton chemistry we have going.
The sit 2nd overall in the conference. Do they want to move their top 2 players while in the playoff race?
They are trying to sign both.. but if only one.. I think it is Getzlaf. He's a #1 centre and not every team has one.
I can see them wanting to get something for one or both.. but at the risk of hurting your playoff chances?
They have pretty good goaltending.. and once you get into the playoffs anything can happen.
Don't know much about O'Rielly to give my opinion on a trade.
But it's seems he's asking for too much $$ that's why he is still sitting. But then again.. Colorado has let some good players go as they could not undercut them on salary.
Turris is a very good SECOND LINE centre. He is over his head right now.. facing the top checkers of the other team.. and at this point in his career he's not ready for that.
also both floatalev and fuba are healthy scratches....go od riddance.
Silverburg is one of the snipers we have always wanted for Spezza, Turris is an interesting thought as a winger, the young guys we have are all hungry and I think that is why we win games we should not win, one thing for sure is the value is high of our young guys from Bingo playing in ottawa. (more so than when they were playing in Bingo)
Going to be hard for BM to pull the trigger on a trade playing like we are.
Once healthy we have a ton of extras.
It would be ideal if we could just sign him in the summer, but I'm not sure it will get to that point.
One thing to think about: What are the main things star UFAs usually look for when picking a long-term destination.
Big city: Perry already basically plays in LA
Cup contending team: Ducks are looking like that this year
Chemistry with other players: He plays great with Getslaf
Climate: Again, he plays in California
All this to say that, if he was looking for the usual things, he would never leave Anaheim in the first place. So if he's unhappy, maybe Ottawa isn't that far-fetched after all.
So that mainly means Ottawa or Toronto. Both teams have connections to him with Carlyle in TO and Murray in OTT.
I think he has former teammates from London playing on both teams as well.
Methot for Ottawa and I don't know who in TO..
But when was the last time a superstar Cdn player wanted to play for a Cdn team... and signed there as a UFA.
Buff finally won a game over Tampa.
Jets beat the Rangers
Panthers beating the Pens...
Given Bishop's week, do you still think he's the goalie to trade? I'd say, not till season is over (but will he be a UFA?) What teams might he go to and for who?
Short term question, will BB start next game in net?
Exactly lol.
A ton of pressure, and media watching your every move, for a lot less money too. Cup? Not lately... I mean, Canadian teams have come close but the odds are against them considering there are only 7 teams...
But of course, they'd do anything to wear the red and white when it matters most.
Does anyone else think it could be a good to institute a 4 game round robin as a preliminary round? Here's how it would go:
- Top 4 teams in each div make the playoffs, plus 4 wildcard teams, with 1 added to each division to create a 5 team pool
- Each team plays the other 4 teams in it's pool (maybe home ice adv by seed)
- Top 4 teams per pool advance to traditional best of 7 playoffs; 1 vs. 4, 2 vs. 3
- Have a divisional final, then reseed for semi finals based on reg season record
Seems to address a lot of different considerations, but would this be too big a change from tradition?
We already see it in the WJC and Olympics. There would certainly be a chance for some unbelievably exciting games if nothing else. Thoughts?
Also, if karlsson is health mid way through the playoffs, I would not play him and rest him so he is for sure 100% healthy for next season. Doubtful he will be back though