(UPDATE 12:57 PM)- Another goalies is off the market. Jose Theodore has signed in Florida.
(UPDATE 12:44 PM)- The Tampa Bay Lightning have the Sens looking at Plan B as they have signed free agent goaltender Mathieu Garon.
(UPDATE 12:42 PM)- Eric Duhatschek has indicated that the Ottawa Senators may be one of the teams that now has an interest in Jaromir Jagr. I would be absolutely blown away if that is in fact true. Have not heard anything about that.
(UPDATE 12:17 PM)- You can add the name of Jose Theodore to the list of goalies the Sens may be looking at. Still think that Garon is their guy if they can work something out.
It's a day that has been full of excitement for Ottawa Senators fans in past years but by all accounts, the opening of this year's free agent market figures to be a fairly quiet one for the Ottawa Senators.
Although the fun thing about July 1 is you really never know what to expect.
The primary target for the Sens will be a goalie to play back up to Craig Anderson. I've been told that Mathieu Garon is a player they like and someone they plan to approach when the market opens this afternoon. Garon seems like he is among the best options available.
Beyond that the Sens seem like they will be fairly quiet today.
Obviously that can all change in the craziness that is July 1 but the Sens are fortunate not to be in desperate need of anything heading into today. The teams that attempt to fill a particular need on a day like today often end up overpaying. Thankfully that wont be the Sens today.
Murray has made it clear that he would like to add a top six forward. I get the sense that the trade route is a more likely approach right now though.
Will do my best to keep the site up to date today. Updates will appear at the top of the blog and on the home page. Or you can follow SensChirp on Twitter.
Happy Canada Day, everyone!
Cheap, relatively talented, capable of occasionally stealing a game.
Most importantly, I feel like he's capable not only of relieving Anderson, but holding down the fort if Anderson gets injured.
Lalime is a joke, bring in Garon.
Although, that's unlikely to satiate our desire for a top 6 forward...
Filatov Spezza Butler
Michalek Fleischmann Alfredsson
Foligno Regin Condra
Greening Smith Neil
Runbland Karlsson
Cowen Gonchar
Phillips Lee/ Carkner
Anderson
Garon
Not likely to happen.. but that would blow the doors off of TSN broadcast.
He is a PE Islander.. from the same province as Dave Cameron.. across the Northumberland Strait from Paul McLean...
Fit made in heaven.. and 99.9% chance it will NOT happen.
Yes, I know it's 4 years of first rounders. But really, at the end of the day, isn't the goal of the draft a slim chance at landing a player like Stamkos (and unless you tank, you have a what, a < 5% chance of scooping one)? Plus, teams like the Leafs that went after Kessel have no where near the surrounding players to accommodate a move for an RFA.
And as far as Tampa not letting him go...They might not have a choice. Last I heard, they weren't in a great financial position.
Pointe Finale: Stamkos comes here, the rebuild is over. In one year, BM would have gotten a superstar and 4 1st round offensive picks to add to the stable of top defensive prospects.
Hey...Just dreaming before the deadline!
TSN.ca Rating: 55.19
Stats 0-5, 2.96, .890, 7 GP
'10-'11 Cap Hit: $650K
Comment: Seven games, no wins; that sounds like the end.
TSN
DrS
Here's hoping Ottawa does do something to make my day interesting. :)
Time & half! Having a few extra pesos is ok too. My benefit is checking out the bikinis on the beach but today it is raining and I'm shutout on the terrace. Oh well, thank goodness for TSN2 and SensChirp forum or I would be inclined to visit my favorite bar. Happy Canada day to all on this forum including all the rest of Canada. Hope you all have a great day.
Rangers. Don't listen to that guy, he's a fountain of lies. He's only saying Toronto will sign him because it generates traffic to his site.
Hummm....
Think he ends up in Detroit
http://penguins.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=567951&cmpid=pit-twt-pghpenguins
Greene* if it was Green... MURRAY GET THE pHONE!
But we still need a second line centre!
Ummmm where the hell did you see that?
please no
I'll lose my shit if Murray signs him.
Just said after det and pitt are out there are canadian teams still in MTL and Ottawa ..If you dont think JAgr could help 1-2 years your an idiot
How is that detrimental to us?
Even if he did sign here, he'll be long gone by the time we're contenders again.
I don't see the downside, especially with all our cap space and our lack of offence.
I guess 5...
;D
Exactly. We'll only need him for 1 year anyways and that's what we need. Not a guy that will be signed for longterm for a rebuilding team.
1 year @ 3mil for Jagr for the Sens would be great.
That dominated the World Championships and the KHL.
Quoting Dorkiewicz:
It didn't refresh properly and looked like no one had posted yet.
Not even close. He's not what he used to be, but he's still got it.
I honestly feel like at least half of the Jagr detractors don't want him because he got creamed by Ovechkin...
I know Bruce credibility isn't the best but that's great news, Theodore sucks!
So is the prospect of Garrioch not wearing sweatpants during press conferences..
And the other half are worried he'll be just like Kovalev. I think Jagr could teach Filatov, Butler and Foligno a few things.
For me it's just because he's a greedy ass
Quoting Senator Stanley:
What is plan 'C'?
Maybe Ty Conklin.
Also EK thinks Sens interested in Connolly.
Much prefer Leino... connection with McLean.. can play any forward position. 27 yrs old... sign me up.
Leino can play C?
How about this, sign him to a 1 or 2 year contract (money does not matter cause we are not close to the cap) then flip him for a high draft pick at trade deadline if he pans out to keep rebuilding. Not like like we are a cup contender next year or the year after. He may put some butts in the seats too.
I'm not saying he is my number 1 choice or even my preference but there could be some good to signing him.
That's what they said on TSN (actually Mike Peca said that). Darren Pang says the Sens are a long way away from 'getting there'... (or something to that affect). Anderson inconsistent.
Panger knows nothing ... not a fan of mr slipup
Unless it's your money. I love the attitude that Melnyk should just toss money around because he's rich.
Wow 3.5 mil a year, good price and nice term for Florida. Too bad, was hoping BM would have made a move there.
Wow Dagostini re-signed at such a nice price for the team.
I also heard Ottawa might be very close on a top 6/9 forward...
I rather have Conklin than Lalime. It would be great to sign Connolly, Gagné or Leino.
You're getting the trades so fast! Thanks for sharing all these.
Will it be hard to sign one for only 1 yr contract -- as I assume that's all they want to do?
Will they wait it out for a few days?
C-Mac
No team can match what the Panthers are doing with Dollars and term.... but they need to spend to get near the cap floor... and boy are they.
Happy Canada Day All!!!
We are not going to make the playoffs so why not lose more games with Lalime and then get another good draft pick?????
The Butler contract on its own will probably bring us past the floor. Let alone any other RFAs plus our backup goalie etc.
This team (even as-is) will be very fun to watch this year. Kuba's the only real plug and even he should be better than last year (though I'd love to see him traded somehow).
I'd rather a couple of years watching young guys develop and bust their asses (and lose a lot) so we get another 8-10 year run of playoff teams after.
oh wait, I just realized who I was asking. You would have given him $34m 3yr deal to make him the highest paid in the NHL lol
The coaching staff will not let these players take the night off. I would sooner watch the energy and enthusiam of the young players... than someone like Kovalev.
Previously today.. the showed on TSN Murra's last few free agent signings... not exactly stellar: Ruutu, Jason Smith, Kovalev, Gonchar.
Go young... or let it alone.
These teams are loading up on the 2nd tier free agents... if it doesn't fit.... let it alone.
I don't mind this too much
i like it.
Good job.
word on the street is they tried to get leclaire to shave his head but they decided against it since he would probably bleed out
I agree with this. We cancelled our season tickets when Murray was renewed and was not held accountable for his actions. We're currently targeting a few games per month, but if the team continues to suck year after year we will definitely be staying home. Murray needs to produce results. He had his rebuild, he had his coaches, he had his FAs, now he has to do more than just a first round and out.
Would have rathered a guy for $750 or so but $1M isn't exactly breaking the bank (especially a 1 year term).
No, no he did not. Just no.
I'm was never too concerned about who our backup would be.
It's kinda funny we have Auld again.
Ryder was already signed
yeah i just saw that. 1mil - 1 year. Thats unbelievable value, I wish murray could have got that done. Joel Ward 3mil a year, he's loving his playoff performance right now, quite the pay out for him.
Ryder is gone to Dallas
Good moves by all of them.
Fleischman perhaps... Docs have cleared him, but I waouldn't want BM to overpay for him. Don't think he will
Team Roster so far.
Alfie Spezza Filatov Michalek Butler Greening Condra Foligno ZSmith Winchester Neil Regin Karlsson Rundblad Cowan Phillips Gonchar Lee Carkner Kuba Anderson Auld
that leaves us one spot for Petersson Ziby or another player.
Is that the plan????
I mean this sincerely. If you cancelled your season tickets because the GM was renewed, then you are a bad fan and you are exactly the kind of person we don't need/want at our games.
I won't even try to qualify this with the good Murray has done vs the mistakes he has made. You are pathetic if you cancelled your season tickets because the GM was renewed. It proves that you will only support a winner, and people like you are the main reason why Ottawa fans get such a hard time around the league.
Do us all a favor and don't bother coming out for those few games you're talking about.
Lieno and Ryder were my other choices.......
Eric Belanger would be a decent vertern 2 line (3rd line) center short term low money. A lot like Mike Fisher just a little older.
Simon Gange and a gamble would be a great shooter for Spezza but if he doesn't come cheap its not really worth the money.
Zherdev would be interesting however that would again have to be low low LOW money and we could just hope Maclean could get some work ethic and his offense skill out of him.
Tomas Fleischmann would be good if he can stay healthy.
They're getting legit now
I agree I want to see Murray sign Athony Stewart!
They aren't going to re-sign Vokoun, and their starting goalie next year is Jose Theodore.
A better team, no doubt. A playoff team? As it stands today, not a chance in hell.
Maybe they think Jacob Markstrom is ready to make the jump....
Come on Murray 4 years 6mil ish
Filatov Spezza Butler
Michalek Zibenajed Stewart
Regin Foligno Alfredsson
Greening Smith Neil
Condra/Winchester
Phillips Karlsson
Gonchar Rundblad
Cowen/Lee
Kuba
Anderson
Auld
Looks pretty good for a re-build year. There are a crap load of ifs but if they all work out i think it looks pretty solid. Alfredsson is on the third line to spread depth, and to give him a little less minutes so he can stay healthy longer. Top PP mins.
Damn, I know that Florida had to get to the floor, but they've thrown a lot of money at some pretty mediocre NHL talent today. 4.5/year for 4 years seems like a lot to throw at a guy who has a career best 51 points and health problems.
People complained about Fisher getting 4.2 for similar stats. Based on what's getting thrown around today, Fisher seems like a bargain. I'm glad the Senators weren't in on this guy, because that contract sucks.
Fleischman contract definitely to rich for BM in a rebuild.
Man, FLA will be a different team next year. Will Theodore be better than Voukon with the pieces Tallon picked up? I doubt it.
Still, goaltending. Jose Theodore. If they still had Vokoun, yes. Jose Theodore, no.
This week they've added Fleischmann, Upshall, Goc, Jovanovski, Campbell, Kopecky, and Versteeg.
I see an improvement in forward depth, but no serious threat to add a lot of goals. I see that their defense has improved marginally, because Campbell is no Norris candidate and Jovo's best years are behind them. I see an improvement in coaching, but still it's a rookie NHL coach. I see a precipitous drop in goal.
Will they finish last in their division this year? Probably not, that's almost certainly going to be Winnipeg. But with Theodore in goal, they're no playoff team.
Sensible musings? Hardly...
Just how long do you think a GM should get to completely turn a franchise around? What of Melnyk's demand for a playoff team? restocking our affiliate? How about drafting and developing prospects?
Did you just forget all this stuff?
This reminds me of the Jeffrey Simpson letter in that it was a knee-jerk reaction that completely missed the big picture.
I don't want to know what Murray should have done to appease you.
Change your name.
Yes.
You support the players wearing the uniform. The guys wearing the jersey are working their asses off. Just because they don't win is no reason to castigate them. Good riddance to losers who cancel their tix over something so trivial.
Yep appears at the top of this blog. Hard working guy who can be the enforcer down in Bingo.
I agree that Murray will go the trade route or hopefully a highly touted rfa ;)
Everyone keeps saying he's NHL ready. Good grief, has he committed to his swedish club yet? Such a shame he's going back.
I'm sure he'll only get better, but it's still a shame that we can't see him this year seeing as he's more then ready :S
I would like to see Murray trade for Ryan Malone
Yes, you would. You've mentioned it about 500 times over the past year or so.
Do you have an inner monologue, or do you just scribble down every thought in your head and subsequently feel the need to post them all repeatedly on a public internet forum?
I don't want to pile on or anything, cuz I'm sure you're a real nice guy, but holy crap, how many times can you say the exact same thing before it gets old to you?
Offer up something new for discussion please.
That's what you love. Cool! I love tards who take one line and bring it out of context! In no way was I eluding to "tossing around money" I FULLY understand he is running a business. Next time read the entire post, especially where its says there would be other benefits. So I guess I need to break this one down for you little buddy. I meant money does not matter in terms of taking on a contract (term & size) cause it wont affect our cap.
Know what else I love Hax. Random attacks and stupid comments like yours. Keep them coming, I know you will.
What do you mean by HAD his re-build. It JUST STARTED. It will take at least 3 yrs before it is completed. For the most part over the last 5 yrs or so... Ottawa has been selecting in the bottom 15 of the draft... not like Florida, Edmonton & NYI that are constantly in the top 5 seems like every year and getting prime players.
You chose to go to the games or not. No one can argue with your choices.
For me I'm looking forward to watching these young guys play and grow together. They won't make the playoffs but trying to fast track a re-build will not work.
Florida & Buffalo today are uping the price and term for players. Makes it hard for the other teams to try to sign FA's. I'm glad Murray for the moment is not getting caught up in that crazy spending today.
The future is bright with the good prospects... unlike what the Sens had under the previous management.
Problem is Buffalo and Florida are going crazy with term and dollars.. driving up the value of the other FA's still out there. Based on what some of these guys got... does Richards up his value?
Maybe they will try and trade Lecavalier.
I agree -- why waste a contract on him... unless he replaces Bass in Bingo.. and brought up to the Sens when they play the Leafs.
http://watch.tsn.ca/featured/clip494132#clip494132
I'm fine with Auld as backup. He's not my first choice and he'll undoubtedly let in some soft goals, but it's just a backup and he'll be able to handle a reasonable amount of starts.
Yost seems completely enamoured. He even called the move 'brilliant'.
To me, it's just a hole that has been filled - nothing special OR detrimental.
Someone's been drinking the koolaid...
I guess the Sens didn't see enough progress from Bass, so they let him go.
Signing Auld was a good move. BM only had to get a guy for 1 year, and Auld can do the job required and was willing to take the 1 year deal. Other goalies were talked to, but they wanted longer term. You know who is coming up next year, assuming he rocks the AHL again, so signing guys for 2+ years was not ideal for the Sens.
i'd rather see carkner and smith do the fighting
Gerber
oh, and thanks to columbus for trying to make up for that trade and giving us filatov for a 3rd.
good, but it took murray a half season to put leclaire on ltir, hopefully we are more prepared this and the upcoming years.
He said a certain type of Forward is what they were looking for, I would assume he is talking power forward type player.
Butler Condra he said were restricted so we will get them on board and not to worry about it.
I expect we will see Kuba Michalek and possible Neil Gonchar traded for more picks at the deadline and the season after this one we will see the new team that will bring the cup to Ottawa.
There will be injuries so we will see lots of rotation out of Bingo again.
Win or lose we are going to see fast, fun, full tilt hockey.
We may see him if Carkner Neil get hurt.
Good luck to Shannon. As someone suggested on the blog earlier, maybe the Sens should take a look at Anthony Stewart.
I wonder which player(s) from the rookie camp he thinks may fit into the lineup. Do you think he can convince Silfverberg to come over and not play in Sweden?
Checked on capgeek... all the spending Florida did today and they still are not at the cap floor.
Buffalo has about 1.3M left in cap space and still have to sign a backup goaltender and a defenseman. They are also in on Brad Richards... so obviously someone is being bought out or traded.
Also read in Capgeek under the media section that Richards turned down Tampa's offer. Not enough money. Apparently LA went into their meeting with a video presentation. It is rumoured one team offered as much as 12M for the first 2 seasons. So who was it? Rangers, Buffalo or Toronto.. Crazy money but the way it is being spent today -- it's no wonder..
Nonsense.
All we've been hearing from local media is "The cupboard was bare!"
Now that the Bingo Sens have won a Calder Cup (very much on the back of a hot goalie and vets) they're patting themselves on the back. Murray has had three drafts. What did he do with the 2008, 2009, 2010 drafts, trade them for decoder rings? Every draft he has had was a chance to select young talent for the team to move it forward. Good GMs don't always select 1-10 overall. The great GMs find gems in ALL rounds in ALL positions.
My point stands. Murray has had his drafts. Next year will be his fifth. If in three years the players he has selected are not producing and cannot compete in the bigs, Murray needs to answer some serious questions about his drafting ability.
Have you been paying attention???
Check his track record, man. Murray has drafted proven NHL stars in the past, and the picks he's made in Ottawa already appear to be far better than those of any other GM we've ever had (given where he's been picking).
The only critique I have of Murray is he can sometimes make dumb decisions if pressured by 'outside sources' (ownership, other teams, players)
I think you're thinking of Brian Burke
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and you also have the right to be wrong - you should just try not to abuse that privilege...
Suck ya it prick stay home.
You're an awful fan. Do you have a fat wife.
If you think Murray is not a good GM (I believe that's what your getting at) Do you consider Burke good? His a pure example of bad GM emptying out and depleting his team every season to sign players that are only in it for the money.
I think Burke is a horrible GM and I expect the Leafs to suck for many years to come but that doesn't alter the fact that I also consider Bryan Murray to be a below average GM. The man is 67 years old for God's sake and has the exact same number of Stanley Cup rings that I have.
Ottawa as a team moving forward has a better outlook than many teams in the league. We have cap space, good young talent that is being developed and despite some criticism towards BM, at least he isn't out trying to get Erhoff signed to a 10 year contract.
Very sorry that you feel that way, but I can see how the thought of yourself at 67 years of age is bumming you out. I wouldn't want to be an unhappy fan either, but then again I don't have that problem :)
I agree with all those who think Anthony Stewart might be a guy worth looking into. He's still young and has a power forward skill set sadly lacking on the Sens. I loved this guy as a junior and was surprised he took so long to find his way in the NHL.
Again, all we really need is a 1 year rental to play well until our prospects are ready. Why not make a pitch for Arnott? Possibly Chris Drury as well.
I know these are older chaps, but you have to put things into perspective. Usually, younger, more promising players are both more expensive and want longer term. Veteran players are less in demand in today's league and usually receive term more to the benefit of the club.
I don't see why a reasonable price for Arnott or Drury for one, maybe two years wouldn't be bad. It would fill the second line centre position and buy time for whoever to step in.
Zibanejad, Da Costa and Regin are too iffy and maybe for me.
My name is Crabby Appleton,
I'm rotten to the core
I post an insult every day,
and sometimes three or four.
I can't stand fun for anyone,
I think good posts are sappy,
I laugh with glee, it pleases me,
when everyone's unhappy!
This year we have
Andswer
Suitcase
Lehner
Next year will be
Andswer (1A)
Lehner (1B)
2013/14
Lehner
Andswer
lets keep it clean and constructive, rather than vulgar and immature, boys
Anyways I was hoping for Emery or McElhinny instead of Auld, but he I don't mind Auld he wasn't bad in his time here.
How about it takes 3 - 4 yrs before those draft picks (for the most part) even play pro hockey longer than that if they go to college.
Last season was the first one (for the most part) that Murray's draft picks played in Bingo.
So don't tell me that Lehner did not factor into that Calder win.
The defense for most of the first 3 rounds was patchwork do to all the injuries. Benoit and Kinrade -- I believe were the only 2 vets on D until the final series when the injured D came back.
14 players on the Bingo team (some rookies, some vets) had NEVER played in an AHL playoff game.
There were a lot of rookies on that team... so just because you are a Murray hater doesn't make those rookie players go away.
You think Murray has done a bad job.. what about Muckler.
How would Ottawa look with Chara, Hossa, Laich and (Kopitar or Marc Staal). His drafting was not very good - his trades not the best either.
If they win I support them. If they lose I'm out..
Basically, that is what it is.
You need more than a couple of years as GM to make your mark - I'd say 5-6 years is a reasonable length.
He was under pressure to build a playoff team and say what you will, but the Heatley fiasco was NOT his fault.
Murray has a great hockey mind. He's not afraid to do unpopular things (Rundblad, Karlsson). Those two moves had a lot of fans whining but they look pretty damn brilliant now.
No one is saying Murray is exempt from criticism. When people say shit like "he has to be held accountable", I just have to roll my eyes.
Accountable for dealing to get our two best prospects? How about for trading Anderson for a complete waste of space (Elliott)?
Crazy!