Savard: "There was no other club in the race"
Jan 24, 2003 7:44:33 GMT -5
Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jan 24, 2003 7:44:33 GMT -5
Mathias Brunet
La Presse
André Savard finally resolved the Jeff Hackett situation. The good news is that he obtained the maximum for a goalie who was difficult to move: a solid third line player, Niklas Sundstrom, and a third round pick.
The bad news is that Hackett will be in the Canadiens' path since San Jose then traded him to Boston along with their young hope Jeff Jillson in return for Kyle McLaren and a fourth round pick.
Could the Canadiens have got McLaren in return for Hackett some fans will wonder? "No, André Savard answered categorically last night in a conference call.
The Bruins were not interested in sending McLaren to a North-East division rival and they offered only a fourth round pick to us for Hackett.
If one analyzes the transaction between the Sharks and Bruins, and takes into account Jillson's talent (first round pick in 1999, 14th over all, 6 feet 3 inches, 220 pounds), it's a little like if we had offered Hackett and Ron Hainsey, or Mike Komisarek, for McLaren. I would never have done it."
Savard is not happy to have reinforced the Bruins, but he is delighted to have obtained so much for a 34 year old goalie who will become a UFA in two months.
"We knew that the Bruins were interested in a three-way deal, Savard said.
It had to be with the Sharks. They will have a better team, that is certain, but Boston isn't the only club in the race with us for a place in the playoffs and we have just put our hands on a forward who will give us a serious lift in penalty killing, and we got a draft pick. We've stunk shorthanded this season."
Savard didn't expect to get so much in return for his veteran goalie. "We weren't deluded, few teams were interested in Jeff Hackett. Aside from the Bruins, there was no other club in the race.
The Rangers showed interest at one time. They offered Tomas Kloucek, but they wanted a goalie under contract for at least an additional year, and since Hackett was going to be a UFA they chose Mike Dunham of Nashville."
Sundstrom is not the scorer that all teams dream of, but he is among the better defensive forwards in the NHL. This 6 foot 195 pound left-shooting right winger formed a good line the last few years with Mike Ricci and Scott Thornton.
A first round pick (eighth over all) of the Rangers in 1993, he had his best offensive seasons in the Big Apple: 52 points, including 24 goals, in 1996-97, 47 points, including 19 goals, the following year. In spite of his defensive role with San Jose, he led the team in assists (39) two years ago.
This year however, like the majority of his team-mates on the Sharks, he was having a more difficult season, as his record testifies, with only 12 points, including two goals in 47 games, and a ranking of -4.
Sundstrom is not a body-banger, but he will never shy away from working the corners. he is a keen and tough opponent who is very effective in one-on-one situations.
An intelligent player, he will fit well into the "Senators" style of play new coach Claude Julien is trying to establish.
The Canadiens will save nearly a million in this transaction. Sundstrom will make 1.8 million this season and a little more the next year, but the Sharks agreed to defray 25% of his salary. At 27 years old, he still has good seasons ahead of him.
The more pessimistic will say that the Canadiens were had, that they did not get much compared to the Sharks and Bruins. They didn't give up much either, their number two goalie who watched the majority of games from the end of the bench.
The Sharks sacrificed one of their future hopes as well as Sundstrom and third and fourth round picks. The Bruins, traded one of the better defensemen in their organization. While the Tricolore didn't sacrifice young players and, moreover, collected a third round pick.
A good trade for the Canadiens, who however took the risk of being kicked in the teeth should the Bruins beat the Canadiens out of eighth place thanks to the prowess of Jeff Hackett.
The arrival of Sundstrom foretells other changes. It will indeed be necessary to make a place for him, and with the return of Chad Kilger there will be two extra players. Yesterday Savard did not exclude the possibility of moving a defenseman.
- translated from www.cyberpresse.ca/sports/article/1,154,1881,012003,188693.shtml
La Presse
André Savard finally resolved the Jeff Hackett situation. The good news is that he obtained the maximum for a goalie who was difficult to move: a solid third line player, Niklas Sundstrom, and a third round pick.
The bad news is that Hackett will be in the Canadiens' path since San Jose then traded him to Boston along with their young hope Jeff Jillson in return for Kyle McLaren and a fourth round pick.
Could the Canadiens have got McLaren in return for Hackett some fans will wonder? "No, André Savard answered categorically last night in a conference call.
The Bruins were not interested in sending McLaren to a North-East division rival and they offered only a fourth round pick to us for Hackett.
If one analyzes the transaction between the Sharks and Bruins, and takes into account Jillson's talent (first round pick in 1999, 14th over all, 6 feet 3 inches, 220 pounds), it's a little like if we had offered Hackett and Ron Hainsey, or Mike Komisarek, for McLaren. I would never have done it."
Savard is not happy to have reinforced the Bruins, but he is delighted to have obtained so much for a 34 year old goalie who will become a UFA in two months.
"We knew that the Bruins were interested in a three-way deal, Savard said.
It had to be with the Sharks. They will have a better team, that is certain, but Boston isn't the only club in the race with us for a place in the playoffs and we have just put our hands on a forward who will give us a serious lift in penalty killing, and we got a draft pick. We've stunk shorthanded this season."
Savard didn't expect to get so much in return for his veteran goalie. "We weren't deluded, few teams were interested in Jeff Hackett. Aside from the Bruins, there was no other club in the race.
The Rangers showed interest at one time. They offered Tomas Kloucek, but they wanted a goalie under contract for at least an additional year, and since Hackett was going to be a UFA they chose Mike Dunham of Nashville."
Sundstrom is not the scorer that all teams dream of, but he is among the better defensive forwards in the NHL. This 6 foot 195 pound left-shooting right winger formed a good line the last few years with Mike Ricci and Scott Thornton.
A first round pick (eighth over all) of the Rangers in 1993, he had his best offensive seasons in the Big Apple: 52 points, including 24 goals, in 1996-97, 47 points, including 19 goals, the following year. In spite of his defensive role with San Jose, he led the team in assists (39) two years ago.
This year however, like the majority of his team-mates on the Sharks, he was having a more difficult season, as his record testifies, with only 12 points, including two goals in 47 games, and a ranking of -4.
Sundstrom is not a body-banger, but he will never shy away from working the corners. he is a keen and tough opponent who is very effective in one-on-one situations.
An intelligent player, he will fit well into the "Senators" style of play new coach Claude Julien is trying to establish.
The Canadiens will save nearly a million in this transaction. Sundstrom will make 1.8 million this season and a little more the next year, but the Sharks agreed to defray 25% of his salary. At 27 years old, he still has good seasons ahead of him.
The more pessimistic will say that the Canadiens were had, that they did not get much compared to the Sharks and Bruins. They didn't give up much either, their number two goalie who watched the majority of games from the end of the bench.
The Sharks sacrificed one of their future hopes as well as Sundstrom and third and fourth round picks. The Bruins, traded one of the better defensemen in their organization. While the Tricolore didn't sacrifice young players and, moreover, collected a third round pick.
A good trade for the Canadiens, who however took the risk of being kicked in the teeth should the Bruins beat the Canadiens out of eighth place thanks to the prowess of Jeff Hackett.
The arrival of Sundstrom foretells other changes. It will indeed be necessary to make a place for him, and with the return of Chad Kilger there will be two extra players. Yesterday Savard did not exclude the possibility of moving a defenseman.
- translated from www.cyberpresse.ca/sports/article/1,154,1881,012003,188693.shtml